Extra health focus to get you moving in the inaugural Ballarat Marathon

The Grampians Health duo, both distance runners, come at running from different health perspectives but agree the marathon festival has already been great for getting people moving more and realising what could be possible, no matter their ability.

One week out, the pair can hardly wait to see what will unfold on marathon weekend.

For Ms Steegstra, running was only an activity she stared to take seriously about when she turned 40. She started in a boot camp with a strong social support of like-minded people, conscious about being healthy.

One event led to another and then Ms Steegstra found herself training for distance running events. No matter how swamped Ms Steegstra becomes in work and life, she has found running has improved her motivation, energy, focus and mood.

"I can get out and connect with others. We run different paces, different distances and it doesn't matter - in our group it doesn't matter if you fall behind because others will loop back and off we go again," Ms Steegstra said.

"Running is not just physical, it is good for mental health, too."

For Ms Burns, getting back into running has been about walking-the-talk of her job and finding a way to be active outside football.

The seasoned Redan footballer had surgery for a fractured leg that more than a year later has not fully healed, but she has been medically cleared to build up her running.

"I started running with a very tedious physio[therapy] plan...last year I aimed to run a 10 kilometre event and ended up running a half-marathon," Ms Burns said.

"It's been a big build-up in training hard for Ballarat and I am getting excited to finish with family and friends joining me at the finish line.

"I am not someone who posts much on social media but just doing updates on my training has been creating conversations and has been a positive influence for people, seeing they can overcome a big issue and even just run a K. It's about having a go."

Ms Burns adopted the free RAD Centre running program to train for the half-marathon (21.1km) and has joined the new Her Run Club, which group runs in out-and-back time periods rather than to a pace.

"From an OT perspective, exercise is important because you need to keep active and exercise to do the things you need and want to do in life," Ms Burns said.

Both Ms Burns and Ms Steegstra look forward to joining more than 4000 people in action for the inaugural event. Ballarat Marathon features 5km and a mile (1600m) events on Saturday April 27 while Marathon Sunday will simultaneously run the half and full marathons with a 10km event to follow.

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Courses all start and finish at the town hall and take in the historic Lydiard and Camp Street block. Sunday courses venture up Sturt Street to Victoria Park while the half-marathon and marathon lap Lake Wendouree.

All courses are measured to international road running standards, which will attract elite runners, but the bulk of the field is in recreational runners.

Already, Ms Steegstra has noticed people who might not have run a major event before taking up the opportunity.

Ms Steegstra's running journey has taken her to a marathon in Hawaii, a half-marathon along the Great Wall of China and a half-marathon in Toronto, Canada, but one of her favourite events is the huge party that is Sydney's 14km City2Surf.

To run her hometown, Ms Steegstra said, would be completely different again.

"I think we take for granted how pretty our town is. When you look at it from someone else's perspective, Ballarat has such beautiful spaces," Ms Steegstra said.

"Having the hype around the run helps."

Ms Burns and Ms Steegstra are both running the half-marathon (21.1 kilometres) in the Ballarat Marathon running festival as ambassadors for the Ballarat Health Services Foundation, which is the charity partner for the event.

The Foundation fundraises to improve equipment and facilities for public health specifically in Ballarat, which is now part of the wider Grampians Health.

For Ms Steegstra, who is part of the perinatal mental health team, extra funding helps to upgrade tired sites such as Midlands where she is based, away from Ballarat Base Hospital.

Ms Burns' role in Grampians Health at Home and in post-acute care, requires equipment to help prevent re-admissions to hospital. She said for some people, this could be as simple as scales to monitor and manage their weight.

Details: ballaratmarathon.com.au