The Carcoar Cup will be run on Sunday with a record number of entries in 2019

One of the more unique running events in country NSW, the eighth running of the Carcoar Cup promises to be a massive event with a record number of entries preparing to flood the tiny Blayney shire village on Sunday morning. 

But that won’t stop Baulch from attempting to call the name of every runner – all 800 of them, if early registration numbers continue to balloon – as they cross the line.

“We know who they are, we welcome them all and the finish line is in the main street of town,” Baulch said.

“They’re in the think of it in Carcoar, everyone is.”

And that’s what makes the event so special, if you ask Baulch. It’s the little cup that could. 

Compared to centres like Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo, Mudgee and Forbes, Carcoar is much smaller – the village has a population of just 200.

But the cup is hugely popular and runners come from as near as Blayney and as far as Latvia to take part in the event, which doubles as the last leg of the Optus NSW Regional Distance Running Championships.

“We have a reputation as being an event that’s on people’s bucket list and that’s because we think differently,” Baulch added.

Champions and Carcoar veterans Alex Matthews and Brendan Davies are taking on the likes of the legendary Vlad Shatrov who is competing at Carcoar for the first time.

The Carcoar Cup marathon jumps at 8am, with the hugely popular Carcoar Cup for kids to start at 8.15am.

There’s still 170 runners still in contention for a podium finish in the NSW Regional Distance Running Championships, which will be decided on Sunday.