About the Event:

In 1981, the Burke Hall Fathers Association (BHFA) hosted the first “de Castella Run” primarily to honour the achievements of Robert de Castella (DEEK), a former student of both Burke Hall and its senior school campus Xavier College. The event also enabled the association to raise funds to support the activities of the BHFA. Since then, the event has been held every year in August or September and has been organized by the BHFA. With the turn over of parents on the committee over the years, numerous fathers have helped support the event and put in hours of voluntary time to keep the event going, and we are very grateful to all of them. Participant numbers have varied over the years, with more than 1000 competitors on several occasions. The course has varied too. Initially, the race took runners down Studley Park Rd, through the Kew Junction and up Princess Street, from where it made its way down to the Kew Boulevard and back around to Burke Hall. However, traffic management issues resulted in the course heading out and back around the Boulevard.  

In 2008, the BHFA handed over the organization of the event to the Old Xaverian’s Athletics Club (OXAC). The de Castella family has been heavily involved with the OXAC for many years. Deeks dad Rolet joined the club in the 1940’s and was still competing when he passed away in 1997. Most of Rolet’s seven children, including Deek, have competed for OXAC over the years. The OXAC is delighted to be able to keep this event running and look forward to building the event in coming years to be one of Melbourne’s more prominent running events. The OXAC welcome men and women of any running ability to join the OXAC. For more information check out the OXAC website at: www.oxac.org.au

About Deek:

Francois Robert de Castella was born in 1957, the oldest of seven children (5 boys and 2 girls). He attended Burke Hall from 1967 to 1970 and Xavier College from 1971 to 1975. As a young school boy, Deek was only an average runner and finished most cross country event in the middle of the field. However, under the masterful guidance of his school coach Pat Clohessy, Deek rose to prominence during his school years. By the time he left Xavier College he had set a Victorian All Schools 3000m track record of 8:13 which stood for many years. He won the 1500m and 3000m doubles at the coveted APS sports and won numerous other schoolboy cross country and track events. After leaving school he combined serious training with University where he obtained a bachelor of applied science in Biophysics and Instrumentation. His first big break through came when he was selected to represent Australia at the 1980 Moscow Olympics in the marathon, where he finished a credible 10th. In 1981 he set a new World Best for the marathon of 2:08.18 in Fukuoka Japan, and in 1982 he completed one of his most famous victories in the marathon at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games. He went on to compete at four Olympics and four Commonwealth games and several world championships. Below is a summary of his senior running career year by year.