This woman just broke Australia’s marathon record – and was able to celebrate before she even crossed the line

On a stunning Sunday to run a long way very fast, Izzi Batt-Doyle broke the Australian marathon record in Chicago – the same day Eliud Kipchoge set a Melbourne marathon record.

Batt-Doyle ran 2:20:38 in Chicago to break Jess Stenson’s record of 2:21:24.

“I’m very, very happy. I feel a sense of relief because it’s something I really felt I could achieve and it’s been on my mind the past couple of years. I’m really proud I could achieve it today and I’m so happy,” she said.

“I think it’s really validating for the hard work I’ve put in and it feels really special to be part of history.”

The 31-year-old South Australian Batt-Doyle, who is a dual Olympian in the 5000m and 10,000m, smashed her own personal best time by two minutes.

Racing at the same marathon where Benita Willis set an Australian record that stood for 16 years, Batt-Doyle said she had Willis in mind throughout.

She wrote on Instagram: “I thought about Benita Willis out there and her incredible run of 2:22 in 2006 here in Chicago that stood for 18 (sic) years!! History.”

Willis held the Australian record until Sinead Diver cut the time by 1.02 minutes in 2022 then Stenson set a new record, trimming another 10 seconds from the time last year.

Batt-Doyle’s effort came on the same day that Kipchoge, the two-time world record holder and dual Olympic gold medallist, ran 2:09:10 to win the Melbourne marathon – beating the previous best time by two seconds – on a day that 20,000 people ran the Melbourne marathon and more than 60,000 ran in events over the two-day festival.

In some ways, Chicago was a family fun run as much as a race for Batt-Doyle.

“Most of the race I was fortunate my fiance Riley [Cocks] was running with me. I was isolated the whole race. The gun went off and second kilometre it was just the two of us because we were running between groups.

“The field here is so great, but smaller on the professional side. You don’t have masses of people in groups. I spent most of the race trusting our plan and the pacing strategy.”

At the halfway mark Batt-Doyle knew she was on track to break the record but wondered if she could hold on.

“We went through halfway in under the time needed to run 2:21. But I wasn’t sure because I felt like I was slowing in the second half as it was warmer, and just the general fatigue of the marathon.

“But once I turned, there is a small hill about 400 to go and then you turn into the last 150 metres and I saw the clock and that’s when I really started celebrating. I knew I was going to get under 2:21.

“I was able to celebrate the last 150 metres after seeing the clock. I gave a few fist pumps and smiles.

“It was quite emotional. You can think you can do it and hope you can do it, and be on pace to do it, but there is so much that can happen in the last five kilometres, or last one kilometre or even the last 400 metres. People can cramp, and have all sorts of things happen.

“It feels really special to be part of history because there have been some fantastic runners before me. I really feel honoured to be in that class of athletes.”

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