The duo's humans Tilly Coutts and Meg Hope work for the homegrown, nationwide pet specialists and have seemed keen to join in the walk to boost cancer research in Ballarat.

Ms Coutts and Ms Hope said both their pooches were very social and the walk was a great chance to see other people out raising money for a good cause in the community.

The six-kilometre walk about Lake Wendouree is a popular family feature for the annual Ballarat Cycle Classic, which is the major annual fundraiser for Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute.

PETstock has been building a large crew from its teams in Ballarat, Melbourne and Geelong to get involved.

"It's about being in the community and having fun," Ms Coutts said.

"It's part of our health and well-being program Fit for the Future, being the best versions of ourselves."

Fit for the Future has been best known for PETstock hot laps - times when all staff are encouraged to get up from their desks and do a quick walk about the block. Ms Coutts said this initiative had been back in full force the past year since pandemic restrictions had eased.

This is set to be the seventh Classic with PETstock bringing strong support to the Classic event, ensuring the walk officially became pet-friendly.

Ms Hope said the pace for employees to get involved was set from the top.

"There's great leadership. [PETstock co-founder] David Young always gets involved in the walk and that's a big advantage encouraging all in the business to be included," Ms Hope said.

IN OTHER NEWS

There are plenty of ways families can get involved in Ballarat Cycle Classic.

As well as the walk, there is also a 6km lake ride and a 28km adventure ride that starts and finishes at Lake Wendouree and takes in the Yarrowee trail for a taste of cycling in the bush.

The Classic has a two-day program featuring gravel ride events in Black Hill on the Saturday and the road rides and family events based at the lake on the Sunday.

FECRI, which produces internationally-recognised work, has key projects in immunology, breast cancer, bowel cancer, ovarian cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, renal cancer, Langerhans cell histiocytosis and brain tumours.

Every cent of entry fees directly supports FECRI, Australia's sole regional-based cancer research hub and receives no government funding. The institute, has set a target goal of $240,000 for the Classic this year.

Ballarat Cycle Classic is on February 18-19.

Enter: ballaratcycleclassic.com.au.

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