Kiwi the first international winner of Ballarat Marathon

WITH nearly 12,000 athlete registrations, participants from 17 overseas countries and lavish support from the local community, the 2026 Ballarat Marathon was always well-placed to be a massive success.

But after an incredible weekend, event director Adam McNicol was confident the two-day athletics spectacular had exceeded even his and the organising committee’s lofty expectations.

The third edition of the marathon proved the biggest yet, hitting a new milestone with the crowning of the first international winner.

New Zealander Caden Shields overcame the tricky windy and unseasonably warm conditions to prevail in a time of 2.18.06, 20 seconds ahead of Thomas Do Canto.

Ballarat was a bit of an after-thought for Shields, who had originally planned to run in the Dusseldorf Marathon last weekend.

Those plans were cancelled due to the war in the Middle East and the uncertainty and rising cost associated with flights to Europe.

“My wife and I decided it was too risky,” he said.

“Ballarat is a great event. I’ve always been intrigued by it and that fact that, from the get-go, they’ve really wanted to organise a fast, fast course and do their best to help us run as well as we can.”

Punctuating the battle runners faced on Sunday, Shields had previously run a 2:11.35.

He said while the winds in Ballarat were some of the toughest he had encountered in a marathon; it only made his victory more enjoyable.

The women’s marathon provided the fairytale moment of the weekend, won by Tokyo Olympian Ellie Pashley in a new course record of 2:30.46.

The Aireys Inlet 37-year-old’s stirring victory came only 12 months after giving birth to her second child and a more recent return to competition running.

Despite some pre-race doubts, she was able to master the conditions, winning by more than 10 minutes over Donve Viljoen (2:41.19), with Radka Kahlefeldt a further minute away in third.

“It was pretty tough to be honest; I had a really good group … a couple of pacemakers early on and Cam, a pacemaker, who stayed with me til 32k, but then it got very hard after that,” she said.

“I was happy and the tailwind downhill finish definitely helped.

“I felt like I was blowing up a bit around the lake, but I could still finish off okay.”

Despite the harsh conditions, Pashley expressed delight with her winning time.

“I feel the build-up has been quite tumultuous and I wasn’t really sure where I was at,” she said.

“In perfect conditions, I felt like I might have been able to run a bit faster.

“But when I realised I was going to run 2:30 I was stoked. It felt like it was going to be a bit slower than that.”

Remarkably, it was her first marathon win, but one that now has her eyeing qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Another feather in the cap for the event, Jaylah Hancock-Cameron set a new Australian road record in the women’s elite mile, posting a winning time of 4.26.4.

The 23-year-old smashed the previous race record by six seconds.

 

 

Both elite mile races produced back-to-back winners, with Jude Thomas repeating as the men’s winner.

McNicol said the marathon weekend continued to go from strength, with organisers already hard at work on plans to make it even bigger next year.

“We’re trying hard to do that … to make it better every; step-by-step, without going overboard,” he said.

“In a time where there are so many negative stories in the world, it’s just an incredible thing to be a part of.

“People coming together with a smile on their face and to have some fun and be active, and to celebrate the city.

“You pinch yourself when you think of what it’s become and what it means to people.

“It was a brilliant weekend; the crowds around the course were just nuts.”

McNicol said it was tough to split Pashley’s performance in the marathon and Hancock-Cameron’s spectacular elite mile win as the standout run of the weekend.

 

“The mile races are spectacular – a real hidden gem,” he said.

“The crowds we had on Saturday were really good. And on Sunday, there were tens of thousands of people around the course.

“It’s a real weekend festival.

“The main things is the feedback has been so positive; people just can’t believe the atmosphere this event has created.

“We are bloody proud of it.”

MARATHON

Male: 1 – Caden Shields (2:18.06); 2 – Thomas Do Canto (2:18.06); 3 – Jacob Cocks (2:19.03); 4 – Michael Tosin (2:19.37); 5 – Keith MacPherson (2:24.32); 6 – William Mison (2:24.53); 7 – Reece Edwards (2:24.53; ‘8 – Ollie Palmer (2:25.25); 9 – Bailey Murzecki-Hince (2:25.44); 10 – Nick Earl-Jones (2: 25.57).

Female: 1 – Ellie Pashley (2:30.46); 2 – Donve Viljoen (2:41.19); 3 – Radka Kahlefeldt (2:42.11); 4 – Alice Daniel (2:45.16); 5 – Melanie Townsend 2:48.16); 6 – Acacia Wadham (2:49.34); 7 – Dominique Ryan (2:50.16); 8 – Laura Peill (2: 50.16); 9 – Moya Johansson (2:52.15); 10 – Sarah James (2:55.27).

 

HALF MARATHON

Male: 1 – Brett Robinson (1:03.57) ; 2 – Ryan Gregson (1:04.55); 3 – Nathan Stoate (1:04.24).

Female: 1 – Genevieve Gregson (1:10.48) ; 2- Danette Sheridan (1:14.15); 3 – Nicola Sheridan (1:14.01).

WHEELCAIR HALF MARATHON

Male: 1 – Sam Carter (49.18); 2 – Samuel Rizzo (49.20); 3 – Qambar Ali Akhteyari (1:02.17).

Female: 1 – Eliza Stankovic-Mowle (58.29); 2 – Mikaela Dingley (1:05.46); 3 – Elise Richards (1:10.46).

EITE MILE

 

Male: 1 – Jude Thomas (4.03.6); 2 – Connor Whiteley (4.03.9); 3 – Luke Shaw (4.04.5).

Female: 1 – Jaylah Hancock-Cameron (4.26.4); 2 – Georgia Griffith (4.37.9); 3 – Izzy Thornton-Bott (4.42.9).

MILE

Male: 1 – Alexander Harvey (4.51); 2 – Jasper McKinna (5.01.8); 3 – Alex Leigh (5.02).

Female: 1 -Evette Cordy (5.28.8); 2 – Katie Chancellor (5.52.1); 3 – Maya Rehrauer (6.17.4).

10KM

Male: 1 – Brayden Noonan (29.58); 2 – Andre Waring (30.06); 3 – Will Lovett (30.23).

Female: 1 – Sinead Diver (33.21); 2 – Tara Palm (33:28); 3 – Katherine Dowie (34.36).

ELITE 5KM

Male: 1- Jack Rayner (14.07); 2 – Ben Stevens (14.50); 3 – Ben Mornane (14.52).

 

Female: 1 – Georgina Grgec (16.08); 2 – Stella Radford (16.41); 3 – Stephanie Kelly (17.12).

5KM

Male: 1 – Tom Goodson (16,59); 2 – Archer Spackman (17.09); Josh Dew (17.27). NorthSouth.

Female: 1 – Amelia Alleva (18.39); 2 – Sophie Westcott (18.57); 3 – Madison Cliff (19.18).