DELHI Commonwealth Games marathon runner Jeff Hunt has won his second Gold Coast Half marathon title in as many years this morning, leading from the gun to tape.

Hunt’s time of 1:04.04 was approximately one and a half minutes slower than his personal best. However, his dominating display of front running was more than enough to make this victory as sweet as his last.

The win is a sign that Hunt’s preparations for the world athletics championships in Korea next month are on track.

Japanese pair Hiroki Tanaka and Daisuke Koyama filled the minor placings, 44 seconds behind. 

Hunt had this to say post race

"It was a bit slower than I would have liked but from the start I was in front but I was relaxed though," said Hunt.

"But I acheived my purpose which was a to run 64.30... I would have liked to have run well under but going under is under."

In the women's race Lara Tamsett braved a heel injury to finish ahead of Jessica Trengrove. It was Tamsett’s first win in the event. She stopped the clock at 1:12.19 hours.

"I didn't know what to expect but I wanted to enjoy it and try and stay in control but it was painful from the gun," Tamsett said. Abagail Bailey was third.

The Runner's Tribe

THE early smart money in Sunday’s ASICS Half Marathon men’s race is deservedly on 2010 champion and New Delhi Commonwealth Games marathoner Jeff Hunt from Sydney.

Hunt, 28, will be out to become the first runner to win consecutive ASICS Half Marathons on the Gold Coast and is aiming to improve his own personal best of 1:02:44 in doing so.

He'll also be looking to book himself a berth in the full marathon at September's IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, by clocking under one hour, four minutes and 30 seconds.

Despite his experience and knowledge of the Gold Coast course, the defending champion will be challenged by a pair of Japanese speedsters in Daisuke Koyama, 24, and Hiroki Tanaka, 28, and Athens 2004 Olympics track competitor, Brisbane 32-year-old Peter Nowill.

Koyama is out to post a sub 65 minute run while countryman Tanaka has pledged to do the same.

Nowill is the ‘been there, done that’ man in the field, but the six-time national steeplechase champion will need to keep his eyes on the road if he’s to better his 1:04:29 personal best.

25-year-old Ben Toomey from Melbourne could be the smokey in the field.

The 2010 Christchurch Half Marathon second placegetter has teasingly declared he’s just after a ‘good competitive run’ on the Gold Coast.

However he approaches the race, Toomey will have plenty of Australian lead pack company along the course in Jay Phillpots (VIC), Vlad Shatrov (NSW), Bryan Lyons (TAS).

The leading Gold Coasters are likely to be Scott Whimpey, Joshua-Kaleb Faulkner and Matthew Hobbs.

The race record is 1:01:16 set by Kenyan Benson Masaya in 1992. 

WOW!!! That was by far the toughest race I have ever had to run. There was no way back after my legs had decided they'd had enough. I do not have an answer for what happened. All I know is that my race was done by around 19km. No matter how much I tried, I could not hold my position and continued to drift back through the field to finish 13th in 2:25:03.

First off, let me congratulate Michael Shelley on an absolutely fantastic result. A silver medal at his first Commonwealths is awesome and I am so happy for him. As I have said in a few interviews previously, the marathon is an event where the form book goes out the window. It's rare that the favourite wins, and the race on Thursday was no exception. Michael ran terrific, came through the field over the closing stages and I'm sure he will walk away from the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games a very happy man. I also offer my congratulations to Lisa Weightman on her Bronze medal in the womens race. Marty Dent ran on in the second half well to place 6^th.

On to my recap....

I felt great for the race. Those of you who watched it may have noticed that I was near the front through about 10km. It felt so very comfortable, even though we had picked it up from a pedestrian 17min first 5km split to a respectable 15:40-odd second 5km split. When we hit the 10km drink station, the lead group surged the same as they had at the 5km drink station. I ignored the surge again and maintained my 3:10-3:15/km pace, assuring myself I would again catch up to them like I did the first time. Well, I hit 15km, I still hadn't caught them, and was now down by about 30 seconds. I'd ran that 5km stretch in 15:50, so I hadn't really slowed down, they just sped up. I was still feeling great, even though I was on my own.

18km is where it began to get interesting. I felt a stitch coming on but managed to fight it off quickly with some deep breaths, however I didn't realize that my race was coming to an end over the next 2km. I thought maybe I just got lazy and dropped pace so I tried to pick it back up. Strangely, my legs felt pretty heavy. In the 19th kilometre, Michael Shelley caught me and then dropped me pretty quickly. I could do nothing about it. Having problems like that so early in the race was very strange, and unexpected. It's not like I was running world record pace and blew up, I was only on 2:14/2:15 pace. Every kilometre from then on got harder and harder and harder and harder. By the time I had reached 25km, several people had passed me, and I was just trying to nurse my body to the finish line. The 5km splits I picked up on my watch were: 17:05, 15:44, 15:53, 16:19, 16:57, 17:28, 18:08, 18:51, 8:40 (2.195km). As you can see, it got extremely slow towards the end.

I have now experienced the best and worst that a marathon has to offer. I think that this has made me a stronger athlete, and will prepare me for what I will face in the future. I came in with a lot of expectation for myself, but experienced the unfortunate "off-day" that can rear its head when you least expect it. I'm not going to dwell on what happened because what's done is done. I will bounce back and do my best to ensure that my next marathon outing is much more memorable.

After all, I was able to race in an Australian singlet at the Commonwealth Games. While I may not have performed as well as I had hoped, the ability to represent this great country, carrying the hopes of Australia has made me very proud to be Australian. I have no doubt that I will win a Commonwealth Games medal, I will just have to wait another 4 years before I get my next chance. For now, I will have a couple of weeks off, get married and get back into training for 2011 and a shot at World Champs.

Thanks to everyone that has supported me thus far. Please see a list of all of my sponsors and supporters here.

We still have a long road ahead before I reach my potential. I look forward to seeing what the future holds.

This means I'll also be spending one month away from Heidi, but thanks to Skype, at least I'll be able to "see" her while I'm away. Its a wonderful technology which I am not sure I could ever have done without. So long as internet works at Cairns and in the village, I can video-conference with Heidi for free.  Thats right, it will cost nothing, nada, zip! Can't get much better than that. It still doesn't make up for not being able to give her a hug, but its better than just hearing a voice on the phone.

Additionally, this time away means I'm going to have to get someone else to massage and manipulate my body in place of Heidi and Jonesy. Those two have been working on me for years, and know exactly how my body reacts to treatment. Its a comfort zone that you don't really ever want to leave. Keeping up my twice-weekly massage, and weekly Osteopath appointment will be tough when sharing a couple of people with the whole team, but I'll just have to turn up with a plan and book in early.

Cairns is going to be very important for me before I head to Delhi.  It will hopefully help my body get ready for the hot temperatures we are expecting to experience in India. Its always a shock going from cold weather to warm weather, so doing it 24 days before I race means I will be giving my body ample opportunity to adjust, learning to keep itself cool in warm climates. That, coupled with increasing and maintaining my daily fluid intake, is about the best thing you can do to prepare for potential adverse conditions.

Training has been going very well. The body is in check and I'm just reeling of the training runs. In these final few weeks I just have to make sure that I don't overdo it, pushing that envelope a little bit too far. All the hard work has been done, and its almost time to start to freshen up. I would rather go into a race underdone, than overcooked.

So, its six days left of cold, inconsistent Sydney weather before the hot, humid and tropical Cairns weather. Its both exciting and daunting at the same time. Exciting because I'm going to my first Commonwealth Games, but daunting because it means that race day is now rushing towards us. The countdown is on and I can't wait.

CHECK OUT JEFF'S WEBSITE HERE

 Well it's the end of another year of track and field and there were certainly some fantastic performances from our junior athletes. With major championships such as the Commonwealth Games and World Juniors set to take place in 2010, there will again be the opportunity for our athletes to shine on the biggest stage.

By Jeff Hunt.

Share on Facebook

 

I never thought I would see people scalping tickets to an athletics meet, but that's now turning into a common occurrence here. And what's more, people are buying them. It seems people are really excited about having the World Championships in town!

In Berlin there are huge displays, events and installations set up in all the main areas across the city. Twenty metre tracks are set up around town for people to test their speed, sponsors have huge stands which resemble mobile shopping centres, and every open billboard is covered with promotion. And people are loving it. All the promotional events are packed out, there are queues for every stall, and people all over the city are getting into the spirit of athletics.

It's great to see people embracing the sport like this. Hosting the World Championships is a great chance to introduce people in that city and country to the sport, and it's good that Berlin is taking full advatange of this. The cheers that accompany every German athlete, whether the crowd has any idea who they are or not, are inspiring, and soon that athlete will be very well known around Germany.

Even more inspiring is seeing the people on the train coming to watch the meet. Most of them have bought the promotional apparel, talk excitedly about what they are about to see, and are visibly looking forward to what they consider a once in a lifetime opportunity.

This is the kind of passion that athletics needs more of. It's the passion that Usain Bolt and others are trying to inspire. It's the kind of passion that a World Championships or Olympics can bring.

And so far it has lived up to expectations. The stands may not yet be packed out, but the event is very well organised, and everything is being done to ensure that the hype will be justified.

 

Share on Facebook
 

'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

By LEN JOHNSON

You see plenty of shoeboxes around a track and field championships as shoe companies hand out sponsor product like confetti at a wedding.

You don't expect to see the men's 1500 raced in a shoebox, however, yet that's pretty much what happened in a compelling, if slightly bizarre, final tonight.

 

For almost all of a race which went out at the sort of pace you would associate more with a 1950s sub-four minute mile attempt than a 21st century championship, the field of 12 ran as if they were inside a box. A strange box it was, too, with many athletes who might have done something to set the race alight trapped inside by others with no intention of doing anything but wait for the finishing kick.

Gus Choge led initially, but without any noticeable ambition. Among those trapped on the inside were defending champion Bernard Lagat and pre-race favourite Asbel Kiprop. This tight formation held up even when world indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia took the lead coming up to the bell. The third 400 was actually run in 57 seconds (after 59.5, 60.5), but all the quickening came on the first bend of the final lap.

From there, it was a desperate sprint. The imprisoned had no hope. Lagat almost got out with 200 to go, but was cut off by Belal Mansoor Ali and Mehdi Baala to his outside. Kiprop, deep in the field but not so deep as to be able to drop out and come around, literally had nowhere to go.

Such tight formation running is more typical of an 800, so it was hardly a surprise that an 800 man _ 1:42.79 runner Yusuf Saad Kamel _ came with one of the few clear runs of the race to claim Mekonnen in the shadows of the post and win in 3:35.93. Mekonnen, Lagat and Kiprop followed within 0.54 seconds.

Kamel's 800 pedigree is impeccable. His father is Billy Konchellah, who won successive world championships 800s in 1987 and 1991. He finished 5th in last year's Olympic final.

 

Lagat finally found some air to come through the middle of the pack and claim the bronze medal. Kiprop did not get out until it was too late, and came charging home to grab Choge on the line for fourth, but could not push his way into the medals. How he must have rued passing up a half-chance to drop out of the back of the box in the back-straight of the third lap.

Later, Lagat told of how he had been in his hotel room during the afternoon thinking just one thing _ "don't get boxed: stay out of trouble". So, what happened? He went out and found some trouble, a box with nowhere to go until it was too late.

Coincidentally, while this was proceeding so too was a men's discus competition that in its own way also stayed inside a box, Germany's Robert Harting and Piotr Malachowski of Poland marching lock-step in search of the gold medal.

The third outdoor meeting between these great rivals was supposed to be in the 1500 final at the 1976 Olympics. They raced twice indoors in the US in the interim, each time over a mile. Bayi won both narrowly, but we were deprived of the climactic Olympic meeting by the African boycott, ironically, in protest against New Zealand's rugby ties with South Africa. Walker won the gold medal, turning the race into a long, sustained sprint over the final 300 metres.

 

Malachowski opened with a 68.77 metres throw; Harting replied with 68.25. The Pole threw 68.05, his German opponent 67.04. Round three went 67.00 to 67.80 and both fouled in round four.

By now Harting was throwing before Malachowski and he again reached 67.80 in the fifth round. The Pole looked to have landed the knock-out blow with a 69.15. To a massive build-up for his last throw, Harting produced a stunning 69.45. The crowd erupted, but Malachowski had one more throw. Out it flew, again beyond 65 metres, but only as far as 67.33.

The previous night Steffi Nerius had won Germany's first gold medal when her first-round throw stood up throughout the women's javelin. Now Harting did it in the last round. The fans didn't care how he did it, only that he had.

 

Len Johnson was The Melbourne Age athletics writer for over 20 years, covering five Olympics, 10 world championships and five Commonwealth Games. He is the author of The Landy Era, From Nowhere to the Top of the World, and a former national class distance runner (2.19.32 marathon) who trained with Chris Wardlaw and Robert de Castella.

Lachlan Renshaw: 1:45 800m runner, Olympian and Australian Champion

© 2008 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved.

At this year's World Athletics Tour meet in Melbourne a bomb was dropped by twenty year old Sydney-sider, Lachlan Renshaw. Renshaw won the 800m race in emphatic fashion in a time of 1:45.79. The time was a huge personal best and more importantly, an Olympic A qualifier. Renshaw thus catapulted himself into the spotlight as Australia's most promising 800m talent since the likes of Grant Cremer and Kris McCarthy. Lachlan then backed up this breakthrough shortly after, by winning the 2008 Australian 800m title.

Renshaw brings to the track true 400m speed (having clocked a 45:84 split for a 4 x 400m relay). The Runner's Tribe catches up with Lachlan to discuss his breakthrough and build up to his first Olympic games.

RunnersTribe: Lachlan, thanks for your time. You have been one of the top 800m runners in Australia for a few years now, but this year you rose to another level. Why this year?

LR: Well I hadn't recorded a PB for a year and a half prior to this season, but at the same time it was easy for me and my coach to see that my training was improving steadily. I was getting stronger and fitter but 2007 was not the best year for me as I was carrying a few little injuries and the fast times just didn't happen with the races I was dealt. So the run in Melbourne was coming for a while, I just had to get in the right race.

2008 Melbourne GP: 1:45.79

RT: You are coached by John Atterton, how important has his role been in your breakthroughs?

LR: Johnny is the big cheese of 800m coaching. Without him there's no way I could have run as fast as I have. He leaves nothing to chance in the training program, every base has to be covered. The old boy knows exactly how to get the best out of his athletes; you only have to look at his past success to see that.

RT:John Atterton has been the coach of many leading 800m runners. There was a period in which he coached both yourself as well as Nick Bromley. How did you find training with and being around one of your fiercest rivals so much?

LR: When I finished school I didn't have a coach because I'd always just trained with the school coaches during the athletics season. Johnny called me up and invited me to come and train with the National Champion and I jumped at the opportunity. Training with Bromley was a great opportunity for me to see what it took to be at that elite level. Having Bromers to aspire to every session meant I improved rapidly in that first year of training. That season we were more of a team than rivals, we just tried to smash each other every session, and we ended up taking out Gold and Bronze at the Nationals so it was good times.

RT: On the flip side, currently your main training partner is Werner Botha (another top Aussie 800m runner). How important is having such a talented training partner to work with week in week out?

LR: Werner and I train great together. With Nick we were such different athletes. Nick is from a 3k background and me from a 400m background. Wern and I are very similar as we're both 400/800m runners, which makes every rep in training a race to the finish. It's so important to have good runners to train with because they push you to that next level in the hard sessions whereas if you were doing it by yourself it is much harder to push past the pain barriers.

RT: I know people never shut up about Ralph Doubell and you are probably sick of hearing it. Are your sights set on the Australian record? What sort of areas in training do you feel that you need to work on in order to break his 40 year old national 800m record of 1:44.40?

LR: The Australian record is definitely in my sights! At the moment 1:44.40 would place you in about the top 10 in the world. It may be a while off, but the goal is to be the best in the world at what I do, so if that happens, the Australian record should fall somewhere along the way. The great thing is that there are still so many places that I can improve. My 400m speed is getting there, but to run 1:44 I'll have to improve my strength over the 1k and 1500, and there is lots of improvement to be had. Other areas to improve are technique and general strength which are things that can be worked on endlessly.

2008 Australian Championships

RT: So do you plan on ever doing any 1500m races?

LR: Ha ha, ever? Probably. Soon? Probably not… I've done three 1500's in my life and hated them all! Johnny reckons anything over 801m is a meter too far for me, and I won't argue with him. My PB as it stands is 4:11 so I should probably try to improve that some day.

RT: Can you give us a brief description of your training during both the summer season period as well as the winter base period.

LR: The number of sessions I do stays pretty constant, but the quality verse quantity of the sessions is obviously more focused towards the faster stuff in the Summer domestic season. An average week for me would be:

Mon - Weights (am) + track or hills (pm)
Tues - Cross training (am) + Hills (pm)
Weds - Easy run + Weights
Thurs - Usually just track session
Friday - Easy run + Weights
Sat - Quality session or race
Sun - Recovery run

RT: So you do a fair few weight sessions?

LR: I do weights 2 or 3 times a week with the NSWIS strength and conditioning coach Rudolph Sopko. He's a guru in the weights room and can make you hurt in places you didn't know you had. I'm a big believer in needing to have a high power to weight ratio in order to run fast.

Winning the 2008 Balmoral Burn for the third time

RT: Do you have any track sessions which stand out as being your favourite or most worthwhile?

LR:My favourite session is definitely 3 sets of 2x200's (30 secs recovery between reps, 4 minutes recovery between sets). We usually do that towards the end of a competition block to really get some speed lactic tolerance happening. Most worthwhile for me would probably be 4x1k. It's just not fun.

RT: Your time of 1:45.79 is getting down into the arena of world-class times. The 2000 Sydney Olympics was won in 1:45 by German Nils Shumman, off a slow first lap. I presume you are not traveling to Beijing for the scenery and that you are ambitious and positive about your chances of getting past the first round and challenging for a berth in the final?

LR: Definitely, you can't go in half hearted. I've put my life on hold this year to go to Beijing and done everything possible to make sure a good result comes of it. What you don't want is to look back and have regrets about the preparation.

Just to be going to the Olympics is amazing, and to toe the line wearing the Green and Gold on the world's biggest sporting stage is a dream come true. But without a doubt the competition is going to be fierce. The top 2 go through to the semis from each heat, so one mistake and you're gone. But the semis are definitely an achievable goal, and if you're in the semis, anything can happen! You just have to look at Tamsyn in the World Indoors this year, in the right place at the right time.

RT: What do you have planned pre Olympics?

LR:At the moment I'm at our training base in Cologne in Germany. Over here you can just focus on the training 100% and not have the distractions of normal life getting in the way. My first race will just be a low key meet in Jerez in Spain on the 24th of June, then Milan in Italy on the 2nd of July. I'll have 2 or 3 races towards the end of July depending on how I'm running, but the full focus is the heats in Beijing on the 20th of August, so that's when I'll be peaked and ready to open a can.

RT: Do you have any financial backers or sponsors at this stage?

LR: I'm sponsored by Adidas. They have an amazing athlete support system in place. I'm very lucky that I was picked up by them, because they make life as an athlete so much easier. I'm also supported by the NSWIS and Sydney University who both provide great training facilities and athlete environments.

RT:Lachlan, thanks for the interview, all the best with your Olympic build-up and the Olympics themselves. We hope to see you line up in that final.

Lachlan's website

'The full focus is the heats in Beijing on the 20th of August, so that's when I'll be peaked and ready to open a can'
Lachlan Renshaw