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The Mudgee Running Festival exceeded all expectations yesterday as more than 650 runners set out to finish one of the four races on the program.
As of Wednesday, more than 500 participants were going to take a run and by Saturday afternoon the numbers had grown beyond 600.
Judging by the comments of winners in the half and full marathons yesterday, it appears Mudgee Triathlon Club has maintained its reputation for organising a relaxed and friendly event that is respectful to the first timer yet still poses a challenge to more experienced runners.
Mudgee Triathlon Club’s Soolan Clifford said the increase in entries was a great sign for the club.
'This year we put it to sponsors, asking them to field a team of entrants and they’ve done that.'
- Mudgee Triathlon Club’s Rowan Rowlands
“We had far more entries than we were previously thinking,” she said.
“The event itself has a quite relaxed feel but it is something that has taken months of planning and hours of work by the club’s committee.
“There are also plenty of volunteers who have given up their time not to run and help with the event.”
She said it was also great to have use of the Lawson Park rotunda as well as the loop footpath along the Cudgegong River as a base for the event.
More than 210 runners left Church Street at 7am yesterday to run the half (153 competitors) and full (59) marathons. Another 444 runners took part in the 10-kilometre (153 competitors) and 5km (291) fun runs.
It was the first time the club put all four races on one day and it ran relatively smoothly.
Mudgee Triathlon Club’s Rowan Rowlands said one of the more pleasing aspects was the support shown by local residents, businesses and families.
“This year we put it to sponsors, asking them to field a team of entrants and they’ve done that.
“One particular business owner, when asked, straight away said he would run the marathon and sure enough he has done that today,” Rowlands said.
“Then there were mums and dads with prams and one bloke ran his 189th marathon today. There’s plenty of support for this event.”