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‘A week before I wasn’t going to do it’: Cobram’s Nathan Stoate flies at Melbourne Marathon
From considering pulling of the race, to running a top ten finish; Cobram’s Nathan Stoate put in an impressive performance at the 2022 Melbourne Marathon on October 2.
The long distance runner pulled on the joggers to run the gruelling 42.2km race, coming sixth overall and first in his 20-24 age group.
Completing the distance in a time of two hours, 23 minutes and 14 seconds, Stoate said he was not feeling 100 per cent for the race.
“A week before I wasn’t going to do it,” Stoate said.
“I had a bit of an injury niggle and I thought ‘I won’t do it’ but thanks to my coach he turned me around and did all these stretches.
“I decided a couple of days before that I’d do it, but I was going in at about 90 per cent and I didn’t know how I was going to feel.”
Stoate said he felt good until the 35km mark of the race, with the talent fading as the run drew closer to an end.
“It was all about just hanging on, I was pretty much running solo the last six or seven kilometres,” he said.
“I was happy to come sixth, a little bit disappointed I couldn’t run a personal best, I was expecting I wasn’t going to run a PB because I just wasn’t 100 per cent but I decided to do it so no excuses.”
Taking on marathons is just one string to Stoate’s athletic bow, with the runner taking part in cross-country and track races.
The 22-year-old usually runs a minimum of 5km, with track season now getting under way again.
Still living in Cobram, Stoate said it could be hard at times training for events while living in the country.
“I’ve got my coach that lives in Moama so I usually do my long runs with him on a Sunday,” he said.
“I’m going to get into track season now so I’m trying to break 14 minutes for 5km, that’s the big goal.
“My next marathon I might go overseas."
Still just 22 years old, Stoate has plenty of running ahead of him and is sure to be a talent to watch in the years to come.