Two of the Bega Valley’s finest distance runners will dash home to take part in the inaugural Bega Fun Run on Sunday morning.
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Erwin McRae and Russell Dessaix-Chin are both graduates of Bega High School, who went on to establish solid elite running careers.
McRae graduated in 1993, starting off as a top junior national-level track athlete over 1500m and later moved on to the road where he has won numerous fun runs around the country.
Dessaix-Chin, who graduated in 1995, began as a NSW schoolboy cross country representative, eventually going on to represent Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in Japan in 2005.
McRae and Dessaix-Chin have raced each other many times over the years, and decided to establish a light-hearted “Battle of Bega” tally to see who was the prime distance runner from the Valley.
McRae hung up the spikes in 2012, with both athletes agreeing to call the Battle of Bega a draw.
He then pulled the runners back on later that year to run a long-awaited personal best in the Melbourne Marathon of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 50 seconds.
However, the pair said the battle of Bega had warmed up again recently as the pair trade records in the Bega parkrun event.
Dessaix-Chin currently holds the lead with a top time of 15 minutes 39 seconds.
He said sadly the pair wouldn’t be racing head-to-head on Sunday as he would compete in the 10km distance, while McRae was taking on the 5km distance event.
“I can't wait to come down and support this awesome-looking local event,” Dessaix-Chin said.
“Bega’s flat country roads have been calling out for a fun run for years.
Bega’s flat country roads have been calling out for a fun run for years.
- Russell Dessaix-Chin
“As a former local it would definitely be nice to take the win on Sunday, but you never know who is going to turn up until the gun goes.”
He said it was a shame that he couldn’t meet McRae in the 10km race, but was glad his long-time rival was also returning home to support the run.
McRae echoed the sentiment, saying he was also excited to be part of the event on the weekend.
"I'm really looking forward to running the 5k at the Bega Fun Run,” McRae said. “It's always exciting to race a new event and it's just great for the area to have a race like this on."
Online registrations close tonight (Friday) at midnight, with some late entries available on Sunday morning.
For more information go to http://sapphirecoastrunners.com.au/begafunrun/
