Challenge 3 - Gold Coast Marathon

Challenge 3, the Gold Coast Marathon is complete and this time there were plenty of reasons to celebrate. With so many friends and clients entered it was always going to be an exciting occasion and with perfect weather and thousands of fantastic supporters lining the whole course it turned out to be one of my most enjoyable marathon days ever.

Given the pace I had been running prior to marathon day I expected that I would be looking at time around 3:35:00 but that wasn't going to stop me from having a crack at a sub 3:30. If I could achieve this I would, for the first time, after 10 years and 21 marathons finally beat my time from my first marathon (3:31).

Once again I was joined by my ever reliable mate Ben Steele (one of the best team players you will ever come across) who has been there for every challenge so far. Not realising that the gun had gone we had to make a quick dash to the start and weave through some serious traffic to get contact with the green balloons that represented the sub 3:30 pace group.

We settled in to a comfortable pace however with so many runners on the course it was impossible to maintain a good rhythm. Near 10km in, frustration led me to surge ahead in search of fresh air which caused my heart rate to rise to around 170bpm, but I was much more comfortable with some free space. After losing a minute in the first 5km we were about three minutes ahead of schedule by 21km, so we were making good time and despite my heart rate creeping up around 175bpm I felt pretty good. By the time we hit 30km my heart rate hit 180bpm and now I knew I had a war on my hands, as if I was going to go sub 3:30 I was going to have to maintain this intensity for another 12km. It was also about this time that my stomach started to protest and my apetite for carbo gels and electrolyte drink drastically diminished. I was going to have to force the carbs and fluids in and hope for the best. Doubts started to creep in as I thought to myself "I can't hold 180bpm for 12km on a good day, let alone after just running 30km". I questioned whether it was possible, but I wanted this sub 3:30 like you wouldn't believe and if I could just hang on, it was mine. "Go Rhino" the supporters lining the course were giving continual support all day which helps so much and I was soaking it up every time I heard the call. At 35km I had my last gel and bottle of Ammo, this combination allowed me to maintain such a high intensity so far and I hoped it was enough to get me to the finish in time. "Come on Barrett" I was saying to myself constantly pushing, I was giving it everything I had. I started searching deep, asking myself "how hard could I fight if I was fighting for my life", "how hard does dad (who suffers Parkinson's Disease) have to fight to get through some days.......but he doesn't have a choice.........well neither do I if I want to achieve my goal". With 5km to go a man I met recently, Marc, spotted me and offered me some fuel which typified the great support along the course this year, but I was passed eating, I just needed to finish. One minute Ben was there with me, then he wasn't, then he was, then he wasn't, I'm sure during this he was going through his own battles also. Push push push, every step took all the concentration I had. In the last couple of kilometers the crowd on the road side got thicker and louder. "Come on Rhino, you can still go under 3:30 I heard someone scream, I surged again (later realising this last few hundred metres my heart rate was around 185), I gave it everything and with seconds to spare crossed the finish line in a time of 2:29:49. After 10 years and 21 marathons I have finally beaten the time from my first marathon. Now that, my friends, is an amazing feeling.

Therese took more than 20 minutes off her marathon PB to bring our mate Sam (marathon debut) home in a gutsy 4:17 which I thought was a phenomenal effort. As I mentioned earlier, the icing on the cake for me was the number of friends and clients participating in the different events. So thanks to all of you as you really did make it such a special day.

Thanks also has to go to:

• Our awesome mate Geordie, who spent the whole day riding around the course getting video footage and carrying any supplies we may have needed.
• Southport Runners and Walkers Club for being such a warm and friendly crew to go for a run with and putting on an awesome spread on Sunday.
• Megaburn because their bars and Ammo get me through these things.
• Bek Keat (and her Saturday bunch) for inspiring me and pushing me beyond my limits.

Next Challenge is Brisbane Marathon. That's if someone doesn't try to throw an extra challenge at me earlier............