This coming Saturday, the usual total of about 1,000 runners will answer the starting cannon — yes, a cannon — for New Hampshire's most unique and prestigious road race.

But that will be one of the few ways in which “usual” applies to the Mount Washington Road Race, the 7.6-mile run to the highest summit in the Northeast, an event that proudly trumpets the motto “Only One Hill.”

At 9 a.m., the runners will run a few hundred yards on a relatively flat road then start running up ... and up ... and up.

Built in 1861, the Mount Washington Auto Road, offers a challenge unlike any other in the Granite State. Somehow the original designers found it easiest to build a road that keeps going up. At most, there is a 100-yard stretch that is flat. The rest — the constant upgrade that averages eleven degrees — pushes runners to the limit, both physically and mentally.

If “degree of difficulty” were a measuring stick for the size of a race, with the most difficult races drawing the smallest crowd, then about 10 people would run the Mount Washington Road Race. Yet every year the race has to have a lottery to determine who can enter, with twice as many applying as get in.

The Mount Washington Road Race is New Hampshire's oldest race. In the early 1900's, Dr. George Foster became the first recorded person to travel the road on foot, taking about 1 hour 45 minutes. In 1936, friend's of Dr. Foster honored him with the first race. They came back in 1937 and 1938 before the race disappeared until 1961. It was held again in 1962 then took another leave of absence until 1966. It has been run annually ever since, with this year marking the 52nd version.

The uniqueness of the race has drawn the best mountain runners around — locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. On many occasions, the Mount Washington Road Race has been the USA Track and Field national mountain championship, determining which runners will represent America in the World Mountain Running Championships. This year marks another year that Mount Washington will be the USATF national championship. In its history, the race has seen Boston Marathon winners tackle the road, with two Boston winners, Canada's Jackie Garreau and American John J. Kelly (aka John Kelly the Younger) winning on the mountain. Legendary Boston winner and Olympic gold medalist Joan Samuelson has run the race twice.

World champions such as New Zealand's John Wyatt, who owns the course record, also has appeared on the mountain. Another world champion, Marco de Gasperi of Italy, is in this year's field.

As for the New England running scene, the list of winners and other top ten finishers, is a veritable who's-who of the region. Names such as Bob Hodge (a seven-time winner), Dave Dunham, and Craig Fram grace the list of the race's winners. One of New Hampshire's all-time greats, two-time Olympian Cathy O'Brien, won the race in 1997.

Because of its history, tradition, and uniqueness the Mount Washington Road Race also stands alone among New Hampshire road races in another way. In 2010, when the race was held for the 50th time, race organizers unveiled the Mount Washington Road Race Hall of Fame, the only hall of fame of its kind in the Granite State. The Mount Washington HOF has been well received as it honors its greatest participants the chance to be immortalized. A ceremony is held the night before the race as the newest inductees are honored.

This year's inductees include former winners Matt Carpenter and Keith Woodward on the men's side, and Chris Maisto and Garreau on the women's side.

The race has also been immortalized on film. A young filmmaker out of Boston, Kate Avery, put together “Running The Rockpile”, an award winning documentary on the race (for more information, go to www.kitchentabledocs.com).

Not surprisingly, a race of this prestige has been managed by some of New England's biggest names on the race-organizing side. Jock Semple, of Boston Marathon fame, directed the race from the 1960's through the early 1980's. The torch was passed to Bob Teschek, who was in charge for 28 years until 2010. Now the race is directed by DMSE Sports. owned by Boston Marthon race director Dave McGillivray. DMSE Sports is considered by many to be the premier race management company in the world. As you can imagine, it takes that kind of leadership to get hundreds of runners from the base of Mount Washington to the top and back down again, and to do so without incident.

So, the time has once again arrived for the tradition to continue. In less than one week, a race organizer will stand near the entrance of the Mount Washington Auto Road. He will point to a line a few feet in front of him and say, “The start is here”. Then he will turn, point skyward and say, “and the finish is there. And remember, there is only one hill.”

Then the “fun” will begin as another Mount Washington Road Race gets under way.

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RUNNING SHORTS: The front runner for New Hampshire's female runner of the year is Rochester's Denise Sandahl. The former UNH runner won the Runner's Alley/Redhook 5K in Portsmouth on May 27, her fourth win of the year at a New Hampshire race. ... Last weekend's rain did not stop more than 1,500 from taking part in the Smuttynose Will Run For Beer 5K in Hampton. The winners were Lee Danforth of Norwood, Mass., and Stephanie Pancoast of Stanford, Calif. .,, The race drew a large contingent of Massachusetts runners because it was part of New England Runner magazine's Pub Series. ... Want to run a race then join a big party? Sign up for the Ribfest 5-Miler, part of the Ribfest event that takes place at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Merrimack on June 17.

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Andy Schachat's column appears every other week in the New Hampshire Sunday News. Email him at schachat44@gmail.com.