Nishi won last year’s event in a time of one hour and 38 minutes, in her first attempt of the Outback to the Stack event.

But it doesn’t mean Nishi is expecting to win by just turning up again this year.

“I was probably a little lucky to get the win last year, as it wasn’t my best 21km time, but I was over the moon with the win,” Nishi said.

“I’ll definitely have to improve on my time from last year, if I’m going to win the event again.”

Nishi admits that she is coming into the event a little underdone compared to last year.

“The event fell as part of my training for a larger event last year but I haven’t got any goal event in mind at the moment,” she said.

“I might do another half-marathon at the end of the year but all the training I’m doing at the moment is purely to stay in shape.”

Nishi, who competed in June’s Cairns half-triathlon, says this is one of the strongest fields for the Outback to the Stack, highlighting the growth of the event.

“Michelle Asanuma, Amanda Gowing and Shaye MacLeod are all going to be tough to beat on Sunday, not to mention the out of town competitors,” Nishi said.

“Amanda and Shaye have just come back from the Gold Coast, so know doubt they are going to be in strong form.”

Contrastingly, MacLeod will run in her first Outback to the Stack this Sunday when she competes in 21km half-marathon.

“I’m probably more nervous than excited for the race, especially with the race starting so early in the cold, which I hate,” she said.

MacLeod’s involvement in the Gold Coast marathon gave her a good insight to where her preparation is ahead of the event.

“I participate in a fair few Isa rats sessions each week, including sprint sessions with Greg Mitchell and running with Amanda (Gowing) and Alison Whitehead through the week,” she said.

“The Gold Coast gave me a good chance to test out my legs and see how they would fare over that distance.”

“It took me one hour and 30  minutes to complete that course, so I’ll be looking for something similar this time around.”

Hundreds of competitors are expected to tackle the event which starts at Lake Moondarra and finishes at Tony White Oval.