But it was still an incredibly strong time.
Threlfall, running in a huge field in his first marathon since his personal best time of two hours 19 minutes in September, clocked 2.21 at the Lake Biwa marathon in Japan on the weekend.
Salah Eddine Bounasr, the 36th-ranked marathon runner in the world, claimed the invitational event in a time of 2.07:52.
Threlfall placed 57th overall.
The best of the Australian runners, Julian Spence, finished 26th in a time of 2.14, a personal best.
The last Australian runner to finish completed the course in 2.32, coming 149th overall.
Threlfall had taken a lay-off from running following Berlin to get married, and admitted he had made some major changes to his preparations for the event by allowing his fitness to drop off before building back up.
Threlfall also intended to run the race without the use of a timing watch, gauging his run more on feel than on timing.
Check the Riv on Friday for more details on his race.
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