After a two-year break due to COVID cancellations, 900 runners took to the pristine roads of Albert Park on Sunday morning for the Lakeside:10.
In cool, but still conditions, with the road surface damp from earlier rain, the two lap out-and-back course provided the perfect place for performance, personal bests and participation across the field.
At the pointy end of the field, Richard Colman led home the wheelchair athletes in a time of 27:00, with Jacqueline Godfrey winning the women’s event in 27:30.
The runners in the field started a minute behind, with an enthralling race in three at the front of the field. Recently crowned Victorian cross country champion Seth O’Donnell forced the early pace in an attempt to break Box Hill’s Andre Waring and 2016 Olympic 5000m representative, Sam McEntee. However, in the final kilometres it was McEntee who was too strong, crossing the line nine seconds ahead of Waring in a solid winning time of 29:12.
O’Donnell held on for third in 29:44, two seconds ahead of Collingwood Harriers’ Dale Carroll, with the top seven men breaking 30 minutes. The depth behind was substantial, with 32 runners breaking 31 minutes and 60 runners under 32 minutes.
The first woman across the line was Box Hill’s Georgia Hansen in 33 minutes, 41 seconds. Hansen held a comfortable margin throughout the race from minor placegetters Rachel McGuinness (34:28) and Michelle Pearson (34:42).
The first junior athletes across the line were Joshua Bail (31:50) and Amelie Alleva (36:27), while Steve Dineen (30:56) and Anna Ellis (37:54) were the first over 40 athletes.
The flat course, good weather and plenty of running partners saw a total of 167 runners complete the course in under 35 minutes, and 438 under 40 minutes. Full results are available via Athletics Victoria.
Photo Gallery
A small collection of over 400 photos from the day.
>> Click here for full gallery of photos
Need replacement spikes?
Latest posts:
- Australian Top Lists
Check out the top 8 performances by Australian athletes in the lead up to Commonwealth Games selection. With Top Lists back in vogue in the selection policy for Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and for Oceania Championships selection (compared to prior years for World Athletics events where World Rankings ruled), here’s the performances that selectors will be… Read more: Australian Top Lists - Commonwealth Games Qualifiers
Here’s the athletes that have achieved the tough qualifying standards for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. With a hard cap of 63 open athletes for the Australian team, most selections will be discretionary. The only automatic pathway to selection is achieving the qualifying standard before, or while, winning the Australian Championship in April. Here’s… Read more: Commonwealth Games Qualifiers - Morgan McDonald is back where he feels most alive: in the mud, in the mix, and with Mick Byrne again
Morgan McDonald doesn’t talk about cross country like it’s a side quest. He talks about it like it’s the original language of distance running: simple, chaotic, brutally honest, and somehow, the most fun you can have while “fighting for your life” through a mud pit. Fresh off the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, McDonald… Read more: Morgan McDonald is back where he feels most alive: in the mud, in the mix, and with Mick Byrne again - “Waking Up From a Good Dream”: Cooper Sherman’s 44.85 and the Ballarat surge
Cooper Sherman still sounds mildly surprised when he says it out loud. Not because he didn’t believe he could do it, but because breaking 45 seconds carries a particular weight in Australian 400m running. It’s a barrier that separates “very good” from “this is going somewhere”. Cover photo by Michael Hall for Inside Athletics On… Read more: “Waking Up From a Good Dream”: Cooper Sherman’s 44.85 and the Ballarat surge - Hall runs fastest 5000m by Australian on home soil as Robinson winds back the clock
Box Hill once again proved a happy hunting ground for Linden Hall, who added the 5000m at the Box Hill Burn to her list of triumphs at the “Home of PBs.” On the track where five years ago she became the first Australian to break 4 minutes for 1500m, Hall targeted the Commonwealth Games qualifying… Read more: Hall runs fastest 5000m by Australian on home soil as Robinson winds back the clock
