This time Fraser Walsh's marathon-running parents were carrying his drinks

Competitors turned up from Bendigo, Heathcote, Melbourne, Victoria and interstate for the April 21 event, which features a collection of running, walking and cycling competitions in and around Heathcote, and raises funds for the Heathcote Dementia Village Project.

The 31 relay teams entered this year set a record, Preston said, while Fraser Walsh's result in the male category of the The O'Keefe Rail Trail Marathon was another standout of the annual event.

Overall, "it was fantastic, really good," he said. "Helped along by some beautiful sunny weather."

Twenty-nine-year-old Fraser Walsh had always wanted to run the O'Keefe Rail Trail Marathon, but the timing was never right.

Both his parents had done it.

In fact, the couple have run marathons all over the world, with his mum, Frances Walsh, earning a rare Abbott World Marathon Majors six star medal last year for completing six major international ones.

But this time the pair appeared as a support act, following their son along with drinks and gels.

A Bendigo boy who moved to Brisbane to compete in ironman events, Walsh has "definitely done a few events," he said, but had never run a straight marathon.

He won on Sunday with a time of 2:32:37, a full four and a half minutes ahead of his closest competitor, David Staehr.

After the win, Walsh had a little bit of recovery time then "went straight to the Heathcote Bakery and pigged out", he said.

As a professional athlete "you go through your highs and lows", he said, and it had been a rough year in 2023 so the win was a welcome one.

But whether he would be back next year was unclear.

"It was bloody hard," he said. "My legs are definitely sore."

Former Strathfieldsaye local Stacey Bulger blitzed the women's half marathon more than 15 and a half minutes ahead of the next competitor, Sheena Carney, with a time of 1:31:08.

While she had done the challenge in a relay team before, it was "completely new and different" to run it by herself, Bulger said.

Still recovering from injury, the Melbourne-based physiotherapist was running to a plan developed by her coach, and didn't have high expectations.

"We couldn't have asked for a better day weather-wise, and the trail is just so good to run on," she said.

"I just found myself in front.

"Once I broke away from the girl I was running with, it was fairly clear."

Also surprised by a win was Bendigo-based Ekiden relay team 'Not really runners'.

Leader Liam Hutchinson, who had entered the challenge for the first time in a team, explained how he and a friend came up with the idea.

"We were two family friends who combined our family teams, the Christensen and Hutchinson family," he said.

"We sort of came together and entered the relay event and we won!"

Six members, ranging in age from 50 to 17, split the marathon distance, each running a leg of between 3km and 9km.

"Some of us are just recreational runners," the 23-year-old said.

"I'm not as serious as other people. I do it to keep fit."

"It was a really great day.

"We surprised ourselves."