Tim Vincent

As we have seen many of our marathoners have taken less conventional pathways and often emerged later in life. Tim Vincent is another example of this, taking a very different pathway. It included getting the enjoyment for running through mountain running and cross country as a teenager and then the university/college system in Australia. After a solid long distance track career, and very successful cross country and half marathon career in his early 20s, he made his marathon debut aged 24 in 2023. In his fourth marathon he ran 2:09.40 – jumping to #9 Australia all-time and into an elite group of just 10 Aussies to have gone sub-2:10. In May he was selected in the Australian team for the 2025 world championships in Tokyo.

Tim Vincent recognises the important impact his school coach, Gavin Jackson, has had on his successful and rewarding career. “I spent 10 years with him through school. Gavin’s philosophy was about enjoying multiple sports and doing your best at school. I was always chomping at the bit, but Gavin always held me back in terms of volume and I thank him for that now.”

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Although Tim Vincent started running at age 10 through school, his focus was football (soccer), as initially running was just a way of getting a day off school. His early results in athletics were modest, but “I enjoyed the challenge and the improved conditioning that made me a better centre midfielder.”

By age 17, athletics was Tim’s only sport. He was enjoying success in Mountain Running and after winning the Australian junior titles in 2015 and 2016, he twice competed at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2015 and 2017, in Wales and Italy respectively.

In 2017, he was second behind Haftu Strintzos, in the national U20 cross country championships. Over the next few years, while he completed a Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology at Queensland University of Technology, he competed at two World University Cross Country Championships and raced regularly over 5000m and 10,000m on the track clocking bests of 13:49 and 28:59 respectively. He was also making an impact on the roads, running impressive times of 28:45 (10km in 2021) and 61:43 (half, 2022). In 2023 he was rewarded with selection in the Australian team for the World Half Marathon and World University Games (running the half). “I completed tertiary education in Australia and was motivated by our University Games pathways.”

At home on the Gold Coast in 2023, he made his marathon debut clocking 2:17.17. Four months later he smashed his best, clocking 2:12.05 in Kobe Japan, placing second. In April 2024 he clocked 2:16.50 in the Daegu Marathon, ahead of his great run in Frankfurt in October 2024, where he clocked 2:09.40 and placed 9th.  He was now in the top-10 marathoners in Australian history.

In May 2025 he was named in his seventh Australian team, to run the marathon at the 2025 world championships.

Marathon career (4)

2:17.17 14th Gold Coast, 2 July 2023

2:12.05 2nd Kobe, 19 Nov 2023

2:16.50 18th Daegu, 7 Apr 2024

2:09.40 9th Frankfurt, 27 Oct 2024

Memorable sporting achievement: Probably Wollongong national cross country a few years back as an u23 athlete. I had a breakthrough run which later lead to my first university cross country team. I had my mum and dad there too and everything just went to plan for me on that day…Hero: Tim Cahill. I’ll never forget our 2006 World Cup. He scored the first world cup goal ever for Australia and a comeback win late in the second half. Tim put the team on his back with a very inspirational performance on the biggest of stages. Within running, probably Brett Robinson. I started paying attention to athletics through my later teen years and I first watched a world cross country held in Guiyang, China. It was a rather tough day for a lot of Australians but from memory Brett had a good day. He’s a tough competitor and an athlete that has raised the bar higher for distance running in our country. Most influential person in career: My first coach Gavin Jackson who I spent 10 years with through school. Gavin’s philosophy was about enjoying multiple sports and doing your best at school. I was always chomping at the bit, but Gavin always held me back in terms of volume and I thank him for that now. Advice to your young self: To enjoy the simplicity of running and not to be so hard on myself. In regard to life in general, I’d tell my younger self that consistent hard work for long enough periods of time can get you just about anywhere…Hobbies: Chess, attending Brisbane Roar games, Pokemon Go…Sporting ambition: To represent our country in the marathon. To grow as an athlete to be competitive towards the front end of marathon majors…Occupation: Clinical Exercise Physiologist (part time)

Education Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology QUT 2022…Other sports: represented the Brisbane Metropolitan North region for soccer at a QLD state championship. At school represented his region at state level in five different sports…Interesting facts: I’m a twin and 13 minutes older than my sister Steph; I have a passion for geography and flags of the world; I’m a football fanatic (went to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022); sometimes I wake up at night running in my sleep. Will likely beat you at darts and table tennis…Coaches: Gavin Jackson 2008 – 2018 and Jackson Elliott 2018 – current…Biggest challenge you’ve faced: Probably one I’ve faced this year (in 2025). I’ve been pretty lucky avoiding injury for most of my journey, however, I needed 12 weeks off running in January this year. The perspective it gives you is something I’m thankful for and I’m more excited than ever to get back out on the roads…Famous relative: Dan Anstey (first cousin) – MMM Breakfast host, Weekend Today Show weather reporter, MC at Brisbane Lions home games

@9 September 2025 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au