2006 Stawell Gift winner Adrian Mott said the decision to move the race back three weeks, from mid-December to early January, has ensured a stronger field and, in turn, boosted the event's status.

A field of 83 runners, including two Stawell Gift winners and a pair of African internationals, have entered the feature event of the Run for the Willow meeting at Cricket Willow near Hepburn.

Mott said that moving the race from the very start of the professional running season to today meant the professional athletes were further into their build-up toward the Stawell Gift, and that it was more attractive to amateur athletes because there was less of a clash with national championships.

"It's a lot better because a lot of the athletes are in better shape," the 22-year-old from Essendon explained.

"At this time the professionals are building up to the bigger gifts while the amateurs aren't focused on their Grand Prix events. These days there's not that big a distinction between professional and amateur really, but this date suits both.

"It's a good one for the amateurs because at other meetings they might only get one race in a meeting but here they can do two or three."

Mott is one of the backmarkers for today's feature race with a mark of 2 metres, the same as last year's winner Cameroon's Sani Biao.

2007 Stawell Gift winner Nathan Allen has 0.5m start on them with a mark of 2.5m.

The wild card could be Nigerian Bola Lawal, who is yet to receive a mark. Lawal is primarily a 400m runner but showed a remarkable turn of speed at the Maryborough Gift on Tuesday.

Many of the competitors for today's feature race ran in 40-plus degree heat at Maryborough on New Year's Day, while others such as Mott ran at the Burnie Gift, where conditions were milder.