Having entered both the 2Oceans and Comrades Marathons for 2014, Simon and I have now found ourselves with the exciting task of qualifying. It's not enough to sign up and pay the entry fee for these races, the organisers (quite rightly), want to see if you can put your money where your mouth is before accepting your entry.
Qualification involves running a marathon. Times are generous, and a sub 5 hour run is all that is required. "Easy for some" I hear you mutter.
In some respects, in the face of the looming distances of 56 and 89km respectively, a standard marathon is relatively easy. And what better mindset with which to approach running one?
So it was with much excitement that we made our way to Pietermaritzburg last weekend for me to run my Comrades Qualifier.
Compared to the likes of the New York or London Marathon, the Maritzburg Marathon lacks a little in the glamour stakes. The city has the feel of a place that has lost its former glory, and no-one much cares about trying to find it again. The scenery is unappealing and the city is dirty, but for all that, the BIG drawcard is that the marathon route is rather flat. In the running world, this clearly accounts for something, as more than 5000 runners rock up to participate.
Registration
As part of registering, you get to pick up your free race tshirt - lucky day! This one was made of a nice soft cotton, so should be perfect for Vuyo to do some window cleaning.
With most people coming down to pick up their race numbers on the Saturday, there was a bit of a carnival atmosphere about. A special Marafun race was held for the kids, and William entered the 2.1km. After sticking with me for most of the run, here he is leaving me for dead and bolting to the finish line.
My support crew (aka Simon) organised digs at a rather swanky hotel not far out of the city. After a lazy lunch in the bar watching cricket, we went outside to the hotel pool to discover an amazing mist had descended. Quite beautiful, and luckily, it stayed well into the next morning to make for perfect running conditions. |
| Not even a spooky mist and a drop in ambient temperature of 10degrees will keep a kid out of the pool. |
Race Day
Early mornings are not my favourite thing anymore. So it was with much trepidation that I set my alarm for 3.50am. Ugh.
Had a reasonably good sleep and bounced out of bed (not) at the sound of the alarm to down a couple of bananas and have a nice cup of tea.
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| The other half of my support crew, making sure I get to the starting line, all the while encouraging me not to "kill myself out there". |
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| We found them! |
The race start was in central Pietermaritzburg, just outside a local school who had obviously thought long and hard about the inspiration behind the weekend's run.
As I was still half asleep, perhaps it's possible that I did dream the entire thing??
The race was started by the rather large BOOM of a canon, which certainly woke everyone up, and off we trotted on our journey around the city.
The run itself was fantastic, and with 'refreshment' stations every 3km, I pretty much ate and drank my way around the course. There was a bit of a lull between the 28 and 32km marks, where I briefly pondered why in God's name I was doing this, but after that, and with now less than 10km to go, it all seemed like a piece of cake! And before I knew it…
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| …it was over! |
Spot the Difference
Now here's a challenge! One of these photos is just before the run, and the other is just after. (Hint: It's still dark at the start time of 5am in the morning….and if you're really struggling, they don't usually give you your medal until after you've finished). The fact that I look better directly after running 42.2 km than before just goes to show how much I really dislike those early mornings!
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| My support crew were fantastic, and William couldn't even stop cheering for the photo! We celebrated afterwards by heading to our favourite Italian restaurant on the way home and indulging in some delicious home made pasta! |
And so…
…wow, I've qualified!!!!! 4hours 13 minutes and 34seconds. Phew - what a buzz. If you had asked me last year if I was ever going to run a marathon, I doubt the reply would have been positive. Having been a 'casual' runner for twenty years now, completing a marathon has always been on my secret 'to do' list, but a dodgy knee and 'what ifs' had always been my mind set. Seems if you dream it, you really can make it happen.
With a couple of marathons under his belt already, Simon's qualifier is a foregone conclusion. We'll make another trip to the Midlands in a few weeks time for him to formalise this in the Umgeni Water Marathon.
