Glenn Woodrow

What can I say, the journey over the past 6 months has been full of ups and downs but what I experienced at the 2006 Gold Coast Airport Marathon was nothing less than spiritual.

I had a crack at the Gold Coast Marathon in 2005 and I was humbled by the experience. In hindsight my expectations far exceeded my preparation. If there is one monumental truth in distance running, it is that you only get back what you have put in.

In 2005 my aspirations to not just finish a marathon but do it in under 3 hours came undone at the 32km mark. After that point just finishing became a mission in itself. In an attempt to conquer my summit I had stayed with Pat Carroll’s blue balloon squad but was unable to maintain contact. I remember looking across as they were heading back to Southport at the 35km mark and saying to myself that I would work harder and be there next year.

In my quest to front up on July the 2^nd 2006 with enough strength in my legs and lungs I made more of commitment to running than I have to anything else in my life (accept my wife of course).

I was asked by a fellow club member prior to the start whether I felt nervous about my performance. I remarked that my running journal over the past twelve months had accumulated 4000km. This was equivalent to running from Brisbane to Perth and beyond. Distance and the ever important speed work gave me the confidence that I was going to have a good day.

Pace setting has never been one of my strong points and so I found the pace setting by Pat Carroll and Dennis Fitzgerald to be invaluable. I am sure it was the same tree at about 5km into the marathon which receives the same dose of nitrogen from Pat every year. Before you know it Pat’s back with the pack and maintaining the tempo.

It was fantastic to share this 42km journey with such a motivated bunch of people.

Pat’s ability to sense what the group needs to hear and his disciplined approach to the marathon gave me the confidence in myself to maintain contact and work through the bad patches that I encountered at 31km and 37km.

I just kept saying to myself to maintain my rhythm and not to panic and sure enough each time I came out of the tunnel and back into the ‘zone’. It was almost hypnotic to listen to the drum of feet on the asphalt where nothing else seems to exist accept for the moment. There are few times in a person’s life where you can capture time and the situation in a purist sense but this was one of these.

I decided at 38km that I felt strong enough to sever the tether from the pack and go on with the final 4.195km alone. This was a leap of faith as it could have gone horribly wrong but all of those hill reps had given me the strength to maintain my stride.

As I entered the final straight and saw 2.56 on the clock I was beyond emotional as this was vindication for all of the sacrifice that both I and my family had made. I had gone from a 3.20 marathon to a sub 3hour in twelve months which was very satisfying. More than this, it has opened my mind to what I am capable of given enough work and focus.

For those who would like to run a marathon or have run one before and would like to improve I found the training programmes developed by Pat Carroll to be a fantastic guide and one which will get you to the start line in great shape.

Alternatively, I have always found Pat to be very approachable and will tell you what you need to know and not what you want to hear (there is a difference). Look forward to seeing everyone there again next year.

My First Sub 3