Running the 2023 Gold Coast Marathon was epic. I’m bias, the course is one of the best in the world, okay so not that I can judge, I haven’t run a marathon anywhere else, yet, but I’ve heard that Gold Coast ranks up there.
I was nervous to run the Gold Coast Marathon. I hadn’t run a marathon in 11 years and my longest training run was 21km. So I kept the expectations low. Sure, I had goals but the main one was to finish and feel good. There were quiet a few people who didn’t finish, several had get medical attention and the volunteers and medics were incredible and fast acting.
My GCM30 Gold Coast Marathon schedule:
3:45am – Alarm goes off. I set four in case I slept in and got my husband to set his too. Paranoid much? Yep. I had nightmares leading up to the race that I overslept and missed it.
4:00am – Black coffee and two slices of toast with peanut butter and choc hazelnut spread, two glasses of water. Double check gear.
4:30am – Shower, moisturise, dress.
4:55am – In the car and on the road.
5:25am – Arrive at the venue and park.
5:35am – Toilets.
5:45am – Put on the race number, belt and store the phone and energy gels and cramping agents.
6:00am – Toilet rush. The last thing I want to do is need to go to the bathroom during the run.
6:10am – Arrive at the start line.
6:15am – The gun goes off.
6:19am – Start line. Start running!
10:06am – Finish in 3:46:04.7 – 42.56km – 5.19min/km pace
My GCM23 Gold Coast Marathon Goals:
- Crossing the finish line of the 42.2km… feeling good. –> Sure did!
- Finishing in sub-4hr (or at least beat my Garmin prediction of 4:07:25) – YES!!!!
- Maintaining a 5:30-5:40 pace for the majority of the marathon (the last 12km is unpredictable territory!) – BEAT THIS!!! My average pace was 5:19km/hr based on my Garmin.
- Having fun and enjoying every moment, even the painful ones! – You betcha. It was awesome.
I started off with an easy pace. The start line is always hectic and with over 6,719 marathon runners you need to have patience to get into your desired pace, or start at the front of the pack. I choose patience and use the first few kilometres of the marathon as a warm up for the remainder.
I started off just behind the 3:50 pacers. That was my best chance at a sub-4hr finish. For the first 12-13km I was behind them, then my pace accelerated and I was ahead. I didn’t look back.
Surprisingly, my pace bounced between 5:05-5:35min/km throughout the first 30km. I felt strong and wasn’t tired at all. My legs were a little bit sore but no where near what I expected.
The course is mostly flat with ocean views and there was a drink station about every 2.5km alternating between water and sport drink. I took in a few sips to half a cup at each one, only slowing to a jog and continuing to move forward. I also had four gels – a coffee one around 8km, then a citrus one at around 18km, another citrus one around 28km, and a final coffee one at 37km.
I still managed to keep my pace well below 6:00min/km.
The last five kilometres were the toughest. They hurt. And at least a dozen times my brain tried to convince me to slow down and walk. Each time I had to tell myself to keep going, that I could do this, that I was strong enough. There was a lot of self-pep-talk, and I have to say that the awesome spectators made the last five kilometres easier to get through.
Enter 41km, and a cramp in my foot. I could feel it forming and I knew if I didn’t do something about it immediately it would cause a severe problem and I would not be able to run. Luckily, just in case, I packed some Fixx Nutrition CrampFix Rapid Relief. I have to be honest, I was sceptical about how effective it was going to be. But you know what, it was fantastic. I took it in, had some water, and within 10seconds no more cramp. I could keep running. To say I was relieved is an understatement. I really wanted to cross the finish line in under 4 hours.
Finally the last 250m were in sight. It was the longest 250m.
I crossed the finish line with with the clock 3:50:12 and a net time of 3:46:04 (thank goodness I had my Garmin, because GC Marathon didn’t register my net time). I even managed a negative split with the second half of the marathon being run faster than the first! I did not think this was possible for me.
Thank you GCM23, to the organisers, the volunteers, the family and friends, the spectators and runners.
The day after:
Walking up and down stairs, not recommended. Sitting down was super painful, as was standing back up. Walking on flat ground was great, so what does one do to recover? We went for a bush walk at Tamborine Mountain, followed by Witches Falls Winery and The Polish Place. Even the kids behaved and the 2.5 year old actually walked the trails for 40 minutes without complaining, running off, or wanting to be carried – winning!
Have you run the Gold Coast Marathon? What’s your favourite marathon event?
