GCAM 14 (Part 7B) : A Participant's Perspective of the Full Marathon

Introduction

I love to run but I am not built to run. I had dreamt of participating in overseas road run events despite my usual lousy timings. I started my first Full Marathon race in year 2007 and had "attained" timings ranging from 5:24hr to 6:45hr. With such timings, I would have difficulties passing the more stringent cut-off times in overseas races. I could only dream....

As I watched my wife deteriorating with her illness, it taught me one important lesson - that we should accomplish dreams when we are still able and fit. Hence, I decided to start chasing my dream. The first step - by participating in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM) 2014!

Objectives

I had set 2 objectives for GCAM 2014. These objectives governed my training/game plan for the marathon. My objectives were :

1. To better my Personal Best timing by 30 mins (i.e. 5hr completion).
2. To enjoy a cooling 42km route that's supposed to be relatively flat and scenic.

Accomplishments

At the end of the marathon, I was happy to have achieved the 2 objectives that I set before the run.

1. I completed the run with a net timing of 4:17h. Comparing this to my PB attained in Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 (5:24h), I had bettered it by a good 1hr 7mins!!! This result actually exceeded my targeted 30 minutes....phew!
   
   
2. The weather was generally COLD-COOL-CHILL during the different phases of the run. The Full Marathon race started off at an estimated 6 degree celsius in the early morning and progressed to about 18 degree celsius by noon. This cool temperature was perfect for running as I need not waste too much energy to cool my body during the run. The volunteers and race marshals were very friendly and enthusiastic. Many were serving drinks and cheering us at the same time. As we were running through the residential estates, we saw many residents lining along the roadsides to cheer passionately for the runners (the kids even lined up by the side to give us High-5s !). It was a total family affair to not only participate, but to cheer! This was extremely exhilarating and motivating! I was recharged every time I ran past these enthusiastic supporters....and Yes! I achieved my objective to enjoy the race! 

Of course my finishing net time of 4:17:10hr was still a far cry compared to the many faster runners. I deem it a successful run so long as my 2 objectives were met.

Succes Factor 1 - Conditioning

I did a total of 5 condition runs through out our stay in Australia. Two runs were done in Sydney which was super windy and much colder than in Gold Coast. 3 were done in Gold Coast : 

• A reconnaissance walk from Surfers Paradise to race start point at BroadWater Parkland (9km). 
• A 10km run along the beach at Surfers Paradise 3 days before race. 
• The last one was the 10km Southern Cross University 10km Run that I accompanied my wife a day before the Full Marathon. 

All these runs helped me to condition myself against the terrain and weather for the actual Full Marathon race.

Succes Factor 2 - Dedicated On-site Support

There are always uncertainties when running in a foreign land. My uncertainties were minimised as my sidekick a.k.a wife was on-site to provide me with seamless logistics support despite the fact that she was feeling unwell after her own 10km run. She had a swollen arm (swelled so badly that she could not even remove her watch from her wrist) and running fever that morning. 

Upon her insistence, we went to the race precinct together. The temperature was a tad too cold that morning. The event emcee was announcing that it was at 6 degree celsius feeling like 2 degree celsius over the PA system. 

As my wife was my mobile porter for the day, I was able to wear my windbreaker and gloves to block the wind chill till the last minute before I deposited them with her (instead of baggage deposit counters). Also, I was able to change my running gear from minimalist mode to 'warm' mode at the very last moment. 

(Left: Before Race, Center: Minimalist Mode, Right:Warm Mode)

Personal Race Data

Conclusion

It had been a satisfying and fulfilling experience to run the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2014. I will definitely miss the generally flat and scenic terrain, coupled with a positive running ambience aroused by the organiser, runners, volunteers and cheer groups. And, the crazy cheers coming from my wife at few distance markers. I had to admire her stamina to catch me at different points of the route!

Would I join GCAM 2015? Who knows? I am certainly tempted....