{"id":259222,"date":"2020-06-08T20:39:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T10:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=259222"},"modified":"2020-08-03T16:18:55","modified_gmt":"2020-08-03T06:18:55","slug":"wondai-festivals-ready-to-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/06\/08\/wondai-festivals-ready-to-run\/","title":{"rendered":"Wondai Festival’s Ready To Run"},"content":{"rendered":"
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James Maxwell took line honours in the Mens Under 40s race at last year’s Wondai Country Running Festival and recorded the fastest 1km sprint on the day<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 8, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Wondai Country Running Festival is one of the few South Burnett events in 2020 that didn’t decide to “pull the plug” early during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Organisers crossed their fingers and waited and now their patience has been rewarded … the event will be going ahead (with just a few modifications) on the weekend of July 25-26.<\/p>\n

Committee spokesperson – and keen runner – Ros Heit said there would be staggered starts for the events.<\/p>\n

“We spoke to our timing guy. Because everyone will be wearing electronic bibs, we don’t need to start all at once,” she said.<\/p>\n

Before the races, runners will also be kept in small groups in separate “pens” to ensure social distancing.<\/p>\n

The schedule of events is similar to last year’s festival with a couple of minor changes.<\/p>\n

On the Saturday, the CROW-FM Dash For Cash – a one kilometre fast run – will be held at 8:15am, followed by the South Burnett CTC All Abilities run (1km) at 8:45am and the 2km Family Fun Run at 9:00am.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At 2:30pm, the 11.1km PCA McEuen Forest Trail Run will be held.<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning, the Ken Mills Automotive Marathon (42.2km), Bendigo Bank Half-Marathon (21.1km) and 10km PCA Rail Trail Run will get under way from 6:45am.<\/p>\n

The Saturday events will coincide with the monthly Wondai Markets, and on Sunday, food and coffee stalls will be open to cater for spectators.<\/p>\n

Ros said the starting point for Saturday’s McEuen Forest Trail Run had been tweaked.<\/p>\n

Runners will now start on the South Burnett Rail Trail, turn left just before the first bridge, cross Mackenzie Street and then head straight into the McEuen Forest.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Competitors who choose to take part in this event on Saturday (11.1km) and Sunday’s 10km Rail Trail Run will cover a total half-marathon distance across the two days.<\/p>\n

This is the third year the Wondai Country Running Festival has been held (or the fourth if you count a small “trial run” in 2017).<\/p>\n