ELITE ATHLETE PROGRAM

The Ballarat Marathon is proud to support the next generation of elite athletes within Oceania, providing them with an opportunity to showcase their talent on one of the fastest courses in Australia. Our goal is to position Ballarat as a proving ground for Australia’s top marathon and half marathon runners. While our support program is modest, we believe it offers a unique opportunity for athletes to compete, gain recognition, and achieve their personal bests in an elite racing environment.

We are dedicated to fostering competitive racing and supporting elite athletes who will inspire the running community.

Our assistance is available to athletes who have met the following standards within the last 18 months.

Men’s Marathon: Sub-2:29
Women’s Marathon: Sub-2:45
Men’s Half Marathon: Sub-1:06
Women’s Half Marathon: Sub-1:18

Ballarat Marathon Elite Athlete Program benefits:

Complimentary race entry
Travel assistance up to $250 (reduced to $100 for athletes within 150km of Ballarat)
Exclusive access to the elite athlete area (pre- and post-race)
Seeded elite race bib

To apply for the limited number of places, please email our Competition Manager, Keith "Buzz" Hong, at keith@bmevents.com.au with the following details:

A link to your World Athletics profile (if applicable).
A link to your race results from the past 18 months.
Your current address.
The name of your club and coach (if applicable).

We can’t wait to see you on the start line!

FUNDRAISING

We have partnered with Grassrootz to give you the chance to have a greater impact when you take part in the 2025 Ballarat Marathon road running festival.

You can set up your own fundraising page, supporting a cause close to your heart, during the registration process.

FUNDRAISE TODAY

SUPPORT OUR HEADLINE CHARITY PARTNER

The Ballarat Marathon is proud to partner with the Ballarat Health Services Foundation as our Headline Charity Partner.

Raise $500 for the Ballarat Health Services Foundation and have your entry fee refunded!

The Ballarat Health Services Foundation aims to make our community stronger, healthier and happier. For over 30 years, the foundation has had the privilege of supporting Grampians Health Ballarat to provide exceptional public healthcare for everyone in our community.

Over this time, the Ballarat Health Services Foundation have supported hundreds of projects to provide patient-centred-care, equipment, research, staff training and wellbeing programs.

The Ballarat Marathon and the Ballarat Health Services Foundation share a commitment for good health, performance, adventure and friendship.

Go the extra mile and fundraise for the Ballarat Health Services Foundation to provide exceptional public healthcare to the Ballarat community!

Your fundraising efforts will be used to deliver large transformational projects within Grampians Health Ballarat, or to provide innovative equipment and services, as quickly as possible, to projects with the highest need.

For further information on the Ballarat Health Services Foundation, visit bhs.org.au/foundation or email fundraising@gh.org.au.

* It typically takes 7 donations to raise $500, so it’s well within reach. To be eligible you must reach your target before midnight on event day, and you must apply for the rebate no later than 4 May 2025. If you do not claim your rebate by that date the cost of your ticket will be retained by the Ballarat Health Services Foundation.

DONATE TODAY

JOIN OUR VOLUNTEER TEAM

Volunteering is a fantastic way to be part of our event. We have positions available for all abilities and ages, including:

Drink stations attendants (best for community groups/clubs)
Course & pedestrian marshals
Registration/Info and bag drop attendants
Lead bike riders
On course drivers (Lead car, SAG Wagon & Shuttle buses)
Pre-event assistants
Finish line attendants

Ballarat Marathon can make a donation to community organisations, schools and clubs who volunteer as a group. For more information, drop us a line.

Volunteers will be provided with:

High quality volunteer shirt & hat from to our apparel partner
Snacks & access to our post event thank you afternoon tea/BBQ
Eligibility to win prizes from our incredible event partners
If required, we can sign off on volunteer hours if you are volunteering as part of a program or course

REGISTER AS A VOLUNTEER

GET ON BOARD WITH SUSTAINABILITY

We are committed to continually working to best practice to be a more sustainable event. We all have a part to play and our processes will work to minimise and mitigate our impacts.

Areas we focus on to mitigate impacts include:

Use of compostable and recyclable materials and management of waste streams
Minimising printing and packaging
We encourage participants to use hydration packs and bottle belts
We ask that participants do not litter on course and use designated litter zones

JOIN OUR PACE TEAM

Our pacers are an extension of our volunteer team. A pacer is an experienced runner who will run at an even effort/pace for the duration of the event to finish at a target time while encouraging other runners along the way.

All pacers will be expected to run to ‘chip time’ and pace as evenly as possible without banking time (+/- 30 seconds at halfway and within 30 seconds under the target time at the finish). There are two pacers on each time who will run in eyesight of each other creating a pace zone.

WHAT TO EXPECT?

Any experienced runner can apply, whether you have paced before or not. If you are selected, you will be expected to participate in a 4 week at home training course if you have not paced before or are new to pacing at Ballarat.

You can also expect to work a shift engaging with runners at the event expo and participate in a shake out run over the event weekend.

WHAT DO I GET?

Pacers will be provided a premium race kit thanks to our apparel partner, shoes, and other sponsor products in recognition of their contribution to the success of our event.

You can apply to pace for the following times:

MARATHON: