The Community Bank Lancefield Gift is set to return to Lancefield Park on Saturday, promising an exciting day of athletics, featuring some of Australia’s best runners and the spectacle of the Highland Games.
With $6000 in prize money for both the men’s and women’s 400 metre Gift it is Australia’s richest 400m race. The $5000 on offer for the two big 120m sprints ensures some of Australia’s top runners will be in attendance.
After a triumphant revival in 2024, the first running of the Gift since the 1960s, this year’s event is shaping up to be even bigger and better. The 2024 meeting drew a record number of entries and glowing praise from athletes and spectators alike.
“Last year’s Gift proved that Lancefield could host a truly national event, the atmosphere, the racing and the community support were all incredible, so we knew we had to make it even bigger this year,” event organiser Chris Dynon said.
The 2025 edition will feature an expanded program of running events, the debut of November’s other big Cup, the Lancefield Cup over 800 metres, and the exciting addition of the Highland Games, ensuring a full day of sport for all ages.
First staged in the late 1800s, the Lancefield Gift was once one of the most popular meetings on Victoria’s professional running circuit in the 1920s, drawing athletes from across the state. After going into hiatus in the 1960s, it returned last year for the first time in over half a century, reclaiming its place as a key event on the Australian athletics calendar.
Last year’s women’s champion, Bella Pasquali, returns in 2025 to defend her title after an incredible season that took her from Lancefield Park to the World Indoor Championships in China just a few months later, where she won a bronze medal for Australia. Pasquali’s win at Lancefield was one of the highlights of the 2024 meet. Starting as the backmarker, she looped the entire field to take the Gift in spectacular fashion. On the men’s side, the Lancefield 120m Sprint proved to be the leading guide to the Stawell Gift, with half the field in the Stawell final coming out of the Lancefield final including winner Jasper Thomas, who went on to finish second at Stawell.
“When you’ve got half the field in a men’s Stawell Gift final and a World Indoor bronze medallist for Australia coming out of the meet from last year, then you are right up there with the big Gifts in Australia,” Dynon said.
The success of the Lancefield Gift owes much to the efforts of local volunteers, community groups and sponsors led by the Community Bank Lancefield and Romsey (Bendigo Bank), whose support has been vital to the event’s rebirth and growth.
“The Community Bank’s support goes far beyond funding,” Dynon said.
“They’ve been with us from the very inception of the idea, helping us revive an event that’s not just about running, it’s about local pride, celebrating the great history and putting our town on show to people from all around Australia.”
This year’s meeting introduces an exciting new feature event, the inaugural Lancefield Cup, an 800-metre race that revives the historic Matthew Maher Handicap, a half-mile event that was one of the meeting’s showpieces during the 1920s and 1930s. The Lancefield Cup adds a middle-distance element to the day’s program and connects Lancefield’s running heritage with a new generation of athletes.
“Australia now has two great Cup races to celebrate each November,” Dynon said. “The world-famous Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday, and, just a few days later, the Lancefield Cup over 800 metres right here in Lancefield.”
It’s not just about running this year. The 2025 Community Bank Lancefield Gift program will also feature the Lancefield Highland Games, a crowd-favourite addition that will bring strength and spectacle to the day. Events will include traditional displays such as the caber toss, heavy hammer throw and other Highland disciplines, showcasing a blend of Scottish heritage and raw power that’s sure to entertain spectators between the footraces.
The Highland Games kick off early, starting at 8.30am, with the caber toss scheduled for 1pm. Meanwhile, the athletics program begins at noon, with the 800m Lancefield Cup scheduled for around 3.30pm, the 120m sprint finals at 5pm, and the rich 400m Gift finals, the men’s and women’s features, taking place just after 6pm.
EVENT DETAILS
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Lancefield Park, Lancefield, Victoria
Highland Games from 8.30am
Athletics from noon | Lancefield Cup 3.30pm | 120m Finals 5pm | 400m Gift Finals 6pm
$6000 prize money for both Men’s and Women’s 400m Finals
Featuring the inaugural Lancefield Cup (800m)
Plus the Highland Games – Caber Toss, Hammer Throw and more
