SOME of the island's top athletes will be running around the clock next month to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

And more runners, walkers and cyclists are needed to participate in the 24-hour Relay For Life, which will start at 6 a.m. on Friday, November 11, the Remembrance Day holiday.

Among the highlights will be nine-time Marathon Derby winner Kavin Smith and Partner Re 5K winner Victoria Fiddick running from St. George's to Hamilton between midnight and 2 a.m.

And to precede that segment of the run, St. George's Mayor E. Michael Jones has agreed to run around King's Square 24 times at just before midnight.

Earlier in the evening, between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the National Sports Centre, there will be a Living Legends Hour, when organisers hope to have top runners of the 1970s running around the track under floodlights.

Anyone who wants to join those who have already signed is welcome, provided they register and take a pledge form to try to raise money.

Cash raised will go to the Salvation Army, which will forward it to the hurricane-ravaged region of the southern US.

The event is the brainchild of Bermudian athlete and coach Steve Burgess, who felt moved to do something to help the victims of the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast and devastated the city of New Orleans at the end of August.

"I watched a story on the TV about some American basketball players who were raising money for Katrina victims and I thought, 'I can do that'," Mr. Burgess said.

"At first I thought of trying to find 24 people who could each run for one hour, but I developed the idea to include more people.

"The response from the athletes I've approached has been tremendous. They ask me what I need them to do and say they'll show up. When you get that sort of support, it's moving. They really want to help."

The event will start at the National Sports Centre and the baton will be carried from there, via the Crow Lane roundabout and onto the Arboretum.

The event will remain in the Arboretum, where participants will run around a one-mile circuit, until 2 p.m. Walkers will take over the baton for the hour between noon and 1 p.m. and junior participants will have the spotlight for the following hour.

From 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., the course will go west, following the Railway Trail on its way to the Marathon Derby starting line in Somerset.

The next hour will see the runners head to Dockyard and then back to Somerset, after which the baton will head for the National Sports Centre, with an 8 p.m. arrival time.

A second walking group will take over in the stadium between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., followed by the Living Legends Hour, which will feature stalwarts like George Jones, Gary Wilkinson and Dr. David Saul. Organisers also hope to sign up the likes of Ray Ming, Ray Swan, Tommy Smith, Jim Butterfield, Peter Lever and the Virgil twins.

At 10 p.m., the runners will head east to St. George's, returning to the National Sports Centre by 2 a.m. Organisers are open to suggestions on what will happen between then and 3 a.m., but the cyclists will have their turn between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

The event will be rounded off by a one-hour run from the National Sports Centre around the City of Hamilton and back to finish in the stadium.

Police have been informed and help will be needed from volunteers to act as course marshals, vehicle escort drivers, announcers, water stop attendants and spectators to encourage the participants.

l Anyone interested in participating, donating or helping out can contact Mr. Burgess on 292-0789.