But four days out, the ever-popular Gold Coast marathon has suffered the same fate as many events in recent memory - cancelled before it even started.
After south-east Queensland was plunged into a snap three-day lockdown on Tuesday, organisers made the difficult decision to cancel for a second year, with 20,000 runners affected by the call.
And finding themselves right in the middle of it are Echuca runners Archie Reid and Brady Threlfall, who are now waiting out the lockdown on the Gold Coast after arriving in Queensland on Monday.
“We got here pretty early to make sure we could get here from Moama and were happy to get here,” Reid said.
“At the start, we didn't think the marathon would be cancelled. It was almost definite (to run) with Queensland being so good with COVID.
“So to hear it was cancelled was pretty sad.”
In the midst of his first snap lockdown experience, Reid said it was surprisingly "pretty relaxed".
“A lot of places are closed, and they've got the four reasons to leave your home, so we go get food and have a walk along the beach,” he said.
“But because it was school holidays, so many people were around. It doesn't feel like we are in lockdown.”
Losing the chance to race this weekend, Reid said he would try to find another run as quickly as possible, with a half-marathon on the Sunshine Coast in August a possibility.
“It's a bit frustrating when you prepare so much for one race, and then you taper down and freshen up for it, and now it's cancelled,” Reid said.
“But we'll get back training, and take it from there.”
Back in Echuca, Adam McGillivray was busy getting ready to head up north with his family and sister Holly to take on the Gold Coast marathon.
In the lead-up to Saturday's half-marathon event, McGillivray and his sister had run up to 150km in May as preparation.
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But after finding out the news the event was cancelled this week, McGillivray said he was "gutted".
“We had our accommodation, flights - I'd booked the whole family in to do it,” he said.
“I was doing the half marathon with Holly, my wife Tammy was doing the 5km, and the two kids Fynn (12), Isabel (11) were doing the 4km.
“I was really concerned this was going to happen. I looked it up a couple of days ago and it said on the Gold Coast marathon website that it would still run, so don't worry.
“Then all of a sudden, bang, it's not happening. I was very disappointed.
“I had been looking forward to it ever since I signed up four months ago.”
Ramping up his training in recent weeks, including a run from Torrumbarry to Echuca, McGillivray admits he will think twice before entering an interstate marathon in the near future.
“I've been running the highway once or twice a week, doing 5km and 15km runs,” he said.
“This sort of thing is not worth it, especially at my age. I'm 40 now and doing all these lead-up runs, and then this happens. You start to think, is the effort worth it?”
Participants can now choose to run the event virtually, though McGillivray said it failed to compare to the real deal.
“Being able to run along the main roads on the Gold Coast is an unbelievable feeling,” he said.
“You've got the backdrop of the Gold Coast itself, you can go to the beach, walk around, cool your legs down and then get to go out and celebrate after.
“(Running virtually) it's boring. You've just got to pick somewhere to run.
“But this year, I'll go down to St Kilda beach and run it with Holly so it might not be too bad.”
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