The chance to come out of St George’s for the first time in the Appleby Bermuda Half Marathon Derby was too good an opportunity for Debbie Butterfield to pass up.

On Monday she will join her son Spencer, sister-in-law Peggy Couper, niece Ashley and her husband Chris Estwanik, and more than 1,000 others as they tackle the course for the first time.

Butterfield’s romance with the Derby goes back to 1977 when, as the only female participant, she ran in a then record field of 86 running from Somerset to National stadium. Butterfield won seven titles in all but just missed being involved in a race to or from the east end, with the 1976 race finishing in St David’s when Merenette Bean became the first official female entry.

In 1978 entries spiked again, with a record 209 entries, including 23 women and on Monday, Butterfield will be running in her biggest ever field with the new course bringing with it a new level of excitement.

“That’s totally the reason, I just thought ‘well, they’re offering it and may not offer it again, so let me do it’,” said Butterfield whose son Tyler won the race for the past two years. He has an ironmen event next weekend and couldn’t fit this race into his schedule.

“I wanted to do the 100th race and got to 12 miles [in training] and put my entry in but pulled a hamstring. It was literally the Sunday after that, that I went for a jog, just to the Princess Hotel, just about a mile away, pulled a hamstring and could hardly walk home. It wasn’t possible to run the following week.”

Butterfield, now 63, has been putting in the miles since she made the decision in January to run in the Derby for the first time in about 14 years. She was part of a relay team last year, running the first leg out of Somerset, but running the whole course from the East End will be much tougher, with the well documented inclines.

“That’s part of running in Bermuda, so is the heat and so is the humidity,” Butterfield said. “I hope we have weather like we’ve had the last couple of days, not that humid and with a nice breeze.”

She is keeping her fingers crossed it all goes well for her on the day. “I’m okay today but who knows, sometimes your body doesn’t like to do these sorts of things,” said Butterfield who also had victories in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986 and 1987.

“I haven’t run the whole course or done the full thirteen miles but close enough, I think. I’m not competitive at all, just hoping to finish and really enjoy it. It’s a lot of fun to watch the kids run and do well. We want Chris to be able to run well, he’s just run an excellent race away.”

Husband Jim finished second to Cal Bean in 1977 but injury won’t allow him to join his family members on the course. “He’s got an injury that’s really been bugging him for awhile, in his Achilles tendon,” Debbie Butterfield said.

“It’s just a wonderful event, I used to do the Boston Marathon quite often, the crowds in Boston are wonderful and this one is the same. I was in a team event last year and it was really quite fun being a part of that again with the atmosphere. It’s not about the time, I just want to enjoy it and finish with a smile on my face.”

Couper had an excellent performance in last year’s race, knocking some 20 minutes off the record for over 70 age category when she completed the course in 2hr, 00 min and 22 secs. This race will be her 31st Derby since her first in 1980.

“My training has not gone well this winter, I’ve had one setback after another so, no, I’m not feeling very confident but will do my best,” said Couper whose daughter Ashley is the women’s open champion after setting a new record on her way to victory last year.

“I was away in Canada and it was so cold and raining I didn’t get out much. I would have like to have had better training but sometimes you get setbacks, so I will go comfortably and enjoy the crowds and enjoy the participants.

“I’ll just try to go steady and enjoy the race because it is going to be a tough course. It’s all you can really do on the day.

“Debbie keeps encouraging me, ‘Peggy, you can do it, you’re body is used to it’. It [course] will be a nice change.”

The Island’s biggest road race is slowly climbing up to 2014 numbers as runners start focusing on Monday’s race.

By yesterday afternoon some 1,035 people had signed up for the race, 752 individuals and 283 relay teams of four and by this weekend’s late registration deadline the number could get close to the 1,287 who signed up for last year’s race. The record field came in the 100th race in 2010 when some 1,316 runners took part.

“Friday will tell, definitely Saturday,’ said Roger Lee, the race director, referring to the Friday deadline and then the final registration deadline at race pickup on Saturday.

“So far so good, we’ll probably get some more by the end of this week. First time coming from the east for many, many years so I think there’s some enthusiasm about that. That has drawn out some of those who have run previously and have retired.”