Breakthrough Buchanan Bound for Valencia Marathon

Ahead of Sunday’s Valencia Marathon, Andrew Buchanan is walking the tightrope of ambition and greed. The Olympian could finish as Australia’s next record holder, the marathon’s next victim, or anywhere in between – such is the nature of the sport’s most humbling event.

In what is widely considered a test of patience and poise, the reality is that you can’t be one of the world’s best marathoners without flirting with danger. Buchanan wants to be exactly that, and more important to him than a safe run this Sunday is the opportunity to fulfil his potential.

“I’m in good shape and it’s a great opportunity, but I wouldn’t call it pressure. People are saying I’m in Australian record shape and I never thought people would mention me in that discussion, so I’m just enjoying it,” Buchanan says.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Brett [Robinson]. The fact that he was the first one to break through and do that, I think that’s the hardest thing. I can see Australian male marathon times getting down to low 2:06 – whether that’s me or someone else.”

A breakthrough year for the 33-year-old started with a 2:08:58 personal best at the Hamburg Marathon before a dream Olympic callup saw him finish 45^th in Paris, replacing an injured Brett Robinson off short notice.

“I was walking into my local Woolies and I got a call from Brett saying ‘I’m out, you’re in’, and the next day I was on the plane to Montpellier. I didn’t even know where Montpellier was,” Buchanan says.

“People have said that I came out of nowhere to make the Olympics, but I feel like I have been training the exact same way for a long time. Some people just see the tip of the iceberg.”

Training the same but shifting his mindset through a sports psychologist which he considers a “cheat code”, Buchanan has unlocked a new level of performance including a dominant win at Melbourne’s Half Marathon in October – clocking 1:01:42 to only amplify the whispers that he could take down Robinson’s 2:07:31 national record in Valencia.

“I used to be really hard on myself. I felt like I was the type of runner who would run well when it didn’t matter, and when it did matter – I wasn’t even giving myself the opportunity to run well,” Buchanan says.

“It has really helped me go from being a good domestic runner to an international runner, I feel like a different athlete. There was a long time there where I was just a good Athletics Victoria runner and that’s probably all anyone ever thought of me.”

The Bendigo product who chalks up 180km per week around his job as a secondary school teacher says he is more interested in effort than numbers when it comes to training, but concedes he is still coming to terms with his Olympic status.

“I didn’t realise how much small towns really get around their Olympians, because they feel like part of their journey and really connected. When I go for coffee or I’m out for a run, people will tell me how good my run in Paris was or where they watched it.”

“I remember getting home from the Olympics and just thinking, how can it get better than this?”

With aspirations of an Australian record and the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on his mind, Buchanan may just answer his own question.

The Valencia Marathon will take place this Sunday, December 1 at 6:15pm AEDT, with two-time Olympian Isobel Batt-Doyle also set to compete.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 25/11/2024