Brisbane Marathon – August 5th2018
https://www.brisbanemarathon.com
As the founder of Atlas Multisports, we have a proud history of organising and managing major sporting events while raising significant funds ($1.3 million-plus) for major beneficiaries including Ronald McDonald House South East Queensland. We are proud south-east Queensland locals and as custodians of this annual event our responsibility is to showcase the city, its natural beauty, welcoming atmosphere while promoting the benefits of running. Whether this is your first time participating in the Brisbane Marathon or you’ve entered several – if not all – of the previous 27 events, we want to thank you for your support and hope you enjoy your run and the beautiful sights of Brisbane on August 5.
ATLAS MULTISPORTS MANAGING DIRECTOR AND MCDONALD’S BRISBANE MARATHON RACE DIRECTOR JASON CROWTHER
Charity – Ronald McDonald House SE Queensland
RMHC South East Queensland operates at various locations throughout Brisbane. Our Ronald McDonald Family Rooms provide a special place inside hospitals where families can relax and have time away from a clinical setting while remaining close to their child. Our Family Rooms endeavour to provide this retreat for our families and we rely on volunteers to operate the rooms. The Ronald McDonald House Learning Program has been developed to provide educational programs to support students who have missed schooling due to serious illness. Every year, thousands of children around Australia are treated for serious illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and cystic fibrosis. The impact of hospitalisation, medications and lengthy recovery means that many children fall behind in their education and never reach their full potential. For more information on how to access the Ronald McDonald Learning Program please contact us by phone 07 3646 0587 or email rmlp@rmh.org.au
General information
AID STATIONS
Aid stations will be set-up on course at regular intervals. There will be a minimum of one aid station for 2km and 5km entrants and a minimum of two aid stations for 10km entrants. These aid stations will include energy sports drink and water (water only for 2km event). Additional Marathon and Half Marathon aid stations will be established at distances between 2.0 and 3.0km apart (max is 3.2km). These aid stations will include energy sports drink, water and lollies (ie snakes or jelly beans or similar).
POST EVENT
Refreshments will be provided to all entrants post race. These will include fruit, water and cordial. There will also be a coffee van (fee), icecream van (fee) and canteen (fee).
Course description
The event starts at the City Botanic Gardens and heads along city streets until it reaches Story Bridge, taking in views along the Brisbane River. As you proceed past Kangaroo Point, Southbank and beyond the West End of Brisbane, you can appreciate the diversity of the city. Majority of the course is wide and easy to navigate (except for the boardwalk which is narrow and congested). The course runs a second loop and finishes on the opposite side of the gardens.
Pre-race –
Brisbane marathon was not on the list! To be honest, my focus had been The Tan marathon (to ensure I could actually run the distance again, after being injured) followed by Sydney marathon in September (which I’m still hoping to use for a Comrades qualifier). My friend, Serena asked if I was interested in a girls’ weekend away. And seeing as running is our common ground, the idea of a marathon was thrown into the mix. Isn’t that what most people do? Relaxing weekend away includes a marathon, right? I didn’t take much convincing to say YES! The condition was, we were there to have FUN! I set myself a goal not to run a sub 4-hour marathon. I really wanted to focus on Sydney and I knew I couldn’t race two marathons so close together. We decided to dress up – Serena as Wonder Woman and I wore a bright blue tutu with a touch of unicorn. Why? Because we can!
We flew up on Friday night but suffered some significant delays with our flight so we didn’t arrive at our hotel until nearly 2am on Saturday morning. We were tired but happy to be in Queensland! On Saturday, we explored the markets along Southbank and appreciated the reprieve from Melbourne’s winter. I love sunshine and warmth! We stumbled upon the Night Noodles market at Southbank and enjoyed a wine with our meal. We covered over 10km worth of walking on Saturday, but it was easy and fun. We were back in our apartment early enough to organise our race outfits and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
Race day –
We woke super early (4am) and followed our typical race morning routine. I’d had a minor stomach upset in the days leading up to race day, and unfortunately it wasn’t completely settled. I was OK but not great. I still had my usual bowl of porridge and cup of tea. Outside was dark and the temperature was cool but not cold. We walked a mere 400m to the event hub, visited the ladies and bag drop. We made it to the start area with a few minutes to spare and counted down the seconds to the start.
The first kilometre was slow (5:41min/km) because we started back in the pack, but the next split was 4:48min/km… too fast for a FUN marathon. The next few kilometres were forcibly slower due to congestion especially along the boardwalk. Brisbane marathon is not a PB course unless you start up the front, it follows a boardwalk that is cut in half as lead runners double back. After half an hour or so, we settled into an average pace of 5:20min/km. We talked about life, work, relationships and our surroundings. The weather was perfect and the view was bright (we were happy). About 13-14km, I had to make a Pit Stop (we had to run off course a bit and it cost us about 6 minutes). It didn’t bother either of us because we were relaxed and enjoying the run. Reflecting on our statistics, our pace slowed to 5:30-5:40min/km (and Serena began to regret the amount of wine consumed the night prior). Luckily there were countless cheers from onlookers encouraging Wonder Woman to keep going. I was actually surprised by the lack of spectators. Initially I thought the 6am start might have deterred people but the whole event lacked supporters. In comparison to an event like Melbourne marathon, there was hardly anyone around. But I did bump into Ana Croger (fellow RMA) and Trent Morrow – The Marathon Man. I’d met Trent in Canberra a couple of years ago. If you don’t know his story, check this out: http://www.marathonman.com
After about halfway, we started taking advantage of the aid stations. We needed hydration (nothing to do with the wine from the night before)…must have been the sun and warmth (us Melbournians aren’t used to sunshine in winter)! The course was cleverly designed to ensure runners were protected from direct sunlight. It wasn’t until the last hour or so, that we noticed the sun. We didn’t use much fuel, probably because we weren’t racing. However, the electrolytes were helpful. From about 30km onwards, our paced slowed significantly and we complaisantly watched the 4-hour bus overtake us. Our energy levels were beginning to fade, so Serena suggested we tune out and connect to our iPods. We listened to our own music and we ran in sync with each other. Our pace held steady until the end and we crossed the finish line in 4hrs 7min.
