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“It was a long carnival last year, so we’ve extended it over two days and added a 550m race and a women’s 800m, which is exciting,” Burnett said.<\/p>\n
“We did run a couple of smaller (standalone) events during COVID at the Lar Birpa track (Flora Hill), but this year and last year have been the first standalone meets for the VAL.<\/p>\n
“Last year was very successful, we were nominated for (VAL) meeting of the year, which was a nice reward for the effort.”<\/p>\n
Always a chance for the locals to pit themselves against some of the nation’s best, leading Bendigo contenders should include Jake Hilson in the invitation 200m and 800m, and Jamie Cook and Nathan Stoate in the invitational 3200m, which will round out the first day.<\/p>\n
Not locals, but two of the likely favourites in the race, Ed Marks has posted a 3km personal best of 7:57, while Zayd Al Sayd has a PB of 7:59.<\/p>\n
Stoate boasts a 5km PB of 14:15.<\/p>\n
Always an athlete of interest, speedster Jesse McKenna \u2013 the son of former West Coast Eagles champion Guy \u2013 will contest the 70m.<\/p>\n
He is trained by Tom Morehouse, who will bring with him a strong contingent of Sandringham club runners.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got great support,” Burnett said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had runners from New South Wales, up as far as Sydney, come in the past and a lot of South Australians come across as a warm-up for Stawell, just to be seen by the handicappers.<\/p>\n
“It’s a good chance to have a good hit-out before Stawell.”<\/p>\n
Action on day one starts at 3pm and runs until 9pm, Day two runs from noon to 6pm, concluding with the women’s 400m final.<\/p>\n
The Gift has attracted sponsorship from Jarrod Larkin Concreting, Strategem, Simcon Bendigo, MCG Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Bendigo Gold Run Squad, Zenith Lawyers and Lactalis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A SPRINKLING of Olympians and national representatives headline the entries for next week’s Bendigo Gift meeting at the Tom Flood Sports Centre. The elite bunch are among 730 entries for the two-day carnival to be held over the Saturday and Sunday of the Labour Day weekend. They will compete for $23,000 in prizemoney across a […]<\/p>\n