Aussie marathon star's 'relief' on road to Paris

2 years ago 111

After competing successful the toughest variation of the satellite cross-country championships successful history, Australian marathon record-holder Brett Robinson has shifted his absorption backmost to the streets of London.

Robinson finished 31st successful the satellite cross-country championships astatine Bathurst's Mount Panorama and present has 8 weeks to finalise his mentation for the London Marathon, to beryllium held connected April 23.

The 31-year-old became the sixth Australian to person breached 2 hours and 10 minutes successful a marathon when helium achieved the feat astatine a postponed London Marathon successful October past year, posting 2:09:52.

He had an adjacent amended tally astatine the Fukuoka Marathon 2 months later, registering 2:07:31 arsenic helium sliced 20 seconds disconnected Robert de Castella's 36-year-old nationalist record.

Robinson has wide goals arsenic helium looks up to the London contention and Paris Olympics marathon, which helium qualified for successful Fukuoka.

"I inactive privation to get amended astatine marathons. I've tally a mates of bully ones now, but I privation to marque definite each 1 I'm doing is simply a bully 1 earlier the Olympics," Robinson told Wide World of Sports.

"Pretty overmuch I'll conscionable bash a fewer much marathons, and hopefully by mid adjacent twelvemonth I'm nailing each 1 I do.

"I privation to effort to tally faster again, truthful interruption my ain record. I deliberation I tin tally a debased 2:06.

"And past astatine the Olympics going for a top-eight presumption would beryllium a beauteous bully goal.

"I consciousness similar I tin bid a spot harder. What I've been doing is grooming to tally 2:07 with the times I've been running. Now it's grooming to effort moving 2:06 and moving faster successful my reps. But it is benignant of conscionable much of the aforesaid and conscionable improving connected it, feeling amended astatine it."

Robinson volition diagnostic successful his 3rd Olympic Games arsenic the rings instrumentality to Paris for the archetypal clip since 1924.

He reached the 5000m last successful Rio but has miserable memories of the Tokyo Games, having finished 66th successful the marathon arsenic helium struggled location successful 2:24:04.

He said it was a "big relief" to publication his summons to the Paris Games aft the Fukuoka Marathon.

"Now that it's happened truthful aboriginal I tin ore connected getting myself acceptable for the Olympics," Robinson said.

The combat for the 2 different positions connected the Australian men's marathon squad is intense.

Among those vying for enactment are Liam Adams, Andy Buchanan, Ed Goddard and Patrick Tiernan.

The conflict for spots connected the Australian women's marathon squad is adjacent hotter, with Jessica Stenson, Lisa Weightman, Eloise Wellings, Ellie Pashley, Milly Clark, Izzi Batt-Doyle, Genevieve Gregson and Leanne Pompeani among the contenders.

One spot connected the women's squad is already taken aft Sinead Diver clocked 2:21:34 successful the Valencia Marathon connected the aforesaid time arsenic Robinson's Fukuoka run. The Ireland-born Australian broke the 16-year-old grounds owned by Benita Willis.

Robinson volition articulation 4 of the 5 fastest marathon runners successful past successful the London Marathon: Kenenisa Bekele, Kelvin Kiptum, Birhanu Legese and Mosinet Geremew.

The lawsuit could besides people the final contention of four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah's illustrious career.

"It'll beryllium a bully opportunity to tally fast," Robinson said.

"It's brainsick erstwhile you spot the entries travel retired each twelvemonth and it's conscionable getting amended and better. It's bully to beryllium successful it."

The satellite cross-country championships successful Bathurst are being remembered arsenic the astir gruelling variation successful past due to the fact that of the people and chaotic weather.

Runners tackled a plethora of hills, a muddy billabong, soil and a chicane formed by tyres.

The somesthesia dropped from 36 degrees to 26 by the clip of Robinson's race, but the upwind threw down utmost challenges of different kinds for the elder men.

Huge gusts of upwind kicked up, causing a particulate storm, and unthinkable strikes of lightning lit up the sky.

Robinson said competing astatine Mount Panorama was "totally different" to racing a marathon.

"That 1 (in Bathurst) you conscionable consciousness similar you're going hard the full time. It's conscionable painful, it hurts," helium said.

"Whereas successful the marathon you're benignant of relaxed for a spot of the contention and it's conscionable about redeeming vigor arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

"In Bathurst, you're conscionable trying to get implicit hills arsenic hard arsenic you tin and beryllium successful the race.

"When you deed the partition (in a marathon) you're conscionable moving retired of energy, whereas successful 10km cross-country you're conscionable getting much tired, the hills are damaging you, you get to the apical of a elevation and your legs are heavy.

"On the archetypal thigh (in Bathurst), a histrion astir apt 10m disconnected the people conscionable fell down.

"It was conscionable a brainsick race."

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