XCR’26 Round 8 – R:Half

Access the Athletics Victoria Entry Portal (members.athsvic.org.au) and complete the online entry form by close of entry date. As per 2025, XCR & Max Package purchasers will need to enter each individual event throughout the season – entries will be free of charge – this will assist in planning for all events.

Individual Entries

*Any competing athlete who is neither a member of an Athletics Victoria club or recreational running club.

**Individuals must be born in 2015 or earlier to be eligible to participate in XCR events.

Same familiar course, just one extra lap around the lake.

Course Map

Getting there using GPS devices

Type “Prince of Wales Car Park, Lake Gardens” into Google Maps or WAZE for directions.

It is then a 300m walk to the start/finish area, crossing Gillies Street North & then along Carlton Street.

Car Parking around Start/Finish Area.

There will be no access to Car Parking in Windmill Drive or on the lake side of Wendouree Parade in this vicinity. Please utilise street parking on Gillies Street North & off-street parking at The Prince of Wales Oval, approx 300m west of the start finish area.

Wendouree Parade (clockwise direction) will be open to traffic throughout the event except for 15 minutes prior to the start of each race where it will be closed in both directions between the Hamilton Drive roundabout and Nursery Drive.

Please be careful when crossing the road around the start finish area AT ALL TIMES.

Respect Local Business Parking

As there are businesses open around the start/finish area during the morning we ask you do not park in this area to allow their patrons to park close to their businesses.

Public Transport

Catch the Vline train to Ballarat and catch the No 26 Bus at Ballarat Railway station to Alfredton and get off at the Victoria Park/Sturt St stop. It is then a 750m walk along Hamilton Drive & Wendouree Parade to the start/finish area.

Buses leave at 8.18am & 9.38am from Ballarat Railway Station.

or a 3.8km walk from the station.

Alternatively continue on the train to Wendouree Station and it’s a 20min walk (1.7km) south along Gillies Street Nth, cutting through the Botanical Gardens at the Horticultural Garden Centre to Wendouree Parade and then continue to head south to the start/finish area.

In the 2026/27 season, there will be no cloth bibs issued. We are committed to reducing our footprint on the environments we use. Your new timing bibs are now made from hardier material, designed to last the whole season – XCR and track! So please ensure you care for your bibs, e.g. do not machine wash, do not fold. Lost or damaged bibs will incur a new bib fee.

All registered athletes are required to wear the approved uniform of their athletics club, or its heritage variant. Non-Athlete AV members are to wear appropriate athletic clothing.

All athletes must wear their allocated 2025/26 AV Membership on their front and back, the smaller bib with the timing chip (foam sticker on the back) to be worn on the front. Non-compliance with the above may see disqualification.

Recreational Runner or Non-Member Bibs & Uniform

If you are a Recreational Runner or Non-Member of Athletics Victoria you are to wear your assigned temporary bibs during the race, if these are not worn you may not receive a finishing time or may be removed from the course.

These are to be collected on the morning from Administration. With large numbers expected, arrive early to be prepared for the race!

In regards to uniform, we encourage members of recreational clubs to wear your recreational running club uniform or alternatively if you do not have a club uniform, or are not part of a recreational running club, you are to wear appropriate athletic attire to compete at the event.

Replacement Bibs

If you have lost or forgotten your bibs, please see the staff at administration, where you will be able to purchase a temporary or full replacement set.

Please note that bib sales at this event will be cashless. Only card payments will be taken.

Please be aware tents & marquees cannot be anchored into the ground using tent pegs. Only weights are to be used to anchor.

The Yacht Club – Lake Wendouree will be open from 7:30am until 4pm on Sunday.

The Yacht Club

18 Lake Wendouree Foreshore, Wendouree Parade

Ph: (03) 5331 2208

Email: info@theyachtclub.net.au

Website: https://www.theyachtclub.net.au/

Pipers by the Lake will be open from 8am until 3pm, with a kiosk for coffee and takeaway food.

They are also open for a post-race sit down meal – reservations are encouraged.

See their website here for a selection of picnic boxes, or to make a reservation.

Pipers by the Lake

403 Wendouree Parade, Lake Wendouree

Ph: (03) 5334 1811

Email: info@pipersbythelake.com.au

In 2026, the Ballarat Half Marathon will carry a time limit of 2 hour and 45 minutes. Athletes who have not completed the course within that time frame will be asked to leave the course, and times will not be recorded.

As was the case for the Lakeside:10, a live camera feed will once again be available for the Ballarat Half Marathon.

This live camera feed is an additional service being trialled by our friends at Athletics Exclusive as we continue to explore opportunities to enhance Athletics Victoria’s event livestreaming capabilities.

The feed is not intended to be a full broadcast production, but rather a trial to help assess what is practical and sustainable for future XCR events. We greatly appreciated the feedback received following the Lakeside:10 trial. While we would love to deliver a full broadcast experience featuring commentators, multiple camera angles, live graphics and other production elements, this is not currently feasible.

Instead, Athletics Victoria and Athletics Exclusive have chosen to make this test available to members who are unable to attend in person, providing an additional way to follow the event while we continue to evaluate future livestreaming options.

With forecast weather expected to create challenging conditions, combined with the logistics of covering a road race using a single camera, it will not be possible to provide continuous coverage of every age group and gender throughout the event. We appreciate your understanding as we continue to trial and refine this service.

Please follow this link to view the action.

Clubs must provide helpers in accordance with the duty roster.

Any club who fails to supply Club Helpers may face disqualification for an XCR’26 event and/or lose team points for a particular competition.

Athletes are requested not to warm up on the road near the start/finish area, especially before the Half Marathon start. There is a running track around the Lake; however, please respect the general public on this pathway. Be cautious of cars moving in a clockwise direction along Wendouree Parade.

If you have issues entering the event, please contact Athletics Victoria PRIOR to the closing date. This can be done via email to sportdelivery@athsvic.org.au or by phoning the Athletics Victoria office on 7032 8400 and leaving a message explaining the issues you are experiencing. Athletics Victoria will not accept any late entries. Emails received after the closing date will not be accepted.

Presentations will be carried out after the results for each event are verified.

If you have finished in the top three in any of the following events, please ensure that you are available for presentation – located adjacent to the finish area:

21.1km Female: Open, Wheelchair
6km Female: U20, U18, U16, U14

21.1km Male: Open, Wheelchair
6km Male: U20, U18, U16, U14

Please take any rubbish you have with you, or dispose of the rubbish in the provided rubbish bins.

In particular we ask that you keep public roads clear of energy gel waste.

Kombi for a Cause will be onsite providing coffee and small snacks.

Meet Miss Harris will also join us on the day, selling a selection of food, such as:

• South Melbourne Dim Sims
• Egg & Bacon Burger
• Hamburger & slider option
• Lollie bags for kids
• Bags chips

Cold drinks

• Gatorades
• Soft drinks
• Bottled water

Toilets

There is a public toilet block between the Half Marathon & 6km start lines and also 12 portable toilets available.  Please note these are on the west side of Wendouree Parade.  Please be careful crossing the road AT ALL TIMES as traffic is allowed to travel along Wendouree Parade in a clockwise direction.

Free Period Products

Athletics Victoria is committed to helping everyone participate comfortably. At events where portable toilets are in use, free period products will be available for anyone who needs them. You can find them on the amenities table, alongside hand sanitiser, at one end of the portable toilet block.

Results, including live results, XCR Team Championship ladders and XCR Individual Championship ladders will be published through out the XCR season on the Athletics Victoria ResultsHub webpage – https://athsvic.resultshub.com.au/

Net times will be available for the Half Marathon only. Athletes are able to view both ‘gun’ and ‘net’ times for this event via Results Hub.

When viewing the Ballarat Half Marathon results, click the ‘athlete’ button. A search box will appear. Type the surname of the athlete you wish to view, then, once you have selected the name, click ‘fetch’ on the right-hand side of the search bar.

The athlete’s results will then appear, with both ‘gun’ and ‘net’ times.

In previous events, we have had an approximate 1.5% fail rate (15 out of 1000 athletes) for net times. This is often due to athletes blocking their timing chip by having their arm across their chest to start their watch.

We encourage you to start your watch prior or post the starting line to minimise this occurring. If you still have not received a net time, please complete the query form here prior to 5pm Monday 10th August,  provide an athlete’s bib number that started next to you across the start line, and we can update your net time based on this athlete’s start time.

Colmed will be on site throughout the day. They will be situated at the start/finish line, and also situated out on the track during the event. If anyone needs first aid, please ask an official/club helper to radio through and first aid will be out to help.

Athletics Victoria has an Unfavourable Weather Policy in place for the upcoming XCR’26 XCR season. Please note we will let athletes and team managers know any information regarding this before the day or make announcements on the morning of the event. Please listen out for these throughout the day for any extreme weather announcements.

Possession or use of video recording devices by an athlete on the course during their race may be allowed with prior approval from the Competition Director or Chief Referee for each race. The imagery recorded cannot be used for live streaming during the current race by the athlete.