Brett Robinson wasted little time setting his sights on the Australian half-marathon all-comers record after blitzing the Tasmanian version in Launceston.
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The Canberra-born 29-year-old Rio Olympian, who set the Australian record of 59:57 in Japan in February, took more than a minute off the Tasmanian benchmark of 62:45, set by Russell Foley in 1989, when he ran 61:38 in the inaugural Tasmanian Running Festival event.
It was enough to win by 35 seconds from Tom Do Canto with Ed Goddard third.
But it was Queenslander Pat Carroll's long-standing all-comers record of 61:11, set in Sydney in 1994, which was occupying the post-race thoughts of Robinson, who also set the fastest 2019 and 2020 10km road times in Australia by twice winning Hobart's Run The Bridge.
"I think I can get that," he said, after recording the second-fastest time on Australian soil.
"If there had been no wind, I reckon I could have gone 30 seconds quicker.
"My training partner [Jack Rayner] holds the 10k record here. If me and Jack came here and targeted that [61:11], I could do it maybe."
Robinson heaped praise on the course which took runners up the West then East Tamar Highways.
Elsewhere in sport:
"It's my first time racing in Launceston but I knew how quick it was here although there was a bit of a hill at the turnaround which hurt a bit. I've done Melbourne before and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are good but this has to be the fastest in Australia.
"It's good to have something back on and such a quality field. People came from all over Australia for this so I'm glad to be part of it, and win it."
The Tasmanian all-comers record was also blown away in the women's race as Canadian Andrea Seccafien's time of 71:39 destroyed the 73:01 benchmark set in Hobart in January by Milly Clark.
Launceston's Rio Olympian pulled out of her home-town race injured but was on hand to see Seccafien cruise home ahead of Jess Stenson (72:27) and Katinka von Elsner-Wellsteed (77:43) with Hobart's Meriem Daoui the first Tasmanian in fourth.
Melbourne-based Seccafien, who also edged out Clark in February's Run The Bridge, echoed Robinson's observation that it was great to be back racing after COVID-19 obliterated the international running calendar.
"It was so good to have a focus when we knew this race was going to happen," she said.
"It's beautiful here. This place is so nice and I hope I can come back."
Two of Tasmania's most promising distance runners won the 5km races in Tom Winkel, of Forth (15:44) and Hobart's Ella Atkins (18:14). Both have won Australian under-aged track titles.
Burnie's Ashley Fehlberg, 12, won the mile.