Stawell Gift

The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race. It is run over every Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria.

The race is run on grass over 120 metres up a slight gradient. Competitors are handicapped according to their form, with each competitor 'marked' by between 0 m and 10 m to theoretically reach the finish line at the same time. This process is administered by the Victorian Athletic League (VAL). Due to the relatively short handicap limit, the class of runners that can potentially win the event is limited compared to other Gifts in Australia.

The winner is, hypothetically, the runner who can best 'rise to the occasion' and perform better than their previous form, although the key can often be to perform slightly below their best in lead-up events and thus receive a favourable handicap.