Ballarat's first half-marathon in near a decade has almost sold out.
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Run For A Cause overall registrations are up 40 per cent on entries leading into race week compared to last year's inaugural event. This includes close to 300 runners signing on for the new half-marathon set to lead out the program on Sunday morning.
The inaugural event drew 1671 people running, walking and rolling in either a five or 10-kilometre run, 5km walk or 1km children's dash.
Entries have reached about 1150 runners and walkers. Organisers are confident of doubling this by Sunday in supporting this year's cause, early childhood development programs to ensure all children in the region are school-ready.
Run For A Cause hosts, The Ballarat Foundation, have expanded the program to include the half-marathon (21.1km) and pet passes for the family walk for more options to entice people to make a move.
The Ballarat Foundation chief executive officer Matt Jenkins said it was exciting to have such good support for the new long distance event. A lot of entrants were signing up to make their hometown the place run their first half-marathon.
Mr Jenkins was out on course with race director Julian Spence on Monday morning and said preparations for all events was progressing well.
READ MORE: Click on the image below for a little inspiration - how Kipchoge's sub-two hour marathon compares to Ballarat.
He said there was still plenty of finishing touches in the week ahead but the foundation was far better prepared this time. The Ballarat Foundation stepped up mid last year to fill the void left by Run Ballarat, which crossed its finish line two years ago.
"We know what to expect, particularly in entries - last year there was a big push for the last week and we're hoping for that same trend," Mr Jenkins said.
"There's an amount of work still to do...we're well-positioned but you can never be too comfortable in making sure this is a great event."
The Ballarat Foundation is still seeking volunteers: read how volunteer Peter Baguley has his spot all picked out.
Running, walking and rolling will support The Ballarat Foundation's seven frontline charity partners working on the frontlines of early childhood development: Ballarat Reads, Ballarat Community Health's paediatric programs, Eureka Mums, Eureka Community Kindergarten Association, Uniting Ballarat, Ballarat Toy Library and Playgroup Victoria's Sebastopol Hub.
One in five children start school developmentally behind their peers, according to Australian Early Development Census. Fifty per cent of Run entry fees is shared evenly between The Ballarat Foundation's program Ballarat Reads and a charity partner of choice.
Details to help you run this city
WHEN: Sunday, November 17.
WHERE: Community Village and start/finish precinct in Victoria Park. Courses path takes in Victoria Park and Lake Wendouree.
WEATHER FORECAST: Maximum 16C, partly cloudy and a slight chance of rain (20 per cent).
EVENTS: RUN - 8am start, Half-marathon (21.1 kilometres); 8.15am, 10km; 9am, 5km; 10.15am, 1km (children's dash). WALK - 9am, 5km family event, pets included.
CAUSE: Early childhood development programs: Ballarat Reads, Ballarat Community Health's paediatric programs, Eureka Mums, Eureka Community Kindergarten Association, Uniting Ballarat, Ballarat Toy Library and Playgroup Victoria's Sebastopol Hub.
ENTER: run4ac.org.au
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