Having recently been struck down with a serious case of the flu where I was in bed for more than five days prior to the marathon - it really was a major ask to prepare for one of the premiere marathon events in Australia. Little did I realise that it would later turn out to be a battle to simply last the distance ...
The 2009 Gold Coast Airport Marathon stretched south to Burleigh Heads, adding a scenic and flat section to the internationally recognised event. The race started at the Southport Broadwater Parklands and stretched to a southern turnaround point at Burleigh Heads, rather than the previous turnaround at Miami.
I was pleased with the first half of the race and as per usual was caught up in the adrenalin rush from the start going out in around 5 minute per km pace for the opening 15km. At the 26km mark I could wait no longer and decided enough was enough and made the call to visit the toilets. After weighing up the decision to stop or not - it was a great relief to have taken more than 3 minutes out. It was soon after this when back on the course that the stomach cramps started to kick in! This was the time where I recognised that the recent course of Tamiflu medication was playing havoc with me and the back end of the race would be a real challenge. I did my best to keep going though found it challenging to get the right mix of fluids and food down.
In addition to the stomach dramas, I started having issues with my shoes being too tight, my mind closing down and not being totally focused on the job. It was a real test simply to stay upright by placing one foot in front of the other over the final 15km.
I recall seeing a fellow runner struggling on and limping home towards the final stages and put my hand out as a sign of encouragement to see it through to the end whereby he grabbed my hand briefly! It was a magic moment of camaraderie that only marathon runners can share ...
It was pleasing to finally see the finish line in sight. Mind you even when I thought the finish line was close and I made my final charge it turned out that the actual finish line was still a way off with the line another 500m away around the corner. I finished in physical pain all over with my left ankle injury flaring up. While it was a hard day in the office - my work for the day was done ...
Five Kilometre Splits
5KM 00:27:20 00:26:11 RUN 5.00 05:14
10KM 00:54:01 00:26:40 RUN 5.00 05:20
15KM 01:20:15 00:26:14 RUN 5.00 05:14
20KM 01:51:01 00:30:45 RUN 5.00 06:09
25KM 02:24:46 00:33:44 RUN 5.00 06:44
30KM 03:04:24 00:39:38 RUN 5.00 07:55
35KM 03:45:50 00:41:25 RUN 5.00 08:17
40KM 04:30:21 00:44:30 RUN 5.00 08:54
Finish 04:45:40 00:15:19 RUN 2.20 06:57
Half Way Splits
Half Way 01:58:06 01:56:57 RUN 21.10 05:32
Finish 04:45:40 02:47:33 RUN 21.10 07:56
I will be sure to return to the Gold Coast in 2010 to complete some unfinished business!
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