There's the elite runners, the weekend warriors, the sprinters and then there's others like Mick Marshall who challenge themselves to take on a Ballarat Marathon festival run despite all odds.
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Mr Marshall received one of the biggest cheers of the weekend when he finished the half marathon on Sunday, having completed the 21.1km on crutches.
"It's the toughest thing I've ever done," Mr Marshall said minutes after crossing the line in a time of 3:47:40.
With his support team Aiden Domic and Ethan Baker by his side this half marathon was an all together different challenge from the desert endurance races he once took part in.
Mr Marshall was severely injured in a fall from a wind turbine three years ago and has since undergone eight major surgeries and lives with complex regional pain syndrome.
"I slipped off a ladder 120m up and was rescued ... it turned my life upside down," he said.
Before the accident the ultra-marathonner had completed some of the most gruelling events in the world but he now lives in a "pain world of seven" and had to carefully manage his half marathon preparations and event.
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After he crossed the finish line he said the hurt was worse, but not the pain.
"The only way to treat complex regional pain syndrome is through movement and motion, so I thought I'd create awareness," he said.
"I'm retiring from running today ... this is my last run ... and what better way to go out than with the community I've run with for such a long time.
"For Ballarat it's a good day with a great injection of community spirit ... and for myself and this battle I've got there's millions of people dealing with chronic pain all the time."
Mr Mitchell was one of more than 4700 people, each with their own reason for running, to sign up for the inaugural Ballarat Marathon, smashing the original goal of organisers to have 2500 participants.
On Saturday runners tackled races and mass participation events over the mile (1600m) and 5km while Sunday morning competitors raced on the roads across the 10km, 21.2km half marathon and the full 42.2km marathon distance.
The winners of the main 42.2km marathon event, Sydney's Tom Do Canto, who won the men's race in a time of 2:17:04 and Queenslander Ella McCartney who took out the women's event in 2:40:55, both vowed to return for the 2025 Ballarat Marathon to defend their titles.
Ms Murphy's husband Mick said last week it would be like people were "running for her" after a call was put out on social media for runners to show their support for the Murphy family by wearing a touch of lemon yellow, which was one of Ms Murphy's favourite colours tied to her love of the Richmond Football Club.
Ballarat Marathon running festival co-founder Adam McNicol said his head was spinning at the success of the weekend.
At least half of participants travelled more than 100km to take part providing an economic boost to the city with accommodation across the city booked out and restaurants heavily booked across the weekend.
"This was an event built for everyone in Ballarat. We had a vision we wanted to bring people here, to show off what a beautiful city we have, to fill up the restaurants, fill the accommodation and create a massive benefit for the city," he said.
"A mate and I dreamed up the idea of the event three years ago so to see it come to life with such strong support from the local community and the running community has been mind-blowing."
He said one of the hardest parts was "convincing everyone we could do this in Ballarat" but with thousands of people competing and their supporters and the community lining Sturt Street and along the marathon route it was clear the event had been a success.
"We've been so lucky to have people from all over the country, and the world, come to take part including some of the nation's best elite runners and thousands of passionate locals," he said.
Race director Steve Moneghetti said the support for the event had been overwhelming.
"The Ballarat community has embraced the event, and the runners are here in numbers. We want the Ballarat community to realise this is a big event for the town.
"As a proud local, it's been fantastic to see so many people come into town to celebrate our first marathon event and cement the city's place on the Australian sporting map," he said.
Tourism Midwest Victoria chair John Pandazopoulos thanked cafes and traders in the CBD who opened early to support the event, allowing runners and their supporters to get their coffee and food for the morning.
"We have had a tough time and this is a great bounce back," he said. "It's a quieter time after the school holidays and this was a good weekend to put it in to the event calendar."
It wasn't just the city's hospitality and accommodation providers who benefited from the event. Entrants raised more than $100,000 for more than 200 different charities and causes including the Ballarat Marathon's official charity partner The Ballarat Health Services Foundation.
The 2025 Ballarat Marathon running festival will take place on April 26 and 27.
EARLIER
After months of preparation, countless hours of training and preparation, runners have taken to the course in the inaugural Ballarat Marathon.
For four minutes the start line outside Ballarat Town Hall was a stream of runners crossing to start their event.
Red Coats from Sovereign Hill fired their musket to get the runs underway on the stroke of 8am.
The massed start involving thousands of competitors had runners competing in the half marathon and full marathon courses.
Ten minutes earlier, competitors in the 10km wheelchair race set off with local Sam Rizzo crossing the finish line victorious in his home town.
"It was pretty hard with a few climbs ... I'm not the best climber," Rizzo said.
On Saturday afternoon, runners took part in the 5km and mile (1600m) races around the CBD streets.
Read more about Saturday's events here.
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