Having battled injury for much of the year, I really wasn’t sure what my experience of Ross marathon would be like this year. But while my expectations were slightly lowered, I was still more excited about this event than the Murdoch Media are about new cases of coronavirus in Labor states (well done to the hundreds of thousands of people who signed the petition for a Royal Commission into media ownership too, by the way). Aside from it being my first race (apart from pacing at Cadbury Marathon in January) for the year, it was also exciting for me because a huge number of my friends were running and I knew a couple of them in particular had been working really hard and were poised for some massive results. Read Full Report
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After our amazing recent trip to Maria Island, our next runcation couldn’t come soon enough. So I was hugely excited to be jumping in the car on a Friday afternoon and heading up to Freycinet. After a hilarious evening, the team got up to rain falling like Australia’s international reputation and were soon on our way to Freycinet National Park. We headed out along the Hazards Track, moving at an easy pace, slowing down regularly to navigate sections of slippery rock that punctuated the early sections of the track like capital letters in a Donald Trump tweet. Full Report Maria Island is one of my absolute favourite places. So when the opportunity came up to go there with 7 of the best people I know (I went to call them the Magnificent 7 but then I got a call from the lawyers so I won’t), I was seriously excited. The weather was forecast to be wet enough to feature in Cardi B’s latest song, but that did little to dampen our spirits as we arrived at Triabunna to get on the ferry. The crossing was a little bumpy, but the views from the upper deck of the boat were amazing. The island itself soon came into view, although the peaks of the mountains were hidden by dark clouds of rain that hung around them like criminals and grifters around the Trump administration. Read full article Since I first ran Cadbury Marathon 3 years ago, I have been back every year for either the half or the full. It is such a gem of an event to have run locally and Richard, the race organiser, and his team do a brilliant job. For a variety of reasons, I didn't think I was ready to race this year, but I still wanted to be part of the event and who to contact about this was an easy question to answer. The Tasmanian Road Runners are a fantastic group who provide a lot of support at events and within the running community and one of the things they do is to provide pacers for most of the major races around the state. I got in contact a few months before the event and offered to be a pacer, which seemed a perfect way to still be involved. Read Full Report In what is becoming a semi-regular pilgrimage, I made my way down to Bruny Island on Friday night ready for the Bruny Ultra the following day. The forecast was a bit foreboding, but I figured ignoring meteorologists has been working for the Liberal Party so hopefully it would work for me too. Driving to the start line was electrifying- the sun was rising behind us and mist was rising off the still water of the bays we drove through. We got to the start line to cheer for a few runners I knew setting off. I was particularly excited to see my friend, Naomi starting her first ultramarathon. Read Full Article
I’ve gotten a lot better at sleeping before races. After things fell apart for me at the Gold Coast Marathon last year and from a bit of disappointment I realised that it was no big deal, I’ve generally stopped worrying about what might go wrong in the lead up to the race and generally sleep quite peacefully. But this time was different. I was both excited and nervous about UTA, because I really didn’t know what was going to happen. Putting myself to the test in the mountains also has a personal significance to me and tucked away in my vest was a little memento of one great friend who never came back from his challenge in the mountains, so I knew it was going to be a pretty emotional day. As a result, I was far too wired to sleep the night before and was up early, eager to get to the start line. Read Full Report I take a deep breath as I sit down to try and write this essay. It’s about the fifth time I’ve started. Hopefully this time I won’t give up (edit: 6 months on and another ten drafts later- hopefully today’s the day). I am quite accustomed to writing about controversial topics but this is a little different.
Every previous attempt has sounded critical of people who don’t deserve criticism and this really goes against what I try to do. Given how uncomfortable I am writing this essay, it might make some people a little uncomfortable reading it too. I think it probably should make confronting and uncomfortable reading for a lot of people and while this is reluctantly done on purpose, I want to make it clear again this is not a criticism of any person, initiative or behaviour. It is an invitation to consider if we can do more. So I’ve certainly danced around actually saying anything for another couple of paragraphs. Time to get to the point. Read full article They say absence makes the heart go fonder, which certainly doesn’t describe how the conservatives in the Liberal Party feel about Malcolm Turnbull, but it might explain why I had been desperately looking forward to this race after missing it last year. I wasn’t kidding myself that the race would be easy, but had a real sense of confidence that I was going to run well, even if I expected to be hobbling around at work on Monday saying (in my best Heath Ledger Joker voice) “Do you wanna know how I got these calves?” Read Full report It was a cool misty morning with the mountain covered in more shades of grey than an E.L. James novel. My pre-race routine was more of a shambles than usual (think Victorian Liberal Party level of disarray) so I missed the Solemates pre-race photos, but I had at least had a chance to say hello to heaps of friends before making my way to the start line. Read Full Report Unlike every other race, I wasn’t particularly nervous before the event. But I still woke early and made sure I had plenty to eat and drink before I started my final race preparations. I met Bouch, Naomi Gabby and Lewinski in the hotel foyer and we set off for an easy warm up. We jogged across the bridge and joined the thick flow of runners making their way into the race precinct. I chafed with impatience as the press of people slowed on our way in. I considered pretending I was a European au pair to see if I could get through quicker, but before I could google Peter Dutton’s number, the narrow section spilled out into a much wider expanse and we were free to move quickly once more. We met up with the rest of the team near the start line. It feels great being part of a team (unless you are Julie Bishop or apparently any other woman in the Liberal Party) as you get that extra buzz from the support and excitement your teammates show towards you. We exchanged last minute good luck words and hugs and in no time the race began. Read Full Article So there seem to be two accepted sporting truths in relation to the Gold Coast. The first is that it is where sporting franchises go to die (and a special hello to one of the six remaining Gold Coast Suns supporters if you happen to be reading this) and the second is that it is the setting for a very fast marathon. I had that second idea in my head as I made my way through the enormous race precinct in Southport towards the start line. Ordinarily I am pretty confident I know roughly what I am capable of and make a race plan with this in mind. However the first half of this year had been pretty disruptive for a number of reasons and I really didn’t have a feel for how well I was running. As a result I had about as much plan for this race as the Tasmanian Government has to tackle the housing affordability crisis. “I’ll just run based on my body is feeling,” I had said leading up to the race (and if anyone ever hears me repeat that sentence before another race, please slap me). Read full report The drive from Wynyard to Stanley seemed to go for a long time- not an auspicious sign considering I was about to run that and more. All of the good jokes (and many not so good ones) have probably already been made about the name of the Gone Nuts so let’s just say I was feeling the nerves and wondering the wisdom of my choice of action. A year ago, I think I would have been a lot more scared at this point, but we can learn a lot about ourselves in 12 months and I have found a way to approach challenges with greater calmness and confidence. Even so, I had to admit that this was very challenging choice for my first trail run and having managed little training in the lead up, I was about as well-prepared as Ricky Muir was for Federal politics. Read Full Article I’ve gotta admit that I didn’t really have my normal pre-race excitement when I got up today. I wondered if it was due to uncertainty over the leadership of the National Party, but decided it was more likely down my niggling hip injury. I had been carrying the injury since the Cadbury half marathon a month earlier and Taylor Swift had assured me I could shake it off, but reality was proving a little unforgiving in this instance. I lay in bed a little too long but eventually knew I had to get going and get out of the house pretty quickly. Tasmania police and the event organisers had been proactive about getting the message out early that the Tasman Bridge would be closed for a few hours so I made sure I left a little earlier than normal. I did a light warm up jog and got to Blundstone Arena a little more than half an hour before the start. Read Full Article I love race day. From the moment I get up, I am as excited as Bryan Taylor at the football. I had an early breakfast and double checked I had everything I needed, then it was time to jump in the car. The pre-race atmosphere around the start line is intoxicating (not in the same way that the atmosphere before the Dr Phil show is intoxicating though- allegedly) and I moved around eagerly, greeting friends and soaking up the energy. Read Full Report Wow! Just like that, the next Tasmanian election became important. The Tasmanian Liberal Party have been nowhere near as incompetent, corrupt or divisive as their federal counterparts. Add to that some comparatively progressive positions on refugees and Marriage Equality and they are closer to the Labor opposition than the federal government. So I was pretty ambivalent about the results of the upcoming election, figuring that even if I vote Green or independent, whichever major party took office would likely do much the same. At least, I was ambivalent. But then Labor leader, Rebecca White, announced her party would phase out poker machines over the next five years and I became very interested.
Read Full Article Over a bottle of wine on New Year’s Eve, the beautiful Aimee asks me to help her tick an item off her bucket list, but I’d need to take off the clothes I was wearing. Obviously there was only one thing she could have been referring to. We were going paddle boarding (that is what you were thinking right?) So the next morning we met at the northern edge of Kingston Beach with our boards. I’m wearing my boardies and a life jacket (I had learnt from Malcolm Turnbull’s example during the week and definitely wasn’t leaving that behind). We waded in until the cool water was up to our shins, before dropping our SUPs (stand up paddleboards) onto the water and climbing on. Read Full Article Usually by the time the sun comes up for the morning of a race, I am already as woke as a Bernie Sanders supporter who refused to vote for Hilary to teach the establishment a lesson (how’s that working out for y’all). But after the amazing wedding of Mike and Marla the night, the alarm clock was needed on this particular occasion. Thankfully we got there plenty early. The Casino car park and entrance ways were swarming with people when we arrived soon after 7 AM. The walkers had just set off, but many runners were already there. The Just Like Jack team had tucked themselves out of the way as best they could, but were still easy to find. Read Full Article I make no secret of how lucky I feel to live on this wonderful island, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a great time when I do get out of the state for a few days, especially when I’m travelling with great people. I finished work on Thursday and frantically headed home to make sure I had everything ready. After double checking my bags as carefully as Australian politicians are re-checking their citizenship status, I headed to the airport, where I met up with Kristy. We chatted for a little while and in no time it was time to board. I fell asleep soon after take-off and woke up conveniently (so I thought) just before we were meant to land. Unfortunately due to strong winds creating delays at Sydney airport we had to stay aloft and do more circle work above Sydney than a bogan in his mum’s Gemini. Read Full Article I accepted that my preparation for the Melbourne Marathon had not been ideal, but even with perfect preparation leading up to an event, you can still give a disappointing performance -just ask the Adelaide Crows (too soon?). Having run a new PB only a month earlier, I was a little cautious in my expectations of how I would run so soon after. But I was also careful not to talk myself into a bad run either, and left the chance of beating my Sydney time as a distinct possibility. Read Full Article |
I realised that the website was getting a little difficult to keep track of and people would have no way of keeping track of which new posts were recent. I will use this page to display links to any new articles from now on.
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