Hometown Paralympic hopeful Sam Rizzo to lead Ballarat Marathon 'showcase'

The Ballarat athlete confirmed he would be out on his hometown course competing with about a dozen athletes in a 10-kilometre wheelrace set to start five minutes ahead of the marathon and half-marathon fields.

Rizzo, aged 23, said he had been working with Ballarat Marathon organisers to put on a showcase event that would help to raise awareness of para-sports.

All event courses for the festival have been measured and approved to World Athletics standards and have been signed off as a Paris 2024 Paralympic Games marathon qualifying event.

While the Paralympics do not feature half-marathon or 10,000-metre road races, Rizzo said the 10km would be a great distance.

"It's just a bit of a fun run for me and chance to raise awareness," Rizzo said.

"The 10K will allow for marathoners and sprinters and all ages, old and young, to have a go."

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Rizzo is deep in preparations for the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships to be held in the Japanese city Kobe in late May.

The championships have been pegged as a litmus test for Australia's selections for the Paralympics, which begin on August 28.

Rizzo has been called up to Kobe in the 1500m and 5000m track races.

He staked his Paralympic qualifying time in February for the 1500 metres wheelrace by eclipsing Kurt Fearnley's T54 Australian record for the distance which had stood for 12 years.

Rizzo is vying to become Ballarat's first Paralympian since wheel racer-turned rugby player Greg Smith, who captured Paralympic gold in the 2000 Sydney Games in the 800m, 1500m and 5000m T52 events.

He said he was pleased with how his preparations and training were shaping up.

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The inaugural Ballarat Marathon running festival has drawn more than 4500 registrations for the two-day event, with about 1800 entered in the half-marathon and 1150 in the marathon on Sunday.

Elite 5km and mile (1600m) event will run seperate to mass entries on Saturday, while on Marathon Sunday, everyone is in the field together.

Sydneysider Tom Do Canto is shaping up to be one of the fastest on course with $6000 in a $50,000 prize pool up for grabs to men's and women's marathon winners.

Do Canto clocked a time of two hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds for a top-50 finish in Spain's 2023 Valencia Marathon. A similar time in Ballarat would also earn Do Canto a $2000 time bonus.

Queenslander Ella McCartney is one of the leading female entrants. McCartney ran a time of 2:38.43 to finish seventh in the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon. The first-tier time bonus for women in the Ballarat Marathon kicks in for a sub-2:32:30 run.

Reigning Melbourne Marathon champions Gemma Maini and Reece Edwards will be out on course. Both have signed up for the half-marathon.

5KM

2:30pm - mass start

3:30pm - women's elite start

4pm - men's elite start

MILE (1600 METRES)

4:30pm - mass start

5pm - 16/under elite boys

5.02pm - 16/under elite girls

5:15pm - women's elite

5:30pm - men's elite

7:55am - 10KM wheelchair

8am - half-marathon and marathon

11:15am - 10KM