Held over the weekend of April 14-15, the festival celebrates healthy lifestyle, fitness and fun.

Five scenic courses showcase the best of Canberra’s scenic views, and host more than 6500 runners.

The 5km and 10km take place on the Saturday; and the half, full and 50km marathons on the Sunday.

Whether a returning runner looking to better a time, or a runner just looking to get out there and have some fun with friends, the 5km and 10km fun runs are the perfect way to participate.

For the more serious, experienced and route-ready runner, the Half Marathon, the Canberra Times Marathon and the 50km Ultra Marathon will take runners on a picturesque route following the parliamentary triangle.

Follow the banks of Lake Burley Griffin and finish on the East West lawns. This year sees a course enhancement featuring fewer hills and a more pleasant course for runners.

Entrants who register before January 17 will save $20 off the standard fees and get the race day app.

For the ‘friendly’ runs over 5km and 10km, special pricing packages are offered for small family groups.

This year the Australian Running Festival has a total prize pool of almost $20,000. 

The Men's and Women's marathon winners will take home $3000 each; the half and ultra, $1000 each.

And winners of the 5km and 10km fun runs won’t be going home empty handed either, with $500 each.

The event also has a fundraising goal of $250,000 for a wide range of worthy causes.

Aside from the stride, the event also has an entertainment stage, expo, ‘elite’ district and little runners' zone.

The event will also have a special live broadcast of the 2018 Commonwealth Games from the Gold Coast. The Commonwealth Games marathon is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 15.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to become the main sponsor and and official technology partner of the festival.

TCS has a history with partnering with many of the world’s biggest running events, including the New York City Marathon, London Marathon and Boston Marathon among numerous other races.

President of TCS Asia Pacific, Girish Ramachandran, said: “We are delighted to partner with Fairfax on these marque running events and look forward to bringing TCS’ global running sponsorship and technology experience and capabilities to Australia … beginning in April 2018.”