After years of being a blue riband event for Australia, men’s marathon running was going nowhere fast ...

Jeff Hunt lime Jeff Hunt lime
Image: Lime Photos

Until a young New South Welshman came within ten seconds of winning one of the world’s great marathons. In recording the fastest debut ever by an Aussie, Jeff Hunt well and truly heralded his arrival in an event that has a long history in Australia.

What’s His Story?

Before the running boom – when jogging became a national pastime and East Africans won every footrace long enough to build up a sweat – Aussies were the ones to beat when it came to the marathon distance. Two Australian men held the world record from 1967 to 1984 – Derek Clayton and Rob de Castella – and for almost two decades we were the feared force over 42km. They then passed the torch to Steve Moneghetti, who won World Championship bronze in his first ever marathon and went on to become an Australian legend. But ever since then, aside from a few dips into the 2:09 range, Australian marathon running has failed to keep up with the rest of the world.

Jeff Hunt made his marathon debut in Beppu, Japan in February this year.He finished third in a thrilling race, putting the hammer down on several top Kenyan runners and in doing so recorded the fastest ever debut marathon by an Australian – taking the honour away from the great Moneghetti.

At 28, Hunt is older than most How Good Is candidates, but he’s still a baby in the world of marathoning, especially when pitted against the likes of world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie, who, at 37, is still going strong. Part of an elite squad, Hunt has been competing against top-level runners for a while. He joined his coach Ken Green ten years ago and became a part of a group that’s produced too many national champions to count. Hunt started as a junior over relatively short distances, but with every step up in distance came another breakthrough. It was just a matter of time until Hunt tackled the big one.

Several personal best times over 10,000m and the half marathon in the few months leading up to Beppu indicated a fast debut may be on the cards, but no one was expecting it to play out the way it did. Passing halfway just shy of 66 minutes, Hunt couldn’t stay in second gear, and took off, running a near world-record split between 30km and 35km, and caught the leaders. It was only respect for the quality of runners he suddenly found himself among that stopped him going straight past them. His 60-second negative split indicates that in a more evenly paced race, Hunt may have been another minute faster – but his 2:11:00 was more than enough to turn heads throughout the athletics world.

Who’s He Like?

Hunt resembles Mona’s wiry, economic frame rather than the powerful tree trunk legs of Deeks. Light on his feet, a lot of people see Moneghetti when looking at Hunt; including Monners himself – Moneghetti and his old coach Chris Wardlaw have been Hunt’s biggest mentors. His training is modelled on the same weekly structure the Aussie greats used, adopting the high-mileage focus that’s been standard for the last 40 years.

Hunt’s attention is now on the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. While still tough, the level of competition at the Comm Games isn’t as high as at the Olympics, which makes it an ideal step into championship racing and gives Hunt a real chance for a podium finish. And he’ll have tradition behind him. Both Mona (in 1994) and Deeks (in 1986 and famously in 1982 in Brisbane) have won the Commonwealth Games’ marathon. Come October, it may be time for Hunt to step up and take his place in history.

– Edward Ovadia

What do they say?

“Jeff’s run was a super debut marathon, and with a few more years of long running behind him, he’ll only get better. The terrific thing about his run was the ability he showed to run through the field - that’s a good sign. Jeff has good rhythm, doesn’t get injured much and has the ability to focus and stick to a long-term training plan – essential traits of all good marathoners.”

– Steve Moneghetti

“I believe in cultural continuity: Clayton leads to Deeks, Deeks leads to Mona, Mona leads to Troop/ Creighton/ Carroll;  and now the continuity is looking for someone else to step up. Jeff’s a 2:11 marathon runner who’s set himself a tremendous benchmark. He’s moved in the right direction; however, there are some twists and turns to go …"

– Hunt’s coach, Ken Green