I entered the 2021 Brisbane Marathon by default as it was cancelled last year due to COVID-19. Although I ended up running a Marathon anyway on Kedron Brook with a bush of mates. So having deferred, I was more than happy to give it a go this year.
The marathon was going to be one of two main events for the year, the other being Blackall again in October. However, I did have a couple of trail races booked in during the training block, which would hopefully give me a good indication of progress.
The training block proper started in late February and I had kept my volume and intensity up over Summer. I had joined the Trailblazers Run Coaching group after the Blackall100 last year and found the group an excellent addition to my running. In fact coming into January 2021, I was running my fastest ever times over 5km during, surprising as I always struggle during summer.
I think the addition of running speed and tempo workouts on trails has helped increase my overall strength, along with bodyweight hip strengthning workouts at home. I was feeling really good in early 2021 and looking forward to the marathon training block. I was also injury free.
I decided to turn to the trusty free Garmin intermediate heart rate training plan again this year, making it the third time I used it. My first marathon was run on that plan and I managed to get back under 4 hours last year using it as well, but this year I augmented training with sessions with the Trailblazers, helping enormously.
Even though I was running well at shorter distances - my 5km and 10km times were still good - it wasn't until about halfway into the block that I got an opportunity to see what progress I had made. I had signed up to two of the South East Queensland (SEQ) trail series races, the first one was in late March at Bunyaville.
My target for this 15.5km trail race was to complete it in around 90mins, meaning a 6min/km pace overall. On trails that pace was pretty quick for me. I ended up finishing in 93mins with an average pace of 5:59min/km, which was bang on target. I was pleased with the progress so far.
The second SEQ trail race was at the end of April, it was slightly longer at 19.5km. My aim this time was to run under 1hr and 55mins at a pace of around 5:53min/km. The course at Daisy Hill was very runnable and I thoroughly enjoyed the race there and it was really well organised.
I surprised myself with the result, I ran 1hr 50mins at a 5:36min/km pace shattering the target I had set myself. I was over the moon with the progress so far this year. The trick was to make sure I didn't overdo it in the next few weeks as the training volume increased. However, after some really good training followng the Daisy Hill tail race, a couple of weeks later I decided to have a go at cracking my parkrun PB.
My PB at 5km had been set at Mitchelton parkrun 4 years go. I ran 19mins 50 secs and had not come close to beating that time since. I hadn't managed to get anywhere near 20mins in years, although since January my 5km times had not been over 22mins. I was confident.
On the 15th May, I turned up to Mitchelton believing that I could run under 20mins again. I wasn't sure if I would beat my PB, but I was going to give it a try. I ran the first 2 kms at 3:53min/km pace and was feeling good. I maintained a good pace for the 3rd km at 4:01min/km but managed to cut my wrist on a tree during the turnaround! The 4th km was 4:03min/km, but I figured that I was still under the magic 4min/km pace to go under 20mins. For the last km I just went for it. I sprinted as hard as I could for the last 200 metres, as I knew I might not get a better chance and clocked the last km at 3:35min/km! I stopped my watch and looked down tentatively, I knew it was quick but how quick... 19mins and 27secs!!! I was stunned, so much so I almost forgot to get my finishing barcode. After all if I didn't get the officical time in my mind it wouldn't count!!! After the parkrun PB, things were looking great for the marathon.
My marathon PB has stood since 2016 at 3hrs 54mins 35secs. I tried to beat that time at the Gold Coast in 2018 and 2019, failing miserably both times finishing in around 4hrs 24mins. As previously mentioned I ran a marathon on Kedron Brook last year due to the Brisbane Marathon being cancelled, I managed to run 3hrs 59mins and was a massive boost of confidence even though it wasn't an official event.
The course for this year's race was very different to 2016, mostly due to building work in the Brisbane CBD for the Queen's Wharf project. The race was mostly based Southbank side of the river and unfortunately crossing the Brisbane River a total of 9 times; the Storey, Goodwill and Go-between bridges. In 2016 there were only 4 crossings leading to much less elevation. This year there was a total 351 metres of elevation gain, a significant amount for a road marathon. In comparison, Gold Coast had 42 metres.
I had done a lot of training with my good friend Ben H, we decided to start the marathon together but sticking to our own paces and race plans. There were a number of familiar faces on the day, a lot of friends were running including Steve Y, Mat, Eoin, my neighbour Ben S, David from work and a few others. It was great to see them on the start line and throughout the race.
3-2-1 Go.... The Brisbane Marathon had begun, but Ben H and I were still in the toilet queue. Fortunately, we were right at the back so we still had a few minutes. Finally, I managed to get in and back out of the toilet while the back of the packers sauntered through the start line. According to my official starting split I started 607th out of 683 finishers nearly 5 minutes behind the gun time!
Steve, Ben H and I all started together right at the back, which was extremely congested but was moving pretty well considering. The race this year started at Southbank, it had always used to start near the botanical gardens on the other side of the river so this was new. We turned left into Grey street and headed north for around 1km before doing an about turn to south towards the Mater Hospital.
My plan as always is to try and aim for 3hrs 45mins, trying to stick to a 5:20min/km pace all the way. The first couple of kms were a little slower than that, but I knew that I had Vulture St, Kangaroo Point and the Story Bridge to deal with early, making the first 5km quite undulating. Once through that section I could pick up a bit of pace heading down to the river side in New Farm. Once I hit the River Walk after around 7km I was right on pace. Steve and Ben H had left me by this stage, they were ahead of me and gaining speed, the trick for me was to keep to my pace and not get carried away.
Running along the River Walk was beautiful as the sun rose, I could also get into a comfortable rhythm after the early undulations and I was feeling good. The course looped back under the Storey Bridge and soon we hit the Ivory St climb back onto the bridge. There were a good number of runners walking up the hill, but I ran up, I was feeling good and managed to make up at least 100 places. The advantange of starting near the back, I was able to pass a lot of runners without being passed myself, a great feeling!
Back over the Storey Bridge, Kangaroo Point and Vulture St past the Mater Hospital again, more undulation! I was able to keep my pace steady and was feeling good, I was taking in plenty of fluid but not over doing it as I was fueling by feel and thirst this time.
In previous marathons I had always taken gels for fuel at prescribed time intervals, unfortunately by the end of the race my mouth was saturated with sugar and my stomach sore. I decided to use Tailwind mixed with water in a handheld bottle instead of gels this time, which worked wonders. I had left a replacement bottle at the 30km aid station so I could replenish rather than carry too much weight early on, good plan.
Dropping down into Southbank again and hitting the river I knew that there would be a number of bridge crossings coming up. Soon enough after 14km it was time to cross the Go-between bridge and head west along the Coronation Drive bikeway. As I came off the bridge I hit a low point, which was odd only 15km in. For some reason I wasn't feeling the best mentally, I think the daunting nature of 42.2km jut hit me at that point, I wondered if I would even finish! My pace was consistent though, I wasn't slowing and physically felt good. I tried to focus on that as a positive and kept moving.
It was at that point that I saw a couple of familiar faces running towards me; Nathan and Jason, who I know through parkun. They had decided to run down from Mitchelton to cheer us all on. At the 16km point they joined me and ran alongside, it was a real boost to see them both, have a chat about the day and just generally have a bit of company. It was just what I needed.
They stayed with me for around 10km, leaving in the botanical gardens at around the 26km mark. By then we had crossed the Go-between bridge again, I had also spotted my family at the playground in Southbank who had come down to cheer. It was a real boost and helped get through an upcoming difficult part of the race.
After Southbank I crossed the Brisbane River for the 5th time, this time over the Goodwill Bridge and headed towards QUT and the botanical gardens. The course went through the Riverstage precinct, where we suddenly hit a very unexpected steep hill! It hit my legs hard! Not only that, but finishers from the half marathon were streaming down blocking the path ahead of me. I shouted to them to keep left. At the top of the hill my heart was racing and I had slowed down, I had to keep my head. I didn't try and get my pace up immediately as I was concerned about my heart rate. Over the next 2kms I picked my pace back up but was slightly under my target.
After rounding the botanical gardens, it was time to cross the Goodwill Bridge again! But I knew that I would see my family again in Southbank on the other side. My pace picked up and I was able to just about get on target. When I saw Maureen, Katie and Reuben again it gave me a huge lift. We gave high 5's, but I felt like they just wizzed past. I was alone again and had 13Kkm still to run.
There were still 3 bridges crossings left. At the 30km I had to cross the Go-between bridge yet again, the third time now but not the last. I hit the bridge with all I had but I almost ground to a halt! I had to push hard to up and over the other side. My pace had plummetted to 5:50min/km but I managed to keep it under 6mins for the 30th km. My pace had slowed, my target of 3hrs 45mins was slowly slipping away, but I was still on track for a Personal Best time.
Over the bridge I managed to pick up my pace a bit, the next 4km weren't too bad even though I had slowed to around 5:35min/km. I turned around yet again on Coronation Drive and headed back to the Go-between. I slowed down again but as much as before, this was the last time I would be crossing this bridge and maybe that helped!
I came off the bridge as hard as I could run, making sure I made up whatever time I could. I only had 6km left and really had to dig deep now. I was tiring quickly and my legs just wanted to stop and walk.
I had to convince myself to keep moving. During longer races, sometimes a saying or mantra might enter my head, or maybe 3 or 4 words of self-talk to encourage myself. This time it was very simple; "Just 1 more km!" I kept telling myself this over and over, the idea was that I should just try and run 1 more km under 6min/km then I could walk. But every time another km completed and pinged on my watch, I would keep repeating it; "Just 1 more km!!"
I reached the last turnaround on Victoria St, West End and knew I was homeward boud. I had 5km left and one bridge left to cross! Just 1 more km!!!
The kms kept pinging past, I was back on the Southbank front and I could see the Goodwill bridge ahead of me. Once more across and the finish line is just ahead.
I reached the bridge with 1km to go. I had managed to keep my pace up and not slip into the dreaded 6min/km range. However, the last one did at 6:07min/km but I blame the bridge for that!!! I reached the top of the bridge but still had about 400 metres left to run. I went as hard as I could.
I entered the Riverstage finishing precinct again heading right towards the finishing line. I felt like I was flying. This was by the far the strongest I had ever finished a marathon! I saw Maureen cheering to my left, crossed the finish line in front of me and stopped my watch! I was done.
I was done, but there was a weird twist to come. As I was collecting my medal, I saw some commotion towards the exit ahead of me. At first I thought someone had collapsed, as people were running towards them. It soon became clear that no-one had collapsed at all. There was apparently someone famous who had just crossed the line in front of me. I was intrigued! All pain deserted me, I had to find out who it was!
Very quickly I found the subject of everyone's attention. I had my phone on me - to listen to music during the race - so I fished it out and wiped off the sweat poised to assault said famous person with my camera! As he approached me, I kindly asked if I could have photo with him having finished just behind. He was more than obliging, although at this stage I was actually unsure of who exactly it was. I could always figure that bit out later, the important thing was the photo! By now, word had gotten around on who it was.
"It's Colin Farrell, it's Colin Farrell!!!" I heard people shout. Yep, I do know who that was and I have photo to prove it!
The best parts of this year's Brisbane Marathon was not the race, my PB or even getting my photo taken with Colin Farrell. No, the best parts were running with friends, seeing family and friends supporting me from the sidelines and knowing that although I have Crohn's Disease, I can still achieve goals I set my mind to!!
Official Time: 3hours 51mins 40secs, a new Personal Best time.
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