Students can run off some pancakes before settling in for the Homecoming parade at the 2.5K race Saturday.

The third annual Homecoming race kicks off at 9 a.m., after the Rotary pancake breakfast, along the route of the Homecoming parade. Runners will start at the corner of Seventh Street and Lincoln Avenue, run the perimeter of the Square and head back down Sixth Street, ending at Old Main.

Registration for the 2.5K runs from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m. the day of the race at the starting point for $7, said race organizer John Henry Pommier, recreation administration professor.

Preregistration ensured the racer the opportunity to buy a low-priced T-shirt.

Pommier brought up the idea four years ago and was shot down.

“They said ‘no one runs’ and I disagreed,” Pommier said, and the race has been growing steadily ever since it began a year later.

By Tuesday, Pommier said 140 people had already registered.

Last year, only about 80 people ran, partly because of the cold, rainy weather, Pommier said.

The year before, the race fell on a nice day and 50 extra people signed up that morning.

The race could be even larger, Pommier said, but he works to keep the costs low by getting outside sponsorship from Shirt Factory and McDonald’s.

Awards will be given to winners in several categories; first-place male, first-place female, best overall, wheelchair, faculty, student, Recognized Student Organization and others.

Pommier said that winners receive a framed piece of art and a T-shirt, itself an artistic statement. Winners also receive gift baskets of food and food coupons.

McDonald’s will provide brunch and food coupons for racers and volunteers.