39 Kilometre mark

On the flats between the Travelling Stock Reserve and somewhere a little bit further on than that.

Billy Pearce at millbang

Already showing form, here's a great shot of eventual winner Billy Pearce beginning to feel the sensation of at least a fingerhold on the trophy. Past Millbang, about to hit the humps which can prove exciting in a car at 80 clicks, but when you take them at running pace, the excitement is far more cerebral and subtle in nature.

15 K feed station

15 k Feed Station manager Julius ten Dam reported that all went down a treat the other side of Pete Granger's.

15 k James Hill rounds up the volunteers

More of the same - PIT SIDE!!! WITH JAMES HILL!!

Billy thumping down to 15 k

And here he comes - Cattle Ahead!! Yeah right, they don't bother our Billy Pearce, as he shows here some terrific form leading up to the 15 k station.

Tania Hadlow's preparation phase at 15 k

At the 15 k, Tania Hadlow prepares to make her entrance, selecting a couple of snakes and lollies before taking over the baton from a rampaging Ann Hill.

Concrete Flyover at 20 ks - is it a coincidence?

At 20 k mark, the Black Dog course sends a vibe down the main eastern seaboard transport corridor, the mighty Hume Highway. The Black Dog marathon is more Hovell than Hume.

I'll go the umbrella thanks

What more could you want under an underpass?

Pure pace, Hadlow in full flight

Tania Hadlow absolutely creaming it into the back blocks of Breadalbane.

39 k

Another shot of one of those tickets. Thanks JR for putting them up, and Julius for pulling them down.

Help me Rhonda!

Rhonda put on a great display at the 41 k mark. NOT FAR TO GO NOW!! 'Help me Rhonda, help, help me Rhonda...!'

The nerve centre, where it all starts, and, well... finishes too.

Move over Times Square, take a leap Trafalgar, THIS IS THE FINISH LINE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST NEWEST MARATHON CONDUCTED IN THE LAST 12 HOURS.

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And again.

Wow. Look at these people!

From all over the world they came, and even Frank Ross put in an appearance.

The Black Dog (plus two chicks having a natter)

Kate and Kruger about to get bowled over by the black dog!!! Thanks Storm for showing up right on cue.

A thin cross-section of the extensive volunteer effort

Look at those naff volunteers!

Could it be one of the greatest moments of his life thus far?

By this stage, word had really spread, Pearce had finally done it. After years of trying, Billy Pearce has made a final conquest. Winning a marathon. What started out as an innocent low-key affair, stayed that way, and paved a path to certain victory in what must have been a conspiracy to get selected as part of the United States of Collector's Beijing Olympic Team, here we see a triumphant Pearce breasting the finishing tape (with added pegs for decoration).

Thanks to Lucie McKay and Campbell Kruger for holding up the finish line. 

Second place getters

What a sight!!

More exciting than a Barbara Streisand concert, that's for sure!!

Well done to Kathy Staples, Julianne Collins, Ann Hill and Tania Hadlow crossing the line equal second in the Collector Black Dog Marathon. 

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