Hundreds of people will be running to support a village in Kenya, Africa Saturday for Integrity Worldwide’s Run for Kenya.

Race coordinator Elizabeth Gilmer said more than 300 people have already registered to run, and she expects another 100 to 150 to sign up on race day.

“We have had a great sign up so far, and we’re expecting more today and even a lot more on the day of. There is a lot happening in Selma Saturday, so we’re excited to have lots of people in town joining us,” Gilmer said.

“We have already surpassed the number that they had run last year, and we’re expecting even more.”

With that many people running the race, Gilmer is encouraging people to take advantage of pre-registration, which is something that was added to the race last year.

“We’re having pre-packet pickup so that people who have registered can come to avoid the lines Saturday morning,” Gilmer said. “It’s a great time for people to come and beat the crowd.”

The morning of a race can be hectic trying to get everyone registered and ready to go, so pre-registration helps cut down on the race day chaos.

“It can get very busy because everyone tends to show up around the same time, so the earlier someone can get there [Saturday] or on Friday, it helps make the day a lot calmer and runners feel a lot less stressed when they’re able to get their stuff early,” Gilmer said.

“Because registration gets so busy it is challenging to get everyone taken care of before the race begins, so for all of the organizers it is much easier if people come early or the day before.”

Pre-registration is Friday at Arsenal Place Accelerator from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. Runners can pick up their T-shirts and race number.

Gilmer said this year’s race will also have a few changes compared to previous years with a new timing company and a change in scenery.

The race will be timed by Best Times, a timing company from Memphis, Tennessee.

“They’re best known for timing the Mercedes marathon in Birmingham, so they do big time events. They are a very professional, very well respected timing company,” Gilmer said.

“For people who are big runners, that’s what they want, so this will help us get an exact time for each runner.”

The race, which starts at 9 a.m. is typically run at Bloch Park, but this year it will start at Arsenal Place Accelerator and go through downtown.

“We designed the course so it runs past a lot of featured buildings in Selma, so I think runners will really enjoy the route,” Gilmer said, adding the course has been certified.

“We’ll start at the Arsenal Place Accelerator and run through downtown, through the cemetery and then kind of get into Old Town. It’s a great run, and it’ll be a beautiful run, especially Saturday morning.”

There will be a 10K, 5K and a one-mile fun run, but there will also be activities for people not running.

“We have lots of other events for the family,” Gilmer said. “We have live music, great food and we’ll also have a shop that will feature lots of different items that have been handmade all over the world.”

Proceeds will go toward a medical clinic that Integrity Worldwide is planning to build in Meto, Kenya.

For more information on the race and the work Integrity does, visit their website www.integrityworldwide.org.