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Harness racing driver Kate Gath sets personal best marathon time amid Inter Dominion campaign

News.com.au

09-07-2025

Sport
News.com.au

Harness racing driver Kate Gath sets personal best marathon time amid Inter Dominion campaign

It is a case of one challenge down and another one to come for harness racing's 'Superwoman' Kate Gath during the Queensland Inter Dominion. Gath, 42, the most successful female Group 1 driver in Australian history, is a passionate distance runner and smashed her personal best win last Sunday's Gold Coast Marathon. Just hours after a handful of drives on night one of the Inter Dominion at Albion Park, Gath headed to the Gold Coast, swapped her driving silks for running shoes and blasted around the 42.2km course in 3min 3.27sec – that's a sizzling 4min 20sec p/km. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! It was only Gath's fourth marathon, which includes New York in 2022, and she smashed her previous best by four minutes. 'I hit a flat patch around the 30km mark, but worked my way through it and finished strongly,' Gath said. 'It was a bit warmer than I expected, but I was pleased with the time. I love my running, it's like meditation for me … the only 'me' time I get.' It's a regular thing for Gath to go out and run 20km or more just hours before hopping in the sulky and driving in feature races at Melton. 'When you're training for a marathon you have to stick to a plan, so I remember one time I ran 28km and then had all the Breeders Crown finals at Melton that night,' she said. Gath was back into harness mode soon after finishing the Gold Coast circuit last Sunday, out tending to and feeding the three Inter Dominion runners – Catch A Wave, Tango Tara and Hector – she and husband, Andy Gath, have in this series. Two of them, Catch A Wave and Tango Tara, ran well enough on night one to keep their hopes alive of a berth in next Saturday's $1m Inter Dominion pacing final at Albion Park. Gath's next challenge is to cement those spots, especially with stable star and eight-time Group 1 winner Catch A Wave, through Saturday night's second and final round of qualifying heats. Unlike Gath, consistency isn't a strong point for the gifted but enigmatic Catch A Wave. 'He drives Andy and I insane at times, but we've come to terms with that just being 'Tex' and we have to take the good with the bad,' she said. 'He's given us some of our greatest moments in the game, but he's also the most frustrating horse we've trained with quirks and unpredictability. 'We sort of hoped he'd mature and grow out of things over time, but Tex is still just Tex. 'You'll think you've got him spot on at home and then he'll go to the races and disappoint you.' Case in point being Catch A Wave's lacklustre first-up fifth at Melton on June 28, which almost saw his Inter Dominion plans aborted. 'Then he comes out a week later in the first round heats (last Saturday) and runs a fantastic race when we really didn't know what to expect. That's just him,' Gath said. Catch A Wave, who boasts 22 wins and over $2.2m, will need to be at the top of his game to snare a top four or five finish in the strongest heat of the series on Saturday night to secure a final spot. 'Not only have we drawn the same heat as Leap To Fame and Don Hugo, but they have better draws than us,' Gath said. If Catch A Wave shows the tenacity of his driver, making the final won't be an issue.

Vanessa Lee and Shaun Goh set national 5km road race records in Gold Coast

Straits Times

05-07-2025

Sport
Straits Times

Vanessa Lee and Shaun Goh set national 5km road race records in Gold Coast

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Singapore's Shaun Goh and Vanessa Lee broke the men's and women's 5km road race national records respectively at the Gold Coast Marathon on July 5. SINGAPORE – Despite encountering flight delays that doubled her trip to a full-day affair, Singapore distance runner Vanessa Lee managed to claim the women's 5km road race national record at the Gold Coast Marathon. On July 5, the 27-year-old completed the race in 16min 57sec to finish as the fourth-fastest female competitor and go under Goh Chui Ling's previous mark of 17:08 clocked in 2022. She said: 'I'm especially grateful that everything came together on race day because the 48 hours leading up to it were chaotic. 'My Scoot flight to Melbourne was delayed from 2.30am to 6.30am and I missed my connecting flight to Melbourne. Virgin Australia was really nice to put me on the next available flight, but that ended up delaying for another one hour as well, so I took almost 24 hours to get to the Gold Coast.' To make matters worse, Lee fell sick after the flights, but she managed to recover in time to put in a strong performance. Thanking her friends, she said: 'I had a fever and my friends were really nice to buy Vitamin C shots and ginger tonic drinks for me. I slept a lot and was on liquids for 36 hours prior to the race and I thought I was not going to make it. But luckily, I managed to feel somewhat like myself again the night before the race. 'My goal going into this race was to break the national 5km road record, and with the sun out and the temperature around 20 deg C, the conditions were ideal for me.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Asean needs 'bolder reforms' to attract investments in more fragmented global economy: PM Wong Singapore CPF members can make housing, retirement and health insurance plans with new digital platform Singapore CPF's central philosophy of self-reliance remains as pertinent as ever: SM Lee Asia Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years, much longer than predicted Sport Liverpool will move on after Jota's tragic death, but he will never be forgotten Singapore Tan Cheng Bock, Hazel Poa step down from PSP leadership; party launches 'renewal plan' Singapore Rock climbing fan suddenly could not jump, get up from squats Life Japanese food in Singapore under $20: 5 hawker stalls serving restaurant-quality sashimi and donburi Lee has been in hot form of late. In May, she shaved almost five seconds off her own 3,000m steeplechase mark with a time of 11:04.18 to finish third at the Hong Kong Athletics Championships. She also holds four other national records in the 10km road race (35:55), 10km cross country (40:21), mile (5:18.63) and 5,000m (17:06.69). Her 5,000m track record, which met the SEA Games qualifying mark, was set at the Box Hill Run in Melbourne, Australia in March, as she smashed her previous mark of 17:26.62 set in 2024. Meanwhile, in less dramatic circumstances, compatriot Shaun Goh also delivered a men's 5km road race national record at the Gold Coast Marathon, as he finished fifth in 14:49 to surpass Soh Rui Yong's previous mark of 15:08 set in Spain in 2024. This is the 28-year-old's first national record of the year and his second overall, after he set the 10km road race national record of 31min in Australia in 2024. He said: 'Compared to Vanessa, my lead-up was relatively smooth. I was coming off a string of sub-par races and decided to reset three weeks ago after the Taiwan Open in June. Since then, I've been able to build some solid momentum heading into this race. 'I'm super stoked to come away with a 14:49. The race went amazing – there was a solid group of guys going at sub-15 pace, and I just tucked in for the first 3km. Things started to slow down a little after that, but I still felt strong and managed to pick off quite a few runners in the final stretch to finish fifth overall. 'I've definitely found more success racing in Australia than elsewhere. I think it mainly comes down to the favourable weather conditions and the strong depth of competition.' Goh is chasing for a spot at the SEA Games and he is within two per cent of the 5,000m track qualifying mark of 14:43.45. The runner is also just outside the range for the 10,000m track qualifying mark of 31:25.55. He added: 'Getting a solid result like this feels incredibly rewarding. I'm hoping this performance gives me the momentum I need heading into my final qualification opportunity for the 10,000m at the Queensland Championships on Aug 9.'

Runners, local business pumped ahead of Gold Coast Marathon

9 News

04-07-2025

Business
9 News

Runners, local business pumped ahead of Gold Coast Marathon

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Hundreds of participants gathered today to collect their race essentials for tomorrow's Gold Coast Marathon. The event has seen significant engagement from both local and visiting runners, as well as businesses capitalising on the influx of people. Andy Buchanan, the 2024 winner, said he welcomed the competition. Hundreds of participants gathered today to collect their race essentials for tomorrow's Gold Coast Marathon. (9News) "A lot of people play different mind games and I quite enjoy that and I know there's quite a bit of competition," Buchanan said. Isaac Heyne, who placed second said this year he was "aiming to get the win". "I came second to Andy last year, and yeah hopefully we can do one better this year," he said. Local businesses are also getting in the spirit. Ed Hatcher from Alfred's Apartment said the bar was doing an "electrolyte granita" and "custom kits". "This time we've kind of gone bigger and got a bit more interesting." Gemelli Italian restaurant has partnered with running group Pace Athletic to provide pre-race meals. "Everyone comes to Gemelli for the carb load, pizza, and pasta so we thought why not get involved, bring the community together," Gemelli's Alec Carney said. Road closures are in effect from Paradise Point to Miami, from 3.30am. No parking is available along the course. This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress . 9ExPress queensland national sport Gold Coast CONTACT US Property News: The suburbs where workers on $300,000 can't afford a house.