THE final preparations for this year’s instalment of the Portland Runners Club 3 Bays Running Festival will wrap up this evening, as entrants and organisers prepare for this weekend’s event.

Hundreds of competitors from across the region and travelling runners from interstate will take to the running tracks that have been arranged by the event’s organisers for the numerous events.

There will be something for every kind of runner over the two days, including the 60km Ultra Marathon, road relays and quarter, half and full marathon runs.

While the event is practically upon us, Portland Runners Club president Dawn Reynolds said she and her committee would be hard at work all weekend with entrants still signing up.

“It's a really exciting time for us, race week is always very busy, but it also means that the event is nearly already over for another year,” she said.

“Our entrants are continuing to flood in, which is really great to see.

“People can enter right up until right before the races, while we certainly encourage people to sign up this week and not leave it to the last minute, but they certainly can.

“The weather's looking amazing this weekend, so if you're going to do it do it this is the year to give it a go.”

The marathon, quarter and ultra marathons are all expected to have upwards of 50 competitors, while the half marathon will draw around 70 runners and walkers.

With clear skies and temperatures of around 25 degrees expected for both days of running, Reynolds said many locals weren’t going to miss the chance to hit the tracks in the picturesque locations.

“I have talked to lots of local runners that are just going to have a go this year,” she said.

“Even if the entrants haven't got much training under their belt, they know the course and they're encouraged.

“I think most of them would rather be out there running, than watching people go past or standing at the finish line.”

Portland Secondary College’s deputy principal Kirsten Mitchell is taking on the hybrid fool for the second time this year, with numerous groups at the school getting involved in the running as well with a number of relay teams comprising students and teachers.

Mitchell said she and her fellow staff encouraged one another and their students to lead a healthy lifestyle.

“Being a PE teacher here, I think it’s really important to model healthy lifestyles and behaviours and practicing what you preach,” she said.

“A few of my Year 12 students can’t believe that I run the Hybrid Fool, they just think I’m unbelievably old because anything over the age of 30 is ancient to a group of 18-year-olds.

“My running journey is a lot about up-keeping my mental health.

 “I have a very stressful job, so spending time out running on our trails really de-stresses me after my week and then enables me to be able to enjoy my weekend with my family.”

One runner who is giving the Ultra Marathon another shot this year is Andy Bell, after he took up running as a way to remain fit and spend time outdoors with friends.

He said he and his group of friends had enjoyed the trails at all times of day, deploying headlamps to fit runs around their busy schedules but the chance to do it of a morning was always a treat.
“This run is always just spectacular,” he said.
“To be running around the coastline at six or seven in the morning with the sun coming up as you're coming around Cape Bridgewater and along the beach.
“It’s a really amazing run, one of the best in the world and it’s right here in our own backyard.

“It's really friendly run too, I’ve been to a few others and they're a bit more suited to the city folk coming down and it’s all a bit serious.

“But at these runs there’s this really good camaraderie, everyone looks after one another no one runs past anyone in trouble.” Bell said he had taken a number of life-lessons from his ultra-running experience, which assists in all facets of his day-to-day life.
“I think the secret to ultra-marathons is that it’s okay to walk every now and then, it’s also a bit of a life-lesson as well.
“Sometimes it can feel like you’re not going to get to the end, but it actually just requires a bit of a rest.
“From there you can get back and persist at it rather than giving up on something.”