It was a night for milers at the Victorian 5000m Championships at Box Hill, with Sarah Billings and Lachlan Herd claiming line honours.
Billings, who has a 4:09 1500m personal best from last summer, was making her debut over 5000m on the track. The 24-year-old ran patiently in a lead back that gradually decreased in size and only took the lead down the final straight, passing 2019 world championship representative Melissa Duncan, who had made a strong run for home with 300m remaining.

Billings clocked 16:33.82 to Duncan’s 16:34.70, while Rachel McGuinness claimed bronze in 16:40.48, having led the field for much of the final stages of the race.
The men’s race was a tactical affair in the early stages with a large field in contention. At the pointy end of the race it was 3:44 1500m runner, Lachlan Herd, who came to the fore, proving too strong for visiting Queenslander Liam Boudin to win in 14:11.21. Boudin clocked 14:11.85 while Dale Carroll (14:12.27) and Craig Appleby (14:12.89) claimed the minor medals in the Victorian titles.
The junior men’s race was taken out by Charlie Rogers, who wound up the race from a pace that was initially just under 16 minutes for the distance, to win by 13 seconds in 15:04.47. Jhye Hadfield (15:17.68) and Aidan Velten (15:19.81) filled the podium.
The junior women’s race saw 14-year-old Piper Gay record a strong front-running victory in a time of 17:17.26, with Fieke Van Der Kamp (17:33.41) and Imogen Baker (18:07.41) taking silver and bronze in a race held in conjunction with the women’s B race.
Photo Gallery
149 photos from the Victorian 5000m Championships are available in our photo gallery.
Free high res download when you subscribe to our mailing list.
Need new spikes?
Australia’s largest range. Fast & free delivery nation-wide.
Latest articles:
- Linden Hall storms to Stockholm victory in career best 3000m performanceLinden Hall has added another chapter to her 2025 season, powering to victory in the 3000m at the Stockholm Diamond League in a personal best time of 8:30.01 to claim her first ever Diamond League win over the distance. In a race defined by tactics and tenacity, Hall surged to the front in the closing… Read more: Linden Hall storms to Stockholm victory in career best 3000m performance
- Deep fields at inaugural Albert Park 5kmA thousand runners took to the road for Athletics Victoria’s inaugural 5km offering at Albert Park. Run over essentially the same course as the Lakeside10, except with just one out-and-back lap rather than two, the depth of Victorian club running was on show with 76 men breaking 15 minutes and 46 women breaking 18 minutes.… Read more: Deep fields at inaugural Albert Park 5km
- Western Athletics and Box Hill take out Jells Park RelaysWestern Athletics’s men’s team prevailed with a strong final three legs of the 6x6km relay to claim a convincing victory at the Athletics Victoria XCR Jells Park Relays. With three of the top 10 fastest performers of the day it was quality and depth that led to victory by 76 seconds from the Bendigo Bats,… Read more: Western Athletics and Box Hill take out Jells Park Relays
- NSW Cross Country Relay Championships 2025Run Crew dominated the 2025 NSW Cross Country Relays, going back-to-back in both the men’s and women’s open events under perfect sunny skies at Newington Armory. The dry conditions were a stark contrast to last year’s rain-soaked edition at Miranda Park, with teams clocking significantly faster times—up to nine minutes quicker in the men’s race.… Read more: NSW Cross Country Relay Championships 2025
- Is Australian athletics at an all-time high? Results from our reader pollThere’s a lot to love about Australian athletics right now and community sentiment is high. We surveyed our readers last month, with 621 responses providing insight in the current state of Australian athletics. Favourite Athletes Perhaps not surprisingly, Jessica Hull and Gout Gout are the athletics community’s favourite athletes. But there’s a huge diversity of… Read more: Is Australian athletics at an all-time high? Results from our reader poll