THEY call Whitehaven Beach home and they're Hamilton Island's great hope for local success in this weekend's Hilly Half Marathon.

Good friends Jake Sinnott, Bede Wheatland and Nathan Carling have teamed up for Sunday's relay event and are rated among the local favourites.

"There's a few other people running in other teams and there has been plenty of smack talk and good banter," Wheatland said.

"We definitely want to win. Our team won last year's men's division in the tri so we're definitely keen to win and we're going to compete to win."

Wheatland said he "pulled the short straw" when allocating the three legs of the relay and as a result will run the 7.9km leg of the race while Carling and Sinnott will complete the 6.5km legs.

All three are strong runners and Wheatland said they were happy to be able to participate in a local event.

"I myself started to get involved in the endurance series events in the last few years including Clash of the Paddles and the triathlon," Wheatland said.

"I just loved feeling part of it and being a local, once you've been here for a few years you know the families and young children and they all cheer you on.

"The whole island stops to help make it happen."

Race numbers for the half marathon are tipped to exceed 200, much to the delight of event organiser Steve Jackson.

"The race has always had a great atmosphere, partly because it's so challenging," he said.

"The runners get great support from fellow competitors, the volunteers and spectators alike. There's a universal respect for anyone prepared to push themselves and take part in the event. And with the growth in numbers of runners and their followers, it's really going to be a supportive and colourful contingent on the course."

Entries are open online until noon on Friday while registrations will still be accepted on the day prior to racing.

Juniors will also have their chance to run with 500m, 1.5km and 3km events on offer.