Great Australian Run Report

Great Australian Run Report

Edward Ovadia

Email: edwardovadia [at] gmail.com

In the last weekend of November, the Great Run series finally came to Australia with the inaugural Great Australian Run in Melbourne. Organisers brought with them a very high class field. Take a look:

We had Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest ever in my book;
Constantina Dita, the Olympic marathon champion;
Catherine Ndereba; the world marathon champion;
Patrick Makau, two times world half marathon silver medallist, and more times under 60 minutes than anyone else;
Gunther Weidlinger, 10000m PB of 27:36.46, and Europe's fastest 10000m runner in 2008;
Samson Ramadhani, the Commonwealth marathon champion;
Bobby Curtis, NCAA 5000m champion;
And a host of quality Japanese runners.
 

This, along with all the top Aussies, who came out to support the race:

Craig Mottram
Benita Johnson,
Youcef Abdi,
Collis Birmingham,
Ben St. Lawrence,
Scott Westcott,
Lisa Weightman,
Emily Brikachek,
Holly Emery,
And New Zealand's Alice Mason, the surprise second place getter in the women's race!

Despite being hyped as a world record attempt, in the end it was not to be for Haile, who missed the mark by over a minute. He ran 42:40 and was still well clear of Makau in second place and Collis in third, who passed a tiring Mottram late in the race. In the womens's race, Catherine Ndereba broke away after 6km and never looked back, taking her clear lead all the way to the finish. Alice Mason made a surprise late run to claim second from Lisa Weightman, while a tired Constantina Dita struggled off the back. (But we won't hold that against the Olympic Champion!)

This is the sort of race we need in Australia. Sure the Aussie athletes are good, but especially in distance running, we can't lay claim to being the best in the world. And for our sport to be respected in Australia, we need to showcase the best in the world, to show people what the sport is all about, and what these guys can do. We do get some good athletes for the Melbourne Grand Prix track meet but the exposure is much less; and athletes get less time and opportunity to appreciate Australia and the facilities.

Because the more international athletes we get out here to race, the more likely it is that the come to spend time in Australia. Look at Gunther Weidlinger. He's fallen in love with Falls Creek and Australia after looking for a warm place to train at altitude, and the GAR sweetened the deal. Now he's staying for Zatopek, maybe some other track meets, will be back next season. Similarly for Haile, who has been looking for an excuse to come back to Australia after the Sydney Olympics. Now he has one, and has already expressed his desire to return to race next year.

So yes, it was a shame that Haile missed the world record, and that the telecast wasn't the best. But that shouldn't dishearten people from supporting the race. It will grow, and this is something that we need in Australia. For too long it feels like Australian athletics is only a domestic thing, and that the international starts are a whole world, or hemisphere in this case, away. But that doesn't have to be the case, and it's races like this that attract the big names; which in turn will hopefully attract the public support and involvement in the sport.

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