ATHLETICS: Thirty-eight kilometres into the 2015 Melbourne Marathon (42km), four time Olympian Craig Mottram jogged off the course to the local bakery to get his morning coffee and muffin fix.

Not because of injury or fatigue but because his job on the day was to help London 2012 Olympian Jess Trengove post a qualifying time for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which she did.

Trengove was the dominant female runner as she slashed two and a half minutes off her previous best. Her time of 2:27.45 makes the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist the sixth fastest Australian female in history.

Australia can select up to three female marathon runners and Trengove is in the box seat for selection.

Mottram, an Olympic finalist and world championship bronze medallist over 5000m, paced Trengove until the 38km mark. He enjoyed the race despite originally only planning to run 32km.

“At 32km I looked at Jess and she said she needed another 6km out of me,” said Mottram

“I went to 38km and got off the course and had a coffee, then followed her on twitter and watched her finish in 2:27.45!”

After training together over the past 10 months, Mottram said she was relaxed and ran consistently.

“She was exceptional on the day and got the best possible result that she could have hoped for.”

The experience of racing on an Australian marathon course was surreal for Trengove, who made the move from Adelaide to Melbourne to give herself the best shot at racing on what felt like a home environment.

“I had to keep reminding myself not to get too distracted in the days leading up to the race and remember to rest,” she said.

The 2012 Olympian’s aim heading into the race was to not only set a qualifying time for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but to record a personal best and win the race in the process.

“Challenging in the later stages as is any marathon” was how Trengove described the 42.195km race, but the Melbourne race wasn’t as mentally tough as others she has experienced.

“I think this was because of the familiar course, the even pace we maintained, the home crowd and great supporters,” said Trengove who considered herself fortunate to have smooth and consistent preparation in the lead up to the race.

 “I achieved personal best times in a track 10km earlier in the year, the half marathon and Adelaide's CityBay Fun Run a couple of weeks prior to the race, which told me that I was a stronger athlete than ever before.”

The 28-year-old started cross country in Primary School but also enjoyed a variety of other sports including netball, basketball and tennis.

Her favourite events in Little Athletics were long jump, triple jump, high jump and the 800-1500m distances, but much of her childhood was also spent in the water as her Mum, Deb, ran a swim school in the backyard.

Much of her Olympic aspirations were drawn from her inspiring siblings.

Sister Abbie represented South Australia at the Youth Olympics for rowing, while brother Jack was drafted by the Melbourne Football Club in 2009.

“I could see where hard work and determination had led my siblings and consequently felt the desire to see the highest level I could achieve in my own sport.”

In 2008 she was torn between her favourite sport Netball and running. She  eventually saw more potential with running, the longer the distance the more comfortable she felt.

“After my first half marathon at the Gold Coast in 2010 I felt excited about the prospect of running a full marathon one day. Until then, I had thought running for 42.195km seemed ridiculous!”

Trengove’s first marathon in March 2012 saw her post a qualification time and earn selection for the London Games.

She took her Olympic debut as an opportunity to learn the ropes and experience what is was like to represent your country in one of the sport's biggest spectacles.

“I was blown away by the enormity of the ceremonies, the incredible support from people in Australia, the large size of the marathon field and the noise throughout the entire race,” said Trengove.

Finishing in 39^th place was a huge achievement for the 25-year-old, but it was all part of the long-term plan according to coach Adam Didyk.

‘“Rio is something that we’ve planned for, for many years and part of the effort to go to the London Games was with Rio in mind,” said Didyk.

Trengove says she’s learnt a lot since London with every marathon she competes in providing another fantastic learning experience.

Following her Olympic debut she stepped up the following year to place a remarkable 11^th at the world championships in Moscow.

In 2014, she again delivered on the big stage and this time ran herself on to the podium at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Her bronze medal showed her plan for Rio was well and truly on track.

Mottram believes Trengove has what it takes to record a stellar performance at the first South American Olympic Games.

“If she sticks to her race plan I don’t think a top 12 finish is out of the question for her in Rio,” said Mottram.

Didyk tends to agree.

“She’s capable of that level of performance. It comes down to doing all the 1 per cents between now and Rio to be in the best possible shape to achieve that top 12 standard with her running.”

Training with four-time Olympic legend, Craig Mottram has certainly helped her on her Road to Rio.

“I have learnt a lot from Craig over the years and felt privileged to have the opportunity to train and race with him this year,” said Trengove.

A fifth Olympic Games is not out of the question for Mottram, who says that while it’s not top priority he hasn’t ruled it out.

“No Australian track athlete has ever been to five so that’s pretty enticing,” said Mottram, who on reflection says his favourite moment of his long Olympic career was running in front of the home crowd at Sydney.

“The highlight for me was definitely the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Every athlete who went to Sydney no matter what they do in their career would say the same.”

Mottram contest the 5000m at all four Games and was a finalist in 2004 finished eighth.

Trengove has just returned from a week in rural South Australia where her sister, Abbie got married.

“It was very special to be Abbie's Bridesmaid and there has been a lot of reminiscing amongst the family about the fun times we had,” said Trengove.

After getting her first Olympic experience in 2012 Trengove plans to raise the bar in Rio as a more experienced marathon runner and confident athlete in general.

With the Opening Ceremony for the Games now less than nine months away she is back in training and will head to Falls Creek over the summer to continue building for the race of her life in Brazil.

Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au