I ran the Traralgon Marathon last Sunday. Our little running group had a boys weekend away in the country, which was a perfect way to focus on the task at hand and have fun at the same time.

It is Australia’s longest running marathon, and has a rich history including a 2:13 marathon by Derek Clayton back in 1970. The current course is out and back, with a defining feature being a 6km dead straight stretch of road at the far end of the course. With only two houses along the length of this stretch, there’s not a lot to look at and can challenge even the strongest mindset. When you get to the end of this road, you turn around and head back again!

This year, the conditions were close to perfect – cool temperatures with a slight headwind on the return trip. However, after 30km a slight headwind definitely feels stronger than it is.

Our group of runners ran really well on what is a predominantly flat, but tough, marathon course, picking up a couple of age-group wins. Personally, I was very happy with my run. With a pre-race goal of breaking 3 hours for the second time, and doing so with a negative split, I managed to achieve both goals and grab third place in 2:58:27.

First and second place were far ahead in the 2:36-39 range, so hopefully next year I can move a notch closer to that sort of time.

Lessons from this race:

• Negative Split – Focusing on running the second half faster made sure I didn’t go out too fast (something I’ve done in at least half a dozen other marathons!)
• Regular Fueling - You don’t see African runners taking in energy gels during a marathon but I used three and a half of them. I wasn’t afraid to fuel up, even when the fluid at aid stations was lacking – and it paid off.
• Know the course - We discovered pre-race that Google Maps showed the far turnaround was actually the highest point of the course. Whilst this was hard to believe, I used that info in the second half and focused on the fact it was slightly downhill to the finish.

In the context of the coming triathlon season, now it’s time to hit the pool, get on the bike and continue the solid work on the run. Lose a few kilos, get going in the gym and a fast race at Shepparton HIM awaits!