WANGARATTA Fun Run organisers are aiming big — they want next year’s edition of the event to have an ultra marathon.
As of yesterday, entry numbers for the February 24 showpiece were at 807 for the five distances, but organisers are hoping for more than 1000.
Entry numbers are already 600 more than the figures from 2011, the inaugural year of the run.
Race director Justin Scholz and wife Sharon want the event to rival the Melbourne Marathon and the Great Ocean Road Marathon.
“Sharon and I ran the inaugural Wangaratta Fun Run in 2011 with 178 entries; that was with five-kilometre and 10-kilometre options,” Mr Scholz said yesterday.
“In 2012 we had 530 entries, utilising pretty much everything we did in 2011.
“We thought we’d add a marathon and a half marathon, which we’ve done.
“We think we’ll nicely go across 1000 entries in total.”
As of yesterday, the five-kilometre run was the most popular distance with 215 entries, closely followed by the 10-kilometre, which had 214.
The half marathon (21.1 kilometres) had 182, the marathon (42.195 kilmetres) had 95 and the two-kilometres, which is open only to primary school-aged children, had 77 (plus 24 parents).
Scholz said the event would be even bigger next year, with the ultra marathon the icing on the cake.
“We will just have to aim for 2000 next year. We also want to add an ultra marathon (100 kilometres),” he said.
“It’s just our way of trying to promote health and fitness in the community.
“We were quite overweight six or seven years ago and changed our diet and tried to get fit through running.
“We thought Wangaratta was a large enough community to engage a fun run and it’s just grown from there.”
All events start and finish behind the showgrounds on Evans Street.
Proceeds will be split between the Wangaratta Little Athletics Club and Aussie Helpers, a charity helping communities that suffer uncontrollable events such as drought, bushfires and floods.
Entries are open until the day of the event.
Visit wangarattafunrun.com.au
