WITH half a year to go until road runners take to the city\u2019s streets to compete in the debut Ballarat Marathon, fifty thousand dollars in prize money will be up for grabs during the event.<\/p>\n
Organisers announced the cash at Federation University\u2019s Mount Helen campus on Tuesday as part of a function to mark the remaining six months before the marathon\u2019s start.<\/p>\n
Event ambassador Steve Moneghetti said with a couple hundred runners already signed up, the prize money will be a good incentive to get more people interested in participating.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that incentive, I think will attract males and females of that calibre to give a really good-quality race,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing distance events around Australia that are being sold out and really well-received with Melbourne, Gold Coast, and Sydney Marathon. Hopefully that interest in distance running will be reflected here.\u201d<\/p>\n
With 10 categories of races, cash prizes will range from $500 for the winner of the event\u2019s 10-kilometer race to $6000 for the top-placing racers in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s marathons.<\/p>\n
Moneghetti said he hopes the prize money will bring a strong mix of professional athletes, and community members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t just want the one person turning up and winning by a long way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want real depth in the races and I think having this prize money will really attract those types of athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ballarat Marathon is being supported by Federation University and the City of Ballarat, and will run on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 April next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WITH half a year to go until road runners take to the city\u2019s streets to compete in the debut Ballarat Marathon, fifty thousand dollars in prize money will be up for grabs during the event. Organisers announced the cash at Federation University\u2019s Mount Helen campus on Tuesday as part of a function to mark the […]<\/p>\n