Blackmores Sydney Marathon

Running over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and then a few nights in the club lounge at the Sofitel...  Doesn't get much better than that, as far as I'm concerned!

 

After running a half marathon PB up the Hunter Valley I was pretty excited to build up for a full marathon PB.  I was also equally excited to run across Sydney Harbour Bridge, which would be iconic.

 

I decided to spend the first night at The Menzies, as they had a deal with Blackmores.  This worked out OK.  The accommodation was fine for the money and the food was also fine, but not a place I would stay at twice.  After checking in I went for a walk down to pick up my race kit and have a little look around.  Lunch down on Darling Harbour was great, as always.  It was so tempting to punish a few beers while the sun was beaming down, making it a perfect drinking afternoon.  Best behave, though.  Soon enough I was back at The Menzies for dinner and off to the room for a movie and bed.

 

Waking up on race day I started to get the typical mix of pre–race nerves and excitement that accompanies an event.  I scoffed down a couple bakery treats that I grabbed the day before and had a cup of damn awful instant coffee.  It was now time to head over to the train station and get to the start line.

 

Walking across to Wynyard Station we saw a multitude of runners all kitted up for the event, as equally as excited as I was.  It was really funny as I boarded the train, it was literally full of runners—you couldn't move!  A couple short stops later I was on the north side of the bridge making my way under to the start line at Bradfield Park, Milson's Point.  The start line met me with a sea of people.  I think there was around seven thousand in the full marathon alone.  It started to rain just a little, which really didn't look like it would last.

 

As I was planning to run a 3:45:00 marathon so I wiggled my way through the other runners to get near the corresponding race pacer.  Soon after, the gun went off and we were under way.

 

It was a mad shuffle to get across the line as the were so many runners vying for a little room.  First turn was up onto the Pacific Hwy and straight towards the Harbour Bridge.  It was such an incredible feeling running across the bridge without a car in sight, surrounded by a sea of runners.  Next up it was a quick trip through the Royal Botanic Gardens and onto Oxford St.

 

Oxford St.  Wow.  Just wow.  It must have been close to 8AM when I passed a few blokes out the front of a gay bar dressed in full leathers and lace.  Now, I'm not one to judge, but these boys looked far too awake to just be on Redbull!  Anyway, time to press on.

 

The next stage skirted around the SCG and then into Centennial Park.  A friend warned me about the Centennial Park stage, he said, "keep you head in check through there as you seem to get lost for a while."  Couldn't have been truer.  I entered Centennial Park around the 17k mark and didn't come out until 10kms later.  It was really hard work by the end of it as you seemed to just keep turning in and out.  Back on Anzac Parade I could see we were heading back toward the city, which really picked me up.  So far I was running well and had about 5 minutes in the bank.

 

Coursing back through Hyde Park we were all welcomed by a heap of spectators with some awesome motivational signs, like, "Summon your inner Kenyan," and, "Remember, you paid money to put yourself through this."  This was around the 30k mark so I was really starting to feel the distance, knowing that the inevitable 37k wall was yet to come.  I was now making my way back through the city and down past Circular Quay and around the harbour front down into Pyrmont.

 

The 35k mark really hit me hard and my legs were starting to come undone.  I still had a few minutes in the bank to meet a time of 3:45:00 so it was time to pump up my heart and dig in deep.  Until this point I had been ahead of the 3:45:00 pacer, so when he passed me I knew I was running out of time.

 

The last 5ks of any marathon are always brutal and this one was no exception.  I lost quite a bit of time from kilometre 37 to kilometre 40 as I was just plain buggered.  Looking at my watch with 2ks to go and 10minutes to make my time, I simply ignored the pain and just pressed on.  Approaching The Rocks I saw my great friend, Lenny Pip, who just so happened to be cruising around Sydney for the day.

 

One kilometre to go and less than 5 minutes to do it in...  The Opera House was in sight and the taste of a strong PB was in the air.  With one final push, hobble and attempted sprint, I was able to cross the line and not completely collapse.  It was a massive relief to look at my watch and realise I nailed the time I wanted.  Damn I was wrecked!  Now I just had to get back to The Menzies before checkout time, which was half an hour away!

 

Now, this was ridiculous, I got lost trying to cross from The Opera House to the city side of the road as it was all blocked off for the marathon.  I then proceeded to get lost navigating back to The Menzies, well, only by a couple blocks, anyway.  In the very least I made it back in time for a very quick shower and checkout.  Now it was time to head to the Sofitel and relax in a little more comfort and a few choice drinks.

 

Such an awesome event, one that I will do again.

 

Race Day Stats:

Distance:	42.195 km
Time:	3:45:18
Avg Pace:	5:18 min/km
Elevation Gain:	523 m
Calories:	3,717 C