The number of people registered for this year's Honolulu Marathon is running slightly ahead of last year's pace.

As of yesterday, the Honolulu Marathon Association had received 22,106 registrations, compared with 21,814 by this time last year, or 1.3 percent more.

The marathon will be run Dec. 13.

Hawai'i Pacific University professor Jerry Agrusa has been studying the marathon numbers for the last eight years. It doesn't surprise him that the number so far is exceeding last year's total, and that the number of runners from Japan is also up from last year.

Japanese runners traditionally make up the majority of the Honolulu Marathon field.

As of yesterday, 13,743 runners from Japan had signed up, compared with 13,656 last year. And more than 2,100 are signed up for the shorter race-day walk, officials said.

Strong participation from Japan likely is the direct result of the yen's strength compared to the dollar. "It's at a 19-year high," Agrusa said.

On the down side, the number of runners from the Mainland has declined by more than 31 percent, and a lot of that drop comes from the West Coast, a traditionally vital visitor market.

"California is going through a terrible economic crisis," Agrusa said. "People are just keeping their purse tight."

Agrusa noted that the local numbers are up about 1 percent this week, with more than 6,500 residents signed up to run. "People are trying to be healthier," he said.

Past surveys indicated that each runner from Japan, on average, brings another person, and they usually spend several days vacationing around the race.