2006 CANBERRA MARATHON

Oh My goodness, I am now a marathoner!

Even on the morning of the race I was extremely nervous. Some things you just can't control. JD and Tess were absolute legends in talking me through it and calming me down. I also replayed all the great things everyone has been telling me over the past few weeks in my head and that helped as well.

I think I was more nervous about letting everyone down and making a fool of myself than anything else.

I did a 400m warmup - was going to do longer but when I ran from the start line down 200m I say the sign saying 42km and I felt like vomiting so I then turned around and went back to the start.

Found Tesso and we lined up like giggly girls all ready for the big suprise.

For the first 2km I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't believe I was running a marathon. It was wonderful and to have Tesso there beside me was just like in my dreams.

At around the 3km mark I saw Tara and Ciaran ditch their clothes so I took my jacket off too and threw it on the pile beside the road. My gloves I kept with me the whole race!
I got to the 5km drink table and looked at my watch - WTF it said 29mins. I then pushed on and tried to get in front of the 3:30 group that I was running behind. I felt better when I got to the 10km mark as I was in front of schedule. I couldn't work it out. Later Tess told me the 5km Drink Station was not at 5km it was closer to 6km mark. Now I understand!

So at 11km I caught up with RobertSong and we ran together for quite some time taking turns in front. At 12km I pulled back a bit after some lovely woman told me I was running too fast and would burn up and hit the wall shortly. By 16km I threw her nasty words out of my head and got back on track to my plan.

At 17km I saw my dad on the side of the road and slowed enough to tell him I loved him. I then continued up the rise and then the downhill that follows to the turnaround. I saw Dad again on the way back and he had crossed the road to slap my hand as I ran past. I felt very happy and stong here.

Soon after I went through the half marathon point and looked at my watch for the last time. It said 1:41:50. I was stocked. When I got back to Cow Bell corner and there was the CR cheer squad in full regalia I got all excited again. But it totally blew me away when I saw Pat standing waiting for me to come around. He ran up to me and slapped my hand and told me to keep it strong I was doing well. Nothing like a pep talk to make you run hard :)
The guys around me said "you have lots of support here today" and I told them it was my first one and they all nodded and smiled secretly. I then vowed to beat every one of them and not hit the wall as they expected me too.
Coach Chris was a big support out there and kept me going with good vibes and waves and cheers. It is just undescribable to say how that sort of support just lifts you up.
The 30km mark soon approached on the way out to Black Mountain and I told the guys I was with...this is where the race starts and I upped the pace a bit to break away. Silly childish girl :)

Around 32km I saw my Dad again and went up then down the rise to the turnaround for the final time. After he saw me so ill from the 10km run last year I had to be strong for him so just before the 34km when I saw him again I puffed up my chest and put on a big smile and slapped his hand and told him I would see him later. He had to be a church at 10am so I knew he wouldn't see me finish. But just having him out there for several hours was so good for me.

Coming in to the finish all the coolrunners i was passing on the other side were calling out to me and I can barely recall the final few km's as it is a blur of support and good wishes.

Sue (Pat Carroll's) Missus came up to me around 41km I think and she was screaming at me and so so happy for me that I got all emotional and started crying. I calmed myself down but it was hard - I was so emotional. I realised then I could finish the race as long as I got to the next corner in one piece.

I had also just gone past Luckylegs and Horrie and this was also emotional. Both of them are inspirational to me and I felt a swell of pride that I knew who they were and what they were doing out there. I am proud to be a coolrunner and to know all this wonderful people and see them doing amazing things. It is a feeling only other coolrunners will know. A community spirit like no other I have seen.

Near here, I saw a girl a pink hat in front of me and just focussed on reeling her in. Damn it, at the same time she pulled away and was reeling in others in front of her! We were both getting faster but even though I gained on her slightly I was never going to catch her. At the 42km mark I didn't care, I knew then I was going to finish this marathon without hitting the wall, 42.2km without walking or stopping or feeling any major pain. 42.2km of hard work that was the most rewarding of all my runs I have done.

I looked up and saw both sides full of people screaming at me. I saw Truckie (bright green suit helps distinguish him!!) and heard the blur of others. I then looked up at the clock and say 3:22 and almost burst out crying then. I crossed in an official time of 3:23:14.

I saw Mark at the finish (iliketoast) and just clung to him whilst I sobbed on his shoulder. Little did he know that he was also holding me up! My legs had turned to jelly as soon as the tears started. I calmed down and just grinned and grinned. I looked around for someone and there she was....good Ole Tesso at the finish line with a gigantic grin on her face!!! We hugged and cried together and I will remember it for the rest of my life. I got some water and had a tap on my shoulder.....it was my dad. He had given up church to see me finish and that was a big thing. I was ecstatic and hugged him and he told me how proud I had made him. He knows nothing about running but he knew I had achieved/bettered my goal of 3:30. I found out later he had texted my whole family 8 times during the race about how I was in front of the 3:30 train. No-one knew exactly what my dad meant but thought it was exciting ha ha. My beloved Allan knew and he held his breath the whole way until he got Dad's final text.
I had done it. I had run my first marathon and my mind is still boggling with the result. Thanks to absolutely everyone one of you out there for your support and your calming efforts pre-race and for the big cheers afterwards. It made my experience greater to share it with you all. xxxxxx

Lots of love,
Clairie - the Marathoner.