Runners in the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon are making their final preps for the race this weekend.
But it's not just the full marathon bringing people to Brown County.
Thousands of runners from all around the country and world gather in Green Bay this weekend.
“I think this is excellent, awesome to see all these runners. Very cool,” said Jessica Otte, 5K runner.
"The runners themselves are super energetic and really just love this evening. We have a lot of repeat runners," said Toni Jaeckels, race director.
Each runner has their own reason to go the distance.
"The camaraderie of everything that's taking place and the medal at the end with all the food and drink, it's worth it," said Heidi Parsons, half marathon runner.
Luxemburg native Bruce Hermans is back in Northeast Wisconsin raising money for a teacher with cancer at the Dallas area school where he's an assistant principal.
He's hoping Packers fans out-raise Cowboys fans through go fund me pages because that will determine whose jersey he's wearing when he crosses the finish line at Lambeau Field.
“You care about people you work with. Everyone knows someone with cancer. You try to love the people that are around you and coming up with this crazy idea of pitting Packers fans against Cowboys fans kind of made it fun,” said Hermans.
Meanwhile, William Kocken is trying to break a Guinness World Record for running a marathon with 100 lbs. on his back. Kocken is raising money for 4th H.O.O.A.H, a group supporting veterans.
“There's a ton of pressure on achieving this goal. We've raised a bunch of money. We're real close to making the goal. We're not quite there yet," said Kocken.
No matter the reason to run, the goal for all is crossing the finish line.
New this year, race organizers are using the Eclipse Race app.
That will allow racers and their supporters to track their progress.
