More than 12,000 runners will be on the streets of Central Iowa on Saturday for the annual Dam to Dam race. The run starts at Saylorville Lake and finishes in downtown Des Moines and race director Kurt Schaeffer says it features a new format. “We had to change the race from a 20K to a half-marathon this year, and it’s going to be really nice for the spectators who come down,” Schaeffer says. He says they expect 10 to 20,000 spectators who will be lined up along the sculpture park and they will have people to explain the pieces of art as the spectators wait.

Schaeffer says the new half marathon is just one of the races offered. They have 9,000 entrants in the half-marathon and they have 3,000 entrants in the 5K, along with a free youth run.

Schaeffer says they are trying to attract more competitive runners this year. He says they’ve found a coordinator that has worked more on it to get a better field of runners.