42.2 km done!

Lots of big thankyous

Hi all

A full day after the Sunshine Coast marathon, I’ve recovered enough to say thanks to the people who helped me make it through (apologies to those I will inevitably miss)

• My friends in the Sunshine Coast Tri Club and Trac Attack run club, who cheered me at various points along the way

• Fellow competitors who made time to chat

• The lovely baristas at Ocean Folk espresso who met me at the 9km mark with the double espresso I desperately needed

• The many volunteers without whom events like this couldn’t happen (I did my bit on the previous day, and got some insight into what is involved)

• The people of the Sunshine Coast who turn out to cheer us on, and don’t complain (at least in my hearing) about crowds and road closures

• Atlas events who do a great job presenting the event and all the sponsors including EVA Air

• My beloved wife Nancy who trains with me and supports me in everything

Nearly at the finish. Thanks to Kristy Guest for photo

Now for the results! I finished in 5 hours 24 minutes, exactly 1 hour longer than my 2013 time. More encouragingly, I maintained a steady pace, close to 7:30/km throughout, despite sore feet at the end. I placed 2731 of 2920 finishers and 9th of 10 in my category (M 70-74).

Nothing unusual in my placing at the 90th percentile on both rankings. I don’t race to win, just to motivate me to keep training, And I get even more motivation by supporting causes like Fred’s Big Run, helping to end preventable blindness.

Please help if you can, or just give me an encouraging comment

Thanks

John

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