Buchanan shatters Australian Marathon record in Valencia

The Australian men’s marathon record has fallen in spectacular fashion in Spain, with Olympian Andy Buchanan delivering a career-defining performance, while Isobel Batt-Doyle soared to third on the Australian all-time list at the Valencia Marathon tonight.

Hailing from Bendigo, Buchanan (Scott Westcott) made history as the first Australian to dip under the 2:07 barrier. His record-breaking run of 2:06:22 eclipsed Brett Robinson’s 2022 mark by more than one minute (2:07:31), finishing 16th in a high-calibre field. 

Averaging 2:59 minutes per kilometre, his performance caps a breakout year in which he earned a late call-up to the Paris Olympic Games.

“I feel like I’ve really transformed as an athlete this year,” Buchanan said.

“I felt confident I could go around the 2:07:15 mark, and I kind of had this thought where the record would have been a bonus after such an awesome year, so if I go for it and blow up, I’d still look back on the year and be really happy with it. I still consider myself to be the guy from Bendigo that does a bit of running. It’s going to take me a while to process that I’m the Australian record holder.”

In achieving his record, Buchanan also ran below the qualification standard of 2:06:30 for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September 2025.

“At the last 10km, I was trying to do the math on the record but I was so fatigued. I realised I had two minutes left to break the record at the 400m mark, so I made my goal 2:06:30 to try and get that World Championships qualifying standard and I did it. I’ve got so much confidence in myself,” Buchanan said.

Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) shaved 28 seconds off her personal best with an impressive 2:22:59 performance to finish 8^th overall, moving to third on the Australian all-time list, overtaking fellow Olympians Genevieve Gregson and Lisa Weightman. The South Australian followed her compatriot, also qualifying for next year’s World Championships.

Both highlight the rapid progression of Australian marathon running. It was only two years ago Sinead Diver (2:21:34) and Robinson broke the long-standing records of distance running icons Benita Willis (2:22:36 in 2006) and Rob de Castella (2:07:51 in 1986).

Now, Buchanan leads a new generation of Australian marathoners pushing the boundaries even further.

“I think Brett and Sinead were the trend-setters. They were the first ones to make those big jumps and we’re just following in their footsteps. Brett showed that I could do it and, credit to them, they worked at it for so long and now we all feel like we can do it too because they did,” Buchanan said.

“The floodgates are definitely open. I will definitely enjoy this record for as long as I have it, but it’s going to take me a little bit to process it.”

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 1/12/2024