Winning Trifecta of Australian Championships

Three Australian Championships were held on Sunday 15 September, The Australian Road Running Championships in Adelaide, The Australian Marathon Championships in Sydney and the Australian Mountain Running Championships in Brisbane.

Australian Road Running Championships

In terrific conditions Jack Bruce (QLD) and Lisa Weightman (VIC) have won the Australian Road Running Championships in Adelaide hosted by the Westpac City-Bay Fun Run.

In the 12 kilometre men’s race – World Championship bound Harry Summers lead out the field aiming to chase down the men’s record of 33.42, but the pack of Jack Bruce (QLD - 34:56), Lois McAfee (QLD - 35:02), Dave McNeil (VIC - 35:04) and others chased him down at the 9km mark and finished the race 1,2,3.

Winner Jack Bruce said:

“It was longer than I’d ever raced before, so I wasn’t entirely sure how I would go at the end but it worked out well,” Bruce said.

“Knowing Harry, he was always going to go out strong, he is in phenomenal shape, he is going to Worlds (IAAF World Athletics Championships) – so good on him but I knew that when we started to catch him he was gone,” he said.

Talking about events he has coming up Jack said:

“I’ve got Burnie 10, Noosa Bolt and then up to Falls Creek for some training and then I’ll be back for Zatopek in December,”

In great news with Jack winning today, Nic Bideau of the Melbourne Track Club has won his 100^th Australian Championship as a coach. Of the achievement his athlete Jack Bruce said:

“Bloody hell - that’s incredible!”

“The environment that he has set up is brilliant, you get exposed to a lot more, you really don’t get any better,” Bruce said.

“I’m very happy I’m in his group and under his guidance.”

Lisa Weightman was the heavy favourite in the women’s field, and comfortably got home in 38:17 ahead of Tara Palm (39:10) and third was Rose Davies (40:12).

“That was really really tough,” Lisa said.

“I tried to run 3:08’s the whole way but I think the marathon training was in my legs,”

Lisa her husband: Lachlan McArthur and their child Pete have just returned to Victoria from having 2 months living in Queensland, she was also up there for the Australian Half Marathon Championships in August – which she won in a record time of 68:48.

“It was just so nice to spend time up there and focus on running, I think it was the best 8 weeks I’ve ever had and we can only hope that it now continues through to the Chicago Marathon,”

Over 26,000 competitors took part in the Westpac City-Bay Fun Run in Adelaide.

Australian Marathon Championships

Queenslander Isaias Beyn and Newcastle’s Ingrid Cleland have been crowned 2019 Australian marathon champions. Held in warm conditions, the race was run in conjunction with the Sydney Running Festival where over 40,000 athletes competed in distances from 3km to 42km, running over the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge before finishing at the steps of the Opera House.

Isaias Beyn was favourite for the men’s race and he didn’t disappoint claiming the win and placing seventh overall in a fast 2019 race which witnessed the fastest ever marathon on NSW soil. Winner, Kenyan Filex Kiprotich clocked 2:09.49, surpassing the fastest previous time in NSW of 2:10.11 by Gezahegne Abera (ETH) set when winning the Sydney Olympic marathon in 2000.

Beyn, a Brisbane-based ex-Eritrean who is an Australian resident, clocked 2:21.16.

“I’m very happy to win,” he said. “I found the course had lots of bends.”

Victorian Dion Finocchiaro was second in 2:24.55 and Tasmanian Thomas Murton third in 2:27.36. Finocchiaro surprised himself as he was initially pacing the women in the race and was using the event as preparation for the Melbourne Marathon in one month.

The women’s winner was a major surprise and not even selected as part of her state team. NSW’s Ingrid Cleland had only a few years ago returned to running after a 10-year break to have children. She clocked 2:52.44, to smash her PB of 3:23 achieved last year in New York.

“I was hoping to go under three hours and I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” said Ingrid.

She returned to the sport three years ago while in Western Australia and initially ran trails. She then moved to Newcastle and joined a local club.

“The Newcastle Flyers are an amazing running club of mentors and training partners.”

It was a clean sweep for NSW with Larissa Tichon second in 2:57.22 and Magda Karimali third with 2:59.30.

TEAM RESULT:

Men

1 QLD (Isaias Beyn, Yun Phua, Paul Tierney)

2 NSW (Andrew Hayden, Kevin Branley, Brendan Davies)

3 TAS (Alister Foot, Thomas Murton, Matthew Zegveld)

Women

1 NSW (Larissa Tichon, Leigha Willis, Magda Karimali)

Australian Mountain Running Championships

The Australian Mountain Running Championships were held in Brisbane and with positions on the line for the World Mountain Running Championships in Argentina this November, it was a great day out.

Ben Duffus from Queensland was the winner with 59.04, followed by Michael Chapman from the ACT in 1:01:09 and Jeremy Hunt from Queensland was in third with 1:01:46.

In the women’s field, Simone Brick from Victoria won in 1:11:21 followed by Jasmine Sargent - NSW in 1:11:43 and third was Audrey Hall from Queensland in 1:12:54.