As local and visiting athletes prepare for the upcoming Surf T Surf Fun Run in Warrnambool, their counterparts of 41 years ago undertook a very different route.

The Surf T Surf of 1983 started at McGennen's carpark and wound its way up Pertobe Road.

Like it will be in 2024, the finish line was was at Lake Pertobe, and again like modern times, the race was 10kms.

But the one big difference from 1983 to today was that Liebig Street was part of the course the 444-strong field had to tackle.

And it wasn't just part of the main street, it was its full length, from the Dirty Angel, right down to Moore Street.

From the photo of the runners taken on Liebig Street (above), it appears the road closure plan may have just been that cars don't run over anyone, and look in their mirrors before pulling out.

Having this happen in 2024 would require a bundle of paperwork that would most probably be so big and consuming that it would be put in the too hard basket and an alternative route found.

The winner of the epic 1983 race was Port Fairy runner Brian Johnson, who clocked a time of 32:30.

This time came despite dealing with another incredible traffic control story of the day.

This was a line from a report in The Standard explaining Johnson's win.

"Although having to run between traffic down the Pertobe Road Hill, Johnson was able to complete the course in 32.30".

Yep, you read that correctly, traffic just carried on as usual as over 400 plus runners charged in between cars to the finish line.

For the record, second place was claimed by Kevin Lyons, with Trevor Keilar third. The first woman home, and 28^th overall, was Mabel Mitchell, in a time of 38:57.