CARLSBAD -- The athletes waited anxiously for the start of the race. Some took to the field early and tested out the track. Some looked around, sizing up their competition. Some napped. Some drooled.

Athlete No. 703, Sarah Kneezle, came all the way from Orange County to compete. As Sarah, clad in an intimidating red shirt with a glittery butterfly on it, squirmed in anticipation of the race, her coach explained their preparation regimen.

"We ate lots of Cheez-Its," said Pam Kneezle, Sarah's mother.

One-year-old Sarah was among about a dozen babies who took part in the Diaper Dash at Legoland on Saturday morning. The annual race, a crawl of about 5 feet to the finish line, is part of the festivities surrounding the Carlsbad Marathon, which takes place today.

Before the race, which was held after the Keebler Kid's Marathon Mile for children ages 12 and under, Sarah looked like a sure bet.

"As you can see, she wants to go," said Pam Kneezle, as Sarah wiggled in her arms.

Her strategy, said Kneezle, was simple: "I'm going to hold my cell phone at the end, and hopefully she'll go after it."

Nearby, No. 260, 11-month-old Joey Scanlon of San Diego, looked like the baby to beat as he warmed up, scurrying around the AstroTurf track at a furious pace under the watchful eye of his father, Mark.

Joey's mother, Catherine, said she would be at the finish line trying to entice Joey forward with a puppet. Scanlon said she hoped Joey would do as well as his brother, 2-year-old Tommy, did last year.

"He did good -- he finished," she said with a laugh.

As the babies, each held by one of their parents, lined up at the starting line, an anxious crowd of mothers, fathers, siblings and grandparents looked on a few feet away, jingling keys and waving stuffed animals in hopes of catching the eye of their favorite competitors.

Just before the race began, one overeager tyke -- No. 753, 14-month-old Caine Elroy of Huntington Beach -- dashed out and was almost to the finish line before his mother caught up with him. Luckily, no one is penalized for a false start at the Diaper Dash.

When the race officially began, Sarah Kneezle got off to a quick start, then stopped, sat up and started clapping. Farther down the line, Joey Scanlon was the first to cross the finish line, crawling his way to victory.

All over the turf, parents tried to lure their babies forward, dangling cell phones and shiny gold medals in front of them. Others patted the ground in front of them excitedly, cooed encouraging words and gave their babies' bottoms a gentle push. Still, most of the tiny racers seemed more interested in observing the noisy spectators than crossing the finish line.

Finally, about 3 minutes after the race began, the final participant, No. 973 -- 10-month-old Aralyn Paquet of Carlsbad -- was carried across the finish line by her mother, Tammy.

"We were going to hold her sister's medal in front of her and drag it along," said Paquet, but alas, Aralyn was too tired to take the bait.

"I think it's a little early in the morning for her," Paquet explained. "This is her nap time."

Despite her late finish, Aralyn still received a gold medal. As with the Keebler Kid's Marathon Mile, everyone in the Diaper Dash was a winner as the races are not timed or scored in any way. Each participant was awarded a medal, as well as a goodie bag filled with coupons and Keebler treats.

As the crowd began to disperse, Sarah Kneezle smiled as she played with the gold medal on a red ribbon around her neck.

"She was so ready to go before the race started," said Pam Kneezle. "Then when it started, she went about a quarter inch and she froze."

Still, Kneezle said she was not at all disappointed by her daughter's second-to-last place finish.

"The point is, she did finish," she said. "We had a lot of fun. Can't wait 'til next year."

The Carlsbad Marathon walk starts today at 5:30 a.m., the early marathon starts at 6:30 a.m., and the regular (26.2 miles) and half (13.1 miles) marathons start at 7:30 a.m. All races begin and end at the Westfield Plaza Camino Real. For more information, visit www.carlsbadmarathon.com.