Liam Adams and Calli Thackery have taken home the honours at Sunday’s The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, impressing across the 21.1km course in Sydney’s CBD.
More than 8,000 runners took to the streets of Sydney, with The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon returning for the first time since 2019.
Adams claimed his fifth The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon crossing the line in 1:04:49, 44 seconds clear of Tim Vincent with Liam Boudin third.
“It was good to get the win but it was an absolute slog out there, I probably went out a bit too hard and paid for it in the end, I managed to hold them off and I think it’s going to pay dividends with my fitness,” said Adams.
Adams, an electrician by trade, ran the race in his trademark hi-vis workwear, garnering plenty of support as he made his way through Sydney’s CBD.
“It was incredible, there’s a lot of support towards the end, I actually had quite a few tradies cheering for me, a few of the traffic control and then there was a guy in a crane who tooted the horn and yelled out of the crane at me, I found that a bit funny, it was good to get that support out there,” he said. “I was the fastest tradie on the course today but overall my time wasn’t that quick for a half marathon, that course is pretty hilly and tough so I’ll take that.
“It’s a challenging course, technically my PB is on this course from a few years ago, I’d love to go and do a flat course and run a fast time but I love this course, it’s challenging but after all these years I still don’t know it well because I went out a bit too hard today and thought the boys would catch me but it was good solid hit out and I’m getting into some marathon training at the moment so this will put me into good stead,” said Adams.
Today’s win is a stepping stone for Adams as he prepares for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“I’m building up for Commonwealth Games Marathon and will have a couple of half marathons in the lead in, then go overseas for a few weeks for some altitude training and be ready and rearing to go for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Calli Thackery crossed the line in 1:13:31 to win her first The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, almost a minute ahead of Leanne Pompeani, with Abigail Nordberg third.
“It was an amazing race, there was a pack of five of us, some guys and some girls and I just tried to stick with the pack for a bit,” said Thackery. “I’m not going to lie, the first five kilometres was not good, I was thinking I don’t know how I’m going to get through this whole race but then I started to get my mojo and I just went with it and got there k by k, it’s a great course.
“It’s always good to get a win, it’s a big confidence boost going into my race overseas next week, running in Europe, I’ve got some big races coming up so it gives me a good confidence boost,” she said.
Thackery’s win in Sydney wasn’t her first of the weekend, with the British-born, Australian-based athlete winning a 14km race on the Great Ocean Road on Saturday, and she’ll now head to Europe later on Sunday.
“I thought I’d use yesterday as a good tempo run, get my legs awake I guess and today I just wanted to try and go all out,” said Thackery. “It was my last major run and then get rid of jetlag in the next few days but it’s been an incredible weekend of racing, I’m happy with the results.
“I fly out at 3pm today and then next up is the Birmingham Diamond League, 5km, I’m really looking forward to that and getting on the world stage again and see how I can do,” she said.
The day began with a 3km wheelchair sprint, with Jono Tang crossing the line in 16:33, just over 30 seconds clear of Ethan Moos.
