He hadn't been paying much attention to the sandstone rock on the corner of St James Park since vandals scratched and scribbled on the plaque dedicated to his late wife some two months earlier.

But this time, something made him take a closer look.

"It's hard to explain, but it gave me a really good feeling. Seeing a brand new shiny plaque back on the spot with a fresh photo of Kerryn, it was really calming," Mr McCann said.

"It made me breathe easy. Things felt peaceful."

The memorial to the late runner was installed in 2009 and featured an inscription detailing her glittering career, which included gold medals at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.

When Mr McCann visited the memorial in June to find it covered in scratches and her photo faded almost beyond recognition, his family, friends and the Coledale community were outraged.

Mr McCann said yesterday he had no hard feelings towards the culprits who he understood were "probably just being kids".

He doubted they would have fathomed the level of disrespect they had shown.

On Thursday Mr McCann heaped praise on Wollongong City Council and the staff who had taken the initiative to fix the memorial and made him feel "a whole lot better".

"They've been really great right from the time we lost Kerryn so this is just really cool to see," he said.

"Many thanks to those who were concerned by the state of the old one to get in and fix it."

Kerryn captured the heart of the nation with her marathon win at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Her victory lap with then nine-year-old son Benton remains one of the most enduring images of the Games. She died of cancer in December 2008.