TASMANIANS shone at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon at the weekend, boasting three place-getters in the prestigious half-marathon category.
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Launceston's Josh Harris managed what he labelled the highlight of his career when he achieved third with a time of 1 hour, 05 minutes, 51 seconds.
The time saw him beat Olympians and nab silver in the Oceania Championships.
``The Gold Coast is the most important race of the winter for me,'' an elated Harris said.
``The Launceston 10 and the Gold Coast are my two major focuses, so to be able to finish with bronze is something I'm really happy with.''
Harris said his race began steadily as part of a big group.
Members dropped away through the first half and Harris set his sights on victory.
``I found something extra, I was just so motivated,'' he said.
``I was so tired in the last kilometre but it was more just a general fatigue, but my legs found extra speed.''
The 24-year-old will head to New Zealand in five weeks for a cross-country race.
For the first time, former Launceston women and friends Milly Clark and Karinna Fyfe were place-getters in the same race.
Clark came first among women for the half-marathon.
She shaved four minutes off her personal best and beat her predicted time by two minutes with 1:14.04.
``I started out seventh and ran comfortably hard,'' she said.
``Then I turned around and went `Well, I'm halfway through, so the faster I go the sooner I finish'.''
Clark said it was a thrill to run alongside Fyfe, who came third in the race.
The pair grew up together in Launceston, training together at gymnastics and bonding over athletics.
``To run together again was good, and we both got to finish in the top three,'' Clark said.
Fyfe agreed: ``It was a big PB for me. We've had a few races together but this is the first time we've both placed.''
Fyfe said she beat her personal best by two minutes with an achievement of 1:14.49.
She said her race was well-run thanks to consistency in training.