Australia’s top distance runners flocked to Tasmania this morning for the Australian 10km Road Running Championships, hosted at the Strait Link Burnie 10 where Ed Marks and Holly Campbell reigned supreme in the race to be crowned national champions.
Organisers narrowly avoided the forecasted challenging conditions which cleared just in time for the start of the 42nd edition of the race, providing largely cool and calm conditions conducive to fast times.
There was no greater demonstration of that than New Zealand’s Georgie Grgec who spoiled the local party in the women’s race, tearing away from the field to win in a new national record of 31:21 – one of the fastest times ever run on Australian soil.
The performance also took down Leanne Pompeani’s course record of 31:40, as Holly Campbell clinched the Australian title in a time of 32:58 when defeating Linden Hall (33:11) and Ruby Smee (33:41).
“I’m super happy to come away with the win! Running a big PB, getting a course record and sneaking under the New Zealand record made it a really great morning,” Grgec said.
“There was a bit of a tailwind on the way out, so I was trying to stay relaxed and make the most of that.
“There’s a little kicker of a hill right up to the finish, so I was just trying to come home strong. I was really surprised and happy when I saw the time.”
Grgec was rewarded for her efforts with the $5000 winner’s check and an additional $3000 for breaking the course record, along with $500 for leading through the halfway mark in the gun-to-tape performance.
The men’s race was more tactical, momentarily, before Ed Marks broke the shackles just after the three-kilometre marker.
Only Matthew Ramsden would step up to the challenge, but it was Marks who served up a dominant win in a time of 28:15, followed by Jude Thomas who rallied late in 28:30 and Ramsden who held on for bronze in 28:31.
“It was good! It felt hard towards the end, but I felt strong for most of the race and managed to finish strong up the hill,” Marks said.
“It was a little bit off my PB but with a bit of a headwind on the way back, I’m happy with the time.”
Full results are available HERE.
By Australian Athletics and Burnie 10,
Posted 25/10/2026
