The Bendigo fun run has a new route, designed to create faster times and keep the course competitive in a market saturated with charity running events.
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The run, which will be held on November 5, will have the same route as last year, but will be run in the opposite direction.
The event will still weave through the Bendigo CBD and start in Pall Mall, however participants in all events will first head to View Street and then follow the course back to the Pall Mall finish.
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Uphill slopes and hills from last year will be reversed into more palatable declining runs.
Fun run event manager, Tara Everist, said the course freshen up provided a “competitive edge” for local runners.
“The long, uphill stretch along Barnard Street has been replaced with a short spurt up View Street and then participants can enjoy a nice decline as they make their way along the rest of the course,” she said.
“From an organisers point of view its nice to keep it fresh,” said Ms Everist, adding a number of competitors proposed running in the opposite direction after last year’s event.
Competitor numbers had plateaued over recent years, with a number of out-of-towners trying the event once and moving on to another event, Ms Everist said.
“We're finding with the number of fun runs that are out there that people trial different runs,” she said.
However, local runners were big supporters of the event, Ms Everist said.
“We're doing our best to create our very best running course for a really local purpose,” she said.
The fun run will include a 5km walk, the running events that cover 5km, 10km, 15km, the half marathon and the Tracy Wilson Relay.
All money raised in 2017 will go to the New Bendigo Hospital Appeal, which aims to raise $4 million over three years to purchase equipment designed to build the breadth of services in the region.
Equipment sought includes a second catheterisation laboratory, robotic pharmacy systems and a new ophthalmic microscope for interventional high-level eye surgery.
To register visit www.bendigobankfunrun.com.au.