His first international race on home soil since Sydney 2000. His final time donning the green and gold uniform to represent Australia. And chasing a gold medal in the first ever wheelchair marathon as part of the largest integrated Para-sports program in Commonwealth Games history.

Many significant moments await the retiring Hamilton champion on the Gold Coast over the next fortnight and Fearnley, now a father of two who turned 37 last month, just can’t wait.

“I’m going to do my absolute best to take that first lap and soak in the opening ceremony,” Fearnley told the Newcastle Herald.

“Soak in that last time I get to race in front of 40-odd thousand Aussies cheering on their team doing the warm-up lap before the event. There’s just so much I’m excited about and having a crack at the win is just one of them.”

Much has changed in Fearnley’s field throughout the two decades following his debut and he feels like this upcoming event, which he’s been involved with from the outset, will have a lasting impact well beyond his own farewell.

“When I was actually part of the bid process to win the Commonwealth Games for the Gold Coast, being successful at integrating or combining the Para-sports program was in the DNA of GOLDOC [the organising committee],” Fearnley said.

“From ground floor they’ve included the idea that we will have the biggest, most integrated sports program that the Commonwealth Games, well the world, has ever hosted.

“Seeing that progress into a reality over seven years has been great. The Para-sports program has been intertwined in the Commonwealth Games, on and off, since 1994 and now we’ve got over 30 gold-medal events.

“Knowing that in 20 years time the conversation of what a Commonwealth Games athlete is, will look and sound very different.

“It’s nice to see people with disabilities are being part of that conversation. From the ground up when we started to host it and will continue to be the people that shape what it is to be a Commonwealth Games athlete in the foreseeable future.”

Making the experience even sweeter for five-time Paralympian Fearnley, being recently named co-captain of the Australian athletics team alongside world-champion hurdler Sally Pearson.

He described the leadership appointment as “bloody awesome” and posted this on social media: “Really honoured with this one. The principal of Carcoar Public School in 1985 had to fight for me to be included into a mainstream education setting. 2018 I get the honour of co-captaining a combined Able & Para Australian Athletics Team. It’s been a journey. Bring on GC2018!!”

Fearnley, who was born with sacral agenesis, left his home town in the central west of NSW the day after he finished high school in 1998 bound to train full-time in the big smoke.

Before he knew it teenage Fearnley found himself in the middle of the Olympic Stadium at Homebush, not only “overwhelmed” but “hooked”.

It’s been followed by countless kilometres, marathon victories all over the globe, crawling the Kokoda Track, winning the Sydney to Hobart and collecting a combined 20 Paralympic, Commonwealth and World Championship medals.

“It does feel like 20 years,” Fearnley said. “There’s a few frequent-flyer miles through the shoulders, but I’ve loved it. A lot of learning experiences, a few humbling moments and some out-of-this-world experiences that were bigger and crazier than what I could have ever imagined.”

Fearnley, who trains under coach Andrew Dawes at Newcastle’s “blue track” near National Park, said the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will be his last hurrah in Australian colours but the racing chair won’t be packed away just yet.

“I’m never going to be done with running,” he said.

“I’ll push a wheelchair and race a wheelchair for the rest of my days. I’m better at being a dad, a husband or whatever it is when I’m active so I won’t stop completely. But this will be it for the green and gold stuff and it’s been one hell of a ride.”

After such a decorated career on two wheels, the perfect script for Fearnley’s swansong would be claiming both the 1500m and marathon titles.

“You go into a Games intending to give that gold medal a red-hot crack,” the men’s t54 competitor said.

“You don’t pull on the green and gold unless you’re going out to be pretty fierce in it.”

Preliminaries for the shorter distance at Carrara Stadium take place on April 9 before a decider the following day.  Fearnley won the same race in Delhi eight years ago and was second in Glasgow in 2014. The 42.1km finale is set for the last day of competition (April 15) in and around Southport and Broadwater.

Fearnley is one of more than a dozen from the Hunter region representing Australia at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“The guys we’re sending up to these teams aren’t just really talented, tough athletes, they’re people I’ve got so much time for,” Fearnley said. “They are genuine, honest and humble. Everything Newcastle pitches themselves as, is represented so obviously in these guys.”

Benn Harradine (discus), Erin Cleaver (T38 long jump, 100m), Celia Sullohern (5000m, 10000m) and Cameron Crombie (F38 shot put) join Fearnley on the track and field.

Katie Ebzery, Damian Martin (basketball), Natasha Scott, Aron Sherriff (lawn bowls) and Matt Dawson (hockey) are amongst the team sports.

Lauren Parker (Para-triathlon), Meg Bailey (swimming) and Pip Malone (weightlifting) make their maiden appearances while three-time Olympian Dan Repacholi (shooting) aims up having already clinched five Commonwealth medals since Melbourne in 2006.