flat and fast

Marathons tend to start early and the Goldie is no exception. That said the half and the 10k went off even earlier than my 07:30 start. As Nigel gave me a lift to the start I didn't have to get up proper-stoopid early. I was up at around 05:30 and wandering around the start area in my disposable op shop clothes an hour or so later. The event attracted 23,000 people of which 4000 or so were competing in the full marathon. The start was self-seeded and I placed myself in the 3:15 and under area. According to the signs a 3hr 15min (my goal) marathon requires an average pace of 4min 37sec per km. My plan was to run 4.30s which would give some scope to fade towards the end and take a dump along the way if the need arose. One of my many marathon paranoias is that I'll not be able to have a decent crap before the start and then, after an hour of running I'll be cross eyed needing a crap. It hasn't happened yet. The sub-3:15 area was immediately behind the superfast area so I was very close to the front when, after a quick blast of the national anthem (I kid you not) the gun went and we started. The start - in fact the whole course - is flat and the start was quickish. Memories of my dramatic fade in Sydney last year had me checking my pace frequently on my Garmin Forerunner; a not-strictly-necessary toy: I simply needed to be behind the guy towing the 3hr helium filled balloons and in front of the guy with the 3.15 balloons. I like my toys though, and felt very comfortable at a 4min 27sec/km pace that I managed to maintain, occasionally creeping up to 4.26.

At around the 15km mark the course (which is pretty much 15km south, 21km north, 6km south, hugging the coast) does a U-turn at Burleigh and that is where my cheer squad were located. The squad was Nige with a camera, Jo, Jax, Jesse and Tommy with placards. Placards! For me! The whooped and cheered and I grinned and shouted and and when I made my north turn I had crept my pace up just a little to 4.26. Still feeling good I kept an eye on my pace and it stayed at 4.26. I was still feeling good so I didn't do anything to alter my pace. A little way after my turn a colleague Tobes, in his first full marathon and approaching his turn, gave me a shout and I hollered back. He was well on track for his goal - or over-cooking it. Time would tell. The second 15km is ratehr dull. You get some nice views of the ocean as you run along the beach strip and through Surfers Paradise but as you've just run exactly the same 15km going south it is a little same-old same-old.

At around 29km and approaching a roundabout a guy cut in front of me and I had to slightly alter my stride pattern. Not a massive issue, but enough to tweak my nips. He was one of a group of 4guys running in a neat line. I joined the end of the line, making us a group of five and my mind wandered onto sprint finishes should we maintain the same pace to the end. I arrogantly thought I'd be able to out-sprint the lot of them, especially the guy who had cut me up. As it turned out I beat all of them. At 30km I eased past, expecting to find myself leading the group of five for a while. They didn't stay with me. I'd been running 4.25s for a while and thoughts of overcooking my run popped into my mind. Thigh muscles were aching and inner thighs were chaffed, I had a headache but my pace was not changing. Consistency is the key. At around 31km you pass the start line and there was a respectable crowd cheering us on. I was running alone by now and on the wide road it felt very much an individual event. The 5.5km north to the northern most point of the course and the turn for home is particularly dull. It doesn't run along the coast and is a bit of a slog. Fortunately the home leg, from around 37km does pass mostly along the coast, which would be a whole lot nicer were it not for feeling somewhat buggered. Buggered but keeping my 4.25 pace. No one had overtaken me for around 10km when a Japanese guy pulled slowly up to my shoulder and then crept past. The bastard! I'm not having that. We were on the proper home straight at a little over 40km. I stuck with him. He gave a small kick and I kept with him. He kicked again at around 41km. I kept with him. At maybe 41.5km I decided to put the hammer down. He responded and the two of us were sprinting full-bore towards the end. The crowd were cheering us on. As I started to inch up to and past him someone in the crowd shouted "you've got him!" I was breathing hard. Very hard. He was gasping. I managed to pull a few metres in front of him as the course went through the first of a few twists as we approached the line. I was fairly sure I'd broken him, but in the process I'd given it everything I had. I was sure the finish line would be around the very next turn - but it wasn't. I glanced back and could still see him. My sprint was over, my legs were screaming but I'd done enough to get past him and managed to finish just 2 seconds in front, both of us completely exhausted. We shook hands and congratulated each other before limping our separate ways to collect our medals and shirts. Lat night I checked the results on the event website. I had beaten Shogo Kimoto over the line by 2s but he had beaten me on net time. I think we both deserved a victory; I've never seen anyone finish a marathon at the speed we managed to dig deep for. I, of course, am more deserving by virtue of being at least 15yrs older than my worthy adversary, he of the 18-24 age group.