The first race occurred in 1997 with fewer than 5000 entrants and each year the event raises funds for charity.
[2] Until 2015, the race began at the southern side of the Eastern Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge in Lytton and finished at the Ekka showgrounds in Bowen Hills.
A recent addition has been the incorporation of a 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) race (from Breakfast Creek) starting later than the full 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) race, with some runners competing in both.
In 2007 the roads in the suburbs of Fortitude Valley and New Farm became gridlocked.
[3] This traffic congestion prompted another change of moving the finish to the RNA Showgrounds.