Gold Coast Marathon 2011 - Post Race

My Finishers medal

My thoughts on the Gold Coast Marathon...

The course: Pretty flat and pretty fast (not that it made any difference to me...) I highly recommend it to anyone... If situation permits, I will be back...

Weather: Perfect... cloudy with top of 22... the sun did break out when I was at the 30km mark, but then the clouds covered it again after about 15mins... phew...

Crowds: Very supportive and encouraging, not to say the least, interesting... There were people sitting outside their homes, clapping and cheering as runners went pass... there was a few "bands" playing music along the way... And of course, there were people who put on various costumes to dress for the ocassion... I knew the Japanese will be there in forces, but I never expected so many of them... I don't think I ever not hear "Ganbatte" throughout the race... I also had a lot of hi-fives with little kids along the way... nice...

Drink stations: Very impressed. The stations were located 2.5km apart, water and Endura sports drinks alternating between each one... And I must say, the volunteers (kids from 10 years of age all the way to grandmas and grandpas) worked like professionals... ever smiling and willingness to serve really make a difference for me, and I'm sure for all the other runners as well... Not only did they provide drinks for us, they also helped clear the cups and all off the streets... Well done all you volunteers!!!

For the record, Nicholas Manza from Kenya (surprise surprise...) won the race in a race record time of 2:10:01... The race organisers has a $25K bonus if the winner finish the race under 2:10.00. What a bummer!!! Check out the Official Results Magazine here!


Lessons learnt from this race:
- Make sure you practice your finishing pose and be sure to use it when you cross the Finish line... man, I looked like a penguin crossing the line...
- Smile and pose for all the cameras...
- Enjoy the race and tackle the race 1km at a time...
- Bring  camera if you can... lots of fun...
- Core body exercises is just as important as clocking your milage..
- Do the best with what you have got...

I really enjoyed my brother’s company over these 2 days… It has been a long time since we spent so much time together… funny how we don’t do this when we are closer to each other back in SG… human nature… he being here made a difference on how I approached the race… I ran my first marathon alone, and was very focused and felt a but stressed… with GC, I felt very relaxed and no pressure at all… yeh, I wanna finish the race under 5hours, but hey, being able to finish a marathon is a feat of its own… not to say the least I have now completed 2 in 7 weeks… Comparing GC to GOR, I enjoyed GC more, simply because I have a good company and the course did not do too much damage to my legs, but I will never forget the moment when I crossed the finish line at GOR…

So what's next? definitely rehab and recovery... really want to fix up the knee and be able to run pain free... booked an appointment with a podiatrist and hopefully there's nothing wrong with my feet...

My next goal.. hmmm... Melbourne marathon in October??? hehehe...