Up at 5:30am, I was out the door at 6am to join the other competitors waiting for the buses...
I got on the third bus (a coach, such luxury) and sat behind the driver to get a good view on the way to the start...
the sun hadn't risen yet so you could see the stars which meant a clear morning at least...on approach Mt Taranaki, for the first time since we arrived, was in its full glory with snow topping the upper slopes...
we arrived 30mins before the start...it was quite cool (you could see your own breath!) but there was no wind...the area was quite small but everyone was pretty friendly...I took a photo for an American runner...
the start got underway pretty much on time - I was positioned about 10m back...first time I've ever seen a rifle(?) used to start an event!
the first 4k was quite quick but I tried not to get carried away (!)...my support crew was there and I offloaded my vest as it was warming up nicely (kept the gloves on for a bit longer though!)...
the skies were blue and the sun was shining brightly...such a contrast to our previous 4 days...
I elected to wear my waterbelt as the drink stations were at odd distances for what I had trained with in regard to my hydration/nutrition...had all but my very last gel burst...after 24k I started grabbing a cup of water at the drink stations and throwing it on me as it was getting warmish...
I ran near Gary Kirsten (SA cricket coach) early on but he was ahead of me by halfway...[he finished in 3:52 and qualified for the Two Oceans marathon]
I passed through halfway in 1:55-1:56...and hit 32k in just over 3hrs...
now I was in to unknown territory so it was just a matter of plugging away...I ticked off each k, trying to calculate my finish time...in the end I was pleased to cross in 4:05:38, hitting two of my goals (finishing and sub 4:15) and just missing my third (4:00 or better)...
it was a very well run event - all by volunteers, no professional stuff...I'm glad I chose this one!
heard a story after of an American woman who flew into Wellington yesterday and couldn't fly to New Plymouth because of the weather so she caught a taxi instead to make the start line!!
Edit:
Results - 117th/189 runners finished, 37th/71 females, 8th/11 W40s
26 walkers finished plus 95 running teams and 35 walking teams
4 comments:
Congrats on your first marathon Bron! Pretty handy time - 5:49 per k isn't too shabby at all.
So will you be at training Monday for some downhill relay sprints?
Congratulations Bron. First marathon done and dusted - now you will be hooked! Magnificent view of the mountain. You were so lucky with the weather. Well done:)
I would comment on Ewen's comment but I cannot prove I'm not a robot
That's a good achievement.
I've told Nick and Simon, so they can put it in the Customs Joggers Report.
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