Running event to honour club great

BENDIGO Athletic Club is holding a run fundraiser for cancer research in memory of one of its greats.

John Burke was one of the club’s founding members and was awarded a medal in the Order of Australia in 2014.

Club committee member and runner Michael Preece was once coached by Mr Burke and said proceeds raised from the event will go to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

“That was the main place that he spent fighting his cancer,” said Mr Preece.

“We’ve also got a pretty big raffle going on on the day as well, so all the proceeds to that will be going to the Peter MacCallum as well.

“We’d like as many people as possible, the more the merrier, I feel. We’ve got no limit.

“There’ll also be events open to anyone who wants to walk it as well, not just runners.”

Mr Preece said athletics club members wanted to hold a race that honoured Mr Burke.

“He’s done a lot of stuff around Bendigo with organising and being part of the committee for over 50 odd years,” Mr Preece said.

“He’d coached athletes for roughly 60 odd years, so he’d been involved in the sport for a long time.”

For AFL fans, Mr Preece said the race’s main sponsor osteopath Matt McEvoy’s brother, ex-Hawthorn player Ben McEvoy, will be coming along and a raffle will include a signed jersey.

The brothers are John Burke’s nephews.

The community has been getting behind the event, said Mr Preece, and the group has had “great success” with gathering support from local businesses such as restaurants which have contributed to the raffle.

“The main thing that we want is sort of getting out, getting healthy and fit,” said Mr Preece.

“We did make the entry fee low, but we do hope that people will enter, and then maybe splurge out on the raffle tickets.”

The event on Sunday 20 August will involve two races, the adults starting at 10.30am and kids going 11am, all from Crusoe Reservoir Number 7 park in Kangaroo Flat.

Entry to either race is $10 and can be paid on the day or online via bit.ly/3QoRQSN.