Melbourne Marathon

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life!

Up at 3am for a 6am flight, I was on my way.  I arrived at the Novotel Melbourne around 8am, and quite surprisingly, my room was already available.  My room was right up the top floor overlooking the atrium which was a pretty good view of the shops and people underneath.

After unpacking my belongings, I set out to find the race day stand and collect my timing chip and show bag.  Luckily, the race day checkin stand was literally 1km from our hotel, which was handy.  Walking around some of the show stands I was starting to feel the buzz of race day anxiety — something I haven't felt since retiring from motocross years ago.  Soon after, we were approached by a guy offering mini protein bars which apparently tasted the same as a 'cherry ripe' — unfortunately, the taste was more like an infected foot...

After getting the race stuff sorted, I spent the rest of the day walking around the CBD and having a look in a few shops that were way out of my budget.  As I was looking in a few shops, a 'pro–life' protest march took place.  There must have been a couple thousand protesters, all being led by a police escort.  Was quite interesting watching peoples expressions walking past.

Back to the hotel and it was time for a few nerve settling drinks, followed by a pretty amazing dinner and a rather chatty waitress.

Morning of the race, I was up a 5am cooking a mug of quick oats and a dirty instant coffee.  After a quick shower, it was time to stretch and walk down to the start line.

Walking down to the start line, the nerves and anxiety grew significantly.  Unsurprisingly, along the way there were several other runners all with the same anxious look, so I knew I wasn't alone.  Walking over the bridge just before the start line, there was a sea of runners and supporters like I had never seen before.  Apparently there was over 7000 entries in the marathon alone, which was a record number for the event.

With only 15minutes to start, I jumped into position with the 4hr marathon pace setter — I assumed with my training, this time would be close to achievable...

5minutes to go...

I was off and racing in my first marathon!  As you could imagine, it was a really slow start, trying to get 7000+ people over the line.  2minutes later, I had actually crossed the start line and was setting a cracking pace of 6:45 per/km...  For the first 5-10 kilometres it was incredibly hard to pick a line to run, let alone trying not to trip over any other runners.  It was such a surreal feeling being in amongst all these runners.  Drink stations were an absolute nightmare at this point.  Approaching the first couple drink stations was like trying to find a free spot at a watering hole during a drought — almost impossible.

Hitting the 12k mark it was time to duck into a bush and release the nervous piss I had been carrying from the start — seems quite a few other gentlemen runners had already followed suit.  Drink stations were still not any better at this point, although I had managed to get in and out of a few relatively quickly.

Soon I was back on track again and pushing towards the 21k halfway.  The last 5kilometres to halfway were all along the Melbourne port which was some absolutely stunning scenery.

The 21k halfway point came and went relatively easy and I had been able to keep a steady 5:30 per/km pace, which was right on target.  It was still incredible, even at halfway, how many people I was surrounded by.  I literally had a 1meter radius to move around in before hitting someone.

The next 9k was still all along the coast, still completely surround by runners, and still a nightmare at drink stations!  One thing I was starting to notice, random spectators were handing out gummy snakes to any runner who was interested — which I though was pretty awesome.  Approaching the 30k mark, my legs were starting to feel the distance and the onset of fatigue was drawing closer.

With 30k now complete, still holding 5:30 per/km pace, I was feeling pretty good.  I passed the 32k mark with an approximate time of 2hrs 50mins, leaving 1hr 10min to complete the final 10k for a 4hr marathon.  Confidence was up at this point, and thoughts of a sub 4hr marathon were being entertained.

From 32k onwards, things started getting tough which was nothing new.  Legs were really starting to burn and my feet were starting to feel like they had fallen off.  Approaching the 35k mark, I was presented with a long easy incline which nearly broke my heart, and definitely broke my pace — at this point, something inside of me died!

Pressing on past the 35k mark and languishing in the slight downhill run, I was seriously wondering how the bloody hell I was going to complete the final 7k.  From 35.5k onwards I was breaking new ground distance wise (in training, my longest distance was 35.5k).  Now things were starting to get brutal and my pace was dropping significantly.  After holding a 5:30 per/km pace for 33kilometres, I had slipped to 6:49 per/km by 37kilometres.

The remaining 5.2k were the hardest kilometres I have ever run.  I hit a wall like I had never felt before — my legs were burning like someone had set them on fire, my feet were now numb, and I was one long step away from a killer cramp in my left hamstring.  Approaching the 40k mark, I seriously wanted to cry.  A feeling of complete despair had taken me hostage and the though of another 2ks was almost unbearable.  Shear force of will and the unbearable shame of quitting were the only things that kept me going.

Kilometre 41 was my worst recorded kilometre at 6:59 — one second away from a 7min pace which is generally considered walking...

With 1.2k to go things started to look brighter — mentally at least, physically I had nothing left.  The crowd of spectators had really started to build and it was an amazing encouragement to see literally thousands of people cheering you on for the final kilometre.

After taking what I though was the final turn into the MCG, I was looking at a half lap around the stadium ground, which again, something else inside me died.  I was now carrying a murderous cramp in my right shoulder and still fighting off the onset of another murderous cramp in my left hamstring — which thankfully never fully took grip. 

The final few steps approaching the finish line were nothing short of pure torture, but all of that faded off into the distance as I crossed the line!  With an official time of 4:03:50, I was beyond ecstatic!  Needless to say, I was now feeling like a crippled old man in need of a long sit in an old comfortable chair.

I rather leisurely made my way back to the hotel and I finally got to sit down and reflect on all the events that had just transpired.  After a quick shower and pack up, I caught a taxi 800metres up the road to the Sofitel (there was no bloody way I was walking!) where I spent my remaining two nights in 5star luxury.

All in all, my first marathon was an incredible experience.  An experience I will not soon be repeating!

Melbourne Marathon Stats: