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…
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…
I had in mind to run the Asian continent marathon in a well-developed country where I didn’t have to worry about safety and whether to drink the water. Tokyo was the obvious choice and from the research I did it looked as though foreigners had a pretty good chance at being accepted despite it being a ballot entry. The feedback was the Japanese government was keen to have marathon tourism money coming into the country. The ballot entry was a…