ORGANISERS of the Bathurst Edgell Jog have made a new adjustment to the starting time as they seek to tailor the long-running event to a modern, busy audience.
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The jog once used to start at 10.30am but that was changed to 9.30am in recent years so participants still had time to do other things in the afternoon.
That start time will be 9am this year as the jog is held for the 47th time.
"It's quite suitable, I think," the organising committee's Ray Stapley said.
"People can start at nine and if we have 90 minutes - that's the general sort of shut-off time [for completing the race] - it's going to be 10.30.
"And, after all the presentations, it's virtually finished by 11-ish.
"Everyone is time-poor these days; it just gives them a bit more time."
Last year's jog attracted a crowd of just under 500 people on a sunny Central Tablelands morning and Mr Stapley said the goal is to increase that by around half again.
"We want to try to get up around the 700 mark; that's our aim," he said.
"And that keeps us viable.
"It's important that we keep it [the jog] going.
"This is our 47th year. It would have been the 49th year had we not had the two COVID years out.
"So we're getting close to that 50-year thing, which is a pretty big milestone for anything these days.
"If it can last that long, it's good and solid."
As they have done previously, the Edgell Jog organisers applied for one of Bathurst Regional Council's Section 356 donations to help with the costs of the 2024 event's traffic management.
Unlike in previous years, though, the organisers were unsuccessful in securing a donation this time around.
Mr Stapley said his understanding was that this was because of council's well-publicised financial situation and he acknowledged that council offers assistance to the event in other ways.
With the Sunday, September 22 jog now less than three months away, Mr Stapley said the pieces are being put in place.
He said Cheyne Donges is helping the jog organisers with a training program for groups and a number of local businesses, including Mars Petcare, are expected to enter a group in the event.
"Hopefully we'll get Devro and Raine and Horne and Capital Chemist," he said.
He said the Lou Shehade Memorial Shield - in memory of the Western Advocate identity and jog organiser from its earliest days - will continue to honour the first Bathurst man and woman over the line.
As well, Access All Loans' Greg Sly has increased his support so that there will be two early bird $300 prizes drawn, one for a male and one for a female.
Mr Stapley said online registrations are being taken for the event now at www.bathurstedgelljog.org.au/.
