The funny thing about us human beings is that we’re stubborn, sadists who crave physical
…Don’t agree? Look at the amount of women who have more than
one child, and the amount of people who will pay money to pierce and tattoo
themselves over, and over….
Then there are those of us who run marathons.
And no-one LOVES running marathons, they’re really, really
hard. You spend the whole extended time period trying to maintain a pace that
hovers between the fine line of safe physical exertion, and death, whilst
negotiating inedible gels and plastic cups of water that are (frankly) nearly
impossible to co-ordinate grabbing and drinking...and all of this while still dealing with the constant
threat of muscle failure, dehydration, injury AND chafing.
How many of us have made THAT promise to ourselves mid-race?
You know THE promise?
You know THE promise?
“If you get me through this body, I PROMISE I WILL NEVER do
this to you again!”
I have.
I made that promise in the Blackmores Marathon in
2013,
then again at the Hobart Marathon in 2014,
then again at the Gold Coast
Marathon in 2014…
...suffice to say my body is probably glad that it has eyes to
roll (in disbelief).
Regardless, there is that rare occasion on a training run
or, if you are especially lucky, in a race when everything goes so much to plan
that you finish your race, sore and tired (because we’re stubborn, sadists who
crave punishment remember?” ) but your soul and spirit are soaring and you find
yourself high-fiving strangers! What a glorious feeling!!!!
And so….in 2014 I ran the 2014 Brisbane Marathon…
ACT TWO: The Brisbane Marathon Festival
A few weeks later, and notably after a week of snowboarding
to cool the severe burns to my ego, I was back and ready to shake it at the
event I affectionately refer to as ‘Brisfest’.
I’ve had an awful amount of bad luck with this festival in
the past, over the 10km (twice finishing outside of the podium, in
disappointing times, in heat and with tears), then last year in the half
marathon (where I finished a very humbled 4th behind some quality
runners) and with Gold Coast still fresh in my memory I consciously made a
concerted effort to relax and not let my imagination get the better of me. I was
going to run purely for fun….nothing else.
My lead up had been decent enough too, with a couple of
reasonable 10km wins in the weeks preceding the race, but the times weren’t
earth shattering, and I certainly wasn’t feeling like a thoroughbred.
Alas, I approached the start line like a teenager approaches
EVERYTHING, aka; with an almost reckless nonchalance and indifference. A couple of close friends of mine were
racing, and whilst my competitive streak would have normally eaten away my
stomach with anxiety, that morning, I
stayed true to my promise to myself to ‘run for fun’.
I can honestly say, I
would have been on cloud nine to see ANY of them on the top of the podium and
it was really cool to run and share a journey with pals.
So there I stood, totally cool, and promising myself; ‘I’ll
give you the first km to do what you want, then after that, let’s see what it
feels like to stay consistent, pick a pace and roll through!
Then something magic happened.
I did.
I ran firm, but not hard and hit more of those constant
splits than normal, coasting along the race with a smile and enjoyment I’d
never felt over 42kms before! And for this I was not only rewarded with a win,
but a HUGE pb of 2hours30mins43seconds! My friends (Moritz and Scott) rounded
out the podium, which made the day as perfect as could be.
Finally the curse of Brisfest for me had been broken! And
whilst I didn’t reward myself with a trip to the snow in New Zealand, I did
drag my wife, friends and parents into the ‘Eat Street markets’ to eat a
mind-shattering amount of bad food in every second of the 'guilt-free
post-marathon period'*.
With such a race under my belt, I was offered the sweet deal
of free accommodation and entry into the Sunshine Coast marathon (set to run a
few weeks later)….With my ego at an all-time high, and the knowledge of how to
run a solid marathon down, how could I refuse?
But then, things don’t always go
as planned right?
(At least I have the photos to prove it! - see the gallery below! Also watch the event highlights video here - I feature - with my good mate Moritz from 1min30 - 1min51)
* FYI - The 'guilt free marathon period' is my idea of heaven, and the reason why the owners in the restaurants where I live have expensive yachts and children with nice teeth.
Till Act III (and beyond), thanks for reading!
Have fun, stay running &
smiling
Clay Dawson
Intraining Sponsored Athlete and proud
member of the QLD Running Community
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