Frenzy’s fervour gets bigger and better

SPECTATORS were treated to a special showcase of athletics last Friday at the Bendigo Harriers’ 5K Frenzy.

In its second year, coordinator Brett Gilligan deemed the night a “massive success.”

“We had over 90 people run, which is almost double than last year, and the times were a heck of a lot quicker,” he said.

The event included a 1000-metre under 14s race, a mixed 5000-metre race, and elite men’s and women’s 5000-metre races.

Mr Gilligan said what makes the Frenzy so special is the crowd gets to watch on from lane four of the track.

“There’s no other competition in Australia where the crowd gets on to the track,” he said.

“Judging from what the athletes say, it’s an absolutely fantastic thing for the crowd to get that close, and judging from the crowd, they really enjoy it as well. It’s a real win-win.

“Athletics can be a rather boring thing. Playing footy and having a crowd meters away is really inspiring and gets you up, so if we can bring some of that to athletics, I think it can only be of benefit.”

Thirteen-year-old Ebony Woodward claimed victory in the juniors’ race with a time of 3.40.69 and Williamstown runner Brett Ellis won the mixed event with a time of 15.06.65.

After a couple weeks off running due to injury, 30-year-old Andrew Buchanan was back on top with a win in the men’s race, beating his own track record with a time of 14.10.12.

Former Commonwealth Games marathon runner Sarah Klein won the women’s race with a time of 16.35.35. She will now turn her focus to making either the Commonwealth Games or World Championship’s national marathon team.

While the event was a success on a local level, scheduling conflicts meant the field was compromised, with some athletes opting to run in elite competitions in Adelaide or Sydney.

Mr Gilligan said he hopes the Frenzy will evolve into a bigger marquee event.

“I think it’ll go around again, it’s just a matter of working with Athletics Victoria and Athletics Australia to try and find exactly where the Frenzy’s going to fit,” he said.

“We could just keep running it as a local meet and it’ll be successful but I think the future of the Frenzy is quite large.

“We’ll be in conversations to possibly make it the state championships next year and get an even bigger Victorian crowd up and that way it’ll get its on space on the calendar.”