Elites Lead Bumper Melbourne Marathon

The storylines were endless on the streets of Melbourne as over 40,000 participants flocked to the Melbourne Marathon Festival, led by a host of Olympic and local talent as Reece Edwards and Gemma Maini were crowned champions on their home turf.

The Men’s Marathon served up an instant classic in a drama-filled 42km, with local Reece Edwards (self coached) playing his cards right to beat home a duo of Olympians in 2:14:34. With Liam Adams (Ken Hall) attacking the race in typically aggressive fashion, it took former Australian 1500m record holder Ryan Gregson (Nic Bideau) over 35km to chase him down, but Gregson never hit the front as Edwards roared past simultaneously.

The experience prevailed as Edwards made marathon number 11 a winning one, while Gregson battled hamstring cramps in late in the race to hobble across the line in 2:14:54 on debut, followed by the determined Adams who hung on for third place in 2:15:37.

It was a dream debut for Gemma Maini (Matt Davy) who conquered the Melbourne Marathon on her first attempt at the distance, racing to a performance of 2:35:25 to break the tape at the home of sport. Paced to perfection, Maini only extended her lead as the kilometres piled up, finishing ahead of Olympian Milly Clark (James Fitzgerald) who secured second place with a run of 2:41:27.

Three-time Olympian Genevieve Gregson (Nic Bideau) produced one of the runs of the day with a dominant victory in the Women’s Half Marathon, tearing to a new personal best of 1:10:07 to dismantle the field by over five minutes.

Transitioning to the roads after double Achilles surgery and the birth of her son Archer, Gregson has set three consecutive half marathon personal bests and delivered a marathon debut of 2:28:33 on the Gold Coast, with her trademark toughness holding her in good stead as her budding marathon career fuels the dream of a fourth Olympic Games.

The margin was smaller in the Men’s Half Marathon, as Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) produced his third win at the event with a run of 1:03:09 to fend off the valiant Seth O’Donnell (Sean Williams) in 1:04:02.

O’Donnell threw down the gauntlet with a series of surges in a bid to dethrone Rayner, but the Australian record holder over 10,000m proved too strong in the closing kilometres as he streaked away en route to a victory lap of the MCG. Fellow Olympian Matthew Clarke (Adam Didyk) claimed third place in 1:04:13.

The Men’s 10km was won by David McNeill (Nic Bideau) with a punishing kick to take down a slick field in a time of 29:10, beating home Zach Facioni (Craig Mottram) who registered another strong result of 29:18. Olga Firsova (Ernie Gruhn) proved superior for the women, stopping the clock in 32:52 ahead of Holly Campbell (Jeremy Roff) in 33:06.

For full results from the 2023 Melbourne Marathon, CLICK HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 16/10/2023