HomeGold Coast Marathon Festival 2025
The running stretch goal I posted for 2025 was a 3hr20 marathon.
The Gold Coast Marathon (GCM), being a flat course, is a logical place to take a crack at this.
But injuries over the past 12 months have boxed me in a bit, and reality trumps want. I haven't been able to do the speed work I need for a 4:45 pace marathon.
Injury hasn't stopped me doing plenty of long slow kilometers.
As a consolation prize this year at the GCM I decided to do the double. The 21.1km half marathon on the Saturday, followed by the 42.2km marathon on the Sunday.
It's a thing. You get a 63.3km finishers medal for completing the challenge.
Time expectations? A 2hr/4hr combination was all I was aiming for. This was about getting it done, not about times.
Swept up in the excitement on the Saturday, I ran faster than intended - yet still felt good afterwards. As a result, the possibility of a sub 3:30 run on the Sunday materialized.
Did I run sub 3:30? Yes. Did it hurt? Terribly.
Could I have run 3:20 if I hadn't done the half? Maybe. I'll never know 🤷.
Either way, it was a ripper of a weekend, and a fabulous time out.
There is great pleasure in seeing friends along the course, and club mates smashing goals 🙌💪👊.
🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃♂️➡️
🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃♂️➡️
🏃➡️🏃♀️➡️🏃♂️➡️
