2019 plan My main ‘A’ race in the first half of the year was the 87km Comrades ultramarathon. Having completed the down run in 2010 I was keen to return one year to take on the up run, you aren’t a true Comrades runner until you have done both ! Training had gone well from January through March and April using Sixfoot track and the Canberra 50km to build and I was feeling strong and set my sights on a…
Most runners know of the Comrades Marathon, the oldest and largest ultramarathon in the world, a bucket list item for many. However, this unique event really needs to be experienced to see why it holds such a strong place in South African culture, and is loved by so many runners across the world. The race started in 1921 to commemorate the efforts of South African World War I veterans. It was run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, a distance of approximately…
The Accidental Marathon – Western Sydney Marathon Race Report I know, I know… how do you “accidentally” run a marathon?!? The Plan After a fairly unspectacular 2018 and lazy lead up to London 2019 (April 28), it was probably no real surprise that disappointing race time was the result. It had been 10 weeks since my last 30k plus run (March 27) with the previous 30ker a month before that (Feb 24) excluding London so with few weeks of very…
I’d had this event on my radar for a couple of years, but for various reasons (being held on same weekend as SMH Half or Sydney 10, or it being sold out) I never entered. Same story this year until three weeks before the race Kroney asks if I would mind stepping in to fill his place as his knee was playing up. Was delighted to get the chance, as Brendan and his team-mate from years prior Alex have form…
In several respects, this was a unique build up to the June edition of the North Head 10km: no racing (excluding parkrun) since Boston, in contrast to most others in Hurts who did the Sydney 10 or SMH or both; managed to twinge my right ITB 4 days pre-race during a self-imposed 1km rep session which forced me to back off completely for a couple of days prior to the race. Indeed I wasn’t 100% confident I would make the…
Sydney 10 is a race that I haven’t missed since moving to Australia in 2013 and it is one that really shows the depth in NSW running and puts you in your place. After racing 6 Foot Track in March, I had Sydney 10 in mind as my next goal race. My body was pretty battered and it took a while to recover as the race started to loom. It seems that the young gun Jack Maxwell has been backing…
Family Affair – Sydney 10 – 4.05.2019 A grand day on the Sydney Racing Calendar: Sydney 10 Lots at stake for me this year: · Always seeking to get a PB on that course no matter what the preparation · I had dragged my Mother in Law, visiting from Ireland, along to spectate at her very first large scale road race. Surely a visit to Olympic Park is on the Sydney tourist list · Even more importantly, it was the…
Well, May rolls around and suddenly all the big races come thick and fast. And few are bigger than the Sydney10. I was short on the bets on this race but the one I had was a fairly big one; $50 head to head with young Jack Maxwell. Now Jack is a bit of a cheeky lad and has been talking for while about how the HuRT Squad is ripe for a changing of the guard to allow the talented…
LONDON MARATHON DEBUT The Marathon was the one distance I had avoided signing up for over the years, telling myself it could wait until there was no speed left in the legs. But honestly it was probably more the fear of knowing what it would take to execute a great marathon. For many club runners the Marathon really is the ultimate event, with such a long training build up, you feel extremely invested in the final race day. After moving…
Prelude & Training Hurts veterans may recall how my 2013 Boston experience turned into a nightmare. A failure to break 3 hours despite posting a PB, and then the well documented events thereafter. Ever since then I vowed to return one year and make it a more pleasant experience in my favourite city in the United States. This was the year, the 123rd edition. I was also keen to lay my Berlin 2017 to bed. Many millions of runners…