Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

Back in 2021, local dad Adam McNicol came to see me with an idea. Adam had been made redundant through COVID and had taken up running with his neighbour. After a visit to the Great Ocean Road Running festival, he thought, 'What if we could create something similar in Ballarat?' For a lot of people, that would have been the end of the idea, but Adam, frankly, didn't stop. He got City of Ballarat onside, he got local businesses and sponsors on board, and he got Ballarat royalty Steve Moneghetti to be an ambassador and chief problem solver for his idea, which has become the Ballarat Marathon.

At the inaugural event, in 2024, there were 4,700 runners. In 2025 there were 9,400 runners. For this year's event, in April, the marathon and half marathon have already sold out, and we're expecting around 12,500 participants to take to the streets of Ballarat. The event now has 35 staff and over 450 volunteers. National and international brands have signed up to support it. Two-time Olympian Genevieve Gregson and her husband, Ryan, are running the half marathon this year.

For elite runners, the Ballarat Marathon is a World Athletics ranking event and a qualifying race for the Abbott World Marathon Majors 2027 age group world championships. It's an event for elite athletes, but it's also an event for everyone. In the past two years, we've seen children running with their parents in the five-kilometre or mile sections and then stopping along the route to support others. Last year, an 81-year-old runner was cheered on as they completed the race in six hours and 13 minutes.

The marathon is more than just a race. It frankly is a Ballarat extravaganza. The race begins in the front of our stunning 1870s town hall, then goes along Sturt Street, under the Arch of Victory and down the Avenue of Honour before circling Lake Wendouree. The marathon really leans into what Ballarat is known and loved for. The trophies are gold pans crafted at Sovereign Hill, and redcoat soldiers from Sovereign Hill fire the musket at the starting gun to begin the race.

The journey to this point, for the Ballarat Marathon, has been a marathon indeed. To Adam and the team: you've created an event in Ballarat that really showcases our city but also showcases the spirit of people working together to make sure that our community is a great place. It's a terrific celebration on the streets. I'll be there yet again to see people running. I'm not going to participate—unfortunately I'm not a runner—but there will be lots of people I know. The joy that you see, particularly in families' faces as they're running with their children, is really a sight to behold. I look forward to a very, very successful Ballarat Marathon here on the Anzac Day weekend in April.

See this speech in context