Great Australian Run
Encyclopedia
The Great Australian Run is an annual 15 kilometres road running
race which normally takes place in November in Melbourne
, Australia
. First held in 2008, it is an international version of the British
-based Great Run series.
The race featured over 4000 competitors at its inaugural edition, and also succeeded in attracting high-calibre elite athletes such as marathon world record breakers Haile Gebrselassie
and Catherine Ndereba
, as well as Australian 2008 Olympians
Craig Mottram
and Benita Johnson
. The competition is broadcast live on Channel Ten. A complementary 10 km wheelchair race first took place at the 2009 competition.
The course of the race, which passes the IAAF's world record standards, begins and ends in Albert Park
and passes many of Melbourne's touristic landmarks, including the Yarra River
and Flinders Street Station
. The course, which follows a double-looped circuit style, heads north from Albert Park before switching back in a south-easterly direction through the Royal Botanic Gardens
. It passes the Fawkner Park
as it heads further south, and finally turns back northwards to complete the circuit in Albert Park.
The race has also served as the Australian road running
championships, with Collis Birmingham
and Nikki Chapple taking the national titles in 2009.
In 2011 it was renamed City2Bay and took place January 9, 2011. The new course started from Docklands Stadium and ended in St Kilda
.
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
race which normally takes place in November in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. First held in 2008, it is an international version of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based Great Run series.
The race featured over 4000 competitors at its inaugural edition, and also succeeded in attracting high-calibre elite athletes such as marathon world record breakers Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...
and Catherine Ndereba
Catherine Ndereba
Wincatherine Nyambura Ndereba is a Kenyan marathon runner. She has twice won the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics and won silver medals in the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. She is also a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon...
, as well as Australian 2008 Olympians
Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics
A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors...
Craig Mottram
Craig Mottram
Craig Mottram is an Australian long distance and middle distance runner.-Biography:Born on 18 June 1980 in Frankston, Victoria, Mottram specialises in the 5000 m event. He attended the prestigious Geelong Grammar School. At 6 feet 2 inches he is unusually tall for a distance runner.Amongst...
and Benita Johnson
Benita Johnson
Benita Willis is an Australian distance runner, who is a three-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres....
. The competition is broadcast live on Channel Ten. A complementary 10 km wheelchair race first took place at the 2009 competition.
The course of the race, which passes the IAAF's world record standards, begins and ends in Albert Park
Albert Park and Lake
Albert Park and Albert Park Lake are situated in the City of Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of the Melbourne CBD....
and passes many of Melbourne's touristic landmarks, including the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
and Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...
. The course, which follows a double-looped circuit style, heads north from Albert Park before switching back in a south-easterly direction through the Royal Botanic Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over...
. It passes the Fawkner Park
Fawkner Park, Melbourne
Fawkner Park is a popular park in Melbourne's South Yarra and part of the City of Melbourne. It provides recreational areas for teams playing Cricket, Softball, Soccer, Australian Rules Football, Tennis and Rugby.-History and Layout:...
as it heads further south, and finally turns back northwards to complete the circuit in Albert Park.
The race has also served as the Australian road running
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
championships, with Collis Birmingham
Collis Birmingham
Collis Birmingham is an Australian long distance and cross-country runner. He participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in the 5000 metres event but failed to qualify for the final...
and Nikki Chapple taking the national titles in 2009.
In 2011 it was renamed City2Bay and took place January 9, 2011. The new course started from Docklands Stadium and ended in St Kilda
St Kilda, Victoria
St Kilda is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Port Phillip...
.
Past winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 2008 | 42:40 | 50:43 | ||
| II | 2009 | 43:01 | 50:18 |