Matt Beckenham grew up in the amateur ranks, was part of the AIS program in Canberra and represented Australia in the 400m hurdles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He had never paid much attention to professional running until his career was cut short because of injury and he started to shift his focus to coaching. One trip to Stawell changed all that.

"I came along with a mate and I was like, 'You're kidding me, I'm never going anywhere else for Easter'," Beckenham said.

"Just the drama of it, I instantly fell in love with the event and the whole reasoning behind professional running."

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