Feet forward with a lakeside view

HUNDREDS of athletes will have their running shoes ready to converge upon Lake Wendouree as part of the seventh round of the On XCR event.

Led by Athletics Victoria, the competition will see participants taking on cross country and road races.

Athletics Victoria CEO, Matthew Duck said the local circuit is unique among the series’ offerings.

“It sees large numbers of runners, their families, and support crews descend on Ballarat and provides something a little bit different to the other rounds in the season,” he said.

“There’s the 15-kilometre event and the location itself is quite unique. It’s considered one of our faster events and it’s a great combination of longer distances for the primary event.

“There’s also the historical element. It’s a traditional stomping ground of an XCR and athletics legend in Steve Moneghetti. It tends to be a quick but challenging distance for our runners.”

Circuits range between six and-15 kilometre opens with entry prices varying between age and Athletics Victoria membership status.

The local competition will be followed with rounds eight and nine at Myrniong and Burnley respectively, before culminating at Melbourne’s The Tan.

Lake Wendouree previously served as the site of On XCR’s seventh round during last year’s competition, and Mr Duck said Ballarat is always a well-received location for the series.

“Given it’s one of very few XCR events on the Sunday, we see a lot of athletes coming into town on the Friday or Saturday to take in everything Ballarat offers,” he said.

“People will come for the location and stay for longer than the event. There’s enormous energy for recreational running in Ballarat at the moment and we saw that captured in the recent Ballarat Marathon.

“It’s exciting any year to be staging this event but particularly on the back of the Ballarat Marathon. We hope that momentum continues and we’re certainly seeing that in our preliminary registration numbers.”

The event will run from 9.30am on Sunday 4 August. Entries close at 11.59am on Wednesday 31 July, and those wanting to sign up can do so via the Athletics Victoria website.