But his path to victory in the John Coleman Mile at last Saturday's Hastings Gift meeting took adversity and hard yards to another level.

The 27-year-old was fortunate to make it to Hastings, on the Mornington Peninsula, looking every chance of being a race-day scratching after experiencing car troubles on Saturday morning.

Preece, who won the open 1600m at Terang last month and has been in career-best form this Victorian Athletic League season, opted to take matters into his own hands.

Read more: Michael Preece outclasses field to secure 1600m Terang triumph

Fearing he would regret a decision to skip the Hastings meeting, Preece made the mad dash to Bendigo station to board a train to Melbourne at 9.30am.

From Southern Cross station he took another train to Frankston, before jumping on a connecting ride to Hastings.

From there it was a two-kilometre walk to the Thomas Barclay Oval, navigating his way via GPS, with his arrival at 2.45pm capping a more than five-hour trip from home to venue.

As Preece himself later pondered: "The stuff you do to run around an oval for four or so minutes."

He added that in the current COVID climate, where cancellations have become a routine part of the sporting landscape, the 'slight' inconvenience of travel was something he was prepared to put up with in pursuit of success.

"Who knows, it could all turn to s**t next week and we might not get to race for another month or the rest of the season," he said.

If the travel had any impact on Preece it did not show, claiming a hotly-contested race as the second backmarker off 80m in a time of 4:22.158.

The win was not without it's usual share of inter-race battles, with Preece drawing on every ounce of resilience and courage to edge his way past Anna Kasapis (off 255m) and fellow Bendigo athlete Ingrid Woodward (off 320m), who finished second and third, in the closing stages.

"I had another runner (Jacob Reed), who started 10m behind me, who I was pretty worried about - I know he is a good runner," he said.

"I thought he was going to latch on to me pretty quickly for the first two or three laps and then go past me.

"He stuck for the first lap, but I thought if I am going to shake him off I am going to have to do it now, so I upped the tempo in the second lap and that seemed to tire him.

"But with two laps to go I was still a good 150m off the leader at that stage, so the third lap was where I made my move and with a lap to go, I was about 60m off the front.

"Luckily I hit the lead with about 150m to go and was able to give it my all the finish line and get the job done.

"The frontmarkers are always a danger and they really made things tough for me, I was just fortunate I had something left in me in that last 200m."

Just to show there were no bad feelings, Woodward, who again had to settle for a minor placing after finishing second to Preece at Terang, spared the victor a long trip home on the train by giving him a lift back to Bendigo.

"I'll be forever grateful. I reckon over the next two or three months we will be hearing a lot from her," Preece said.

"She is going to get a few really good wins, she is always putting herself up there in contention and really has a crack."

Further ensuring it would be a day and win he would never forget, the race was named the John Coleman Mile, in honour of the former Essendon champion full forward, who lived in Hastings as a teenager and played with the town's senior football team.

Preece - a lifelong Essendon supporter and AFL history buff - couldn't have been more chuffed to have secured the coveted trophy and sash bearing the name of the Bombers legend.

"It's definitely one of the biggest moneywise and most memorable wins, for sure," he said.

"I probably count my wins at Maryborough as my most prestigious, but to win at Hastings and to win a race named after John Coleman is a huge honour."

Preece credited a change of coach last year and a solid training period over Christmas and New Year's for his impressive showing at Hastings.

"I had the win just before Christmas at Terang over the mile distance, which was a great surprise," he said.

"But between Terang and Hastings, I put in a good block of training and I knew with my handicap I would have to be in really good shape to be up there with a chance.

"So, I really set my sights on putting in the training and listening to my coach.

"On the day, everything seemed to align. A few of the athletes who I thought were my main competition had off days and I had a good one and came out on top.

"I think the change in coach (to James Hansen) and doing a few new programs has really strengthened me up and I feel confident no matter what mark I'm given I can be competitive."

Preece will look to continue his good form over the mile at the St Albans Gift this Saturday, while fully expecting to be dealt a stricter handicap.

His longer-term aim remains a victory on the grandest stage of them all at the Stawell Gift in April.

"That's the one we all want to be up and about for," he said.

"I've talked to a lot of people who have won at Stawell and they all say it's one of the greatest moments of their life.

"I have been going there every year since I was about 15 and I haven't quite got there, but every time I go, I go that little bit hungrier to try and win one of those sashes and get that victory."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: