Since the first running in 2006, an incredible 10 minutes has been shaved off the time it takes to run from pinnacle to the top of Mount Canobolas, with Bathurst’s Peter Hodges posting 56 minutes and 21 seconds in the inaugural run, only for Moorebank runner Matthew Cox to smash the record in 2013 with a remarkable 47.40.

Cox returned last year to defend his Canobolas crown, and bettered his time again - but that wasn’t enough.

Setting a new benchmark, Thomas do Canto from Waterloo lit-up the mount, stopping the clock at 46.20 - an incredible 80 seconds quicker than the previous best time.

It’s no coincidence the slashing of the event’s record book has been met with a ballooning in participation numbers, from far and wide.

From just 180 game athletes 10 years ago, Sunday’s challenge is expected to reach near 1000 runners, with the appeal surrounding the unique run up the fire trails of Mount Canobolas growing infinitely each year.

After finishing second in the 2013 event, Australian Mountain Running champion Jordan Harries believes the challenge provides an unequalled leveller for both road and mountain runners.

“I think the race provides a really good stage for the mountain runners and the road runners to race on even terms,” the Hobart-based runner said, the event now doubling as the NSW Mountain Running Championships. 

“The race is unique in the way it climbs three peaks and provides an experience of accomplishment just for finishing”. 

The challenge is an 11 kilometre, three-peaked run - it traverses forestry roads and National Park walking tracks to the peaks of Mt Towac and Young Man Canobolas before finishing on the summit of Mt Canobolas - boasting 520 metres of climb.

Opposed to the regular re-writing of the men’s record book, remarkably, the women’s open record has not been beaten since 2009. 

Melanie McDonald, from Sydney, was the first woman to run under an hour setting the initial mark in 2006 at 59.20. 

Then came Veronica Wallington of Canowindra who posted three consecutive wins, cutting the record to just 54.09 in 2009, a mark that still stands.

There have also been many remarkable runs in the various age classes, with Orange athlete Brian Kennelly the first to run a time better than his age, the 59-year-old stopping the clock at 57.40.

Last year 62-year-old Dennis Wylie of Haberfield ran exactly 61 minutes. 

Willie Thomas of Caringbah holds the record as the oldest runner to complete the course at age 81.