The countdown of the top 10 most memorable Melbourne Marathons continues with our panel of experts selecting 2003 at No.8.
The Year:2003
The Winners: Magnus Michelsson (Vic) 2:14.00, Loretta McGrath (Vic) 2:49.01.
The Race
Magnus Michelsson was born in Stockholm but had spent most of his life either running, swimming or cycling by Port Phillip Bay near his home in Aspendale.
His wife Susan was a national cross country champion and his brother-in-law, Peter Robertson, was three-time world triathlon champion. His father Lief ran the Melbourne Marathon several times when Magnus was a teenager.
Magnus, a prolific marathoner, had waited until 1997 to run his first Melbourne Marathon and made headlines for his bold front-running bid at the Host City Marathon in 2000.
Since his 1997 run, Michelsson had been asked every year by organisers to run Melbourne and had shrugged his shoulders.
“I told Joe (race director Joe Murphy), ‘I’ll see you on the starting line in Frankston, if it’s good conditions’,” he said.
And on October 12, exactly 21 years since Bill Rodgers set the course record in favourable conditions, Michelsson and the other 1533 finishers woke to a virtually still morning — perfect for running fast on the Frankston to Melbourne course that invariably had a headwind.
His wife was wary given his December marathon plans.
“Susan said to me ‘don’t go breaking 2:20’ because Fukuoka was coming up. It was only the day before that I decided to wear light (racing) shoes,” he said.
“When the race started, I listened to what Susan had said, but it was one of those days when I felt great the whole way, so after covering the first 5km in about 16 minutes I picked it up.
“It was fantastic. At 12k I ran past home, and at 33k I went past my brother-in-law’s place. They were having a great time there. I even got to run past the place at 39k where I had my wedding reception.”
Michelsson crossed the line at Albert Park in 2:14.00 and his winning margin of 11min 7sec remains the largest for men in race history.
2001 winner Todd Ingraham was next home in 2:25.07, and the third finisher Dean Paulin (2:28.28) added a nice touch of history.
The son of inaugural race director Ted Paulin, he had been a regular at the race in his youth, often helping out either at drink stations or later as a lead driver.
A national 1500m champion, Paulin had never been tempted to run. But aged 35 and with his track days over, he had been “conned” into running by Doncaster mate Sean Quilty.
The women’s race proved a close affair with Geelong’s Loretta McGrath, triathlete Danielle Florens and Doncaster’s Kylie Dick all in the hunt.
McGrath, then 32, had begun serious running only two years earlier.
Dick, 27, was running her first marathon, while Florens, a 35-year-old who had moved to Melbourne from Mauritius, had completed a few Ironmans and had won the Townsville Marathon in August.
She also had the advantage of having 51-year-old husband and training partner Kevin Hill by her side for the entire race.
Florens led by about 200m for much of the race, with McGrath and Dick running in a big group on four-minute kilometre pace.
When the pack broke up at 32km, McGrath made her move and won in 2:49:01, just 20 seconds ahead of Florens with Dick next in 2:51.02.
“I knew she (Florens) was getting a lot of assistance but at the same time I was getting a lot of encouragement from the group of guys that I was in,” McGrath recalled. “You still have to put one foot in front of the other.
“I remember thinking when I got up to her about 35km, ‘Oh crap, what do I do now?’. Never once did I expect to win. It was an experience of a lifetime and it means more to me now than it did at the time.”
Why it was memorable
Mona says: “Magnus waking up to a massive tailwind and deciding to run. He couldn’t run 2.14.00, but he did!”
Turney says: “Great solo run by local Magnus Michelsson, who only decided to take part on the morning of the race.”
Muirden says: “Everybody loved the Magnus story. Brownlow Medallist Tony Liberatore didn’t have quite such a fun time. He finished in 4hr40min that year”
Our panellists:
Steve Moneghetti – Berlin and Commonwealth Games Marathon winner, Balllarat running icon, Comm Games Chef de Mission and regular Melbourne Marathon TV commentator
Jackie Cook (nee Turney) – two-time race winner (1981 and 1987) and coach of many Melbourne Marathon entrants
Chris Muirden – race historian, regular entrant and former course director
