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<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t entirely convinced I could catch him until about 150m to go because I could see him starting to slow up a bit, so I knew I had to throw everything into it.<\/p>\n
“With people here watching me and friends and family watching on the livestream, it felt as though they were here with me.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t want to disappoint.”<\/p>\n
The win eclipsed Fitzgerald’s previous biggest victory in the George Flack final (1000m) in early 2024, as part of the Bendigo Athletic Club’s distance series.<\/p>\n
He was inspired to take up running during COVID, as his previous sporting pursuit, competitive laser tag, started to die down in Bendigo.<\/p>\n
Initially a means to stay fit, he quickly became a regular at the weekly 5km Bendigo park runs, before branching out into 10km, half-marathon and marathon events.<\/p>\n
Another shift in focus saw him take up amateur track racing about three years ago, with his main outlet the Bendigo distance series.<\/p>\n
A want to push himself and improve his race experience led him to joining the VAL circuit at the start of the 2025\u201326 season.<\/p>\n
It proved a steep learning curve, but with a fairytale ending.<\/p>\n
“Being honest, I finished last or second last in most races at the start of the season,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Later in the season I went to the Shepparton Gift and that was when I cracked for a top 10 finish for the first time.<\/p>\n
“I was pretty happy. Coming top 10 in the open mile you win prizemoney. It was only $10, but it was prizemoney for something I had been working hard on, so I was pretty stoked.<\/p>\n
“It didn’t cover the entry fee or the cost of fuel to get there, but I was still happy.”<\/p>\n
While the prizemoney was significantly higher at Stawell, Fitzgerald was more impressed with his winner’s sash and glass trophy, known as the W.H. Carter Memorial Trophy.<\/p>\n
The sash and trophy have taken pride of place in his office at home among a collection of running trophies and what he joked were mainly ‘participation’ medals from various events, including fun runs and marathons.<\/p>\n
With the VAL season done and dusted, Fitzgerald has turned his attention to being a pacer for the 5km event at the Ballarat Marathon on Anzac Day and attempting to achieve a personal best in the half-marathon a day later.<\/p>\n
During winter he will contest the Bendigo University Athletics Club’s winter country cross series and also represent Bendigo Bats in the XCR’26 Series, before a tilt at the Gold Coast Marathon in July.<\/p>\n
Longer term he is eyeing the Amsterdam Marathon in October, but concedes world events may conspire against him getting to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
“It’s supposed to be part of a six-week holiday a mate and I were looking at doing and I thought it would be a bit of fun,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The actual course is a nice loop of the country, so I’d get to see a lot.<\/p>\n
“Whether I want to get over there three weeks earlier and thrash myself with training, or just do enough to get me through the distance, we’ll see what happens.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MITCH Fitzgerald says his first Victorian Athletic League (VAL) race victory is a moment he’ll never forget. That’s because his maiden win came on the grandest stage of them all in Australian professional running at the time-honoured Stawell Gift carnival. The Bendigo athlete capped an illuminating first season in the pro ranks by taking victory […]<\/p>\n