Half marathon defending champion and course record holder Brett Robinson returns to Tasmania, having recently obliterated Rob de Castella’s Australian marathon record. He added the marathon record to his glowing resume in December when clocking 2:07:31 in Fukuoka.
Also an Olympic 5000m finalist, Robinson said he was excited to drop back to 10km and see what time he could produce on the renown fast course.
“I don’t really get the opportunity to run fast 10km anymore so for me this was perfect timing to target a 10km and work on my speed before I start marathon training again later in the year,” Robinson said.
Having already taking titles at the Think Big Run The Bridge and Strait Link Burnie 10, Robinson was keen to complete the 10km Epic Tasmanian treble.
His stablemate Jack Rayner owns the course record from 2018 with 28:31 and of course set that scintillating Australian record of 27:43 in Burnie last year.
“I’ve never run the 10 at Launceston but I know it’s a fast course so if I’m feeling good I would love to have a crack at taking down Jack’s record,” he declared.
Standing in his way will be defending champion and the first ever local winner of the event, James Hansen. Fresh off winning the 50th City2Casino in Hobart on the weekend, Hansen will be using the event as his final hit out before embarking on a European track campaign. The campaign will have one clear goal; run the qualifying time for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In all, the field includes 14 men who have bettered the 30min barrier for 10km. With another key athlete to watch being Andre Waring, who won the golden ticket race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst back in February.
The full elite field for the Sunday 11th June race is:
