SA marathon runner Jess Trengove sets her sights on 2020 Olympics

SOUTH Australian runner Jess Trengove has emerged from the torture of the Commonwealth Games marathon with a bronze medal and renewed focus as she sets her sights on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

SA marathon runner Jess Trengove won her second-straight Commonwealth Games bronze medal on the Gold Coast. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

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JESS Trengove has emerged from the torture of the Commonwealth Games marathon with renewed focus as she sets her sights on the 2020 Olympics.

The SA runner overcame stifling heat and severe fatigue late in the race to win bronze on the Gold Coast last month.

She had no regrets about her approach to the event, despite hitting the wall about 7km from the finish line.

Rather Trengove said her second-straight third-place finish in the Commonwealth marathon had given her fresh impetus as she planned her path to Tokyo.

“There isn’t too much I would change,” said Trengove, of the race she completed in two hours, 34 minutes and nine seconds.

“The first half I really enjoyed and then at 35-36km I honestly was just overcome by fatigue.

“I cross the line of every marathon thinking ‘nah, I’m not doing that again’, but I pretty quickly turn around again.

“I’ve just got to recognise that I’m still developing as a marathon runner and there are some things that only time will teach me.

“That was another one of those experiences that will hopefully set me up to become a better championship runner.”

Trengove had spent the past three weeks reflecting on her Commonwealth Games tactics and execution with coach Adam Didyk.

She said the 31C temperature had made it difficult to carry out her pre-race plan, but she remained satisfied with her result given the challenging circumstances.

Jess Trengove with SA swimmer Kyle Chalmers at a Commonwealth Games celebration in Rundle Mall. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“I did prepare for those conditions, but we probably weren’t expecting them to be quite that warm given the week leading up,” Trengove, 30, said.

“We had a race plan going into it and it was basically for me to come home really strong in the final 10-12km. But I just had nothing left.

“If I had attacked a few times around that 30km mark where we originally had planned for me to make a move, perhaps I wouldn’t have finished.

“I crossed the line and remember being overcome with happiness and smiling, but suddenly being hit with stomach aches, dizziness, my hearing was affected, it was all sorts of fatigue.

“If the finish line had been another 100m-200m away, I think I would have been crawling to get there.”

Trengove eased back into training last week after enjoying a short rest.

She was considering competing in marathons on the Gold Coast in July and New York in November as she began working towards her third Olympics.

“Every race does get you very excited,” said Trengove, originally from Naracoorte in the state’s southeast.

“You spend your whole build-up thinking ‘I can’t wait to have a break’.

“Then about four to five days into your break, when you haven’t run for a few days and you’re not eating as well as usual, you start to crave being in a routine and running again.”

Originally published as SA marathon runner Jess Trengove sets her sights on 2020 Olympics