Matter of Time | Robinson Returns to Happy Hunting Ground

For Brett Robinson, the marathon was once a matter of time. Bound for Fukuoka this Sunday, athletics fans will naturally keep an eager eye on his 2:07:31 Australian record, but Robinson’s motivation lies in the nuance of becoming better rather than faster. The job is not done.

Long touted as the man to take down Robert de Castella’s 2:07:51 national record set in 1986, Robinson completed the chase in Fukuoka last December, becoming the fastest Australian man in history with an average pace of 3:01 per kilometre for 42.2km.

“I had a lot of not so great performances and disappointing results, so it was good to have that breakthrough and know that it has all been worth it. There are definitely times when you start doubting yourself and it was just a huge relief. I was proud of myself for sticking through it,” Robinson said.

“Especially the marathon, you put away a couple of months of training and you can be feeling really fit. When you don’t get a good result, you feel like you have wasted the work because there is nothing to show for it. It hurts a lot.”

The record breaking performance makes it easy to forget the 32-year-old’s struggles, but his humble approach to the discipline serves as a constant reminder. Overcoming a recurring stitch problem which derailed his early campaigns, Robinson is not “falling into the trap” of assuming that his best training block yet will make the gruelling distance any easier.

“It’s never easy. If you are running a marathon or any race it’s always going to be as hard as possible. I try to visualise that it’s not going to be the perfect race and that there will be rough patches, and I’m going to have to work through them,” Robinson said.

“The race is set up as a 2:06 or 2:05-high race, which is perfect for me. I will be in it to win it. I will be able to see the leaders if I’m dropping off, and I hope to get into a race in the closing stages because that’s better than worrying about blowing up.”

Locking in training partner David McNeill to pace through half way in 63:00, 20 seconds faster than last year, Robinson hopes to grow in confidence ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with his 2:07:31 performance last December qualifying him for another tilt at the best. The job is not done.

“I have been to two Olympics, making another one isn’t really the goal for me. I want to be there competing and being in that lead pack for as long as I can. I believe that if I have a really good day, I can come top-10, and when I’ve got that on my mind – just turning up isn’t good enough,” Robinson said.

“Obviously I want to try to run faster. When you look around the world, there are plenty of guys running faster than me. I don’t want to think my job is done at 2:07:31, I want to be in a better position going into the Olympics.”

Jogging across the line in 65^th place on the roads of Sapporo at the Tokyo 2020 Games, the physical and emotional stress of the marathon had taken its toll on Robinson. Traditionally a private operator, he penned his “first and last” paragraph on Instagram:

“I’m sorry to everyone that I haven’t produced a good result this time but I’ll keep working so one day everyone sees what I’m capable of.”

That day has well and truly arrived, but a shift in mindset has Robinson motivated from the inside out. A host of the popular For the Kudos podcast, a coach at Pulse Running, and with all of his training public on Strava, the two-time Olympian emphasised the importance of chasing his own goals – supported by coach Nic Bideau who has never faltered in belief.

“Most of my motivation is personal, and then it also comes from my training group. Having the support of the community obviously does help, but getting carried away with all the other people can come with a lot of extra pressure,” Robinson said.

Case in point with a stretch of three marathons in five months last season. In October of 2022, Robinson clocked a personal best of 2:09:52 to finish eighth in London to the delight of athletics fans. Proceeding to clock 2:07:31 for fourth place in Fukuoka in December, Robinson returned to a rainy London that April to finish seventh in 2:10:19.

“When I went to London this year, I ran 2:10 in tough conditions. People thought it was really disappointing and were checking if I was alright. Five months earlier I ran 2:09:52 everyone was saying it was such a great run, but Fukuoka had kind of become the new expectation,” Robinson said.

“It can be hard because we are in a sport where the time matters so much, but there is a lot more to it than that.”

Having redefined the possibilities of modern-day marathoning in Australia alongside female counterpart Sinead Diver, Robinson is reluctant to answer just how fast he thinks he can go:

“If you put those barriers up, you are kind of limiting yourself. When I broke 60 minutes for the half marathon [59:57], I didn’t really think about doing that - I just did it. The goal is to just keep getting more competitive and knocking a bit off every year.”

The job is not done.

The Fukuoka Marathon will begin at 2:10pm AEDT on Sunday December 3, with fellow Australian Ed Goddard also set to compete.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 29/11/2023