The Launceston Running Festival continued its tradition of providing a platform for fast times for some of Australia’s top distance runners, with Haftu Strintzos and Izzi Batt-Doyle recording the fastest half marathons run by Australian on home soil.
Strintzos’s 60:41 winning time – an Australian Allcomers Record – was just five seconds shy of his personal best set in Marugame, Japan in February last year. The performance bettered Andy Buchanan’s 61:08 run last year on the Gold Coast.
The 26-year-old showed former Australian record holder Brett Robinson a clear pair of heels over the closing stages, running away for a 41 second victory.
“I had a plan and set about delivering it. It worked out well and I’m really happy,” Strintzos said.
Australian record holder over the distance, Izzi Batt-Doyle, took out the women’s race in 68:46. The run was the second fastest of her career behind her 67:17 set in February last year, and took two seconds off the 68:48 best Australian performance on home soil, set by Lisa Weightman on the Sunshine Coast in 2019.
“It was really exciting to return to Launceston and see how the event has grown. I haven’t been here for a few years, but really loved it. The support on course were great and the new finish line vibes were awesome,” Batt-Doyle said.
In the 10km events Ed Marks decimated the field, running 27:57 to defeat Australian record holder on the roads, Sam Clifford, by over a minute. Clifford clocked 29:14 to finish ahead, Jack Rayner, whose 29:25 run was much slower than the pace he ran when setting the Australian half marathon record of 59:53 in February.
Caitlin Scott (nee Adams) ran her fastest ever time over 10km to equal the race record of 31:38 set by Leanne Pompeani in 2023. The run compares favourably to the fastest ever in Australia on a certified course, Batt-Doyle’s 31:12 run at Albert Park at the 2024 Run Prix event.
