Aug. 31
The City to Surf Race is a popular run in Perth that includes a marathon, half marathon, 12 km run and 4 km walk. It attracts over 50,000 participants each year. It starts in the Perth CBD, runs along the Swan River, around Kings Park, then through some of Perth's trendy suburbs before ending at City Beach. It is trademarked as one of the most beautiful marathon courses in the world taking in some of the most scenic places in Perth. The marathon started bright and early at 6 am. I didn't think it was so great when I had to wake up at 3:30 am to get to the start-line on time, but seeing the sunrise over the Swan River was a gorgeous way to start the day! Fortunately the rain that was forecasted finished earlier in the night, so the weather was perfect for running.
This race was the first big hurdle in my Ironman training because it was my first marathon in 15 years! It was a challenging course; the second half of the marathon was very hilly, and not just by Windsor standards. I was feeling good until about the 25 km mark, and then the hills started taking a toll on my legs, specifically my IT Bands. The tighter they got, the shorter and slower my stride became. I had to walk several times to make sure that I didn't sustain a more serious injury. I finished in 4:11:23, which all things considered, I was very happy with.
Suzie completed the half marathon which was the second half of the marathon course, the hilly part. Their race started with a steep 1 km climb up to Kings Park. Not an easy way to start a 21 km run. But she was a trooper, and finished in just over 2 hours. It helped that she had her friend Krystin and about 20,000 other people to talk to along the way. Here are a few pictures of the event.
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| Suzie and the kids with our friends the Rennie's at the start line for the half marathon. Suzie and Krystin ran the race together. |
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| The start of the half marathon climbing up the hill to Kings Park. |
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| Running through Kings Park. |
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| "The Finishers". |
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