Great
Ocean Road 23km
The
Great Ocean Road Marathon and Festival of Distance Running features a 44km
Marathon, 23km Half Marathon, 14km run, 6km run and The Kids' 1.5km Gallop. In 2016, they
introduced a 60km ultra-marathon! This event is held in a beautiful and unique area of Victoria,
Australia on the Southern Ocean. Each year that this event has been conducted,
it has attracted many athletes from around the world, eager to participate
in this challenging and pristine environment.
COURSE MAP
ELEVATION MAP
* The half marathon runs from Kennett River to the finish line in Apollo Bay.
Pre-event -
Last year I ran the 44km
(44.9km) Great Ocean Road marathon. I ran my first ultra-marathon about five
weeks prior and my body was falling apart with injuries (hip-related). I went
into the race with a positive mindset however my body had different plans. Long
story short… I had an awful race and walked (in pain) for countless kilometres.
I finished about forty minutes after my goal time. So I knew I had to return
and run a good race. I also knew I wasn’t ready for a marathon (especially a
hilly, long marathon) therefore I entered the half marathon (23km).
Great Ocean Road is a
beautiful part of Victoria and I never regret the 3-hour drive to spend a
weekend away. We actually live on the other side of the bay (Mornington
Peninsula) but a weekend getaway is different. I’m more mindful and
appreciative of my surroundings. Last year I spent the weekend with friends and
we had a blast! This year I spent the weekend with family (including our new
puppy who I suspected I was allergic to)! Never a dull moment…
I entered the half
marathon months earlier, as well as Wings for Life World Run (the weekend
before). Neither events were A-races for me. I was an ambassador for Wings for
Life but my duties to promote the event surpassed any desire to race it. And
Great Ocean Road was more about enjoying it (after having a bad experience in
2015). I treated both events as tempo runs. After Wings for Life, I ended up
sick with a cold and chesty-thing (technical term). My asthma was annoying and I lost my voice. Being around our new puppy seemed to make it worse. I’d been
running with some friends I met through Facebook (Chantel, Alyssa and Katie).
Chantel and I thought we might run the same pace on the day. I set a modest
goal of sub 2 hours for 23km (At Wings for Life, I ran 25km in 2:06).
The day before, Mum and I drove to Marengo
(just past Apollo Bay), where we were staying. Brad, our boys and our new puppy
(Bo) met us later. I picked on food throughout the day, and had some vegetarian
fried rice for dinner. The evening was easy and apart from incessant coughing
and spluttering (due to my cold/allergies), I was relaxed. I organised my gear;
shorts, calf compressions, RMA singlet, long sleeve top, Flipbelt with gels and
asthma meds, small handheld bottle with a Nuun electrolyte tablet, Garmin, Injinjis and Asics Nimbus. The weather forecast was possible showers but
last year was perfectly sunny and besides, I never pay attention to weather
predictions in Victoria. I took an antihistamine so I could sleep and said
goodnight to my family.
Event day -
I set the alarm but woke just before it
went off. Brad drove me to the start line in Kennett River (much better than
all the way to Lorne like last year – those windy, hilly roads are yuk). He
dropped me off and wished me luck (yes I’m thankful to have a supportive and
encouraging husband). There was already a crowd of people, so I headed to the
toilets before the endless lines formed. Soon after, I saw Chantel and Alyssa.
We talked race tactics. Chantel and I agreed to aim for 5min/km pace but
allowed each other the freedom to run our own race. Before I knew it, the
announcer instructed runners to gather at the start line. We were pushed back
further than planned and the start was delayed about ten minutes. I wasn’t too
bothered. But I was happy when the buzzer sounded and we could RUN! The first
kilometre was crazy congested (that’s what you get for starting back in the
pack).
We started very slowly and after a
couple of minutes, I told Chantel to stay with me as I weaved. I did my best to
navigate through the sea of runners. Eventually I found an opening and looked
back to find Chantel but… she was nowhere to be seen. I slowed down and
continued looking back but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I felt bad that I lost Chantel
within the first kilometre (running-buddy of the year award goes to… ) but
there was nothing I could do to fix it. I had to keep running. The first
kilometre was 5:33min/km pace, followed by 4:44, 4:24 and 4:48. Anyone who has
run Great Ocean Road knows that the rolling hills are tough. This year I was mentally
prepared. I planned on going easy uphill and making up some time downhill. I
wanted to run comfortably. My pace varied accordingly to the elevation, ranging
from 4:24-5:27min/km. I ran by effort and sat on 8/10 RPE (rate of perceived
exertion). About 8km I took a gel. A little earlier than usual but I decided I
needed all the help I could get with fighting off my cold/allergies. I also had
a handheld electrolyte drink that I used sparingly. I planned on taking another
gel around the 15-kilometre mark but there was a strong headwind. It set off an
asthma cough and I didn’t feel comfortable enough to swallow the gel. I tucked
the gel down my top and completely forgot about until I finished the race! The
headwind was a bit nasty and made the hills more challenging but I have run in
much worse conditions.
I had no idea what my splits were until
I looked back after the race had finished. I ran 10km in just under 50min (3min
slower than last year) and 21km in 1:46 (4min slower than last year but I felt
so much better)! At this stage last year, I was walking and very unhappy.
I managed to take in the scenery and
appreciate the opportunity to run along the Great Ocean Road. I reflected on
last year… my body was so broken then. I was thankful to be running with no
pain! I crossed the finished line (23km) in 1:55. I was greeted by my good
friend Carolyn, and she placed a medal around my neck. I saw my boys (including
Bo) and my mum on the other side of the fence and they walked around to meet
me. I began coughing and struggled to get it under control. The
temperature was cold and spits of rain started to fall. I couldn’t stop
coughing! I was struggling to breathe properly. I approached the first aid tent
and asked for Ventolin (I had Symbicort but it wasn’t helping). They gave me
Ventolin in a spacer (yes I felt like a little kid again… a bit embarrassing
but it worked). Once I could breathe properly, we decided to go back to the
house. I really wanted to see Chantel, Alyssa and Katie cross the line
but I needed to get warm. When I arrived back at the house, I realised I still
had my second gel stuffed down my top… oops!
Post event -
The scenery, course and atmosphere were
fantastic. The weather was okay. There was a headwind and the temperature was
cold at the finish line (but I feel the cold more than most). The
experience for me was perfect and I achieved my goal; run sub 2 hour and enjoy
it! I had no pain (short stint in the first aid tent doesn’t count). The only
negative was I missed out on seeing other runners finish and celebrating with
them. I still managed to go out for lunch with family and buy some new clothes!
My eldest son (Lucas) and I went for a short run the following morning, and a
walk along the beach collecting seashells. I recovered perfectly fine.
Lessons -
1. Don’t start too far back in the
pack!
2. Roll with the hills… this is more
advice than a lesson because this is exactly what I did. And it was more
enjoyable and easier to manage.
3. Give FOMO the flick! Last year (and the year before that) I suffered from FOMO... Fear Of Missing Out! I said YES to everything and raced everything. Since having hip surgery, I've chosen events that are right for me, and I've held back! Shocking I know. (Canberra is the only event this year that I raced to my full potential and that was an A-race.) Everything else was about enjoyment. I'm loving it! No pressure. No pain. If you suffer from FOMO... you should try it... Choose A-races and B-races (and volunteer for some events too).
* This is not a lesson but a note; my cold/allergies took a
while to settle down afterwards. I might have a mild allergy to our new puppy
but he is gorgeous and we are keeping him! I had a cold which exacerbated
everything.
Event feedback and
will there be a next time -
The event was well-organised, professional
and everything ran smoothly. There were enough aid stations and volunteers. I
love the finish line at Apollo Bay. You can have lunch at one of the
restaurants and support fellow runners across the line. I will definitely run
again. I still have to decide which distance; now there is an ultra-marathon
(60km), which looks tough. Do I run the ultra (that means I have run all 3
distances)? Or do I redeem myself and run the marathon (44km) again? Overall I
rank this run 9/10.
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