Atherton hosted the Australian marathon championships(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Peta Mullens, 2012 champion, was forced out on lap 2 of 3(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Race winner Jenny Fay croses a creek. Creeks were high after 85mm of rain in recent weeks.(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Imogen Smith returned to distance racing after a break(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Donna Dall won the masters category(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Peta Mullens on lap 1(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenny Fay(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenni King as lead Australian(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Queenslander Jodie Willet(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Sarah Riley leads Terri Rhodes on lap 1(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Second place to 2012 champ Andy Blair(Image credit: Russell Baker)
2012 marathon champ and 24-hour solo champ Jason English(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Canberra's Dylan Cooper was a first lap casualty of the race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason McAvoy in the masters race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Garry James had to DNF due to cramps(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Canberra's John Henderson on way to winning super masters(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Cairns rider Lesley Sutton won the veteran women's race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Target Trek rider Luke Fetch withdrew on lap 3 due to heat(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason McAvoy(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Local rider Oliver Phillips on the way to third place in U23 race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Second place Andy Blair(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Peter Kutschera(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenny Fay wins the race, but not the championships because she is an Irish citizen(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenni King as the lead Australian woman(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenny Fay on her final lap(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenni King on her final lap(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English celebrates with a wheelie at the finish(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English is interviewed after the race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Andy Blair in second(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Ed McDonald(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Leasie Felderhof(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Ireland's Jenny Fay wins the women's race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Men's podium: Michael Crosbie, Andy Blair, Jason English, Peter Hatton, Shaun Lewis(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenni King at the finish(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenny Fay and Peta Mullens(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Women's podium: Sarah Riley, Jenni King, Jenny Fay, Terri Rhodes and Jodie Willet(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Australian marathon podium: Terri Rhodes, Jenni King, Sarah Riley(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Women's Australian marathon championships podium: Terri Rhodes, Jenni King, Sarah Riley (Image credit: Russell Baker)
Atherton decked out the streets but also turned on the the heat and humidity(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenny Fay at the bottle drop before the start(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English at the bottle drop(Image credit: Russell Baker)
2012 Australian marathon champ Peta Mullens signs in(Image credit: Russell Baker)
2012 Men's marathon champion Andy Blair signs in(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Terri Rhodes signs in(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jenni King on her way to winning the Australian marathon nationals(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Naomi Hansen on her way to sixth place(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Local rider Adam Cobain started strongly but withdrew on lap 3(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Atherton rider Leasie Feelderhof on her way to second in the super masters(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Andy Blair led for the first two laps(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English looks comfortable(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Harrison Ware would win the U23 race(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Target Trek Richard Peil won the master's men(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Atherton MTB Park benefitted from many new trails in the past year(Image credit: Russell Baker)
Nick Bowman, director of IMBA Australia (Image credit: Russell Baker)
Jason English (Merida OnTheGo) and Jenni King (Target Trek) won the 2013 Australian marathon national championships in Atherton, Queensland.
Men
English took out the gruelling 103-kilometre race in a time of five hours, 18 minutes - just over two minutes ahead of 2012 defending champion Andy Blair (Swell-Specialized). Peter Hatton (Giant Racing) rounded out the podium, crossing the line in five hours, 33 minutes.
A five-time solo 24-hour mountain bike world champion, English had the endurance to come from behind to clinch the win.
"Because this race went out to five hours it worked in my favour," English said.
English moved from fifth place to second after two laps of the challenging tropical terrain before taking the lead with just 13 kilometres left to race.
"I knew if Andy didn't slow down he would keep the gap." English said of his second lap feats. "I had to rely on the challenge of the tough climbs to work their magic in my favour."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
The green and gold jersey adds to English's solo 24-Hour Australian title won over the Easter long weekend in Canberra.
"Two national titles in three weeks, I feel a bit greedy but I'm stoked," English said.
After leading for the majority of the race, second placed Blair said he gave it everything.
"I wanted to ride my own race - if anyone got across to me I wanted to make them work for it," Blair said. "When Jason reached me, I couldn't hold his pace and he got away from me. I'm really happy with my race today though."
Women
In the women's race, it was Victoria's Jenni King who prevailed to claim the national title ahead of Therese Rhodes (Liv/Giant) and Sarah Riley (Liv/Giant).
King completed the 103-kilometre course in a time of six hours, 45 minutes - 15 minutes ahead of Rhodes and a further 23 minutes to Riley.
"I was just happy to finish, I had heard how tough the course was," King said.
"I wasn't even thinking about the result, but it's a bonus to take the national title," the 2012 Australian Cross Country National Champion said.
2012 defending champion Peta Mullens (Target-Trek) was forced to withdraw midway through the race, leaving the door open for teammate King to claim the Australian jersey.
Irish national Jenny Fay (Swell-Specialised) was the first across the line but unable to claim the Australian National title.
"I rode away into the lead early in the second lap," Fay said. "From there, I raced conservatively but still working on the climbs which are my strength - the course suited me down to the ground, in fact if I could dream of a course this is it."
Fay was disappointed her nationality prevented her from claiming the Australian title.
"It's a bittersweet day given I still have Irish nationality, so I can only claim the race win. I'm looking forward to racing the Irish national marathon champs in September," Fay said.
