Kangaroo Crossing Sign
I caught the fever – a running fever that is. After I completed the Disney marathon in January, I could not wait to run another marathon. I looked into the London marathon, but that race was already booked for 2015. I was itching to travel, so I decided to visit my brother in Australia. Lo and behold, I found the Gold Coast Marathon on July 4th.
Grace at Maddigans
I contacted Matt and made sure he and his family was going to be around. He was and said that he would pick me up at the Brisbane airport and drive me back to Hervey Bay to visit. Perfect! I found an affordable flight from Los Angeles and an Airbnb in Gold Coast, Australia. I arrived in Brisbane, and as promised, my brother was there to pick me up. We made the 3-hour drive north to Hervey Bay, and I visited for four days. The last time I had visited my brother was for his wedding. We had gone to the awesome casual seafood place called Maddigans. While here, I insisted that we go back there to bring back the good memories. I also got to meet my niece Grace, who I had never seen before!
When the day came to depart, Matt had bought me a train ticket to get to Brisbane. He drove me to the Maryborough train station and I boarded the train for the 3-1/2 hour journey south. After I arrived in Brisbane, all I needed to do was get another train ticket from Gold Coast, which was easy enough. After my arrival in Gold Coast, I picked up an Uber ride and made my way to the Airbnb that I had reserved. My host was lovely. After I got settled in, she offered to take me on a drive around Gold Coast and show me the sights.
I spent the next couple of days exploring. There was a train station about a half-mile from her place, which made everything convenient. I made my way to the Star Coast casino and played some poker. Australians LOVE to gamble. While at the poker table, I was talking to a few guys and I told them that I was a professional ice hockey referee, albeit in the minor leagues. They SERIOUSLY wanted to bet on a game that I was officiating, while having me try to push the game to their desired result. AHEM. No thank you. This was the closest I have ever been to a bribe in my life, and I did not take the bait (although it made for fun banter).
Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast Australia
I am also a HUGE Australian Football fan. Like, it is my favorite sport on the face of the earth, full stop, no questions asked, period, end of discussion. I follow it religiously during the season. My favorite team, The Geelong Cats, unfortunately were not in Gold Coast that weekend, so I had to settle for the North Melbourne Kangaroos vs the Gold Coast Suns. This was cool because, as a Geelong follower, I am of course a huge fan of both Gary Ablett Senior and Gary Ablett Junior. Gary Senior is a legend. I am not exaggerating as part of Geelong’s Kardinia Park is named the Gary Ablett Terrace, and Gary Junior is as much of a legend as his father. Anyway, after playing several years in Geelong, junior requested a trade to the Gold Coast Suns, which was granted. I was unsure whether I was going to get to see junior play because he was having all kinds of shoulder problems that year. I made my way to Metricon Stadium and took in the sights. There were so many young people kicking the footy around in the parking lot. The sports atmosphere here was quite a bit different than in the USA. Here, it was a LOT more family-oriented, which was very nice. I made my way into the stadium and found my seat in row 2. The seat was AWESOME and I could not have asked for anything better. (well maybe first row, but no seats were available). Before the game started, it was announced that Gary Ablett would be playing for Gold Coast! I was pretty stoked to be able to see on of the all time greats play. If you do not know anything about Aussie Rules football, one of basic plays is called a mark. A mark is when a player kicks the ball and if ANY player catches it in the air without it hitting the ground or another player’s hands, you get a free kick (muck like in soccer). One of the big competitions is called “Mark of the Year”. Whoever takes the most spectacular mark (also called a screamer, speccy, speccie, speckie, hanger, or ripper) wins a lot of bragging rights. This screamer, taken by North Melbourne’s Lindsay Thomas, happened right in front of me! This mark was worth the price of admission and was one of the best marks of the year!
For those of you who have never watched AFL, this type of play is perfectly legal. You cannot push somebody in the back, but if you want to jump up on an opponent’s shoulders and perch there until you catch the ball like Lindsay did here, you are perfectly fine in doing that. Have I mentioned that I LOVE this sport and it the coolest game on the planet? North Melbourne won the game, I saw Gary Ablett Jr. play, and I saw a contender for mark of the year. What an awesome evening!
The next day, went to the expo to get my bibs and swag. When signing up, they had options for 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathons. Both the 5k and 10k were run on Friday, July 3, while the half and full marathon were run on Saturday, July 4. You could do TWO races, not all four. Me, being me, I decided to do the 10k and full marathon. Go big, or go home, right? As I checked in, a greeter asked me what race I was doing so he could direct me to the correct line. I told him that I was doing both the 10k and full.
His response was hilarious. “Crikey mate. NOBODY does the 10k and full. I have heard about some people doing the 5k and full, but NEVER the 10k and full.” I laughed with him and told him that I was just a dumb American.
Route on the 2015 Gold Coast 10k
Friday came and walked the 1.5 miles to the start line. I arrived with plenty of time. The run was VERY scenic. It was along the coast the entire way! I took my time knowing that I had to run a full marathon tomorrow. After I finished, I casually walked back to the Airbnb.
That night another person checked into a different bedroom in the Airbnb. He was running tomorrow too! We really did not talk, but I saw his running gear.
I arose the next morning and made my usual pre-race marathon breakfast (oatmeal, a bagel with peanut butter, and a banana). The other dude was taking his time, but I did not think anything of it. I was not watching the time and I figured I would leave when he did (or shortly thereafter). Imagine my surprise when I did finally look at my watch and realized that the marathon was starting in a mere 20 (YES TWENTY) minutes! zOMG!!! WTF did I just DO??? I am 1.5 miles away and the race starts in 20 minutes. I had planned to take the transit train there, but there was no time. I grabbed my stuff and sprinted to the marathon start. I don’t know how fast I actually ran, but it felt like I was running a 6-minute mile, which for me is like the speed of light. I got to the road that was blocked off for the runners and had to convince a guard that I needed to get to gear check. I showed her my race bib. That did the trick and she let me cross the road. Spectators saw that I was late and they were directing me to the baggage check area (Aussies are so friendly and helpful). As I arrived at the bag check tent, the Australian National Anthem started to play. The gear check volunteers had a bewildered look on their faces and told me to get up to the starting line because the race was about to start. YES, I KNOW!!! Luckily the bag check was only about 100 yards from the start line. I BRISKLY walked (not ran) to the start line/road, pushed my way into the runners, and stood there panting and exhausted. I felt like I had just run a 10k just to get to the start line! “At least I had a warmup,” I thought with my dry sense of humor. I reached for my camera to take a picture. Alas! In my haste to get to the race, I left it in the Airbnb. I would NOT be getting any pics during this race 🙁 .
We started and I ran at my normal pace. What normal is at this point, I have no idea. This is only my second marathon and I am still winging it. The course was two out and backs. The first was to the south (about 28k/17 miles). The second was to the north for about (14k/9 miles). I was amazed by the scenery of this race. It was mostly on the coast. You could see boats, runners, parts, and the ocean. It was EXTREMELY scenic and I loved it. I made it to the southernmost point and did the turnaround.
The temperature was starting to get warmer, so I slowed down a little bit. I was also getting hungry and luckily (or not) at about mile 14 there was a farmers market. I had trained with clementines and bananas, so I figured they were safe. I stopped in the market and asked a woman for ONE banana. She said that they were only for sale as a bunch. I said that I only wanted one, but I would buy the whole bunch and she could have all the other ones back to sell again. She then said just to take one. I insisted on paying, but she had nothing to do with it. I thanked her and ate the banana. About a half mile later, my stomach started cramping and I was in a world of hurt. This banana was not sitting right with me, and I lost all energy – like I hit the wall. A runner passed me and asked if I was alright. I told him about the banana, and he said he knew because he pacing with me and had been watching me.
I struggled BIG time in the last 8-10 miles. Around mile 19, I approached a young lady who was also struggling. A friend/trainer was running with her at this point (but that person was not in the race). I overheard that she was in so much pain and that she wanted to quit. I started talking to her and told her that pain is temporary, but pride is forever. I also reminded her that if marathons were easy, then everybody would do them. We continued doing a walk/run and we talked. It was her first marathon and this was my second. She could not believe that I came all the way from the USA to run this race (oh, little did she know me). I told her all about the Disney marathon that I had completed 6 months earlier, and how I caught the running bug. I also explained that between my sprint to the start and the banana, I was struggling as well. The miles ticked by and soon we were only 2 miles from the finish. I told her that as we near the finish she will draw a lot of energy from the spectators, and of course, we both did! As we approached the finish line, she thanked me for the help. As we crossed the finish line, I let her go in front of me.
Gold Coast Marathon and 10k Medals 2015
After collecting my finisher’s medal, I sat on the quad for quite a long time getting my energy back. I reflected on the race and realized that they only had 2 spots on the course where they gave energy gel and NO food whatsoever. I might have been spoiled by Disney, but I was disappointed with that aspect of the race. One good thing is that I LOVED the energy gel that they gave out – Endura. It was SO much better than Gu, but you cannot get it in the USA (unless you have it shipped from Australia).
Overall, I would love to go back and run this race again, along with the Melbourne Marathon where the finish is in the Melbourne Cricket Ground!