Gold Coast Marathon: Sunday action live
KENYAN Kenneth Mungara has set a race record winning the Gold Coast Airport Marathon in under two hours and nine minutes.
Gold Coast Marathon
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THE Gold Coast marathon has cemented its place as a quality event on the international stage after three runners broke the 2:09 barrier in this morning’s race.
Kenyan Kenneth Mungara set a race record to win the men’s event in 2hr 8min 42sec.
Japan’s Risa Takenaka won the women’s event in 2:28.25.
It follows a cracking half-marathon earlier this morning with Japan’s Takehiro Deki and Australia’s Eloise Wellings winning the 21.1km.
KENYANS PUT COAST RACE IN SPOTLIGHT
IN PICTURES: HALF AND FULL MARATHON
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2PM: THE final runner has crossed the finish line at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon.
Brisbane’s Jennifer McGuinness ran last in her third Gold Coast marathon today.
But the 68-year-old has a different outlook.
“There’s only about eight people in the race in my age bracket so let’s say I came eighth,” she laughed.
“I would like to keep doing this until I’m 70 but I’m feeling pretty tired after that.
“It was definitely a marathon.”
9.45AM: Kenyan Kenneth Mungara has won the Gold Coast Airport Marathon in a record time of 2hours 8 mins 42 seconds.
The 41-year old hairdresser set a new masters world record, Australian Allcomers and Gold Coast Airport Marathon race record beating last year’s winner Silah Limo and Evans Ruto.
It took 22 years for Robert de Castella’s Australian Allcomers Record to be broken. Now the Gold Coast Airport Marathon winners have done it twice in two years.
The race has been put on the international map with today’s top three all breaking 2:09.
Japan’s Risa Takenaka won for the women, finishing with a time of 2hrs28mins23seconds.
9.30AM: Kenneth Mungara has made a move past countrymen Silah Limo and Evans Ruto in the final stages of the Gold Coast marathon within 5km from the finish line.
Limo surged to break away slightly from countryman Evans Ruto but Mungara caugh the pair and the three will battle for the spoils.
Two runners have broken away through 35km, with last year’s winner Silah Limo in with a shot to become the race’s first back-to-back winner this century.
Limo and fellow Kenyan Evans Ruto lead the pack, with countryman Kenneth Mungara now about 15sec behind.
Japanese runner Risa Takenaka is 3min ahead of the nearest woman through 30km in the women’s race.
Takenaka had a lead of about 1min through the halfway point and has continued to increase that over countrywoman Keiko Nogami.
Four-time world paratriathlon champion Bill Chaffey has won the wheelchair marathon, taking out his local race for the first time.
Chaffey, who is preparing for the Rio Paralympics, where paratriathlon will make its Games debut, won convincingly.
A lead pack of about seven runners remain together halfway through the Gold Coast marathon, with Kimutai Kiplimo having led the athletes through the 20km point.
The lead pack, which includes last year’s race winner Silah Limo and Kenyan Kenneth Mungara, has slowed slightly from its early pace of below 3min per kilometre but it still on track for a new race record.
The leaders are still well below record pace in the marathon through 15km. The lead men’s group contains seven runners, including two pace-setters.
The lead pack includes last year’s winner Silah Limo and fellow Kenyans Albert Matebor and Kenneth Mungara.
Front runners already through 10km mark @GCMarathon @abcgrandstand @abcnews_qld @abcgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/e2SuuXFSiS
— Kathy McLeish (@kathymcleish1) July 4, 2015Japanese Risa Takenaka led the women through 15km.
Runners are setting a cracking pace in the Gold Coast marathon, with the leaders running under 3min per kilometre, a pace that has them on track to set a time of about 2:06-2:07, well under the race record and Australian allcomers mark.
Japan’s Takehiro Deki has won the half marathon in 1:02.11 well ahead of second place-getting Liam Adams of Australia.
Australian track representative Eloise Wellings won the women’s race in 1:10.02 in a strong warm-up for the world championships where she will run the 5000m.
#GCAM half marathon winners Talehiro Deli and Eloise Wellings. pic.twitter.com/vHr495alpI
— Emma Greenwood (@EmmaGreenwood12) July 4, 2015Deki said he was happy with his effort, a half-marathon personal best, especially considering he had run much of the race alone after dropping Adams about 8km into the race.
Takehiro Deki wins GC half marathon in 1:02.11 ahead of Liam Adams. pic.twitter.com/9AQWKgJsfe
— Emma Greenwood (@EmmaGreenwood12) July 4, 2015Wellings took part as part of her preparations for the world championships but is being encouraged to try and quality for the marathon for Rio.
Eloise Wellings wins women's half at #GCAM
— Emma Greenwood (@EmmaGreenwood12) July 4, 2015Manchester Commonwealth Games silver medallise Krishna Stanton has finished the half-marathon, a race she ran in tribute to her fellow 2002 marathon medallists Kerryn McCann and Jackie Gallagher, who have since died.
Women's half marathon winner with Manchester 2002 silver medallist Krishna Stanton. #GCAM pic.twitter.com/gGhzQECkRr
— Emma Greenwood (@EmmaGreenwood12) July 4, 2015
Runners are off in the Gold Coast half-marathon as the sun comes up over the horizon.
Thousands of athletes are nervously pacing the line ahead of the start of the half-marathon at 6am.
Japan’s Takehito Deki and Australian Liam Adams are among the favourites in the men’s race, with Eloise Wellins and Jess Trengove and American Sara Hall the top women.
Deki is leading through the opening 10km in 29min 19sec, a time faster than Martin Dent set in winning the 10km yesterday.
Dent leads Liam Adams by 6sec, with the pair on track to run under 1:02.
Cassie Fien led the women’s field through 10km in 33min 17sec, ahead of Eloise Wellings, Trengove and Hall.
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