THE SECOND edition of the Mount Panorama Punish is just days away, with the 1000 capacity limit almost reached.
As of Tuesday morning, over 850 entries had been received and race directors Jennifer Arnold and Stephen Jackson are thrilled with the number of entries so far.
“Last year we had just over 500 runners and we’ve capped entries at 1000 this year,” Mr Jackson said.
“We’re watching it carefully, expecting we’ll have to close registrations within a few days.”
About two thirds of participants are from outside Bathurst and some are even from outside Australia.
“There’s charter flights coming in from Brisbane and Melbourne and we have buses coming up from Sydney. We’ve even got a bunch of Europeans coming over,” Mr Jackson said.
“We’ve been in contact with a guy who’s been training at the French alps. He goes all over the world racing in big events,” Ms Arnold said.
For people who are unsure whether they are fit enough to finish, Mr Jackson said that the Bathurst parkrun is a good guide.
“Bathurst parkrun is five kilometres and if you can finish it in under 40 minutes, you should be able to finish the punish in under an hour,” he said.
However, this weekend isn’t all about the race for the organisers.
The RunNation Film Festival will show at Charles Sturt University the evening before.
Now in its fourth year, the festival will be two hours of short films and will feature two world premiers among many other captivating, fast-moving and emotive short films.
People are encouraged to visit the Mount Panorama Punish Facebook page to register for the event or to buy tickets for RunNation.
Participants can collect their bib at parkrun, RunNation and on the day.
Registrations can be taken from 6.30am, at Harris Park, but will cost $50 in hand.
The race starts at 8am and runners will have one hour to finish the full circuit.
Strict time limits in place means competitors will have to reach the King and Queen of the Mount point within 30 minutes and cross the finish line within 60 minutes.
https://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/5743080/runners-set-to-take-on-the-mount-panorama-punish-on-sunday/