Gold Coast Marathon 2010
Over 23 000 runners hit the Gold Coast last weekend. There was a race for nearly everyone- a 5K run/ walk, 10K, half and full marathon. My bro wasn’t tempted to run any of these distance but Scott did do the important ‘5:15am dash in the car from home to the shuttle bus’ with Naomi and I. (Thanks!)
On a cool, sunny Sunday morning, 4521 people chased David Camp’s marathon record of 2:10:11 set in 1989. The record still stands. First runner was Kenyan James Kariuki in 2:13:53. In fact, the mighty Kenyans took the first four places. Similarly, the Japanese women proved too strong for Aussie rivals, claiming the top three spots. Kaori Yoshida won in 2:31:33 with Australian Sarah McCrae finishing fourth in 2:39:10.
While the marathon records still stand, the women’s half and men’s 10K records were shattered. Lisa Weightman won her third Gold Coast 21K title in 1:09:00. (Seriously?! If that’s what it’s like to run like a girl these days….!) Gold Coast local Michael Shelley stormed the 10K in just 28:51, breaking the 1996 record set by David Evans. (Ouch!)
Cambodian runner Hem Bunting clocked a 2:30 and finished 11th overall in the 42K. He was very disappointed not to have broken his 2:25 PB but hopefully hindsight reveals the benefits of good racing experience. It’s a tough race to conquer. At best the marathon humbles an athlete, at worst it humiliates. Chin up Bunting: you did good!
Racing with the pack and against myself, I had to be satisfied with a 3:47:32 finish. I’ll admit that my goal for the July 4 run was to beat the 3:44 clocked by former US President George W. Bush nearly two decades ago! But I did my best, enjoyed the run and took nearly 10 minutes from my previous PB. And I will run again. In fact, I’ve been checking out a few unusual records that I think could be broken. I’ll leave these alone: the 3:43 ‘best marathon while running backwards’ record and the knitting challenge ‘157.5cm knitted over 42.2K’. But check this…. there’s a record for ‘the fastest marathon dressed up as a fruit (orange) 4:32’. I think I could beat that. Not necessarily as an orange…I think I’d make a great banana or slice of watermelon, for example. Honestly, I’ll dress up as almost anything for some attention, a shot at a world record and some US currency. I could be the fastest Big Mac at the next Berlin marathon or the next incarnation of the pink Duracell bunny in Dehli. Serious offer to CEOs & marketing peeps with large advertising budgets to play with: I want to run for you.
Ok… back to a truly inspiring record: Wellington hero Bernie Portenski ran 3:01:26 to set a new world record at the Gold Coast for the Female 60-64 year age group. She ran beautiful splits, taking the first half in 1:28 and finishing the second just three minutes slower. As part of her training, Portenski ran 60km on her 60th birthday. What a legend! Just don’t tell her about the fruit record… she’d make a damn tough competitor as a sprinting kiwi.
I have to boast that I had a great cheer squad at the Gold Coast. Mary left home at 3am to drive to the race and snap photos at various stages of the course. Scott drove Naomi and I to the shuttle bus at 5:15am, went home for some extra Sunday sleep and then came all the way back to see us at the finish. Lisa, Elissa and others called out encouragement at the 40K mark when I was really fading. Gail cheered at the finishing line. Finally, thanks to the stranger on the sidelines who made me smile by yelling repeatedly, ‘You’re all too bloody skinny! You’re all too bloody skinny!’ Awesome! There is nothing like running by the ocean with thousands of other competitors on a perfect winter morning. Very bloody GC.
On a cool, sunny Sunday morning, 4521 people chased David Camp’s marathon record of 2:10:11 set in 1989. The record still stands. First runner was Kenyan James Kariuki in 2:13:53. In fact, the mighty Kenyans took the first four places. Similarly, the Japanese women proved too strong for Aussie rivals, claiming the top three spots. Kaori Yoshida won in 2:31:33 with Australian Sarah McCrae finishing fourth in 2:39:10.
While the marathon records still stand, the women’s half and men’s 10K records were shattered. Lisa Weightman won her third Gold Coast 21K title in 1:09:00. (Seriously?! If that’s what it’s like to run like a girl these days….!) Gold Coast local Michael Shelley stormed the 10K in just 28:51, breaking the 1996 record set by David Evans. (Ouch!)
Cambodian runner Hem Bunting clocked a 2:30 and finished 11th overall in the 42K. He was very disappointed not to have broken his 2:25 PB but hopefully hindsight reveals the benefits of good racing experience. It’s a tough race to conquer. At best the marathon humbles an athlete, at worst it humiliates. Chin up Bunting: you did good!
Racing with the pack and against myself, I had to be satisfied with a 3:47:32 finish. I’ll admit that my goal for the July 4 run was to beat the 3:44 clocked by former US President George W. Bush nearly two decades ago! But I did my best, enjoyed the run and took nearly 10 minutes from my previous PB. And I will run again. In fact, I’ve been checking out a few unusual records that I think could be broken. I’ll leave these alone: the 3:43 ‘best marathon while running backwards’ record and the knitting challenge ‘157.5cm knitted over 42.2K’. But check this…. there’s a record for ‘the fastest marathon dressed up as a fruit (orange) 4:32’. I think I could beat that. Not necessarily as an orange…I think I’d make a great banana or slice of watermelon, for example. Honestly, I’ll dress up as almost anything for some attention, a shot at a world record and some US currency. I could be the fastest Big Mac at the next Berlin marathon or the next incarnation of the pink Duracell bunny in Dehli. Serious offer to CEOs & marketing peeps with large advertising budgets to play with: I want to run for you.
Ok… back to a truly inspiring record: Wellington hero Bernie Portenski ran 3:01:26 to set a new world record at the Gold Coast for the Female 60-64 year age group. She ran beautiful splits, taking the first half in 1:28 and finishing the second just three minutes slower. As part of her training, Portenski ran 60km on her 60th birthday. What a legend! Just don’t tell her about the fruit record… she’d make a damn tough competitor as a sprinting kiwi.
I have to boast that I had a great cheer squad at the Gold Coast. Mary left home at 3am to drive to the race and snap photos at various stages of the course. Scott drove Naomi and I to the shuttle bus at 5:15am, went home for some extra Sunday sleep and then came all the way back to see us at the finish. Lisa, Elissa and others called out encouragement at the 40K mark when I was really fading. Gail cheered at the finishing line. Finally, thanks to the stranger on the sidelines who made me smile by yelling repeatedly, ‘You’re all too bloody skinny! You’re all too bloody skinny!’ Awesome! There is nothing like running by the ocean with thousands of other competitors on a perfect winter morning. Very bloody GC.
posted by pip @ 3:36 pm
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