More than a 1000 trail runners will take to Hobart's iconic mountain this weekend for Tasmania's biggest trail running festival, the Kunanyi Mountain Run.
Now in its fifth year the festival is bigger than ever, and organisers are encouraging people from all walks of life to experience the thrill of competing in the three-day event.
To help more parents take part in the event a special Bush Play Kids Drop-off Service is on offer.
The service has been described as a 'gamechanger' and helped the festival become the first event in Australia to earn a SheRunner tick of approval.
Almost half of this year's competitors are women, and 70 per cent of entrants will take on one of the festival events for the first time.
They will compete in events ranging from the 9km Vertical Downhill dash, the 66km Ultra Solo and the 46km Alpine Marathon.
And the new Foothills 5km is designed for people new to trail running.
The festival runs 27-29 March and is based at the Runhub in Wellesley Park.
The City of Hobart is a major supporter of this year's Kunanyi Mountain Run, contributing a $45 000 grant to the event.
Quotes attributable to Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds:
"The City of Hobart has proudly supported the Kunanyi Mountain Run since its inception, and it's enormously pleasing to see the success of a festival that not just celebrates our mountain, but tells its stories through cultural walks and community events.
"It's becoming the gold standard in nature-based event tourism in Tasmania, with last year's event injecting $2.6 million into the economy and resulting in 8440 overnight stays.
"This is not just a festival for trail runners, but a festival for everyone who loves Hobart's iconic mountain."
Quotes attributable to Lincoln Quilliam, Kunanyi Mountain Run Director:
"We're passionate about connecting more people with our epic landscapes because we know that connecting people and nature has huge benefits for the community, environment, personal health and wellbeing.
"We're also passionate about doing what we can to lower the barriers to entry, including for parents, mums and women.
"We offer the Bush Play Kids Drop-off Service so that having to find someone to look after your kids isn't something that will stop you from a run with Kunanyi.
"Our new 5km event celebrates five years of our festival and is aimed at giving more people the chance to experience our incredible network of trails in a supported, festival environment, whether it's their first trail run or their 50th."
Pictured: Kunanyi Mountain Run participant Alana Whitcombe and her son Louis.
