Athletics: Kiwi Jake Robertson sets personal best at Great North Run

Jake Robertson with Mo Farah and Bashir Abdi.
Jake Robertson with Mo Farah and Bashir Abdi. Photo credit: AAP.

Kiwi Jake Robertson's set a personal best at the Great North Run in north-east England, cracking the 60-minute mark in the half-marathon.

Robertson finished second behind British great Mo Farah in a time of 59m 57s.

It's the fifth victory in a row for Farah, who held off the New Zealander by 31 seconds.

Robertson's previous best time in the half was 60m 01s, set in Portugal in March 2017 and equalled in Houston in January.

The Kenyan-based runner joins twin brother Zane an exclusive club to run the 21.1km in under an hour.

Zane holds the national record over the distance, with a blistering run of 59m 47s three years ago.

The latest result continues an impressive transition to road running for Jake, who smashed the New Zealand record in his debut marathon in Japan in March.  

Robertson's enjoyed a bumper season, winning the Houston Half, as well as 10km races in New Orleans and Cape Elizabeth.

It's another confidence boost for the Hamilton product, who's building towards the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in October.

Newshub.