Australian record under threat in National Half Marathon

This Sunday dozens of Australia’s elite road runners will escape the cool winter temperatures of the southern states to race at the Sunshine Coast in the Australian Half Marathon Championships. They will join hundreds of local recreational runners competing in the ‘7 Sunshine Coast Marathon Festival’ held throughout the weekend.

A super field in the women’s race is certainly capable of making history and claiming a bonus $25,000 for breaking the Australian All-Comers record of 69:00, held by Lisa Weightman.

What are the prospects the record could be broken?

The course is quick and is the venue of the second fastest ever women’s half marathon time in Australia, recorded last year by Sinead Diver who clocked 69:20. Since then she has run quicker with a time of 68:55 in Japan in February. Weightman set the record in 2010 on the Gold Coast, but three months ago in Noosa ran 70:04 and is in red hot form following a sensational 31:55 road 10km in Sydney last weekend. However, could Ellie Pashley be the dark horse? She ran 69:20 in Japan in December and also has progressed since then.

The three athletes raced 23 days ago in less than ideal conditions on the Gold Coast with the following results: Diver 1:09:46, Ellie Pashley 1:09:51 and Lisa Weightman 1:10:32.

The holder of the all-comers record, Lisa Weightman, is looking forward to running. 

“I’m excited to be able to take part this year as I was all set last year and got the flu!”

Likewise Pashley is excited about the race.

“I’m really looking forward to the race next Sunday. I haven’t done any of the Sunshine Coast events before, so I’m not really sure what to expect.”

With the quality field on the start line, Pashley is hoping for a lifetime best.

“We have a really strong field again in the women’s, so I’m hoping it means we can push each other to some PB’s. I’d love to take a few seconds off my 69:20 PB. There’s some amazing prize money on offer so that’s obviously going to push us all to run faster. I think sub-69 is a long shot for me, but the pace will definitely be on in pursuit of this, so I’ll just try and go with it for as long as I can.”

One athlete that could surprise is the third member of the Victorian team, Melbourne-based Ethiopian Makda Haji Harun. A 70:39 half marathoner she has not been racing recently, but at her best, she certainly is podium potential.

The team of Weightman, Pashley and Harun look unstoppable for the team title.

“Representing the Big V is always a privilege and I hope to do our team proud,” Weightman said.

There is a terrific group with PB’s between 74:30 and 76:00 minutes, which should ensure a quality second pack in the race. Commonwealth Half Marathon representative, Casey Wood (SA), heads this list with her 74:47 PB from 2018, but World Cross Country Championships representative, Leanne Pompeani (ACT), is on the improve and looks set to revise her recent PB of 75:10.

Two athletes who will be running with an extra step in their stride are Rochelle Rodgers (WA) and former winner of this race, Melanie Panayoitou (QLD), who were last week named in the Australian team for the IAAF World Championships. The 2:34 marathoners own half-marathon PB’s of 76:51 and 75:17, respectively.

“Being selected for the Australian team is a dream come true,” Rodgers said.

“My goal for the weekend will be to just run as close to my personal best as possible. Now that I'm in marathon training, any speed I had is slowly dwindling with the longer runs and higher volume training sessions. However I’m looking forward to a good hit out and to run a race I haven't done before.”

In the men’s race, the financial bonus of an Australian All-Comers record is rather steep at 61:11 minutes. But if anyone can challenge that mark, defending champion and red-hot race favourite Jack Rayner (VIC) could. The Commonwealth Half marathon champion set his PB of 61:01 in Cardiff in a very competitive race. He ran 64:20 to win this race in 2018 and has a fastest time of 62:30 on Australian soil, recorded in the challenging conditions on the Gold Coast three weeks ago.

Competition for Rayner could lay with a few athletes and maybe not who you expect. First and second in the last two races, Collis Birmingham owns a stunning PB of 60:56, but his last race was the 2018 edition where he ran 64:13 and is probably, at best, in that form. 

Another who has not raced since last year’s edition is Irish international Kevin Batt. Raised on the Central Coast of NSW, Batt was fourth in 64:22. 

But the main competition for Rayner could well be Melbourne-based, Great Britain international Nick Earl. Last year he was fifth in 64:39, just outside his PB of 64:31, but he has moved past that form with his 2:14 marathon in March.

Two of Rayner’s Victorian teammates, Tim Logan and Max Ueda, look the next best competition. Both have clocked solid times earlier this month on the Gold Coast with Logan running 66:00 and Ueda 67:26.

David Tarbotton for Athletics Australia