By David Rogers. BRISBANE, Australia. — Taking advantage of a “flat and fast” course, Blowing Rock’s Josh Izewski was the top U.S. finisher in the Gold Coast Marathon’s elite field on July 2 “down under” (it was July 1 in the U.S.), crossing the finish line at No. 5 in 2:11:26.
Izewski is a member of the ZAP Endurance elite running team based in Blowing Rock and had already qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, but accepted a late, fully funded invitation to compete against the elite Gold Coast field just a few weeks before the race when contacted by a sports agent with the opportunity.
“Josh had already met the qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials, in the Houston Marathon, which is not as flat,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea, “but we said, ‘What the heck.’ It was an opportunity to lower his personal best and see another part of the world all at the same time, without adversely impacting his training regimen as he points toward next year’s Olympics.”
Izewski finished behind Naoki Koyama of Japan (2:07:40) at No. 1, Ezekiel Kemboi Omullo of Kenya (2:08:26), Liam Adams of Australia (2:08:39), and Wilfred Kimitei, also of Kenya (2:09:47).
In the elite men’s division, the 75 athletes represented Kenya, Australia, Japan, the U.S., New Zealand, French Polynesia, Indonesia, and Great Britain. Given the venue, the vast majority were from Australia.
Koyama defeated a strong field and set a new Gold Coast Marathon course record when he broke away from the pack of about eight runners late in the race to finish 10 seconds ahead of the previous course record set in 2019 by Yuta Shitara of Japan.
FLAT AND FAST
The Gold Coast course has but few deviations from an “up and back” path, along the east coast of the Southern Hemisphere nation, some 1,900 miles south of the equator with temperatures generally ranging from 51 degrees Fahrenheit to about 70 degrees during the winter, according to information cleaned from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology website.
Izewski’s pace was fairly steady throughout the 42.195 kilometers’ distance, or 26.2188 miles that is advertised as “Australia’s fastest, flattest, and most scenic course in Queensland…”
“This course was flat and fast — and Josh ran an even race,” reported his coach, Rea. “There is always a tendency among runners to go overly fast in the opening stages of a long race, but Josh ran smartly. His opening 5km was his fastest, at 15:23, or a 3:04/k pace or roughly a 4:56 mile pace. But he settled into a steady, 3:06/k pace, or 4:59/mile for a good part of the race, then picked it up to 3:05 (4:57) heading into the finish, with 12 kilometers to go. In part, of course, those times reflect the flat nature of the course, but they also suggest that Josh ran within himself.”
Izewski’s new personal best also tied the ZAP Endurance club record set just this past April 16th by teammate Andrew Colley, in the NN Rotterdam Marathon, in The Netherlands.
“It is somewhat bizarre,” said Rea, “that Josh ran exactly the same marathon time, to the second, as Andrew’s club record set just two months earlier on a different course, in Rotterdam, which is also fairly flat. Well, maybe not bizarre, but a remarkable factoid of ZAP’s 2023 season.”
Especially given the flat and fast nature of the Gold Coast course, ZAP’s Rea was asked how much improvement Izewski might be able to see.
“Josh was a highly recruited high school running star and went to the University of Florida. The college running scene can be a pressure cooker and I think Josh got a little burned out in pure running. So for four years he was a professional triathlete. He had a swimming background, too, so for those four years mixed it up with the three different disciplines (swim, cycle, run), but was not focused purely on running,” said Rea.
“When Josh came to us in 2018,” Rea added, “you might even say he had fresh legs. He is now 33 years old, but I think his legs are those of a man about 28. So he has the potential for peaking at an older, chronological age than many of his peers. These days, both men and women seem to be peaking at older ages largely because as an industry we know a lot more about nutrition and recovery than we did a generation ago, when I was competing.”
Interestingly, Colley’s and Izewski’s 2:11:26 now rank them tied for 15th among the fastest U.S. marathoners qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials scheduled for Feb. 3, in Orlando, Fla. The top qualifier is Connor Mantz’s 2:08:16, established in the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9, 2022.
UPCOMING ZAP ENDURANCE PERFORMANCES
On a not so flat course, Tristin Van Ord and Andrew Colley are entered in the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4. They will be among the roughly 50 elite athletes in each gender starting at the front of the field, which historically has drawn over 50,000 runners for the 10K event.
Meanwhile, ZAP Endurance teammates Ryan Ford and Dan Schaffer have qualified and will compete in the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, July 6-9, in Eeugene, Ore. Schaffer will compete in the 1500 meters while Ford will “double,” competing in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
RELATED LINKS
- Gold Coast Marathon
- Zap Endurance
