Christmas. Whoosh !

New Year. Gone!

January. Wait! Hang on.

February. Well under way. Time to crystallise some of the vague thoughts that have been bouncing around the brain since we returned from overseas and took a little break from marathons. I didn’t stop completely but cut back on mileage and increased social contact.

Having completed three of the marathon majors there are still the other three, Tokyo, Boston and New York on the radar as well as a host of other fascinating events around the world. My tenth Melbourne Marathon is still a high priority and giving back to the marathon community by pacing some events is something I would like to do.

Planning Starts
We start to put together the year with a couple of definites. Canberra in April will be my eighth time and leaves only two more until I make “Griffin” status, those who have run the event 10+ times. The other definite is Melbourne in October which will be my tenth time going around and so I will finally become a “Spartan”

Then there a couple of “ I’d like to do that ones” and some where I’d like the run but I really don’t know if I want to race. I met up with friend who was competing in the half iron man in Melbourne. Adam and I had paced the Melbourne marathon a couple of years ago and he is planning to pace the Brisbane marathon this year. He suggested we could run it together and I should contact the organisers.

So I did and we’re in. Anyone who wants to run around 3:45 in Brisbane in June is welcome to join us. It will also be a great opportunity to catch up with my younger son Luke who lives in Brisbane as well as with Adam and some other friends. Susan from Atlas events was also looking for pacers for Cairns in July so that seemed a good chance to get out of Melbourne in winter for a week and there was a good airfare going so I signed up for that as well.
Susan was also looking for pacers in Hobart two weeks before Canberra. Initially I thought it was too expensive with flights and accommodation but eventually decided to have a run. I would run a long run at that stage anyway so at least this gives me new friends to run with. I’m running four hours there.

Next Major?

One of the interesting things about the marathon majors is the differing formats for entry. Some have time qualifier positions, most have charity fund raising positions and all have some sort of general ballot. The catch with the ballots are the number of people who want to run divided by the number of places available. Many runners try for years and never seem to get a spot. I had a couple of good marathons in 2022 and they have given me time qualifiers for New York and Boston. Also Chicago and Berlin but I ran those in 2022.

This year we have applied for New York and have built a trip around that. The (very cunning) plan is to run the Melbourne marathon and fly out a week later. Then run the Marine Corp marathon in Washington at the end of October into New York at the start of November and then to have a bit of time in New Zealand on the way home and run Queenstown marathon. Simples. The first challenge is the entry window. For entrants not part of the New York Road Runners, entry is on a first come, first served basis from Noon on the 8th February, New York time. Turns out that’s 4 am, 9th February Melbourne time. I sat and watched the queue on the computer for just under two hours before my turn came. I duly filled out the form and dispatched it into the aether. Now we wait for confirmation.
Quick update. Email came through this morning with acceptance into New York Marathon.

Next challenge will be the Marine Corp marathon which accepts entries from March 1st Washington time at Noon so at 4 am on the 2nd Melbourne time. Another early morning.

Long term planning

With 2023 plans underway we also look long term. How to get into Tokyo and/or Boston in 2024. Boston is more straightforward. Run a qualifying time, for me, a bit under 3.50 and you’ll get a spot. The way it works is that the quickest runners up to the field limit and under the qualifying time get a place. Generally it requires a couple of minutes under the time. If the period follows on from the 2023 event I should be able to use my London time which is a long way within the requirements.

Tokyo is another matter. There is only one time qualifying and it isn’t age based. 2.45 for semi-elite. Not even close. General ballot has about a 10-1 chance of success. 320,000 apply for 37000 places. Unlikely. There are a series of virtual events that are ongoing that offer smaller ballots that I will continue to do. Fingers crossed.

Others

Before I found I could use my London time for a Boston qualifier I targeted Canberra as the event to run a time. I’ve run a couple of good races there. The undulations seem to suit my running rather than the slog of a flat course. As a backup we found a new event in McLarenvale in South Australia, one of our wine regions. Having entered, I will still go around and see how we go but the pressure of having to run a time is off. Could possibly be a cheeky little Shiraz waiting afterwards.

Summary

2023 will certainly be busy but I think I am in reasonable condition at the moment. My left heel is an ongoing issue that needs to be managed and I am starting to feel the effects of 50+ years of running. I can’t recover like I did even ten years ago. I seem to have a continual low ferritin that I take an iron supplement for. All in all, pretty good.

So there’s the plan. Wish us luck.