Eureka middle-distance running coach Rod Griffin confirmed on Tuesday all three would represent Ballarat Regional Athletic Centre in Athletics Victoria’s XCR’15 relays at Jells Park, in south-east Melbourne, on Saturday.

Griffin said the trio wanted a good hit-out before leaving Australian shores to compete on the European summer circuit and continue their bids to qualify for this year’s athletics world championships.

Birmingham has spent most of the summer sidelined with injury and this will be his second major hit-out, after reaching the men’s 1500m final at nationals last month.

A loyal representative of his hometown, Birmingham’s training partners Gregson and Robinson have adopted Ballarat as their training base and Eureka as their home club.

Robinson has been in stellar form, collecting the Australian 10,000m and 5000m crowns this season and finishing 28th as the top-ranked Australian in the world cross-country championships in China.

This is the first time Gregson, a London Olympian, will test his race on the Victorian cross-country circuit.

They will get a tough hit-out, too.

Geelong is expected to sport veteran Olympian Craig Mottram and Brenton Rowe, who represents Austria internationally, while strong rival Knox has Jeff Riseley in its stable. Riseley edged out Gregson for the Australian 1500-metre title in Brisbane last month.

Essendon is set to send in Australian world cross-country representatives Liam Adams and Mitchell Brown.

Ballarat is yet to confirm its full six-man line-up but it is likely to include Eureka’s Stewart McSweyn, who was last week named in the Australian team to contest 5000m for the Summer Universiade in Korea in July.

McSweyn was a junior member of the Australian world cross-country team in 2013.

Key Ballarat distance runner Duer Yoa is unavailable for the first round.

Yoa will run the Nagano Marathon in Japan on Sunday.

Ballarat will host the XCR road race leg of the series at Lake Wendouree in late May.

melanie.whelan@fairfaxmedia.com.au