Racing for $1500… in gumboots?

Twenty-nine competitors put on their nicest pair of gumboots today, but not for the usual farm work.

Instead, they took part in a 120-metre sprint as the Gumboot Gift returned to the annual South Gippsland Dairy Expo on Thursday, September 3.

The race drew 17 men and 12 women, who took to the oval at the Korumburra Recreation Reserve wearing standard gumboots for a chance to win a share of $4000 in prize money.

Leongatha’s Sarah Lewis won the women’s event comfortably, ahead of Samantha Sherry in second place and Sarajane McLaren in third.

The men’s race was a lot closer, with Craig Rollinson edging out Michael Hamilton for first place, followed by David Olsen in third.

Lewis, aged 40, collected the $1500 first prize, but said she didn’t enter expecting to win the event.

“I wasn’t really sure if I was going to win. I was just thinking, have fun, don’t hurt yourself and try to catch the girl in front,” she said.

“I caught her, but you never know who’s behind you. You can hear them all coming, so you try and hang on once you get to the front.”

Lewis said she hadn’t undertaken any Gumboot Gift-specific training, although her current routine seemed to make for some ideal preparation.

“I do run five days a week and I wear gumboots most days,” she said.

“So that pretty much set me up.”

Lewis plans to donate at least 20 per cent of her winnings, although she hasn’t decided where the rest will go.

“There are plenty of things I can spend it on,” she said.

“Maybe I’ll just pop it aside for now for my rates or something.”

Competitors were required to wear standard, unmodified knee-length farm gumboots, with dress fitted boots not permitted.

South Gippsland Dairy Expo organising committee chairman Cliff Wallace said the race had been running for about six years after organisers sought a different form of entertainment for people attending the expo.

“Gumboots are everyday footwear for a farmer,” Mr Wallace said.

“We run in gumboots at home, in the mud, and get stuck, so we thought, ‘why not on the oval?’”

The event’s prize pool was divided equally between the men’s and women’s events, with $1500 for each winner, $300 for each runner-up and $200 for each third-place finisher.

Mr Wallace said the money came from sponsorship secured specifically for the race, rather than funds raised by the Lions Club through the wider expo.

A kids’ fun run was also introduced this year, giving young attendees a chance to join in the fun.

Mr Wallace said the race gave attendees some light-hearted entertainment at the expo, which celebrated its 27th year this year.

“It’s a day you can come off the farm, have a look around and talk to your neighbours and friends,” he said.

“It’s just a bit of fun.”