My First Marathon - Perth 2009

Posted by Ray

Posted on August 20, 2009

My first marathon in Perth Australia July ‘09. I don’t think there’s anything more satisfying than completing the flat 42km asphalt course. Adrenaline mixed with a little euphoria is certainly a recipe to leave a smile on your face. It definitely did for me that day.

The day was picture perfect. A high of 20 degrees was just optimum for the long distance event, which meandered scenically around the Swan River. Starting in the city the course headed south towards Fremantle and looped back to the start in Burswood. The city skyline is a beautiful sight along with the somewhat posh marinas dotted along the southern tip of the course. The course layout if definitely one to be admired and drew out large crowds who happily cheered out loud and encouraged everyone who took part.

I expected the normal pre race butterflies, but I had allot more on my mind during the week with the road trip up the west coast setting off two days after the marathon. In the warm up questions bounced around my head, did I train enough, will the legs hold out or how many energy bars will I need. Even though I had trained for the five months and completed the half marathon well I never ran more than an hour and a half before.

I set a goal of 3:30hrs with anything below that line a bonus. The idea was to take the first 20km handy and then hope there was enough in the tank to see out the final km’s. Also running that day was the ‘Sub 3:30hr’ group who all wore identical white and blue singlets with the words Sub 3:30 in big bold lettering on the back. They trained together for a couple months before and were lead by team leader who made sure the pace was right to finish in the desired time. My thinking was, stay with them and you finish with a good time. Sounds straight forward enough, eh?

Five, four, three, two, one, Bang! The gun sounded and the 450 plus people headed off with mixed emotions. Some cheered and applauded while others were silent and focused on the job in hand. It was just past 7:30am and I hoped to be making it back the finish around eleven o’clock. I was calm and just excited to be finally running a marathon after all the talk and build up.

The first 5km went easily as expected. Not breaking sweat and just bobbing along at a nice pace. For the next 5km I caught up the ‘Sub 3:30” group. I stayed with them but the pace was a little slow. For a couple of minutes I mulled over the options and decided to burn them in my wake. The thinking behind it was if I stay ahead of that group I’ll finish with a good time. The next 10km flew past; I had no problems with the legs and only took on a little water for fear of cramp. I passed the half way point in great time. Two weeks before I completed the Half Marathon in 1:25hr so at the turn I saw 1:32hr on the clock. Not bad I’m thinking, but I worried that I pushed too hard.

Over the next 10km the body began it’s unwillingness to continue the fast pace of the first 20km. I began eating an energy bar which proved difficult. Running, eating, chewing, swallowing along with heavy breathing is not ideal to consume anything. Around that time I felt a little light headed and tried drinking adleast one cup of water at every water station. They were ideally located every 2.5km. Again trying to drink out of a plastic cup was near impossible. About a mouthful or two ended where it was supposed to go.

At this stage the field had fairly opened up and after passing a good few groups I was on my own. I also knew the ‘Sub 3:30’ group were around 10-15mins behind me when I passed by them on the way home.

I reached the 30km mark feeling good. I knew the body was slowing a little and I began to feel a little dizzy. Dehydration was kicking in. The organizers had warned us before setting off to drink as much water as possible to combat this. Even leading up to the event I drank five litres of water the day before, so I thought I would be OK. In the last few km’s I stopped twice and drank two cups of water in fear of passing out. The legs began to stiffen up and my stride became shorter. To ease them a little a couple of cups of water were splashed on for the cool numbing effect.

Maybe feeling a bit delusional I thought the marathon was 40km long. So around the 38-39km mark I picked up the pace as best as possible. Passing the 40km mark I realised there was another 2km to go. I still was passing the odd person and used anyone ahead of as a marker or target to advance. One lady did pass me, but I couldn’t keep up her. I was just happy to be still moving. The last km arrived and I steamed on again this time knowing there was definitely only a short distance to cover. The crowd began to swell at the 500m mark. Passing one volunteer I heard “Only 300m to go son” and I put the head down. Coming into the finish area and managed the 40 yard dash and passed one last person. Crossing the line the two arms were pumped into the air and I smiled with delight. I finished in 3:08hrs placed 31st and 6th in my 25M class. I was over the moon with the time and how the day had panned out.

After walking around and a small warm down I needed some physio. Finishing early meant the easy access to the free rub downs, which were a must. The legs began to really cease up, but were eased somewhat by some well trained soft hands. Physio over I packed up, jumped on the bike and cycled home happy how the day panned out.

As first Marathon's go this was definitely a special one. Being able to train really well and lucky with no serious injuries the marathon road from start to finish went like a dream. Next on the cards for me is the Dublin, London and New York marathon's, but for the mean time I'm taking a well earned rest.

Perth Marathon

Perth Marathon

Perth Marathon

Perth Marathon

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