George Nelson Shepparton Gift in the books for 2024

Zoe Neale claimed top honours in the women’s 120m feature event, recording the only sub-14 run with a raw 13.968 seconds (on pace for an 11.64 if the race was 100m) to cross the line one-fifth of a second clear.

Though Nathan Riali, earmarked as a prime contender, was scratched, the men’s field had plenty of competition.

With a lesser wind adjustment than the women’s final, Jared Glover would claim honours with a tight 12.472 seconds (equivalent to 10.39 on a 100m track) to take out the men’s event.

Both Shepparton winners earned half-metre bonuses for the iconic Stawell Gift, which is due to run in its traditional Easter timeslot.

Gerard Adams said the altered date had no negative impact on the day’s atmosphere.

“It was a fantastic event, with a really good atmosphere,” Adams said.

“We didn’t keep a tab on the numbers, but you would have thought there were over 500 people.

“It was great weather, with fantastic blue skies and we had some really good numbers in our senior races.

“I tried to keep up with some of the sponsors in our celebrity race, but not terribly well.

“Overall, we’re very happy with the event. It was probably double the size of the crowd we had last year.”

Of course, Adams had expressed particular ambitions to make the Gift an even bigger spectacle at the showgrounds for years to come.

There are no guarantees about the Australia Day timeslot, but as part of a weekend double-header with the Wangaratta running, there may be a new preferred home on the calendar for Shepparton’s event.

“It was good quality racing all day,” Adams said.

“We’re looking forward to next year and changing up the format a bit.

“There’s an opportunity here to build a relationship with Wangaratta, so we could do (this date) again and run both of our events at night to have people stay in our region.

“We’re just working that through with the Victorian Athletic League and the council.”

One idea floated involved staging a 120m track for events like the Gift contained within the circular track for longer races, with marquees lined up along the inside as a pit lane-style set-up.

Not to mention the excitement typically associated with twilight and night events, featuring festivities like fireworks displays.

For now, though, Adams is pleased with the positive environment fostered by those on the track.

“All the athletes were close together in their marquees and then supporting each other during the running,” Adams said.

“We run a lot of races in western Victoria, so people often come across the SA border for those, but we didn’t expect so many to come to Shepparton.

“I want to shout out to all of our 18 sponsors; without them, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we’ve done so quickly.

“We’re hopeful of winning Gift of the Year.”