Former Australian Olympic marathon runner Jeffrey Hunt to run in Gold Coast Half Marathon

JEFFREY Hunt may extend his running career following the bitter disappointment of missing Australia’s marathon team for the Rio Olympics.

Jeffrey Hunt will race in the Gold Coast Half Marathon on Sunday.

JEFFREY Hunt may extend his running career following the bitter disappointment of missing Australia’s marathon team for the Rio Olympics.

The Sydneysider, who ran at the 2012 London Games, was narrowly pipped in the race to secure a spot in the three-man team and was unsuccessful in appealing his non-selection.

“It’s all behind me now,” Hunt, 33, said.

As he juggles full-time work and family life, Hunt has cut his weekly mileage to 100km but admitted the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games remained on his radar.

“I thought maybe if I went to Rio that would have been it,’’ he said. ‘‘I literally would just stop after Rio.

“Next year I probably won’t run another marathon unless I go to London … if I go there then (I) might hopefully pick up an automatic qualifier for Comm Games the next year.”

However, Hunt declared his priorities rested with his career in information technology with the Macquarie Bank in Sydney.

“If I get the right opportunity, the right promotion and that means I basically can’t run any more, well so be it, I’ll actually take it,” he said. “Running doesn’t pay the bills. Funnily enough these days I enjoy my work a lot more than I actually enjoy my running.”

Hunt (pictured) will compete in his first major race since the squad for Rio de Janeiro was finalised when he lines up for Sunday’s Gold Coast Half Marathon.

He has a rich history in the event, having set a personal best of 1:02:44 in 2009 before winning the 21.1km distance in 2010 and 2011.

One of his Olympic successors – Scott Westcott – will be a direct competitor.

Hunt, whose wife Heidi will run in the 10km dash on Saturday, was not talking up his chances.

“I’ve been chasing times before and I’m just better at racing,” he said. “I’ll try to chase times later in the year, probably at shorter distances.”

Not that he was shunning dreams of taking out the Australian Half Marathon Championships, which will be solely decided on Sunday’s outcome.

“I’ve only got one national championship to my name which is the 2007 cross-country one,” he said.

“It would be nice to add a half marathon one but we’ll see what happens on the weekend.

“It should be a reasonably close race between everyone.”