And the Edgell Jog committee is unlikely to find out whether they'll be returning until Sunday morning, with Rorey Hunter (the 2018 winner) and Paige Campbell (the fastest female in 2018) not registered.

Committee member Ray Stapley expects the top runners to hold off until the last minute.

"This is what happens with a lot of these runners, the good ones, they hold off to the last minute," he said.

"[Hunter] is not down at the moment and neither is Paige. That's interesting.

"Victoria Mitchell - who won the event four years in a row - she's the one that I've been trying to get for the past three years, but I've had no luck. I tried again this year and she told us she's unavailable because she's pregnant."

And while Hunter and Campbell have not signed up as of Thursday afternoon, Stapley said he wouldn't rule out an appearance by the two.

"As long as I've been involved, we know that the good runners just turn up on the day," he said.

"They can just sneak in, unbeknown to anyone and here they are, the gun runners are in the jog to win it."

Hunter has won the past two Edgell Jogs with his time of 22 minutes and 40 seconds in 2017 a record for the event across 7.5 kilometres.

If Hunter did compete in the Edgell Jog on Sunday, he would be looking to break history by becoming the first male to win the event three years running.