Juggling the ACT's top job with being a mum has its obvious - and no doubt not-so-obvious - pressures, but the Chief Minister tries to make time to jog three or four times a week.

"I definitely see exercise as an important part of managing the pressures in this job," she said in the lead-up to Sunday's The Canberra Times Fun Run.

"Running in particular [because] I'm just by myself, music in my ears, no one can talk to me and I can just get away, even if it's half an hour and come back and have a completely different approach to the problems that sit on my desk."

Ms Gallagher, who will fire the starting gun for Sunday's 14-kilometre event before taking part in the 10km, said it was hard not to make the classic excuse of being too time poor to exercise.

"I think everybody, if you're entirely honest, can find half an hour in your day," she said. "Whether it's before the children wake up or at lunch time, sometimes for me it's just the space at 3pm in the diary if there's nothing for an hour."

"I'm not one of those people that go 'oh yay running', I do know I force myself because it's good for me and that I know that I'll feel better afterwards.

"It's just a mental thing making myself get up and get out. I think it's easy to say 'I'm too busy' or 'it's too cold or too windy'. You can always find too many excuses not to exercise but when it just comes down to it, you just have to get on and do it, put your shoes on and get out."

As well as her regular running, Ms Gallagher has been walking the Canberra Centenary Trail. She is up to stage six and highly encourages people to take it on.

"That's just spectacular…you can actually have access to bits of Canberra you've never seen and get a different view on the city."

Ms Gallagher has participated in the Fun Run in previous years and this is the first time that she will be doing the starting gun for the Fun Run and she said she couldn't say no when she was asked.

"It's a bit of a privilege, I'm very happy to do it. I hope it all goes to plan and that the gun goes off," she said, laughing.

"Choose the distance, everything's achievable … the feeling out on the course and running along roads, which are usually jam-packed with cars, is genuinely fun."

The 2014 Canberra Times Fun Run, presented by Westpac, is on this Sunday, September 7 and registrations close Saturday at noon. Register at http://www.canberratimesfunrun.com.au/