Volunteers go the extra mile
VOLUNTEERS are on their marks to pull together the Townsville Running Festival this weekend.
Event manager Kate Herron said preparation had been in full swing for the event.
“There have been some very long days in the leadup,” she said.
“We’ve got a really good set of volunteers who come on the Saturday and Sunday and we couldn’t do it without them.
“We’ve got medal volunteers, we’ve got motivators who cheer on the runners, there’s volunteers who help with the times and all kinds of things.
“We’ve got runners called the angels that will be down at Pallarenda to run alongside marathon runners and support them.
“Some of these angels clock five hours of running.”
The annual festival includes events such as the marathon and the Townsville Airport 2.5K Hero Run, where participants will don superhero attire.
The Townsville Running Festival will take place on Sunday, with a registration day to be held on Saturday at Jezzine Barracks from 11am to 4pm. Ms Herron said there were always a lot of people who registered the day before the event.
“About 1000 people tend to walk up on the day prior to Sunday to register,” she said. “We’re probably expecting about 3000 to take part all- up but more than that would be fantastic.”
On Sunday the first runners will depart at 5.30am for the marathon, with runners expected to start crossing the finish line from 7.30am.
“You get marathoners coming back over the line at the same time as 5km runners,” Ms Herron said.