Season Preview: Bendigo Running Festival and Parkrun Finals Set to Draw Record Crowds

The 2026 Bendigo Running Festival, slated for August 23 at the Bendigo Showgrounds on Holmes Road, is on track to attract more than 4,000 participants this year, event organisers from Bendigo Regional Athletics confirmed on Friday. The half marathon, 10-kilometre run, and 5-kilometre fun run will all start and finish near the historic Showgrounds pavilion, with the half marathon course winding through the Bendigo Bushland Reserve and along the Bendigo Creek Trail.

This surge in interest comes as Bendigo's winter running season approaches its traditional finals period, with the Bendigo Parkrun series culminating on August 1 at Lake Neangar and the Rosalind Park Parkrun location. Local participation in Parkrun has grown 18 percent since 2024, according to data from the Parkrun Australia website, which recorded an average of 450 weekly finishers at the city's two courses during June 2026. That's up from 381 in the same month two years ago.

Where Bendigo runners are racing

The Lake Neangar Parkrun, which loops 5 kilometres around the lake adjacent to Neangar Park in Eaglehawk, remains the most popular venue, drawing 61 percent of all local Parkrun finishers last month, per the Parkrun Australia statistics page. The Rosalind Park course, starting near the Bendigo Art Gallery at 42 View Street, offers a faster, flatter route through the city's heart and past the Queen Victoria Fountain. Both venues will host their respective Run Series finals on July 25, with medals awarded to the top three finishers in each age category across the winter season.

Bendigo Regional Athletics' winter training program, based at the Bendigo Athletics Track on Retreat Road, has seen a 12 percent increase in weekly attendance this year, with more than 200 runners now turning up for Tuesday night interval sessions. The season's final timed mile, set for July 18, is expected to push that number higher as runners tune up for the Festival.

What to know before you go

Entry to the Bendigo Running Festival remains $55 for the half marathon, $40 for the 10-kilometre event, and $25 for the 5-kilometre fun run if registered by August 16. On-the-day entry adds $10 to each fee, with half marathon slots limited to 1,500 due to course capacity constraints on the Bendigo Creek Trail. A pre-race briefing will be held at 7 a.m. on the Showgrounds lawn, with the half marathon starting at 7:30 a.m. and the shorter events following at 8:15 a.m. and 9 a.m.

For those eyeing the Parkrun finals on August 1, volunteers are still needed for timing and marshalling at both the Lake Neangar and Rosalind Park courses, with sign-up available through the Parkrun website. Runners are encouraged to arrive by 7:45 a.m. to allow for a prompt 8 a.m. start. The Winter Series finals conclude the following week, with the Bendigo Running Festival serving as the unofficial season-ender for competitive road runners in the city.

Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology's Bendigo office on Lyttleton Terrace are currently predicting a dry winter morning on August 23, with a high of 14 degrees Celsius, which could help push personal-best times. Local running clubs, including the Bendigo Harriers and the Eaglehawk Road Runners, will have stalls at the Showgrounds offering recovery tips and membership information. With Bendigo's fitness calendar now at its peak, the next six weeks offer the best chance of the year to test your pace on the city's best-known routes.