Most people decide to throw a massive party for their 21st birthday, but not me. I decided back in May that I would run 21.1 kms for my 21st!
The longest official distance I have previously run is 11 km, so this may not have been my finest idea. As second semester started it dawned on me that I was eight weeks out and hadn’t started training. So on went the running shoes and I got to explore more of this wonderful city by foot.
Suddenly it was Sunday 10th September, Race Day! Fellow St Margaret’s College Member, Annaliese Wheeler joined me at the start line along with two previous College Executive Members, Alex Henkel and Chris Hughes.
The Logan Park start line was crowded with approximately 600 people ready to start the Cadbury Dunedin Half Marathon. After a quick chat about course safety, the announcer was counting down for our start and we were off. After running around Logan Park and the Botanic Garden, followed by the railway station, we were on the harbour walkway towards Port Chalmers.
Other than a quick shower of rain, we had great conditions for racing and even a wonderful tail wind to push us up the harbour. After keeping great pace for the first 15 km the tiredness hit me for the last 5 km and it was quite a mental challenge to keep pushing the body on. It is just not fair that they make us run up two hills in the last 2 km! But nevertheless, quicker than I realised, I was at Port Chalmers and running down the finishing chute. Being met with a medal and a chocolate bar could not beat the high I got from finishing.
Annaliese ran fantastically and managed to crack the 2 hour mark with a run time of 1 hour 52 minutes. I was not far behind with a pleasing time of 2 hours and 6 minutes (much faster than I expected).
I loved the challenge of this race and I don’t even think the sore muscles will put me off doing another half! Next time I hope to try beat my time and maybe complete a full marathon in the future.
Congratulations to my fellow St Margaret’s runners. I hope to see more Members out running in the future!
(Story by Sarah McQueen, Welfare Staff, CA)
