1996 was the first occasion when the Australian Centurions entered the Ballarat Ekiden Relay and Merv Lockyer had this shield made up as a remembrance of our second place finish. The race consisted of 7 laps of 6km around the lake and our team was Merv Lockyer, Tim Erickson (2 laps), Bill Dyer, Clarrie Jack, Ian Jack and Carmela Carrassi. It was a handicap based event, a format that gave a lot of old timers like us a bit more of a chance!