Jessica Stenson has been left in tears after breaking the Australian marathon record in Spain.<\/p>\n
Commonwealth champion Stenson set a new national landmark of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds at the Valencia Marathon to slice nine seconds off her friend Sinead Diver’s record of 2:21.34.<\/p>\n
On one of the world’s fastest courses, the 38-year-old veteran enjoyed the race of her life to finish fifth, shattering her own personal best of 2:22:56 by a minute-and-a-half.<\/p>\n
“I just got off the phone to Sinead, she called me right away and we just cried,” Stenson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“She was so happy for me, and it was so nice to connect with her after the race.<\/p>\n
“I’m so delighted and so satisfied. Everyone’s always said Valencia is a magic place to run but I have to admit, I was really nervous coming into this race because I knew I was going to have a crack at the record and that it was going to hurt.<\/p>\n
“I was expecting a lot of pain \u2014 mental pain more than anything \u2014 but it was one of those days that I was pleasantly surprised and I found my flow.”<\/p>\n
On track for the record throughout the race, Stenson made sure by surging through the final kilometres.<\/p>\n
She crossed the line with a roar of delight as she enjoyed another magic moment in a career which has taken in three Olympics.<\/p>\n
Running her third marathon of the year, Stenson also paid tribute to 48-year-old Diver, who had set her record four years ago.<\/p>\n