Tipped do be the largest ever event for the festival, organisers said it was too risky for the region to go ahead with the festival given the ongoing outbreak in Greater Sydney.

"Many predicted this news was coming, but it is still with tears in our eyes that we announce we're postponing our event for another year," organisers said in the announcement.

Festival race director Matt Webster said the volunteers were devastated by the decision, especially as it was the second consecutive year the event needed to be cancelled.

"So much work has gone in to making the event happen and things were looking so good," he said.

"We were looking forward to being able to hold the festival this year after cancelling last year's and then everything took a turn for the worst.

"But since the announcement we have been getting loads of messages of support online and everyone understands the decision is for the best."

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Record numbers had registered for the festival, with 75 to take part in the marathon, an event which would typically have about 50 people.

"We were expecting more than 1000 people to compete, with half of those from outside the area including Sydney and the Central West," Mr Webster said.

"It was going to be our biggest ever festival and we hope those people will come back next year."

Many running festivals have been postponed or made into virtual events, including Sydney's City to Surf and the Dubbo Stampede.

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But Mr Webster said given this year's event was to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the festival, organisers wanted it to be celebrated with purpose.

"We did consider doing a virtual event, but decided the 20^th birthday deserved to be celebrated in person, so we would wait until we could do so," he said.

"We are grateful to all our sponsors who are going to keep supporting us with the event next year."

All registered competitors will be contacted by festival organisers to advise of the options available.

Entrants can receive a refund by completing a form, or can have their registration automatically rolled over to the 2022 event.

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