The Hallora Marathon Festival is back soon and looking to be better than ever.
The charity event, now in its eighth year, is aiming high as it raises money for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, more commonly known as 'Peter Mac'.
Event organisers Laura and Dan Pratt have been hard at work to get everything ready for the festival on Sunday December 10.
And now, less than two weeks out from the big day, they say "bring it on."
"Bring on the community engagement and getting around everyone to raise those much needed funds for Peter Mac," Laura said.
Events on offer for runners include a full 42km marathon and a 24km, setting out from Hallora Recreation Reserve at 7am and finishing at Western Park.
For runners and walkers 16km, 8km and 5km options are on offer, while cyclists can enjoy 16km, 8km and 5km distances, all of which kick off from Western Park at 9am.
"For us it's about the local community, it's about getting the businesses involved, getting community groups involved," Laura added.
"Now it's even stretching out to people in Melbourne, we've even got people from interstate getting involved which is really cool."
Last year's edition of the festival attracted close to 500 participants and raised more than $23,000. But Laura and Dan are hoping they can go even better this year.
"We want to beat last year's total, but anything is amazing, anything we can give to Peter Mac is a bonus," Laura said.
Dan initially began the event back in 2015 after seeing Peter Mac's work first-hand when several people close to him struggled with cancer.
Since then he said he's been amazed at the growth of the event and by how much the community has embraced it.
"It's fulfilling," he said.
"I'm just really proud of the event and the community for getting behind it."
Plenty of prizes will be on offer from event sponsors and local charity Pharoah's Secret Angels will be on hand to run a sausage sizzle, with all profits going directly to the West Gippsland Hospital's oncology unit.
More than anything though, the Pratts are proud of how much the festival has become a part of the local community. "It's not just about the running. It's about those who want to walk with their friends and their family. Get the bike out, bring the dog, bring the pram, we're all about family and community," Laura said.
"So many people in this community, Daniel, myself, we've all been touched by somebody who's had cancer and that's what it's really all about,'
"Knowing what we can do on one day can hopefully make a world of difference."
For more information on the event, including bib collection, head to the Hallora Marathon Facebook page.
To register and/or donate, scan the QR code.