EVENT INFORMATION
The Westfund Health Insurance Orange Running Festival features nine races: Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and five 2K Dash events. 2024 Dash events will take place on Saturday, March 9th, with all other races on Sunday, March 10th. On both Saturday and Sunday, the event site will include the start and finish areas, award presentations, food and drink vendors and prize draws.
The Orange Running Festival is owned and operated by the Orange Runners Club. The first Festival was held in 2007 and has grown to be one of the premier Festivals on the running calendar each year. The festival continues to be a big supporter of local charities and businesses and due to the Festival’s success, makes significant donations each year.
Please review the information below prior to event weekend.
EVENT GUIDE
Our 2024 Orange Running Festival Event Guide is ready and can be downloaded, printed or stored on your favourite device. It’s loaded with useful information about bib pickup, parking, event day schedules, race courses and weekend activities. Everything you need to know before you head to Gosling Creek Reserve.
Download your copy today and you’ll be all set for March 9th and 10th!
Event Schedule
Before Event Weekend
| Registrations open | Friday, Sept 1, 2023 |
| Early Bird registrations close | Sunday, December 31, 2023 |
| 2K Dash registrations close | 4pm Friday, March 8, 2024 |
| All other race registrations close | 4pm Saturday, March 9, 2024 |
Event Weekend
Race Bib and Merchandise Collection
| Friday March 8, 2024 | 3:30pm to 6:30pm | Elephant Park Shed Woodward Street, Orange |
| Saturday March 9, 2024 | 3:00pm to 6:00pm | Gosling Creek Reserve |
| Sunday March 10, 2024 | From 6:00am | Gosling Creek Reserve |
Saturday, March 9th, 2024
| Community Dash | 3:50pm |
| Primary School Dash | 4:30pm |
| Secondary School Dash | 5:00pm |
| Women's Dash | 5:30pm |
| Men's Dash | 5:50pm |
Award presentations will begin at 6:15pm
Event site closes at 7:30pm
Sunday, March 10th, 2024
| Marathon | 7:00am |
| Half Marathon | 7:15am |
| 10K | 9:00am |
| 5K | 10:15am |
Award presentations will occur shortly after the lead runners from each race have finished.
Event Location
Each race will start and finish within the Gosling Creek Reserve, which is located between Forest, Bloomfield and Bargwanna Roads, Orange (about 6km south of the Orange CBD and just to the south of the Orange Hospital).
The Orange Running Festival event site will include:
- Bib and merchandise pickup
- Food & drink vendors
- Water station
- First Aid provided by Rural Fire Service volunteers
- Massage services
- Fresh fruit provided by Country Fruit Distributors
- Sponsor information
- Presentation podium
- Volunteer check-in
- Toilets
- Parking including accessible parking and dropoff locations
On Saturday, we’ll have entertainment by Megan Woods Music and plenty of food and drink choices. On Sunday, the food and drink vendors will be back, so come for your run and plan to stay a while. Choices will include Arancia Wood Fired Pizza, Rotary Club of Orange BBQ, Bodhi Garden, Swirl & Dip Ice Cream, Spilt Milk, and Coffee Just Rocks.
On Sunday morning, Marie Thomas from Mindful Touch, Ben Vaughan from Ben Vaughan Massage Therapy and Rob Murphy from Holistic Healing Choices are getting together in our massage tent to offer a 10 minute after-event massage treatment to relieve muscle tightness, increase blood circulation, reduce inflammation and muscle soreness and fasten recovery. Stop by if you’re feeling the effects of your run!
Merchandise pickup will be available for items ordered during the registration process. All remaining stock will be available for purchase on event weekend – shirts, singlets and caps. Just ask when you pick up your bib and we may have your size available.
Our full event site map shows the location of race starts, vendors, other services and parking.
The Orange Running Festival site is fully accessible including priority parking and dropoff. Please see our Accessibility Map for more detail.
PARKING
Saturday, March 9th, 2024
Self-parking will be available along Bloomfield and Bargwanna Roads. Please reverse park.
Sunday, March 10th, 2024
Early arrivals will be able to self-park along Bloomfield and Bargwanna Roads. Please reverse park. Later arrivals will need to park at Bloomfield Reserve main car park, within the Bloomfield Reserve Dog Park.
ROAD CLOSURES
Road closures: For the safety of runners, there will be road closures in the area on Sunday, March 10th. For full details, please see Orange Running Festival Road Closures.
Training Plans
To help with your training for the longer distances, we have training plans for Beginner or Intermediate Half Marathon runners. These plans can easily be adapted for Marathon or 10K runners by increasing or decreasing the length of the long runs. For Marathon, long runs should be about twice as long. For 10K, long runs should be decreased by half.
The training plans were prepared by triathlete and coach Owain Matthews, with the generous support of our sponsor The Athlete’s Foot Orange. For more training advice, follow Owain on Instagram and stay tuned for additional training tips along the way.
Spectators and Volunteers
Friends and family are welcome to join you at the Orange Running Festival! Spectators may use the same parking as runners, and are welcome to enjoy the full facilities at the event site. Please note – we welcome human spectators only! Dogs, even those on leads, are not permitted in Gosling Creek Reserve, due to the wildlife in the area. Accredited assistance animals are welcome.
The Orange Running Festival simply couldn’t happen without our volunteers. Friends and family are encouraged to volunteer before or during the event to enjoy the full event vibe. More information and a signup form are on our Volunteers page. Every volunteer will receive instructions including location and time ahead of their shift. For Volunteers at the event site, there will be a check-in area on event weekend.
Race Guidelines
| Bibs and Timing Transponders | All participants must wear their race bib including the attached timing transponder. The transponder will be automatically activated when you cross the start line of your event. Your time will be automatically recorded when you cross the finish line. |
| Reflective Clothing | Participants are encouraged to wear reflective clothing if they will be arriving or starting their event in the early hours when visibility is limited, or if weather conditions are poor and impact visibility. |
| Prams | Prams are permitted in the Community Orange Mile, 5K and 10K only and must start at the back of the field. |
| Bicyles and Scooters | Bicycles, scooters, skateboards and walking poles are not permitted in any of the events due to the potential safety impact. |
| Dogs | Due to the wildlife in the area, dogs are NOT permitted in Gosling Creek Reserve, with the exception of accredited assistance animals. Please do not bring dogs or any other pets to the festival. |
Transfers and Refunds
We realise that plans can change or training might not go according to plan. We will accept requests for transfers or refunds according to the following rules:
- Transfers to other race events will be permitted until midnight on March 1st, 2024. If the transfer is to a higher priced event, we will ask you to pay the difference. If the transfer is to a lower priced event, we will refund half of the difference to cover processing costs.
- Full refunds will be provided BEFORE midnight on Sunday, December 31st.
- Partial refunds of 50% will be provided BEFORE midnight on Wednesday, January 31st.
- No refunds will be available from February 1st onwards.
If you would like a transfer or refund, please send a request via the webform on this site, or by email to info@orangerunningfestival.com.au. Please include your name, the race you’re in, and the race you’d prefer (if applicable).
Most importantly, enjoy the journey and have fun!