Cooper, 42, has entered the 120-metre gift unsure of his chances of adding another title to his resume.

The athletics coach bypassed the Warrnambool Gift last year but has entered both Victorian Athletic League events this weekend.

Cooper said tackling the south-west double — on Saturday at Warrnambool and Sunday at Terang — might hinder his chances of going back-to-back.

“I didn’t get the chance to do Warrnambool last year,” Cooper said.

“I might have been fresher (at Terang) than some of the others who took on both.

“It’s going to be a very busy weekend. I’ll run in Warrnambool, Terang and then go straight to Melbourne for a meeting.”

The veteran runner said he had no set goals this weekend.

“If I am feeling good on the day, I’ll run well,” he said.

“If not, then bad luck.

“It is all about enjoying it and keeping fit and healthy. That’s the way I look at it.”

But Cooper will take strong form into the heats after winning the Sandringham open 100-metre sprint earlier this month.

“I was a little bit surprised,” he said.

“I actually didn’t know how I would go.

“I rocked up and enjoyed it, made the final and won it — when you’re 42 you don’t know how you’ll go.”

Cooper’s long-term focus is on the Stawell Gift at Easter.

He didn’t compete in the historic competition’s main event — the 120m gift — heats last year despite building strong form in the lead-up but is a past semi-finalist.

“The Stawell Gift is always the goal,” Cooper said. “It’s our grand final — we love it.”

Cooper runs a coaching business — Coop’s Stable — in Ararat.

Essendon footballer Lauchlan Dalgleish won the 2011 Terang Gift under Cooper’s guidance in 2011.

justine.mc@fairfaxmedia.com.au