After completing a marathon a month ago, Spence, by his own admission, had done “next to nothing” over the past four weeks in regards to training.

But that did not stop him from turning in a time of 37 minutes and 26 seconds to cross the line in first place – more than two minutes clear of second-placed Duer Yoa.

“This was a bit of a test,” Spence said.

“It’s a little more intense.

“A marathon’s a lot slower, this is a bit faster – they all hurt the same.”

Spence is building into his track season with the intention of running in the Tokyo marathon in March.

Meanwhile, Selma Kajan was the first woman across the line, clocking in at 44.54.

Kajan competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics and is normally an 800m runner. In fact, Sunday’s Run Ballarat was the first 12km race she has competed in.

While Kajan had nothing to compare her time to, she felt she ran well.

“This is a bit of base training for myself,” Kajan said.

“I train about 80km a week, so I felt reasonably comfortable doing it, but racing is a totally different ball game.”

The 26-year-old is hoping to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Whitney Sharpe finished second with a time of 46.08.