Hobart Airport Marathon

Arrived in Hobart about two hours later than expected (thanks Jetstar) but getting through the airport was simple and on to the skybus. We found our lodgings and dropped our bags and went for a tour. Down to the docks and Salamanca place. We picked up numbers and pacing singlet and went for a look at the course around Battery point. There is a hill. Not a terribly big hill but it was going to be out and back over it three times so cumulatively could be a challenge.

Saturday we headed down to Salamanca market. This was extremely busy as there was a cruise ship in port and everyone headed to the market. It was interesting but crazy crowded. We found a pie at the bakery truck and sat around doing some people watching. We then popped back to the expo to check how many runners there were in the marathon. About 160 and about 400 in the half which started at the same time. A quiet afternoon and pasta for tea and early to bed. This was the end of daylight savings so we get an extra hour of sleep but the organisers use that to start earlier at 6.00 am.

Sunday rolled around and up before dawn. We gathered to attach balloons and chat amongst the pacers. Then over to the start and away we went. Cool and overcast I was looking at 5.40/km for four hours total. First km was 5.20 but I knew there was the climb up to Queens domain to come. Second km was around 6 min so back on schedule. Went through 10 km about one minute quick and the half about 2 minutes under. We lost the half runners and all of a sudden it became much more solitary. I had a couple of runners to talk to and support but really only about ten or so around at any one time. I chatted and encouraged as I could and we had the 10 km field whoosh through. On Sandy Bay rd for the last time I had a bit of time up my sleeve and had a look behind to see if I could find anyone to push through but there was no runner that I could see behind us. On the last lap we had the 5 km field around us. This was nice for the numbers but made it hard to see who was running the marathon and how they were going. We passed the finish line and completed the loop and finished. I ran 3:56:19. A little under my goal time but as I said there was nobody behind that I could help.
A bit later we headed out for Guinness and chips and then Monday we walked the rivulet about 5 km out to the Cascade brewery. Unfortunately we were too early for the bar to be open. We then had a bit more time about Hobart waiting to head out to the airport. While waiting we received word our flight had been cancelled. Another day in Hobart. We hired a car and drove up Mount Wellington and then out to Richmond to look at the old convict built bridge and the goal. We found a scallop pie at the bakery and an award winning vanilla slice. With a bit of time to kill we went for a walk along seven mile beach. We resisted the temptation to walk all seven miles and adjourned for a Tasmanian beer at the club near the airport.
Dropped off the car in plenty of time. Jetstar had managed to run late again so about an hour late we headed home. Not a bad effort for a quick weekend. Two canceled flights and two each more than an hour late. Fortunately they will compensate us for the extra accommodation and meals. Turned out the extra day had more sightseeing in it than the rest of the time in Hobart itself.

No serious damage done so time for Easter and then on to Canberra.

Canberra Marathon

Shortly after coming back from Hobart I managed to hurt my back. Usually this is an inflammation injury that comes good after a couple of days. This time it remained stiff and sore all the way through to the Canberra Marathon. Added to that was news that cyclone Ilsa had managed landfall just south of Broome and was joining a low pressure system to drop rain across the country. In our case it meant rain and cold wind in Canberra just in time for the marathon. Cold, wet and stiff, not the best start.

Canberra is an early start at 6.15 am. So we were up before 5 and listening to the steady beat of rain. Sometimes this eases with the dawn but not on this occasion. We gathered, we started and off we went. Up around Parliament House and back down. I was looking for the 3.15 pacers but they were way in front of me. I checked my watch and could see they were already well under their goal time. I decided to try and hold my own pace figuring if I could run 3.15 pace they would come back to me. At 21 km I went through in 97 minutes so on 3.15 but working way too hard for what I was achieving. Good news was the rain had paused.

One of the idiosyncrasies of Canberra is that the half marathon starts quite a bit later and the quick half runners come past my part of the field when they have run four km and I have run 26. Some times this can be inspiring, on a cold, wet day not so much.

Lots of runners coming past and getting fatigued. Fortunately the half runners turn before we do so there is a bit of quiet time before we rejoin them for the last part of the run. Unfortunately this also means that runners we rejoin are several minutes slower than the first group and we have to work our way back through them. I’d just about had enough when we hit the last bridge with four km to go. A squall came through with a cold wind and the rain started up again. Sore and cold I buckled down for the second lap of Telopea park. Around the hill and back down, one last hill and finish, again in steady rain. Finished in 3.30.09 in what is my second slowest Canberra. The only slower was when I paced someone else.
Interesting event. I learned again several lessons. 1. The importance of positive thinking. Some others had reasonably good runs and didn’t notice the conditions anywhere as much as I did.
2. The importance of being satisfied with what I can achieve, not what I hope to achieve. I was still third in my age group and only seven seconds behind the second placed runner. My time still qualifies me for Boston by a very comfortable twenty-five minutes. It was a good solid run.

Move on. McLarenvale in two weeks.

McLarenvale marathon.

One of the nicest things about visiting new events is we get to see diverse parts of the country and some of the amazing works. In the case of Canberra we have been going for several years and the biggest feature is the camaraderie that is built up. For McLarenvale we decided to spend some time on the way looking at the silo art in parts of the state that we hadn’t been to. Silo art is exactly as it says on the label. Huge wheat silos have been built around Victoria to hold grain. With modern techniques to store wheat they have become outdated and in most cases have shut down. They are still a feature of many small towns and localities and to encourage tourism many have been used as a blank canvas for amazing murals that reflect the local community.

We started at the silo in Rapunyap and did a loop up to Hopetoun and then back around through Rainbow and Jeparit and stayed the night at the Victoria hotel in Dimboola. Saturday morning we continued on to McLarenvale via Kaniva and Murray Bridge.

McLarenvale marathon

Arriving Saturday afternoon there was not too much time to get nervous. Most of the initial time was spent finding the start at Richard Hamilton wines and then our accommodation which was an Airbnb organised by George. After a carbo load dinner it was a suitably restless night before we lined up in the field of around 140 starters. I started out comfortably with a bunch just in front that I resisted the urge to chase. First km was 4.25 so any quicker I knew could be disastrous later. A young woman came past who I found out later was the first woman overall. Again, do not chase. The course passes lots of vineyards and has a couple of long but not severe hills. I was pretty happy with how the kms were ticking over and when we hit the shared path at 15km I could feel that this was a completely different day to that of a fortnight earlier. Curiously the conditions were not that different. Less rain and wind but still some rain but a touch warmer.
Around to the winery and back out for the second lap. It was good to see the leaders heading out as I headed in and then to see George as I headed out again. A nice young man from Kangaroo island joined me and we ran together for a km or two but he broke away up the long incline as I tried to maintain a steady tempo.
At about35 km and back onto the shared path. This is the time to start talking to the legs about whether we can manage to keep pace for the remainder “it means less running time if you keep going” . A bit of an uphill out the back and a km to go. Time was looking really good so try and keep going. Up the driveway and into the finish chute.
Finished in 3.13.26. Fourteenth overall and first in my age group. Sixteen minutes quicker than Canberra. This was my 50th marathon and I worked out later it was my twelfth quickest. I felt stronger and recovered better than in Canberra. Who knows?
We set off for the return journey early on Monday and traveled through Kooinda in South Australia which has another silo mural and spent the night in Mildura before the final leg and the final silo in Sea Lake and thence home.

Images by marathon photos. Free with McLarenvale registration

Three marathons in four weeks. Lat year we did three in three in Berlin,London and Chicago. The last one was difficult with a bronchial illness. This time the middle one was difficult with inclement weather conditions. Obviously it’s doable but is there an advantage to doing so many close together? In both cases the first event was intended as a warmup, pacing down in Hobart was effectively a long training run. Berlin was quicker but again was to set up for the Age Group Championship in London.

Second events were completely different. London was good conditions and a huge field and crowds. As it was the Championship it was the focus where Canberra was not. The results in London were good as I ran as hard as I could for as long as I could. Hurt at the end. I think this led to the illness that marred the third event in Chicago. Canberra was slower than I expected and left me with doubts about where I was at. Sure, it was cold and wet but I am mindful that, at sixty four, there may come a time when I have to accept slower times are just where I’m at. Wee niggly, naggly doubts.

The third marathons were again complete opposites. Chicago fell apart at 23 km and was a struggle from there on. At least the weather was nice. A complete lack of energy. McLarenvale on the other hand was comfortable for nearly all 42 km. It is a beautiful feeling to reel off km after km almost without effort and to see km markers count down and know there is a good result just around the corner.

What have we learned?

1. Don’t be too hard on yourself for one run. There’s another on the way and things will get better

2. Back to back marathon races are not only possible but doable.

3. Some times it is desirable to have a backup. Not every plan goes accordingly.

Where to from here?

Next events are winter cross country and then pacing 3.45 in Brisbane with a friend, Adam. A break of a month (still running but) and then pacing four hours in Cairns. Build up to my tenth Melbourne marathon in October becoming a Spartan. Then off to Auckland and Queenstown to round out the year. Longer term 2024 is a return to Boston. I now have three qualifying times with forty minutes buffer. I’m thinking Boston-Big Sur double and then maybe Rotorua on the way home seeing as we’ll be using flight credits with Air NZ.

How do I feel about all that?

Excited, maybe. I think I’m going ok. I can see the difference between my good and not so good events. I’m still finishing and that’s important. I think if I wasn’t completing events or everything was hurting too much then much of the satisfaction would wane and I would have to rethink. I’m competitive still and that helps. I’m enjoying running most of the time and the really good times outweigh the not so good. I still don’t like running in the rain. We keep running.

This is where we are and here are our aims.

Hobart Airport Marathon Sunday week. We fly down to Hobart Friday morning and home Monday afternoon. Should be a nice long weekend in Australia’s southernmost capital. I just wish the organisers would stop referring to the event as “challenging”.

I’m pacing four hours as a lead up to Canberra and McLarenvale marathons.

How does this fit in with years goals you ask? For those who read the last blog you’d know we were looking at Melbourne, Marine Corp and New York as the big events for the year. This was soured when I missed entry to the New York event after getting up at 4.00 am on the morning entries opened. Those with time qualification could get a spot on a first come first served basis and so I was in the queue within four minutes (should not have read the instructions, that took three minutes), waited for an hour and fifty minutes and then registered. Job done or so I thought. Received the email and I quote “we are excited to have you run with us in 2023.” Imagine my disappointment a couple of weeks later to receive an email saying “all spots are full we’re putting you in the general ballot”. The general ballot works out as a 5 or 6 to 1 chance to get in and so it proved. We missed out.

This led to a lot of reshuffling. Having thought we were in for New York, we entered the Marine Corp marathon in Washington and had worked out flights and itineraries. Fortunately there is scope to defer the Marine Corp marathon and switch the flights to another destination. We’ll use the New Zealand part of the trip in October-November to run in Auckland and Queenstown and spend the balance of time touring New Zealand.

Long range plan now moves to Boston 2024 and the Big Sur marathon but that is for future blogs.

New York. No

Washington. No

New Zealand. Yes!

Back to Hobart. This gets a bit labyrinthine so pay attention. I have run Canberra marathon eight years now, not in succession and so am getting close to being a Griffin. It is one event that we as a group tend to travel for. We’ve put in a pretty good block of training including a couple of 100 km weeks and Sri Chinmoy half marathon. Long runs have increased in distance and duration but as with all programs there is always the wish to get a warm up run under the belt.

Early this year I went into Melbourne to support a friend, Adam who was competing in the half iron man triathlon. He told me he was pacing the marathon in Brisbane and that I should come and do that with him. I contacted the organisers and got the job and they mentioned that they also had spaces for pacers in Cairns and Hobart. (Still with me?). I volunteered for Cairns as there were some cheap airfares going. I mean who couldn’t find time to be in Cairns in the middle of a Melbourne winter but at the time I couldn’t find any fares that made it worthwhile going to Hobart.
During training it became clear that I was going to need a long run a couple of weeks before Canberra and the thought of Hobart kept percolating. In the end I booked a couple of flights and volunteered for a four hour run. In theory it should be reasonably easy although the hills may be a test.
Two weeks later is Canberra and as a backup we’ll run McLarenvale two weeks after that. Bit of travelling to be done but no time zones to cross. I’m hoping that I can run a qualifying time for Boston 2024. I already have a couple in the bag from runs at the end of 2022 but would like to start the new year on a positive note. We do change out of daylight savings the weekend of Hobart but it will still be an early morning. Hopefully we can have a quiet run for a couple of kms and zone out.

I’m Good, and you?

As many of you will know Anne and I have retired from paid employment but a former colleague texted me today and reminded me of one of our fellow workers who suffered with depression and twelve months ago took his own life. I don’t often run for a cause but Hobart I will dedicate to him. We all miss him and wonder what we could have done to help but unfortunately we also didn’t want to continually harass him about how he was all the time. Please, please if anyone ever needs a chat do not hesitate to call. RUOK?

So here we are. A week to go. Nerves starting to kick in and logistics hopefully settled. There’s a couple of early mornings in the offing and some stitches to come out on Thursday before flying on Friday. (Infiltrating keratosis removed, if you were wondering, on the right ear. Darn nuisance). I’m feeling ok. We had a pleasant 16 km run out the back of Ferny creek this morning including a couple of hills. It was just a great morning to be out. No soreness, so all good. Tapering means only a couple of runs this week and nothing so hard that it might cause injury. We’re nearly off and running. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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.

Sitting in Los Angeles LAX. We fly out back to Melbourne at 9.30 pm tonight Tuesday and will be home at 7.00 am Thursday. We cross the dateline somewhere in the middle of the flight.

I’ve had a couple of runs since Chicago including 21km this morning, an intended easy lap around the airport. I thought it would be about 10 km. Whoops! All of those roads and hotels look alike. Still a bit slow but I think that is a result of the respiratory infection I picked up. Interestingly several people on the London Marathon Facebook site also mentioned picking up respiratory complaints. 50,000 runners and several hundred thousand spectators in close proximity. Who would have thought? We left Chicago the Monday after the marathon and flew to Portland in Oregon.

Portland

Portland is an interesting city. It has a fair bit of urban decay just off its centre on the light rail path from the airport into town. There is also a large homeless population. It gives a first impression of a city in decline but speaking to locals reveals that there is a strong alternative ethos in Portland with many craft breweries and a strong foodie culture. There is also an interest in environment and much of surrounding Oregon state has great outdoors culture with many hiking and running trails, fishing and mountain biking.

San Jose

From Portland we flew into San Jose. During planning for this trip we were bound by a couple of points. The three marathons and the flight out of Los Angeles we are currently waiting on. With a bit of wriggle room we looked at a couple of meet ups and events that we wouldn’t be able to achieve in Australia. One of these is Ice Hockey. Ice hockey is a very minor sport in Australia. Not so in San Jose the home of the Sharks. Fortuitously we could be in town on the opening weekend of the NHL season and see the sharks play the Carolina Hurricanes. It was a big event with live music beforehand and during one of the breaks. The game itself was exciting but even to a couple of newbie’s such as ourselves it seemed that the Hurricanes were better organised and it was no surprise that they beat the Sharks 2-1.

San Jose itself is a smallish city just south of San Francisco and acts as a satellite for silicon valley and SanFran. The locals have a strong self identity and are very proud of their local teams. We also took the opportunity to catch up with some relations while in the area. I’ll come back to that below.

Los Angeles

No great trip comes without its challenges. We decided that to avoid flying over all of the countryside and not seeing anything we’d take train from San Jose to Los Angeles. This is scheduled as an 11 hour trip along the coast through Paso Robles and Santa Barbara. All went swimmingly for about 9 hours. A couple of volunteers gave talks about the history of the area and pointed out interesting landmarks. The sun sank into the Pacific ocean just north of SantaBarbara.

About an hour from disembarking the train stopped. There had been a trespasser strike. The upshot was that the train had hit someone on the tracks who shouldn’t have been there and the driver had to be replaced to be counselled after the trauma. There also needed to be an investigation before the train could move. Eventually we were offloaded onto a local service that stopped at every station across Los Angeles. We disembarked at Union station at 12.30 am to find that the shuttle to the airport where the hotel was didn’t run between 11.30 pm and 3.00 am. We took a taxi.

Only a day and a half in Los Angeles and we spent the first bit catching up on some sleep. Then we caught the bus to Santa Monica to indulge our inner Forrest Gump. In the footsteps of Forrest and Rob Pope we strode past the Bubba Gump shrimp restaurant and out to the end of the pier. We turned around and resisted the pull of running back across the country.

We did however get on the hop on, hop off bus and see the sights. We saw the Hollywood sign (could be bigger) and marvelled at the stars on the walk of fame. We seemed to do laps through Beverley Hills and saw the Viper room where River Phoenix died, the Whisky au go go and many expensive houses.

I went for a final run this morning and now we wait for the plane. We have achieved what we wanted to achieve and met many old and new friends along the way.

With Thanks

George Dyer.

This wouldn’t have happened without the urging of George. While we’ve been seeing more of the U.S George has run several more marathons. It was George’s suggestion that three marathons in three weeks is doable. I am happy with that but George has continued on and who knows how many he will have eventually done by the time he gets home.

Michael Brosilow

Michael was in my age group but has recently moved up to the 65+ category. He is a bit quicker than me and so I have been following his progress over a couple of years. We finally met in person in Berlin for a run and then in Chicago . It was great to finally meet in person and hopefully we can do so again in the future.

Roger Baumgartner

When we planned to be in Portland Roger offered to come down from Seattle. Again Roger is someone we’d never met in person having been in contact through a Mapmyrun training group that also includes Donna Moosh Caroll, Chris Pavey and Stephen France. Roger not only came down he took us for a drive out into the country for a hike to a couple of waterfalls and then treated us to a picnic of local fare. It was extremely generous and much appreciated. We hope we can reciprocate some time in the future

Huong Tong Khwaja

I hope I spelt that right Huong. Huong is family. Living out of San Francisco means we don’t get to see her and the rest of the family that often but is a delight to do so and catch up with their busy lives.

And finally Anne.

Can’t do what I do without her. Nuff said. There are some more images to go in here to flesh out the story but the iPad isn’t playing fair.

Where to from here?

Home. From the sound of it to a pretty sloshy, wet Melbourne. We’ll regroup, look at some options. I have a qualifier for the World Age Group again in Chicago next year but it would be expensive and probably mean missing Melbourne and my tenth running again. Boston 2024 ? Tokyo 2024. I have a qualifier for Boston but it would take some luck in the ballot for Tokyo. Kangaroo Island marathon, off the coast of South Australia? All options.

London to Chicago

After a recovery day in London it was back on the big bird to Helsinki. Flying with Finnair all flights transit through Helsinki. We thought we’d have an overnight there to see a new country. Helsinki is the furthest north we have been and is now into autumn. The leaves are turning colour and the temperature dropping. Three degrees and rainy. Not necessarily the chance to see a city at it’s best. Helsinki is built around a port and has several islands containing beautiful old buildings only accessible by boat. It also has an interesting Botanical gardens.

Chicago

We were staying out at Oak Park, one of the original Chicago suburbs. The suburb has some remarkable architecture and was home the celebrated architect Frank Lloyd Wright (no relation) and Ernest Hemingway the Nobel winning author. The Wright buildings are quite distinctive being solid structures with large overhangs. It’s hard to believe that they were built over 100 years ago they blend into the neighbourhood so well.

Chicago marathon

So to the third of three marathons. You might think that would be challenge enough. Just to make it more interesting I left London with a burning throat that then developed into a respiratory infection. Probably a bit run down after two marathons and associated travel. Anne has had a cough for most our time away but I think mine was just an opportunistic bacterial infection. I felt I was getting better but was still a bit apprehensive as to what the race would bring.

I’ll skip the first bit but my intent was to run easily as I did in Berlin and see what transpired. Went through the half in 95 minutes so within a minute of the Berlin time. Things started to go awry shortly after. First hints started at 23 km. For those who have not run marathons this is much, much earlier than is comfortable. 19 km to go and legs starting to hurt. We negotiated a truce for a couple of kms but there was no doubt this was going to be a difficult run. Surprise!

By 30km I was on the edge of all sorts of trouble, cramp? maybe, heel pain? sure. but mainly just no energy. Hit the bottom of the well and it was dry. Then the 3.20 pacers came past and I started to realise that even struggling as I was, I was still capable of a reasonable time. I had to take short walks at times but kept hanging in until finally the last couple of kms came into sight. The 3.25 pacer came past and 38 and then 39 km went by. A sign said 1 mile to go. Checking the watch 3.30 ish seemed the most likely finish. Then an 800m to go sign. Yes, there were miles and kilometer signs all along the course. It is one of the nice things about the major marathons.
A 400m to go sign was very welcome. The equation was 100m per minute to get in under 3.30. Across the line in 3.27. Whew.

So in summary, the three marathons were completed in 3.18 (Berlin), 3.12 (London) and 3.28 (Chicago). All under 3.30. That was my first aim (tick). The London marathon was also the World Age Group Championship so I wanted to perform well there. 3.12 is my sixth fastest ever marathon and my fifth is only one second quicker, so I think I did as well as I could have hoped. (tick) I ended up 33rd in the world in my age group. I’m sore and boy was it tough but I reckon I have given it as good a shake as I can so quietly satisfied.

From Here

Running is done. Now the recovery and getting home. Tomorrow we head to Portland in Oregon to look at craft beer and pinot. We hope to catch up with friends and wind down. Thursday is to San Jose to see the Sharks ice hockey team play the Carolina hurricanes. Again hoping to catch up with some family. Finally, on to L.A. for the flight home. The adventure will be over. I’ll do one more blog from L.A about the week.

Thanks for reading so far.

Two out of three ain’t bad

This was always going to be THE one. London marathon 2022 was the Abbott World Age Group Championship and I qualified. The chance to compete against the best of my age (60-64) was always going to be a challenge particularly as the event has chopped and changed due to COVID. I was qualified for the first running in 2021 but couldn’t travel out of Australia.

Weather

we all spent the week prior to the event sweating on every weather report. Early predictions were an 80+ % chance of rain that might ease off later. As the week progressed there was a gradual improvement in the forecast with likely rain becoming lighter and then less likely.

The morning dawned. I needed to be out at Blackheath by about 8.15 am. I had a rain jacket, a change of clothes and running gear. The weather was overcast and cool. It looked a chance for a light shower but no worse than that. Nearly ideal.

To the Start

Fascinating how the underground works. There seems to be a built in redundancy so that there are a number of ways to get to the same end point. This is a great way to make new friends as various groups debated the best way to get to the start. I followed the crowd. Paddington to Charing Cross, change train get off at Blackheath. There may have been a quicker way but I was working on the Keep It Simple rule.

At the start which is a big open field we were directed to the Championship corral. London has three start points Blue, Red and Yellow. Runners from red and yellow merge after a short stretch and then that group merge with blue start after about 2.5 km from the start. Blue includes the elites, the British championships and the Age group championship who are then followed by about 10,000 runners. All up the field is about 45000 strong.

Strategy, what strategy?

I think my major aim apart from the obvious desire to finish and not embarrass myself was to compete and to better my time from Berlin (3.18.40 but you knew that). I had set off at a controlled pace in Berlin, gone through the half in 96 minutes and dropped about six minutes in the second half to 3.18. So I wanted to be a bit quicker in the first half and then try to hang on.

I heard a truism while waiting at the start ”you don’t bank time in a marathon, you simply borrow it from a loan shark. It is always paid back with pain and interest.” This of course must be balanced with that other grand old saying ”No guts, no glory”

So off we went, I started well and looked around to find a couple of 60-64 runners to pace off. This may have been a mistake if you recall the best of the best in the world from above. Went through 5 km in 21 minutes and the half just under 90 minutes. Considering how chuffed I was to complete a half marathon in 89.47 a couple of weeks ago this was either going to be fabulous or painful or both.

One of the other things about marathon running at this age is that the opportunity for significant runs doesn’t come along with every race. I still have the fantasy of running sub 3 hours and a PB of 3.07. At the half both of these seemed possible although three hours very unlikely. The crowd support in London is brilliant. As the event starts later, at 9.30 am there is time for supporters to get out on the course. And they do. 3-4 people deep across Tower Bridge, the noise is deafening but the lift it gives is noticeable. Far different from 7 am on a Sunday morning in Melbourne.

The wheels started to wobble about 28 km in. I would have liked another couple of comfortable kms but not to be. From here it becomes a mental challenge. One more kilometre, no don’t cramp, don’t look at that guy walking. We turn around down near Mudchute, what a great name and then up and around back towards embankment. At that point we can see the later runners heading off on the Canary Wharf loop. I don’t want to see them because I know we are not heading to the finish until after the point they turn into view. Down into the tunnel 38 km down, Ambo’s are performing CPR on a runner off to the side. Say a little prayer for him and run on. Embankment is exactly what it says on the box. The road around the river Thames. The London Eye is on the other side of the river and the turn at Big Ben is ahead. I’m holding on to 5 minutes per kilometre and looking at below 3.18 but not sure by how much. 3.15 maybe, that was my sneaky goal but went out the window with the time at the half.

Turn right, up by St James park, not sure how far to go until I see the 400 metres to go sign. Promise the legs anything for a little more pace through to the line. One of the wheelchair athletes pulls up beside me as we run in. We overtake a couple, fortunately he doesn’t run me over in the shadows of the finish line.

Finish

Finished in a net 3.12.04. 3060th overall out of 45000 and 35th in my Age Group. I took six and a half minutes of my Berlin time. Have a bit of a hobble going on with my left heel with a bit of inflammation but pretty chuffed all up. This is the sixth fastest marathon I have run in 47 marathons and was done in a championship in a big crowd. Tomorrow we fly out to Helsinki and then on to Chicago for the last marathon of the adventure. I keep saying it will be a pleasant jog around Chicago. We’ll see……

The calm before the storm.

Saturday afternoon. We’ve done a little bit of shopping down in Notting Hill where we found Becoming Forrest by Rob Pope. Now to get it signed by the author. Rob will be in Australia in February so that might just be a chance. We spent the week doing a lot of walking and a bit of running culminating in a four km jog this afternoon and 5 x 100 m strides down in Hyde park. Might have to think about some stretching.

Tomorrow is the second of our three marathons. I think I’ve pulled up OK from Berlin but we’ll know more about 30 km into tomorrow. Anne has picked up a nasty cough but doesn’t seem to have shared it. Again we’ll know more tomorrow. I still have little ongoing soreness in my left heel and had a twinge in my right calf yesterday but all in all as good as can be expected. I start in the Championship wave so will have to start at a fair pace or risk being run over by thousands of runners. I think the estimated field is of the order of 50,000. A far cry from the 80 finishers in Dubbo a couple of weeks ago. Tower bridge, an image of which is below is packed with spectators and you hear the noise as you approach, run over the bridge and even for some time after. The finish is up beside the river Thames, turn right at Big Ben, run up to Buckingham Palace, have tea and scones and then run around the fountain and finish. (might skip the scones and have a beer later).

People and Places

One of the reasons we come all the way around the world to run is to meet people and learn of others way of life. It also gives us a chance to catch up with friends from times past. sometimes it just doesn’t work with some people because of other commitments but we had a great time with Knox legend Adam Bernard and George at The George Inn” for a couple of pints.

In the evening I attended the Abbott World Age Group meet an greet at the national Maritime museum in Greenwich. It rained all of the way there and I wondered why I bothered as I was soaked when I arrived but it was worthwhile meeting athletes from all over the world. I also caught up with Damian Bruneau who helped pace me earlier in the year when I ran a virtual marathon on the Knox bike path. Damian is a big chance to go well in his age group so fingers crossed for him.
The other male in the third image is Avi from Houston. He is in my age group so we will be racing tomorrow. Avi also ran Berlin last weekend and finished about four minutes in front of me so he is someone to chase. Two of the girls, Erin and Elizabeth from Chicago also ran in Berlin last week and are running again here. We’ll catch up again on Sunday night to debrief on the day.

I also chanced a meeting with a couple the Indigenous marathon project runners yesterday. Originally set up by/with Rob DeCastella the project aims to improve the lives of indigenous runners by providing an aim and some mentorship. one of the guys will complete his sixth major and qualify for the big Abbott medal. A great achievement he will be the first indigenous athlete to do so.

A couple more images of touristing

That’s it for this one. Spaghetti for dinner and an early night. Will be a big day tomorrow. At the half we will also be half way through the adventure. Weather is not looking too promising but you only get wet once. Will try and do a race recap on Monday.

Cheers

Berlin marathon 2022

The start of the adventure has arrived. Sunday was about 10 degrees and overcast nearly perfect conditions for marathon running. Myself and 40,000 of my running friends gathered in the start corrals to watch Eliude Kipchoge set off to break the world record and possibly the 2 hour barrier.

The gun fires and from where we are, we can see on the big screen as the elites fly off down towards the victory column in the tiergarten. We do not move. For a couple of minutes we watch the screen and then as the excitement builds we start to shuffle toward the timing mats. I cross the start line just on five minutes after the gun. Can I give Kipchoge five minutes head start ? What do you reckon?

Down through the tiergarten and out onto the roads, still in large pack of runners as we start to sort ourselves out. Running pretty comfortably at around 4.30 kms. I pretty well maintained that through to the half in 96 minutes. The course is fairly flat with only a couple of bumps over the bridges and there are many drink stations. I tried to get a mouthful of water at most of them because the day was dry and there is always dust raised by that many runners.

Half way is also the furthest point out on the course which is a hollow C shape. Making our way back and things were starting to get tougher. At 27 km there was a murmur through the crowd and the field. Kipchoge has finished in world record time of 2.01.09. Wow!
The crowds were starting to build and musicians and drummers were playing at short intervals and my legs were starting to feel the pounding they’d been taking. I started to lose a bit of time between 30 and 35 km and then some more between 35 and 40. My mind was still active and I was concerned not to overcook this one as there are still two more marathons to run so I concentrated on finishing and let the time take care of itself. It is more important to complete all three rather than save a minute here on the first one.

One of the highlights of Berlin marathon is the last turn onto unter den linden where the Brandenburg gates loom a couple of hundred metres ahead. Nearly there, big crowds much noise, not far to go. It is a bit of a mirage. Through the gates there is another 3-400 metres to the finish line. Approaching the gates I thought I may have a chance of going under 3.18 but in the end it was 3.18.40. Quite sore afterwards, we had a bit of a rest and then in the afternoon/early evening caught up with George and the run fun travel group who kindly allowed us to join them for a couple of celebratory drinks.

Woke up a bit stiff and my left heel is a little inflamed but all up pretty good. We’ll have a long walk today and then off to London tomorrow.

Some thoughts on running in large fields

I found it interesting running in such a large field that some runners have very little awareness of what is going on around them. I watched one woman straight line from the inside arc of a roundabout to the inside of the turn of the exit completely oblivious to any other runner around. Taking the racing line is all well and good but sometimes courtesy is just as important.
The other obsevation would be that many runners don’t know how to pick up a cup and then get out of the way. One bloke at 32 km managed to take a cup, slow to a walk and walk down beside the length of the drinks table while having his drink. Meanwhile all other runners had to steer around him to get a drink. Not cool!

Pop in, grab cup, get clear, drink, throw (in bin if possible) Keep running.

Breakfast run

Many of the large marathons have an easy run the day before. In Berlin this was held at Templehof an old superceded airport that now appears to be used as industrial offices and community events. This was also the site of the expo and bib pickup. Some runners choose to run in national dress or in costume and it is a very relaxed way to start marathon weekend. The run was just over 5 km on runways and taxiways around the perimeter of the airport and then the organizers supplied doughnuts, pretzels, fruit and water.

New and old friends

Hmm. images sideways. There must be a way to fix that. Anyway, one of the great things of getting out and running is the people you meet and chat to from all around the world. Berlin gave me a chance to finally meet in person Michael Brosilow from Chicago. Michael and I were in the same age group for a number of years and he is a bit quicker than me so it was a delight to finally meet and get out for a run. Hopefully to be repeated somewhere around the world.

George we’ve known forever. As part of the Knox Athletics club George is a legend. If you’ve run a marathon chances are you either know George or he has run it. Six degrees of separation are a couple too many for people like George. We see him again next week in London.

We also get to chat to many people along the way from the french lady with halting english (authors note, we always feel very ignorant as we speak ONLY english) with whom we shared a table at the spaghetti place around the corner, to Kelly from London who we’ll see again next week who I talked to while removed our timing chips after the marathon and the nice young man from Brazil who we spoke to at breakfast. It gives us great pleasure to broaden our horizons and understand more of the world out there.

As we made our way by shuttle to Tullamarine we exulted in the thought of travelling to the heat struck environs of Europe and leaving the dreary Melbourne winter behind. As it happened we needn’t have worried 10 degrees C in Helsinki followed by rain and 12 degrees in Berlin.

I did spot something in Finland that made me stop and stare for a minute. Moomin characters. What are they? A series of characters from children’s fiction that originated in Finland. I had read many of the books as a younger Jeffrey and they brought back memories. They are still very popular in Finland and for whatever reason also in Japan. They occupy a similar niche in the National psyche that smurfs do in Belgium.

Did promise a pic of us in front of the Brandenburg gate and here it is. Also a couple of images around Berlin. The Berlin cathedral, statue of Frederick the great, the inside of the Humboldt plaza and the tower and church.
We’re having fun working out the maze that is the Berlin public transport system. Once you get the hang of it then it all works but having underground (U), above ground (S) and tram lines (M) that meet at different places and levels presents a lot of challenges for news players. We seem to be continually coming out the wrong exit!

This morning we did a tour of the Reichstag building. If I get my terminology right the building was built when Germany had an emperor so the building is the Reichstag or Emperor’s building. It is now occupied by a democratically elected government or Bundestag. It has been rebuilt as has much of Berlin although the first insult to this building was pre-second world war in 1933 when a suspicious fire caused extensive damage. The feature of the newest rebuild is a clear dome that has a spiral walkway inside that is open to tourists and has some pretty spekky views.

The tiergarten is already preparing for the marathon. Even as early as Tuesday sections are fenced off and grandstands being constructed. It is going to be big.

That should do for now. I did an easy 8 or so kilometres this afternoon and realise I’m going to have to stretch a bit. Who would have thought 28 hours of flying might leave one a bit stiff? Another run tomorrow and out to pick up numbers tomorrow afternoon. Roll on Sunday.

One week from now we land in Berlin for the start of the adventure. This week is about getting ducks in a row and starting to taper.

Major running focus for this week is to not get hurt. There will be no last minute heroics trying for another long run and running myself into the ground and definitely no extreme cross country. A fall or a turned ankle would be most unwise. There is also a consideration of the keratosis that I had removed from the back of my left hand. It hasn’t healed as well as we would have liked and I split the wound open the other day. A fall would not be a good thing. So, message to self, stay away from the trails.

Also, stay away from dogs and wildlife. The last couple of weeks has seen warmer (less cold)weather and an increase in dogs and birds out on the bike path. First evidence came by being swooped by a magpie during the Dubbo marathon and then yesterday being harassed by a mother duck on the bike path. Very hissy.

Yeah, not that friendly.

In terms of preparation there is very little left to do. We have booked flights and accommodation, looked at entry and covid requirements for the countries we are visiting and are now monitoring the weather to start thinking of packing. I’ll be backing off the mileage (kilometreage?) but from here it is more about feeling light and loose. The hard work is over. We have proven the concept with two marathons in two weeks followed by a sub 90 minute half marathon the following weekend.

How are the nerves? Starting to build. There is always the fear of the critical forgotten. I’m OK but what else can go wrong. In one sense I’ll be happiest when we stand on the start line in Berlin. At that point I am there, my gear is on and my run is up to me.
Next post will be from Berlin. Hopefully with Anne in the equivalent image of the Brandenburg gate.