CSU graduate and Carcoar athlete Kurt Fearnley claimed a 10th Sydney Marathon title in convincing fashion on Sunday as he began his quest to win further titles in Chicago and New York in the next two months.

Fearnley made no secret of the fact that his marathon training had been put into hibernation for most of the year as he prepared for the 1500 metre track event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

However, he led from the earliest stages in Sunday’s race and never really looked threatened, defeating the improving Richard Coleman and another race regular in Richard Nicholson.

With the two American races in his sights, Fearnley said he took everything out of the 42.2 kilometre slog that he could.

“I got to try my form out on hills like you get in New York, I got to test my arms in the last 10 kilometres of a marathon and basically got to practice all the aspects I needed to,” he said.

“It is a great course and it is like doing six different courses all in one hit because of the variety.

“I tried pretty deliberately to get out the front as soon as I could, you’re better off leading from the start than trying to get to the front with 500 metres to go.”

On paper it looked likely that Fearnley was going to dominate and that’s how it panned out, but he explained that one of the most exciting aspects of his sport is the sheer uncertainty every time he lines up.

“You never really feel like you’re going to win before it starts,” he said.

“Richard Coleman especially is starting to push into the top 10 or so in the world and had some great results at Paris and London this year.

“Because of the way wheelchair racing is, you don’t know if you’re going to take a wrong line into a corner and stuff it up, you just never know what is going to happen so I don’t ever go into a race thinking that I’m going to win it.

“Even out the front when you’re clear of the field, I don’t think it is hard to stay motivated to keep pushing myself and try and work towards that goal of winning in Chicago and New York.”

For now, Fearnley will go into recovery mode and he has three weeks to get himself prepared for Chicago on October 12.

After that he races the New York Marathon in early November where he will aim to add a fifth victory and first since 2009.

Incredibly, of 56 marathons he has started in his career to date, he has won 36 of them.

“I feel good after the race, now it’s time for lots of recovery and it is really important that I do everything right in the next three weeks to make sure I’m in good shape,” he said.