Excitement is building within the community for this year’s OneFortyOne Blue Lake Fun Run which will take place on November 27 for the first time in three years.

The Mount Gambier Lakes Rotary Club has made some fresh changes to the existing format of the family friendly event.

The 3.2km and 6.8km distances will stay the same while the 10.4km has been upgraded to a half marathon at 10.6km.

Event committee chair Mark Praolini said the most exciting addition was the inaugural 21km half marathon.

“The half marathon will incorporate a portion of Mount Gambier’s rail trail and the fantastic Valley Lakes precinct, as well as the Blue Lake/Warwar circuit,” he said.

“First place female and male for the 21km will win $250 each, runner up in each category will be awarded $150 and third place female and male will walk away with $100 each.

“The half marathon includes more than 300-metre of elevation and is a challenging road course, so we recommend that it is undertaken only by those with a reasonable running fitness level.

“This Sunday at 7am there will likely be a run through of parts of the half marathon for people to try which will be updated on the Blue Lake Fun Run Facebook page.

“There will be a half marathon in Coonawarra three weeks beforehand which would be a good warmup for those interested in the 21km.”

Praolini said the group had targeted the 3.2km and 6.8km for people who had little, if any, running background, while the quarter and half marathons were suited for people who have done some running and wanted to step it up.

Another new addition will be medallions made from pine, awarded to every runner who finishes in any category and shirts available for order with registration.

Praolini said there were several deadlines approaching for partcipants to be aware of.

“Those wanting to order a shirt need to register by October 16, people wanting their names on their bibs will need to register by November 1 and fees will increase by $10 from November 4,” he said.

“The Mount Gambier Gift will take place the day before the event which are shorter distances so that dovetails nicely into our longer distances.

“Those who are out of town that are keen runners might like to take part in the gift and hang around for our event.

“We are anticipating around 1000 runners based on attendance from previous years.”

Visit www.bluelakefunrun.com.au to register and follow Blue Lake Fun Run on Facebook for updates.