The inaugural Coonawarra Running Festival is fast approaching on November 5 and people will be getting ready to step out for a good cause.
The much-anticipated festival will be held at Coonawarra Park and will raise funds for Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation.
Coonawarra Running Festival committee member Sandra Wallis said the preparation in the lead-up to the festival was going “really well”.
“We have got lots of support from the community, we have had lots of help, including from the Penola Bowling Club, Scouts and Chardonnay Lodge,” Mrs Wallis said.
“The CWA are helping us with food, we have got the Lions Club also helping us with a barbecue.
“We are working closely with the Wattle Range Council who are helping us with road closures and logistics.
“It is pretty exciting it’s just a matter of weeks away now.”
Mrs Wallis said the event was all about raising awareness of mental health and was also a great opportunity to showcase the region.
People of all ages and abilities can get involved, with 21km, 12km, 6km or 1km distances and participants can run, jog or walk to the finish.
Little ones can take part in a ‘Mini Fun Run’ and people not keen to compete can participate in a 5km ‘Wobbly Winery Walk,’ which Mrs Wallis said was “gaining momentum”.
Mrs Wallis said registration numbers exceeded expectations with registrations from near and far, from Holden Hill to Woolsthorpe to Blair Athol.
“At this stage I would say, at a guess, probably half the people are not from our region, so we are pretty excited about that, to showcase what we have got here,” she said.
There will be plenty of market stalls to wander through, an array of food and beverages, a Show ‘n’ Shine, face painting and the CFS will bring their mascot Smokey the Koala.
Mrs Wallis said she was excited to see the event come together and the committee was grateful for the community support.
“We’re only a very small team of five people but the support that we have got from the community is really great,” she said.
Visit coonawarrarunningfestival.com.au/ for further information or to register.
