2026 Ballarat Marathon – Jordi Bates

Race Date: Apr 26th    Results: 2026

Prologue

​The day dawned clear, cool and a windy for the 3rd running of the marathon festival in “Australia’s distance running capital”, Ballarat. I had woken early to dose up on white rice (thanks Ingrid for the tip!), test the free giveaway Steigen socks from the expo the day before (but ended up sticking with the trusty cotton socks instead) and a couple of pre-dawn walk/jog’s in my slightly ragged but trusty Vaporfly 3’s which I had selected for their final race outing.
Meanwhile, my motel roommate Stephan went about his own pre-race routine in more relaxed fashion. He was running the half marathon and we would be starting together. Due to some health issues, Stephan hadn’t been able to train as he would have liked over the last couple of months and so kindly offered to pace me for the first half of my marathon (the marathon is 2 laps of the half marathon course).
I put in an order for “somewhere between 4:00 and 4:05 min/km pace”. My PB stood at 2h53min from the Paris marathon 3 years ago but my training hadn’t been great for that race and I had faded towards the end. I was quietly confident of finishing more strongly this time around. This would be my 7th marathon and it had been my best ever training block - it was the first time I’d followed a structured program, thank you ChatGPT!
We were also joined in Ballarat by Paul and Matt who would both be running the 10k later in the day. Paul taxi’d Stephan and I to the race start in town and as we approached the buzz of the festival area and heard Steve Moneghetti on the loudspeaker, I started to feel that familiar pre-race nervous energy.
After my traditional pre-race amble away from the crowds to clear the head, I made my way back towards Paul and Stephan who informed me that the race was starting in only a couple of minutes. Quick! Pre-race photo, no time to pose, oh and it actually feels quite warm now so dump my arm sleeves with Paul, now jump the marshalling fence somewhere into our corral (too far back for my liking, grrr!)…One minute to go, tie up my shoe laces, and the starter gun goes off!

The First Half

​Despite Moneghetti’s claim that the course “may be” one of the flattest marathons in the world, the first km along Sturt Street is all uphill. Stephan and I battled our way through the slower runners in front of us for the first couple of km’s, and just when we thought we’d found some free air, we ran into the back of the large 3-hour pacing group who had started ahead of us for some reason. Our only way around them was to jump over the median strip and onto the other side of the road.
Finally, about 3km into the race as we entered Victoria Park, we were able to relax and settle into our own rhythm. I locked in behind Stephan and resolved to stay there until he finished his race. We had a 30km/h wind to deal with and so we used other runners as protection as much as possible. Thankfully most of the course was run east-west and the winds were from the north, so we mainly had to deal with a cross-wind. Stephan ably led me across the road, each time we turned a corner he would position us on the downwind side of a group of 2-3 runners.
Stephan’s help didn’t stop there, he started collecting my drinks and asking for my order of “water or electrolyte?” as we approached each drink station. While I’m not sure of the legality of this sort of assistance, I was certainly not going to refuse it, and just knowing that I was receiving special treatment gave me an additional energy boost! Stephan also adhered to my strict race lines policy (“Hit the apex of the turn, Stephan!”). So far, so good, we were on target pace and it felt reasonably comfortable.
At 7km, Stephan and I were surprised to find ourselves running under what looked like the Arc de Triomphe. It actually turned out to be a World War 1 Victory Arch (Australia’s largest!) but we both thought that Napoleon would have been proud of this impressive monument and we spontaneously burst into a rather muted and staccato’ed rendition of the French national anthem between gasping breaths. As we exited the arch and continued our journey along Ballarat’s “Avenue of Honour”, the French theme had been set for the day.
At 12km, I overshared with Stephan that “je dois pisser!” to which he loudly replied “Non!”. I’m not sure how he meant me to interpret this, but it helped me forget about the urge for a while and focus on the more important challenge ahead. We were turning north to start the famous 6km lap of Lake Wendouree1 and we would be battling that northerly wind for the next few km’s.
Thankfully, I was able to stay on target pace without too much additional effort thanks to Stephan’s expert “wind management” skills. We continued to regularly overtake runners and I couldn’t remember being overtaken ourselves since the start of the race except for a guy pushing a pram back in Victoria Park (not Mark Allen).
Stephan was clearly also running well within himself. As we turned back into Sturt Street at 19km, the boulevard must have reminded him of another famous one on the other side of the world and he started singing the chorus of Joe Dassin’s 1969 classic “Les Champs Elysees”. The next 2 km were the most enjoyable of the run we made our way generally downwind, downhill and with plenty of crowd support back to the start/finish area.
As we entered the finish shute, and with Matt and Paul cheering us on from behind the barriers, I thanked Stephan once again for his services and we shared a fist pump as we crossed the line. First half done in 1:25:08. I was feeling good, the PB was definitely on. Sub 2:50 could even be possible with a negative split - that could be my new aspirational goal!

The Second Half

​As I made my up the Sturt Street hill climb for the second time that day, my positive vibe quickly evaporated. All of a sudden 4min/k pace felt tougher - I was alone and I was more exposed to the wind which was now gusting at 40km/h. I’d need to collect my own drinks and I also wouldn’t have anyone singing to me anymore. I was also starting to feel a bit of pain in both hip flexors, a recurring ailment of mine. The next 5km were the toughest of the race as I came to terms with my new predicament and the forlorn feeling that 42km was still a long way away.
The 2km running northwards out of Victoria Park were particularly tough. I felt like I was losing my form as I tried to maintain target pace while battling the wind. Around me I could see the other runners struggling as well, maybe it wasn’t a day for PB’s after all. Running under the Arc de Triomphe shortly after perked me a bit but it was only a silent rendition of La Marseillaise this time around. I tried to focus on my breathing and reminded myself of the old adage that “the race only starts at 30km”.
As I turned at the 30km mark and made my way back along l’Avenue De l’Honneur towards town, I started feeling more positive again. My watch read 30 seconds slower than my Paris marathon at the same stage but I felt way better this time. My hip flexors weren’t feeling any worse, I’d been fuelling well and surprisingly didn’t feel at all sweaty thanks to the dry northerly winds. Also, a few of my training long runs leading up to the race had included 12km marathon pace efforts to finish, so this gave me confidence that I could do that again today.
The final challenge of note was that dreaded 2km section running north along the lake which had felt quite manageable an hour before with Stephan’s help, but this time around was a real grind. With no support or protection from the wind, I just gritted my teeth and lasered in on the runner in front of me to catch and overtake them, and then moved onto the next target. 
As I rounded the northern side of the lake with 5km to go and headed downwind for home, I knew there would be no fading this time around. I increased my pace to 3:55min/km and held this all the way to the finish. With Stephan, Paul and Matt all cheering me on into the finish shute, I crossed the line in 2:50:08.

Epilogue​

As soon as I stopped, both hip flexors cramped badly but i was still able to enjoy the atmosphere of the finish zone. I’d run my second lap in exactly 1:25:00, meaning an 8 second negative split which I’m very pleased about. Could I have shaved off another 8 seconds somewhere along the way to finish sub 2:50? Maybe, but I’m just happy to record a 3 ½ minute PB.
Overall, I think the organisers have done a great job with the Ballarat running festival given that it’s only in its third year. Both the marathon and half-marathon sold out months ahead of time, they drew in some big names across all the distances and it seems to have built up a good reputation already, especially with faster runners (350 runners under 3 hours for the marathon).
Despite being 2 laps, I found the course excellent with the scenic sections of Victoria Park and Lake Windouree bookending the long straight Avenue of Honour where you can settle into your rhythm and watch the other runners coming the other way.
​It was also just a great weekend away with friends. Ballarat has a good foodie scene and plenty of things to see and do aside from the race. I’d certainly recommend it if you’re considering your event options for next year.