The Landy 2025 Registration

Attention all Masters’ quick sprint and sprint endurance athletes !

Victorian Masters Athletics’ proudly announces ‘The Landy Trophy’ for 2025

Victorian Masters Athletics’ (VMA) unique event – affectionately known as “The Landy” - is

back again in 2025 for its 16th edition. This event, founded by VMA stalwart Richard

Trembath back in 2000, is considered unique with no other event that combines both sprint

speed and endurance like it anywhere else in the world !

The event is named in honour of one of the icons of Australian athletics, John Landy. He was

the second man in the world to break the four-minute barrier in the mile run and held world

records for the 1500-metre run and the mile race. He was also the 26th Governor of

Victoria from 2001 to 2006.

Previously there have been nine past winners of this event. Last year’s winner was Karen

Carah W55. Under a new guideline adopted at last year’s event, a person can only win the

event once – with each winner being declared a “Landy legend” – and becoming a member

of a select club in VMA’s emerging folklore. This change was reflective of VMA’s mantra of

participation and also adds to the aura of “The Landy” in that from now on, each year there

will be a new winner. Although the event is run by VMA it is open to any registered athlete

world-wide.

The event is based on age-graded handicaps and is contested by athletes across all masters

age groups from 30+. The maximum number of entries for the event is 64. “The Landy” is in

the same mould, in both concept and prestige, as Victorian horse racing’s WS Cox Plate - a

feature event of Melbourne’s spring horse racing carnival, in that handicaps are based

purely on age. In “The Landy” athletes compete off distance handicaps on the basis of “the

older you are, the less distance you run”.

The event format is as follows: there are two qualifying rounds – the first is a 200m age-

graded handicapped event and then the second about 40 minutes later is a 1,000m age-

graded handicapped event. Athletes are then graded in each event based on the overall

placings and the eight athletes with the highest combined placing scores will contest a 400m

age-graded handicap final. In addition, there will be a consolation final for the athletes

ranked nine to sixteen from the two qualifying rounds. The total nominal distance of the

three Landy events is 1600m, which is just nine metres shy of the distance of John Landy’s

signature event – the mile. In future years it is planned to have a “Landy legends 400m final”

before the main final.

The winner of “The Landy” will win a sash and a custom-made trophy valued at over $500,

which they retain. They will also keep for a year the honour board which features the names

of all past winners. The consolation final will have a “winner take all” cash prize. Further

there will be cash prizes to recognize one Landy stalwart (a person who has competed in the

event many times) and for this year for first time “unlucky losers” (eligible to those who

haven’t made one of the two finals).

A newspaper article back in 2005 (when the event was run for the sixth time) described

“The Landy” as “…the most prestigious on the Victorian Masters athletics calendar”. The

article went on further to add that “(the event) provides a stern test of speed, stamina,

versatility and durability (for athletes)”.

“The Landy” represents a challenge for all athletes contemplating entering and with the

hope of winning it – there are no arbitrarily set handicaps that can be subject to

manipulation here! In now it’s third year back on the VMA summer events’ calendar it is

hoped that masters’ athletes will be inspired by the “thrill of the chase” – and the fun of

competing in this unique event – and to become obsessed with the notion that “this year

could be their year”. Of course success can come in many forms; it could be they graduate

to the consolation final for the first time, or even better still get to compete in the main

final, or “dare to dream” that in 2025 they break through to become the 10 th “Landy

legend”.

Refunds

Refunds will be given up until the Friday before competition in the event of injury or unforeseen personal circumstances.

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