The Stawell Gift is steeped in history, with more than a century of tradition making the footrace one of Australia's most iconic sports events.
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But in recent years, a group of hometown supporters has created a new tradition which adds to the spirit and joviality of the Easter weekend.
The "colour boys" will return this year, a group of friends from around the region who spend the weekend together, enjoying the Gift and everything else Stawell has to offer at its busiest time of year.
"Every year we've tried to go bigger with more friends included," organiser Jamie Bach said.
"No one wants to miss this time of year, watching the horse racing, footy and cheering on all the runners competing at Stawell wearing the chosen colour."
The group started in 2013 with pink tops, and have gradually rotated through different colours.
The group chooses a different colour shirt each year, reflecting those of the bib colours athletes wear across the weekend. They donned yellow last year and blue the year before that, with black the choice this year.
"Black was something a little bit different," Bach said.
"Luke Versace won the Gift in what was nearly a dead heat a few years ago in a black bib. He has come back pretty often since then and we have met him a few times and know he is a really good fella. So the black bibs were a bit in honour of him this year."
Former Stawell athlete Ash Cowen said running in front of the colour boys is an experience like no other.
"Running in front of those guys was one of my favourite parts of coming back to be honest," he said.
"I am good mates with a lot of them so to have guys like that cheering and throwing all their support behind you is pretty special.
"They create a real buzz and atmosphere that is hard to replicate."