VALPARAISO | The first Saturday in April always signals the official start of the new local running season with the Valparaiso YMCA's Ringing In Spring 5K.

But this year, the "new" theme is being taken to the extreme.

Just about everything is new for the 15th annual race, other than the fact race director Mike Jones still will ascend a ladder to ring his bell at the start.

This time, the April 4 event will take place on the north end of town outside the Y's new facility at Cumberland Crossing. There's a new course, new redesigned wicking T-shirts, and even new bib numbers that include a photo of the new YMCA building.

"We have a lot of stuff going on," Jones said. "It's going to be exciting."

The early registration deadline was Monday, and Jones said he had 550 entries -- 125 more than at this time last year. In 2008, 980 registered, and there were 803 finishers in the run and more than 100 in the walk.

As it nears 1,000 participants, the Ringing In Spring is closing in on the Popcorn Panic 5-mile run as the biggest race in Northwest Indiana.

"That's been our goal for a long time," Jones said. "We try to provide a good, quality event and we try to make sure we provide everything runners want."

The start/finish area will be at the Cumberland Crossing intersection south of the new building. The course heads north on Oak Grove Drive, loops through the Walden subdivision, and runs back south on Kingsdale, Victoria and Hastings Terrace.

"We've gone through it about six times," said Jones, who expected the course to be USATF certified this week.

Jones has been in contact with contractors who are working on the new road heading north behind the YMCA. There was a section waiting to be paved this week, weather permitting.

The new YMCA building won't open until May 4, so runners will not be allowed inside. Instead, packet pickup and awards will be held in the new shopping complex on Cumberland near the Hallmark store.

Parking will be available in the new Y parking lot and other spaces in the Cumberland Crossing area.

YMCA officials had hoped to be in the new building by race day. That's not going to be the case, but plans had to move forward with conducting the race at the new location.

"We're going to have just about everything we have had in the past," Jones said. "The only thing I wasn't able to accomplish is the locker rooms won't be open. But we'll have child care, we have a real parking lot, a DJ playing music and more food than we've had in the past."

Karen Nagel, the women's winner for the last six years who already has won at least four races this calendar year, has pre-registered to defend her title and will wear bib No. 1. Last year's men's winner, Valparaiso University assistant cross country coach Adam Piaskowy, is also slated to run.