Chad Ryan, Paddy Meade star at Stawell Gift for DPS

The middle distance runner came off a 42 metre handicap to win the 550m open final on Sunday and etch his name in the prestigious event's history books.

"To get the win in the 550, it was an absolute career highlight," the 32-year-old said. "It was a bit of shock, I had been trying to win races throughout the year and would have settled for something less prestigious but it's turned out I won the big one.

"Having had a few wins before, this is much greater than anything I've achieved before."

Sharing in the feat was Chad's father Chris, who also has a storied career at Stawell, winning the 70m and finishing third in the 1986 Stawell Gift.

"It made it special, this sport has a lot of family connection," Ryan said. "I know dad enjoys finding out how I'm going and following everything as much as I do."

Spending the better past of the last decade in Melbourne, Ryan's recent plan was to move to Taiwan to teach English. But a twist of fate saw Ryan remain in Warrnambool.

Linking up with Rob Duynhoven and Wayne Perry's training stable, the traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and university student was one of several athletes to compete under the DPS banner at Stawell.

Finishing second in his heat, Ryan's time of 1.11.656 remained good enough to qualify for the final later that day. He started as a $5 chance with bookmakers.

Ryan said the final was the best race he had ever run.

"I knew I had to keep it an honest pace, and not relax too early," Ryan said. "I worked reasonably hard for the first part of the race, then down the back straight I started to make some serious inroads on the people in front of me and I circled most of the front markers at the 200m mark."

It was here Ryan was forced into the defining moment of the race.

"I had to either stick to the inside, cover less distance and stay behind them or go around them and use up a bit of my energy at that point but maintain my momentum," he said.

"I decided to do the latter and it was a matter of maintaining my speed and not tiring. It really came down to the battle of willpower in the last 50 metres."

Ryan went on to win the overall middle distance award after finishing sixth off the back marker in the 400m final on Monday. With the pro running season coming to an end, Ryan said he was weighing up what was next for his running career.

Meanwhile, Warrnambool's Paddy Meade, 14, stunned onlookers with a heart stopping run to win the Gift's under 18 100m event. Taking up the sport at the end of 2020 as a way to get fitter, Meade soon found he had a penchant for the craft.

"I do footy and a bit of basketball and surfing," he said. "I thought I had a little bit of speed, but my coaches have said I've come a long way from when I started."

Meade took the step up to under 18s this year after running third in the under 14s at Stawell last year. He won his first race of the season in the under 18 120 metre event at the Castlemaine Gift, adding he was rarely fazed by racing against older heads.

"There are some older guys, 17 and 18. It used to be a little intimidating but I'm used to it now," he said.

The Warrnambool College student progressed through the heats on Sunday with the fastest qualifying time. Lining up against his DPS teammate Aubery Watson, who won heat two, Meade went on to salute in the final.

"I really go full out at the start and then try and hold at the end," Meade said.

Meade's focus now turns to football with Russells Creek's under 16 team before pre-season athletics training starts in September. Meade thanked Duynhoven and Perry for their coaching.

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