The time spent at the ING New York City Marathon Health and Fitness Expo was great fun roaming the largest and most professionally run Marathon Expo ever seen.
All aspects were most impressive with the "Team For Kids" crew well represented and every conceivable company in the running and fitness market represented at this event.
The real highlight of being out at the Expo was being interviewed by WPIX TV News on the eve of the Continental Airlines Friendship Runathon.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Fair Play Dublin Marathon
What a awesome experience in Ireland! The Dublin Marathon is known as the friendly marathon and for very good reason. The crowd was amazing and provided some incredible motivation to continue the journey towards the finish line throughout the 26 mile journey.
Having not been able to find a decent massage treatment during the week there was no doubt that I was extremely tight in the first half of the marathon and produced a corresponding time for the first half of the just just over 2 hours.
I was pleased with the second half of the race and at no stage did I contemplate stopping other than to stretch out my calf for a moment. Although the weather was extremely cold and I could feel the winds sweeping through me there were many little towns along the course where crowds gathered in numbers to welcome the runners.
On approach through Dublin City and towards the finish line the crowd numbers were massive and it provided me with the added incentive to pass a number of people on the home stretch. The streets were fairly narrow along the majority of the course and this presented a few challenges throughout the race though on the home stretch I found myself calling out to fellow runners as I dodged through the gaps!
When I finally reached the line in 4:13:03 I was pleased to complete the third of my five international marathon adventures. I did not have long to process the result as before I knew it the media swamped me and I was being interviewed and photographed by the print media and television which was a great opportunity to get my message out and hopefully raise further much needed funds for Facing Africa.
Total field 11700
Place overall 4714
Place in cat. 762
10km time 00:58:41
1st-half time 02:02:09
30km time 02:57:43
Chip time 04:15:22
Finish time 04:13:03
I will forever know the Dublin Marathon as the "Fair Play Marathon" as there were a number of Irish people congratulate me on being the Marathon Man and on the achievement of completing the marathon by saying "Fair Play". This is certainly a unique Irish saying and one that I really like ... Fair Play Dublin and thank you so much!
It was very rewarding the next morning to see the Marathon Man featured in the leading newspapers in Ireland with a front page feature in 'The Irish Times' and prominent features in the 'Irish Daily Star' and the 'Irish Independent'.
Bring on New York ...
Having not been able to find a decent massage treatment during the week there was no doubt that I was extremely tight in the first half of the marathon and produced a corresponding time for the first half of the just just over 2 hours.
I was pleased with the second half of the race and at no stage did I contemplate stopping other than to stretch out my calf for a moment. Although the weather was extremely cold and I could feel the winds sweeping through me there were many little towns along the course where crowds gathered in numbers to welcome the runners.
On approach through Dublin City and towards the finish line the crowd numbers were massive and it provided me with the added incentive to pass a number of people on the home stretch. The streets were fairly narrow along the majority of the course and this presented a few challenges throughout the race though on the home stretch I found myself calling out to fellow runners as I dodged through the gaps!
When I finally reached the line in 4:13:03 I was pleased to complete the third of my five international marathon adventures. I did not have long to process the result as before I knew it the media swamped me and I was being interviewed and photographed by the print media and television which was a great opportunity to get my message out and hopefully raise further much needed funds for Facing Africa.
Total field 11700
Place overall 4714
Place in cat. 762
10km time 00:58:41
1st-half time 02:02:09
30km time 02:57:43
Chip time 04:15:22
Finish time 04:13:03
I will forever know the Dublin Marathon as the "Fair Play Marathon" as there were a number of Irish people congratulate me on being the Marathon Man and on the achievement of completing the marathon by saying "Fair Play". This is certainly a unique Irish saying and one that I really like ... Fair Play Dublin and thank you so much!
It was very rewarding the next morning to see the Marathon Man featured in the leading newspapers in Ireland with a front page feature in 'The Irish Times' and prominent features in the 'Irish Daily Star' and the 'Irish Independent'.
Bring on New York ...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Amsterdam Marathon
Following the epic adventures to make it to the start line in Amsterdam the first of the international adventures had arrived. The morning was extremely cool with very overcast conditions. With the race start at 10.30am this was the latest that I had ever commenced a marathon. Previously I have registered prior to the day and simply prepared for the race on race day. This was a little different as I arrived to the event for the first time to register and check out the Expo for the first time. It was interesting to find that there were a number of people who had read a article about my pursuits in the lead up to the Amsterdam Marathon with a few people making comment and congratulating me on arrival. This was really appreciated ...
The race start had all competitors gather inside the running track of the historic Olympisch Stadion "built as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. When completed, the stadium had a capacity of 31,600. Following the completion of the rival De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam in 1937, the Amsterdam authorities decided to increase the capacity of the Olympisch Stadion to 64,000 by adding a second ring to the stadium. AFC Ajax has used the Olympisch Stadion for international games until 1996, when the Amsterdam Arena was completed. Since 2005, the stadium is home to a sports museum, the Olympic Experience Amsterdam. It is no longer used as a football stadium." (Wikipedia) It is interesting to see that there is a now a official push to secure the 2028 Olympics for Amsterdam to celebrate the 100 year anniversary.
There was a real international flavour to the event with with tens of thousands of people lining up to start the 33rd Amsterdam Marathon. It was a great atmosphere with people sighted from all across the globe - USA, Canada, Ireland, England, Finland, Italy, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Belgium and of course Ethiopia and Kenya just to name a few. All competitors were broken up by expected finish times with me slotting next to the 3:45 pace group to start. Following the official start the majority of the field were walking to the start line with almost five minutes on the race clock by the time I was able to get into a light jog and commence the dodging of people.
The adrenalin rush of the start line continues to prevent me from powering home over the back half of the race. Think I may finally have to reassess this strategy in the future as once again I managed to go out a little too hard as the following times indicate:
Net time 4:07:30
Net split times (difference)
5,2 Kilometer 26:15 (26:15)
10 Kilometer 51:06 (24:51)
15 Kilometer 1:17:44 (26:38)
20 Kilometer 1:45:07 (27:23)
Half marathon 1:51:45
25 Kilometer 2:13:53 (28:46)
30 Kilometer 2:45:52 (31:59)
35 Kilometer 3:19:40 (33:48)
40 Kilometer 3:53:15 (33:35)
The promising news is that should I be able to hold it together the 4 hour barrier is not so far away. It really is a matter of the body and the mind working together from 30km on and leaving nothing in the tank to achieve the result! I am sure that with the right physical and mental preparation, race nutrition and race conditions on the day that this will be happen over the coming weeks.
It was interesting dealing with the later start time as by the end of proceedings following a massage it was late afternoon and I had run a marathon with minimal food intake during the day. The great part of staring early is that you can have the race sorted and return to enjoy a much deserved meal for lunch. Now will have to come up with a plan to perhaps have some lunch of choice at the finish line ready to devour before the next late start time ...
This was the first race where I have actually been interviewed while running with the local TV News AT5 running beside me with 11km remaining and asking a number of questions. It was very amusing to see the news coverage later that night ...
Looking forward to sharing a few more tales with you over the coming days.
Thank you so much for all your support!
The race start had all competitors gather inside the running track of the historic Olympisch Stadion "built as the main stadium for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. When completed, the stadium had a capacity of 31,600. Following the completion of the rival De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam in 1937, the Amsterdam authorities decided to increase the capacity of the Olympisch Stadion to 64,000 by adding a second ring to the stadium. AFC Ajax has used the Olympisch Stadion for international games until 1996, when the Amsterdam Arena was completed. Since 2005, the stadium is home to a sports museum, the Olympic Experience Amsterdam. It is no longer used as a football stadium." (Wikipedia) It is interesting to see that there is a now a official push to secure the 2028 Olympics for Amsterdam to celebrate the 100 year anniversary.
There was a real international flavour to the event with with tens of thousands of people lining up to start the 33rd Amsterdam Marathon. It was a great atmosphere with people sighted from all across the globe - USA, Canada, Ireland, England, Finland, Italy, Germany, Poland, South Africa, Belgium and of course Ethiopia and Kenya just to name a few. All competitors were broken up by expected finish times with me slotting next to the 3:45 pace group to start. Following the official start the majority of the field were walking to the start line with almost five minutes on the race clock by the time I was able to get into a light jog and commence the dodging of people.
The adrenalin rush of the start line continues to prevent me from powering home over the back half of the race. Think I may finally have to reassess this strategy in the future as once again I managed to go out a little too hard as the following times indicate:
Net time 4:07:30
Net split times (difference)
5,2 Kilometer 26:15 (26:15)
10 Kilometer 51:06 (24:51)
15 Kilometer 1:17:44 (26:38)
20 Kilometer 1:45:07 (27:23)
Half marathon 1:51:45
25 Kilometer 2:13:53 (28:46)
30 Kilometer 2:45:52 (31:59)
35 Kilometer 3:19:40 (33:48)
40 Kilometer 3:53:15 (33:35)
The promising news is that should I be able to hold it together the 4 hour barrier is not so far away. It really is a matter of the body and the mind working together from 30km on and leaving nothing in the tank to achieve the result! I am sure that with the right physical and mental preparation, race nutrition and race conditions on the day that this will be happen over the coming weeks.
It was interesting dealing with the later start time as by the end of proceedings following a massage it was late afternoon and I had run a marathon with minimal food intake during the day. The great part of staring early is that you can have the race sorted and return to enjoy a much deserved meal for lunch. Now will have to come up with a plan to perhaps have some lunch of choice at the finish line ready to devour before the next late start time ...
This was the first race where I have actually been interviewed while running with the local TV News AT5 running beside me with 11km remaining and asking a number of questions. It was very amusing to see the news coverage later that night ...
Looking forward to sharing a few more tales with you over the coming days.
Thank you so much for all your support!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Marathon Adventure to Amsterdam
The Marathon Man International mission started out from Sydney Airport on Wednesday afternoon 15th October with a number of connecting flights to navigate so as to arrive safely into Amsterdam for the first of three international marathons over the next three weeks.
Following a smooth first flight to Singapore and the opportunity to shower and rest up a little at Changi Airport this is where the action and drama started. With the flight to London Heathrow initially delayed due to the late arrival of a connecting flight, there were then issues with people not boarding the flight and baggage having to be removed. There was one person in particular who was responsible for the major delay of the flight by more than a hour and a half with this person showing up just as the bags were being removed. The more frustrating thing is that this same person was then seated behind me and I had also seen them wondering around inside the airport more than a hour before the flight was due to leave!
I was now a little concerned that I may not make it into London for my connecting fligth to Amsterdam as I initially only had just over a hour window to make it from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 at Heathrow for a 7.45am departure. Sure enough on arrival I raced out of the plane and missed the cutoff at Customs by only a matter of minutes. On returning to make the next flight with the gate closing at 8.20am the BAA Security team decided to make my life hell by stopping to check my carry on luggage and scanning the bag four times and going through every item in the bag. Having been assured that I would not miss another flight by three people and with the only item discovered being a pen exactly the same as one carried through in my jeans I found this a little frustrating and of course ended up missing another flight. All up I spent more than 4 hours in Heathrow Airport and as you can imagine was more than a little tired and emotional. Having received 10 pounds compensation to purchase Pret a Manger for early lunch I was finally bound for Amstedam for the adventure to continue in Europe ... Travel time to Amsterdam - 34 hours!
Following a smooth first flight to Singapore and the opportunity to shower and rest up a little at Changi Airport this is where the action and drama started. With the flight to London Heathrow initially delayed due to the late arrival of a connecting flight, there were then issues with people not boarding the flight and baggage having to be removed. There was one person in particular who was responsible for the major delay of the flight by more than a hour and a half with this person showing up just as the bags were being removed. The more frustrating thing is that this same person was then seated behind me and I had also seen them wondering around inside the airport more than a hour before the flight was due to leave!
I was now a little concerned that I may not make it into London for my connecting fligth to Amsterdam as I initially only had just over a hour window to make it from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 at Heathrow for a 7.45am departure. Sure enough on arrival I raced out of the plane and missed the cutoff at Customs by only a matter of minutes. On returning to make the next flight with the gate closing at 8.20am the BAA Security team decided to make my life hell by stopping to check my carry on luggage and scanning the bag four times and going through every item in the bag. Having been assured that I would not miss another flight by three people and with the only item discovered being a pen exactly the same as one carried through in my jeans I found this a little frustrating and of course ended up missing another flight. All up I spent more than 4 hours in Heathrow Airport and as you can imagine was more than a little tired and emotional. Having received 10 pounds compensation to purchase Pret a Manger for early lunch I was finally bound for Amstedam for the adventure to continue in Europe ... Travel time to Amsterdam - 34 hours!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Melbourne Marathon Personal Best
The Melbourne Marathon was a great experience. Starting the day walking from the Grand Mercure in Swanston Street with the elite marathon runners I walked to the MCG with Tesfaye Jiru from Ethiopia and discussed tactics. This was a great experience to learn that what sets the Ethiopians apart from other competitors is the fresh food and the ability to train in the open fields and at altitude.
The start of the marathon is always a buzz and this was no different with a number of competitors recognising me from previous marathons on the Gold Coast and Sydney and saying hello. It was great to see Charlie the Regional Director of Novartis Consumer training for a upcoming adventure race with full kit on his back.
With the adrenalin flowing the great Australian marathon champion Rob de Castella started the race at 7.30am with more than 3,000 competitors heading away from outside the MCG I started with the 3:45 pace group. The course proved to be a great adventure for me as while I have travelled to Melbourne a number of times, the majority of my time has been spent driving and in meetings and I have not really had a chance to appreciate the beauty of the city until now.
The common consensus to date has been that I have been starting out too fast in the first half of the marathon and that I should look to slow this down and pick up speed in the back end of the race. Well this is easier said than done! One of the great innovations that I really appreciated on the course was the water being available in plastic bags so you could keep running and bite into the bag and sip on the run rather than having to stop to sip from a cup! Bravo Melbourne Martahon ... Let's hope this is one day common practice for all marathons.
I felt as though I was pacing myself well in the first half of the race and when a song I liked started on the iPod I maintained my pace and resisted the urge to step up a gear. I crossed the half way mark in 1:52 and recall mentioning to those beside me that "this is where the race starts". I had been maintaining a good pace and by starting out in front of the 4 hour group and intially making my way up close to the 3:30 group it was not until close to the 15km mark that the 3:45 group made a break. The course was to wind out from St.Kilda Beach up to Brighton with some beautiful homes along the way. I felt strong and it was not until with just under 10km to the finish that I watched the 4 hour group pick me up and fly past. While this did hurt I was more interested in maintaining my pace and perhaps just perhaps I could stay close enough for a big finish.
With the promise of entering the MCG for the first time ahead, the time was now to make a strong finish and I continued to move ahead while others started to feel the pinch and slow to a walk. This is one of the most intense experiences when your mind tells you to push forward and the body simply does not respond. A true test of endurance and one that every marathon runner must face at sme time! The personal battle continued and on entering the MCG it was incredible. I recall thinking that the atmosphere on Grand Final day must be electric and with a number of people in front of me I was not really making much of an impression. Then with the line in sight and the spectators near the finish I discovered something extra and crossed the finish line in a new personal best time of 4:05:50! It is incredible to think that over the 42.195km distance I had improved my previous PB on the Gold Coast by 5 seconds ... While the 4 hour barrier remains for now, it is only a matter of time before this is broken!
The crowd were brilliant and the fellow competitors provided great inspiration with a number of runners cheering me on during race. It is this comraderie that makes me love this sport. Thank you so much to all you great people who take part and support each other in this magic journey!
The start of the marathon is always a buzz and this was no different with a number of competitors recognising me from previous marathons on the Gold Coast and Sydney and saying hello. It was great to see Charlie the Regional Director of Novartis Consumer training for a upcoming adventure race with full kit on his back.
With the adrenalin flowing the great Australian marathon champion Rob de Castella started the race at 7.30am with more than 3,000 competitors heading away from outside the MCG I started with the 3:45 pace group. The course proved to be a great adventure for me as while I have travelled to Melbourne a number of times, the majority of my time has been spent driving and in meetings and I have not really had a chance to appreciate the beauty of the city until now.
The common consensus to date has been that I have been starting out too fast in the first half of the marathon and that I should look to slow this down and pick up speed in the back end of the race. Well this is easier said than done! One of the great innovations that I really appreciated on the course was the water being available in plastic bags so you could keep running and bite into the bag and sip on the run rather than having to stop to sip from a cup! Bravo Melbourne Martahon ... Let's hope this is one day common practice for all marathons.
I felt as though I was pacing myself well in the first half of the race and when a song I liked started on the iPod I maintained my pace and resisted the urge to step up a gear. I crossed the half way mark in 1:52 and recall mentioning to those beside me that "this is where the race starts". I had been maintaining a good pace and by starting out in front of the 4 hour group and intially making my way up close to the 3:30 group it was not until close to the 15km mark that the 3:45 group made a break. The course was to wind out from St.Kilda Beach up to Brighton with some beautiful homes along the way. I felt strong and it was not until with just under 10km to the finish that I watched the 4 hour group pick me up and fly past. While this did hurt I was more interested in maintaining my pace and perhaps just perhaps I could stay close enough for a big finish.
With the promise of entering the MCG for the first time ahead, the time was now to make a strong finish and I continued to move ahead while others started to feel the pinch and slow to a walk. This is one of the most intense experiences when your mind tells you to push forward and the body simply does not respond. A true test of endurance and one that every marathon runner must face at sme time! The personal battle continued and on entering the MCG it was incredible. I recall thinking that the atmosphere on Grand Final day must be electric and with a number of people in front of me I was not really making much of an impression. Then with the line in sight and the spectators near the finish I discovered something extra and crossed the finish line in a new personal best time of 4:05:50! It is incredible to think that over the 42.195km distance I had improved my previous PB on the Gold Coast by 5 seconds ... While the 4 hour barrier remains for now, it is only a matter of time before this is broken!
The crowd were brilliant and the fellow competitors provided great inspiration with a number of runners cheering me on during race. It is this comraderie that makes me love this sport. Thank you so much to all you great people who take part and support each other in this magic journey!
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