{"id":301453,"date":"2021-06-29T21:54:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T11:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=301453"},"modified":"2021-07-01T11:59:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-01T01:59:54","slug":"warm-wondai-welcome-for-runners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/06\/29\/warm-wondai-welcome-for-runners\/","title":{"rendered":"Warm Wondai Welcome For Runners"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wondai Country Running Festival volunteers Claire Kapernick, Ros Heit and Liz and Sean Nicholson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 29, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grey skies and the ever-present threat of rain didn’t dampen any enthusiasm at the annual Wondai Country Running Festival at the weekend.<\/p>\n

Organising committee member Ros Heit said she was “super happy” about how the two-day event had unfolded.<\/p>\n

“The weather wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t hinder the runners at all. In fact, they like it to be a bit cool,” she said.<\/p>\n

The running festival featured events for all the family … from the 1km Dash For Cash on Saturday morning through to the 42.2km Marathon on Sunday.<\/p>\n

In between, there was a Family Fun Run, All Abilities Race, two Forest Trail runs, a Half-Marathon and 10km Rail Trail run.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the rain held off for most of the events.<\/p>\n

The total of 433 runners (or 533 entrants, as some participants entered more than one event) was the festival’s best yet.<\/p>\n

There were also 157 participants in Saturday morning’s parkrun, plus at least another 40 or so in the Family Fun Run.<\/p>\n

Sunday’s “serious” events were also well-supported: there were 273 runners taking part in either the full or half-marathons.<\/p>\n

The running events were held in conjunction with the 200th Wondai parkrun and the monthly Wondai Markets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the gloomy weather did have an impact here.<\/p>\n

This had been looking to be a bumper day but some of the stalls and entertainers pulled out due to the threat of rain.<\/p>\n

However, there was still a packed program on stage at the Percy Iszlaub Pavilion in Coronation Park – including an hilarious slapstick skit put on by members of the Nanango Theatre Company.<\/p>\n

And yes, a cream pie was involved …<\/p>\n

On Saturday night, runners and members of the Wondai community gathered at the Wondai Showgrounds for a catered roast dinner.<\/p>\n

Ros said there were more than 200 meals prepared on the night by Judy Crawford and her team from JC Catering.<\/p>\n

“I would like to thank our sponsors and our lovely team of volunteers who worked across the weekend,” Ros said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I would also like to thank the SES and the community groups who helped with our drinks stations.”<\/p>\n

Ros said the festival wasn’t just about running, it also aimed to help local community groups with their fundraising.<\/p>\n

Donations were made to the SES, Wooroolin State School P&C, Wooroolin Scouts and Wondai-Proston Junior Rugby League.<\/p>\n

The South Burnett Mountain Bike Club also made a profit from the Sunday morning breakfast, and a local store reported selling about 400 coffees.<\/p>\n

“The profit from the weekend goes to the Wondai Art Gallery, so the money raised is invested back into the town,” Ros said.<\/p>\n

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