Injuries threaten four-peat

JULIAN Spence admits injury has interrupted his bid for a fourth consecutive Great Ocean Road Marathon victory.

Spence has battled a series of niggling setbacks in the past month, compromising his preparation for next week’s event.

“I’ve always managed to be pretty fit on the start line, this year my fitness is good, but my body just has a few injuries,” he said.

“So it’s a pretty harsh course, a lot of the time if you go in with something that’s not 100 per cent, you get shown up pretty quickly.”

Needing to take time off due to the injuries, Spence has found it has resulted in unintended positive effects.

“I haven’t done much for the last few weeks so it (the body) feels really fresh and I’m not tired,” he said.

Despite a less than ideal preparation, Spence is still hopeful of being able to defend his title and set a record for consecutive race victories.

“Winning the race for the fourth time, it’s not really extra motivation,” he said.

“Each time I show up I try to treat it as a different race as the last year. It’s played out differently every time.”

The annual race holds a special place in his heart.

“I grew up on the Great Ocean Road, and I was always aware of the race,” he said.

“It was always something that, I thought was a big deal . . . because it’s my home race and all the fit locals and runners would aim for it.

“And now I feel like I’ve had a lot of good experiences there. I know the course really well, I feel like it’s part of what I do. I kind of identify with the race.”