Early March 2026 I heard that there was to be a new nine star medal for those who completed the Abbott World Major Marathons. Sydney was already number six; Cape Town was set to pass stage two in May 2026 and those running it in 2026 would get the 8th star if it did pass; and Shanghai was set to pass stage two in December 2026 to be the ninth race in December 2027. I’d focused on rowing for the…
The New York Marathon was the final Abbott World Major Marathon in the series of six that I ran. Both Craig and I had applied for an entry through the ballot but were unsuccessful. We contacted Travelling Fit, the Australian-based tour operator we had used for Berlin and Boston, and gained two of their places in the marathon, as well as booking for Verity to come along as a spectator. She had well and truly earned her spot on this…
Late in 2018 knowing that we had entries in the Boston Marathon for April 2019 our attention turned to the final Abbott World Marathon Major I needed to run – New York. We thought it could be nice for our children to come to New York to be there for the finale of the challenge – this was offered to them with the provision that they trained for and also ran the marathon! Alexander and Emily had other plans, but…
For many marathon runners the Boston marathon is the Holy Grail of all things marathon. It’s the oldest continuously occurring marathon in the world, with tight qualifying times and a kind of whispered reverence people display when talking about it. Many runners train hard for their perfect race at which to achieve their BQ (Boston qualifier) and then sit nervously at their computer come application time, as even having a BQ does not necessarily get you a spot – competition…
Applications for a ballot spot in the Chicago marathon open in November the previous year, with the outcome known just weeks later in December. Fresh from Berlin and with Craig having secured a charity spot for London 2018, I applied for the draw for Chicago for us both. The email notifying me I had been successful arrived around 1am, and yes I was checking – but nothing for Craig! Then around 4am, success for him as well, so I woke…
London Marathon has always been near the top of my wish list for marathons. I’d wanted to run it for a few years however it’s very difficult to gain a ballot entry and good for age was also out of reach especially considering I’d run 16 marathons in 12 months in 2016 rather than focussing on gaining one standout time. I’d tried and missed the ballot for 2017 and had entered the ballot once again for 2018 but knew it…
I’d finished the 16 marathons for the Marathon Maniacs challenge in November 2016 and had struggled for a time after in setting a new goal. Eventually I’d settled on qualifying for the Half Fanatics, sister club of Marathon Maniacs, but I felt a little half hearted about it. Nonetheless I entered Pine Rivers Charity Fun Run half in Queensland in early June and two more half marathons the following long weekend. In the week before Pine Rivers I’d been lurking…
A second epic crewing adventure – Roxby Downs My husband Craig had been planning a long distance dirt road adventure for ages. His plan was to ride 1600km in less than 24 hours, all on dirt. In the weird world of this type of motorcycling the ride is known as a “Dusty Butt”. It’s never been done in Australia and Craig wanted to be the first. Lots of planning had gone into identifying stretches of dirt road that would allow him…
Fujisan Marathon was the final marathon in the year of 16 marathons in 16 different states and/or countries. Rebadged from Kawaguchiko Marathon a few years earlier, the Fujisan Marathon runs around Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko, with Mt Fuji in the background. Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko are two of five lakes formed from eruptions from the extinct volcano that is Mt Fuji. While Kobe eight days earlier had been unseasonably warm, by the Wednesday of Fukuchiyama the cold had returned,…
Fukuchiyama Marathon ranks pretty high up the list for bizarre things I’ve done. It formed part of the three marathons in eight days I completed in Japan and it was really just pure luck that I was able to string together Kobe – Fukuchiyama – Fujisan simply because Fukuchiyama was run on a Wednesday! A Wednesday! Who does that? 10000 Japanese people it seems. Where in Australia would you ever get 10000 people running a marathon on a Wednesday, let…