Greetings all – Thank you all for your kind wishes for the run on Sunday. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans unraveled somewhat when I came down with bronchitis and atypical pneumonia. I had coughed and spluttered through Around the Bay in a Day the Sunday before with Codral cold and flu my best friend that day. Fortunately, ASADA was not present! I tried a short run on Tuesday and was very short of breath, unable to suck in enough oxygen to break out of a jog. Although my doctor advised against running at all, I applied the lowest common denominator test and decided to downgrade to the 10 km and take it easy.
Race-day presented perfect conditions for a short run although for the marathon it looked like being a stinker with the warm temperatures and northeasterly wind to turn into at the 26 km turnaround at Elwood. The 10 km was over very quickly. It was hard to get going because of the constant congestion caused by other runners, especially as we approached the concluding kilometers when the road narrowed before turning onto the William Barak Bridge. Surprisingly I didn’t cough and splutter too much and was able to run quicker than expected.
Amazing what adrenaline can do! As I entered the ‘G, which is always a highlight, your pace naturally quickens but as I ran around the Punt Rd pocket, I was haunted by the vision of Dom Sheed slotting that goal two weeks before to sink Collingwood’s premiership hopes! Over the finish line and race over. A relief it was done but a disappointment the investment in endurance training was wasted. Just like the Pies, however, there is always next year.
Finally, thank you all so much for your generous donations to the JMB Foundation. It is not a well-known or large charity but the Melbourne Marathon is its big fundraiser. When I last looked, the JMBF team was the most successful fundraiser for the event! Speaking to James’ father, Andrew Macready-Bryan, a few weeks before the race, he expressed his deep gratitude for the donations and said how much difference it makes to people’s lives who find themselves in a similar predicament to James. Thank you again.
Regards,
Richard Large
