Who came up with the idea for the Bermuda Triangle Challenge? Point the finger at Thom Gilligan, the boss of Boston-based Marathon Tours.

His company plays a significant role in booking up athletes and groups from North America for the Island's race weekend.

With those involved in the running festival trying to come up with ideas on how to re-establish its appeal, Gilligan dreamt up the idea of incorporating the legend of the Bermuda Triangle with the four race distances of the weekend.

This year is the inaugural Bermuda Triangle Challenge, with around 50 athletes signed up to race on three consecutive days, starting with the open category KPMG Front Street Mile a week today, followed by the 10K the next day and then either the half-marathon or full marathon on the Sunday.

The "big prize" for basically not taking your running shoes off all weekend is a medal and T-shirt.

However, the new challenge opens the door for overseas athletes to experience the thrill of running the Friday evening race along Front Street - something that has never been available to them before, except for the elite invites.