Riseley headlines Retravision Herb Hedemann mile field

Date: 6th April 2012

Jeff Riseley, Australian third fastest man ever at 1500 metres, headlines the field for Monday’s Retravision Herb Hedemann Invitation Mile at the Australia Post Stawell Gift.

Not surprisingly, the 25-year-old from Harkaway in Melbourne’s east has been allocated the scratch mark, from which he will give up to 110 metres start to out-marker, New South Wales veteran Brad White, who will be running in his eighth “Herb”.

Riseley, who in September last year went within just .25 seconds of bettering Ralph Doubell’s long standing national 800 metres record, has recently been nominated for his second Olympics.

Monday’s race will be a chance for the precocious talent to redeem himself for the miscalculation he made at his previous appearance in the Hedemann when he and his fellow backmarker, Collis Birmingham, went way too hard early and caught the entire field by half way.

“I’ve been watching YouTube footage of past Herb Hedemanns in preparation for Monday. I don’t want a repeat of 2007,” Riseley said.

And he is not without advice on the subject with plenty of suggestions to him that something similar to the even 60 second per lap approach taken by Kenyan Collins Cheboi in his fine victory last year might be the way to go.

Apart from the video analysis, Riseley’s preparation for the big race will include the perhaps unusual plan of catching a wave or two en route to Stawell over Easter.

He will need to be both patient and in form come Monday, as he will first have to make up the gap to his closest rivals, Geelong AFL recruit Mark Blicavs (30m) and rising 800m star, Alex Rowe (45m).

Together they will then set out to catch the middle and out-markers including 2008 winner Ben Toomey (65m), last year’s National Carnivals Athlete of the Year, Tasmanian Jerome Whiteley (90m) and AFL boundary umpire Michael Marantelli (100m).

The 2012 Retravision Herb Hedemann Mile will be run at 12.10pm at Central Park, Stawell on Monday, 9 April and will be the opening race on ONE’s live broadcast of the Australia Post Stawell Gift carnival.

The field is:

Jeffrey	Riseley	VIC	0
Mark	Blicavs	VIC	30
Alex	Rowe	VIC	45
Daniel	Clark	VIC	50
Tim	Norton	VIC	60
Milaan	Lottering	VIC	65
Ryan	Geard	VIC	70
Ben	Toomey	VIC	65
Sam	Crowther	VIC	80
Rick	Whitehead	VIC	80
Brady	Threlfall	VIC	85
Douglas	Hamerlok	TAS	85
Nicholas	Wightman	VIC	85
Joshua	Nolan	VIC	85
Jerome	Whiteley	TAS	90
Andrew	Patten	VIC	90
Harry	Smithers	VIC	95
Ned	Donohue	VIC	95
Tom	Hardham	VIC	100
Michael	Marantelli	VIC	100
Daniel	Balassone	VIC	105
Cody	Williamson	VIC	105
Bradley	White	NSW	110

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