Nearly 2,000 runners will roll back the years in Hastings on Sunday.

Marathon enthusiasts from all over the world will descend on the town to follow in the footsteps of the 51 competitors who took part in the 1908 Hastings Marathon in a special race to mark its 100th anniversary.

Entries have flooded in from as far afield as Australia, Canada, Sweden, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Switzerland for the historic event which was the brainchild of Hastings Half Marathon race director Eric Hardwick.

He came up with the idea to stage the event after being captivated when he first learned about the 1908 marathon and has been staggered by the interest it has created right around the globe.

Hardwick said: “I first found out about the 1908 marathon 26 years ago and ever since then it has been a dream of mine to stage a 100th anniversary race. It is a one-off unique race that will never be done again and has really captured the imagination.

“We didn’t advertise it so at first I thought we might get a couple of hundred entries but in the end we had to start turning people away once we had reached the limit of 1,908. If we hadn’t I think we could have had thousands of people turning up.

“Peope love the fact they are going to be a part of history and in years to come will be able to say ‘I was there and took part’. Lots of the runners, spectators and helpers are dressing up in traditional attire and we will be trying to recreate the feel of 1908 as much as possible.”

Hardwick’s equivalent 100 years ago was a wealthy industrialist and former MP for Hastings, Harvey du Cros, who was inspired to organise the race after watching the dramatic conclusion to the Olympic marathon in London earlier that year when Dorando Pietri collapsed as he entered White City Stadium in the lead.

Pietri was later disqualified after he was helped over the finish line but his exploits raised the profile of marathon running and du Cros subsequently decided to stage a race in Hastings that December.

Five of the competitors from that Olympic marathon were in the field of 51 which set off by running three laps of the Muddy Cricket Ground – now the Priory Meadow shopping centre – with Billy Clarke crossing the finishing line first in front of rapturous crowds in the town centre before tucking into a hot cup of OXO which was the official drink of the race!

Clarke’s winning time was 2hr.37min.16.8sec but it is unlikely to be beaten considering the route for the original race, which took in Battle, Ninfield, Bexhill and Sidley, was measured at only 25 miles and has been extended to the full marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yards for Sunday.

One man who will take significantly longer than that is Paul Garner who is running the race twice – a total of 54.4miles – as part of his preparations for the gruelling 150 mile Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert in March.

Garner will be setting off on his own at 4.30am, when the temperature will be significantly colder than the Sahara, and hopes to be back at the finish line for the official start with the rest of the field at 9.30am.

He said: “I have ran in a number of marathons before over the last 12 few years but this year I wanted to do something a bit different. Running is my passion, and there is nothing more rewarding than to rise to a challenge.”

The race will also mark Steve Edwards’ 460th marathon as he continues his quest to be the first person to run 500 Marathons in an average finish of under 200 minutes.