Van Raaphorst kicked out to a commanding lead as the 24 kilometre race went on.

While his opponents reeled him in to an extent, Van Raaphorst always looked a likely winner, eventually crossing the line in a time of 1 hour, 40 minutes and 37 seconds – 65 seconds clear of his nearest rival.

Van Raaphorst, who runs for Ballarat YCW, said he expected a tough race and was pleased with his performance, his race plan working out perfectly.

“When we got to the start line, I knew a couple of the other guys, so I knew there would be a bit of competition there,” Van Raaphorst said.

“I didn’t go too hard from the start, I wanted to make sure I had enough in me for the last half.”

Van Raaphorst finished ahead of Nick Earl (1.41:42) and Erik Ueda (1.44:24).

Van Raaphorst is an experienced campaigner when it comes to trail runs, often plying his trade on the Invermay and Creswick tracks.

He is no stranger to the Daylesford route, which was evident on Saturday.

“That’s the kind of running I really like...it’s good to get out and find new trails.”

Van Raaphorst will race in Geelong on Saturday, before turning a focus to the new year.

Former Ballarat resident Rebecca Beagley was the top female finisher, completing the race in 2.04:35.

Beagley was well clear of the next female runner, over four minutes ahead of Rebecca Wilkinson.

Former world junior cross country representative Jack Davies took out the 13km event.

The Ballarat runner, who was the training partner of Stewart McSweyn during his time in Ballarat, produced a quality run, finishing in a time of 54:18.

Meanwhile, in the women’s 13km run, Karla Treweek came out on top. The Wendouree Athletics runner finished with a time of 1.07:01, nearly five minutes ahead of her nearest rival.