Post by alanmoore on Dec 22, 2011 2:16:50 GMT -6
As some of you know, Jonnene and I went to Australia for the holidays to spend some serious time with her family and friends. It's been a great trip so far. Even my niece, a Centenary student who was going to school in Hong Kong, came down for a brief visit!
On Sunday morning, December 18th, both of us participated in the West Australian Marathon Club's 24th running of the City Beach Run. It is held in Perth at City Beach starting at 7 am with two run options of 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) and 8 kilometers (4.97 miles). The 4-kilometer loop goes along a bike/pedestrian path along the beach with a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean beyond. You can hear birds and see parrots in the low trees. The morning of this run had beautiful blue sky, a noticeable wind out of the southeast, and temps of 76F.
This was the biggest crowd ever for the event in its 24 years with 255 race-day registrants. You could spot the members of the WAMC with their permanent club racing pin-on numbers whereas Jonnene and I got temporary non-member numbers that consisted of four digits.
When we arrived around 6:30 am we headed over to registration and were early enough to not deal with the longer sign-up lines that would form later. There were no timing chips for this race, it would be done the old fashion way. Jonnene spotted an old triathlon friend of hers, Annie, who was volunteering this time with the finish line water station. They visited for a bit. When we went out for a warm-up run I was a little concerned about the path being wide enough for a start with a large crowd but I wasn't there to set any speed records so I blew it off, deciding that I would deal with whatever happened.
Anyway, the call came for the lineup on the footpath (the announcer had a very low voice...tough to hear even with the speakers) and everyone graciously gave space where needed. I didn't feel crowded at all...I guess I was in the front 75, Jonnene was further back. The gun went off and off we went down a pristine footpath that would put the Fant Parkway bike/jog path to shame.
The initial pace was not as fast as I thought it would be but it did pick up. My first mile (I measured the run in miles on my Garmin) would be a 7:11 pace, about 20 seconds faster than I was aiming for since I wasn't looking to blitz this run. I just wanted a good workout over a long distance while participating in an organized run in another country. Surprisingly I had no problems with the other runners around me in the first half mile....no crowded start like at the FireCracker 5K! I had plenty of room to maneuver, passing people and getting passed. Just your typical run...except next to a beach in southwest Australia!
It helped plenty that we had a tailwind for the first 1.2 miles but then we had to turn around to begin the return leg of the loop, right into a nice headwind. The leaders were already several hundred meters ahead but I decided to stay on pace with two gentlemen a few steps ahead of me. It felt alright and gave me a chance to slightly draft off them. Second mile was finished in 7:20 which was still faster than I wanted. I was in a place where nobody was passing me but I wasn't gaining much on anyone else.
I turned the cone to start my second lap but I was noticing the heat from the sun a bit. The Australian sun is different from what we feel in Louisiana. It "bites" you more, almost like a stinging sensation on your neck, very intense. Helps explain why there's so much more skin cancer cases Down Under. Anyway, as I approached the turnaround the two guys I had been marking turned to the left for the finish line! They were just doing the 4K run! I had lost my pacers! So I went on...despite all the running I've done the last couple of months my legs started to feel tired and my pace was slowing as my third mile was down to 7:39...with a tailwind!! I forgot to mention that the outbound part of the loop is a very slight uphill. You almost wouldn't notice it early on but I was feeling it now on the second lap.
I saw Jonnene coming the other way on the downhill side of her 4K lap and we did a high-five to each other as we passed. My 4K time was around 18:20 at the turnaround and Jonnene's finishing time would be 22:12, placing her 4th in her age group and 50th overall of 98 runners who did the 4K. She was also the 21st female finisher of 48 total. Her pace would have challenged her PR in the 5K! Great job!
So, I went on and I was feeling tired. Maybe I had gone out too fast for this distance of nearly 5 miles? I passed 3-4 more people, especially this one girl who had been about 100 meters ahead of me for a long time. I went around her...finally...and didn't see her again. I was passed on the headwind stretch by 5 guys. A couple of them went by me so fast that I could only imagine that they were late to start and just chased down everyone. One guy went by me who had the ugliest running form but he was fast...I was thinking, dude, you need a coach!
My fourth mile improved to a 7:34 but the last .97th's of a mile was not good. My pace dropped to a 7:53 (I will blame the headwind) but I crossed the finish line solo with the next runner two seconds behind, probably trying to run me down. Two people in the finish chute took down my number and I went over to the refreshment tables where the club had set up a nice breakfast for the runners: croissants, bagels, jelly, fruit, juice, water. A really great setup! I found Jonnene and we talked about our races and went over to talk to Annie who we called "The Water Nazi" (yet she was wearing a Santa hat!).
My finishing time was 37:32 which was good enough for 55th place overall of 154 finishers and I was 4th in the 55-59 age group. My overall pace was 7:32/mile, about where I wanted to be anyway but I should have started out a tad slower. Still had a great time!
The races here have virtually no swag, something we're a little spoiled with in the States. For the $17 entry fee I got a race number and the breakfast after the race. That was it. Top three women and men in each race got medals only and there was a single door prize. No T-shirts or hats or anything. This is typical of the running races and triathlons here. Most of the money goes to paying for the city permit to close roads, signage, and pay for the police (and they are visible). The club makes some money but there's not much left for anything else. Nothing fancy about it and that was okay.
At the same time, further up the beach, there was a triathlon going on with nearly a thousand competitors! We drove up after we had finished sweating to watch. We were expecting a small informal triathlon and were treated to a professionally produced event with video, timing chips, elite racers, and a pretty large crowd to watch. We especially liked the finishing corral which had food, water, and medical all set up within 25 meters of the roped-off finish area.
I guess that shows that Perth is a real city: to have a record-crowd run race and large River City-sized triathlon both going on at the same time was quite impressive!
On Sunday morning, December 18th, both of us participated in the West Australian Marathon Club's 24th running of the City Beach Run. It is held in Perth at City Beach starting at 7 am with two run options of 4 kilometers (2.48 miles) and 8 kilometers (4.97 miles). The 4-kilometer loop goes along a bike/pedestrian path along the beach with a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean beyond. You can hear birds and see parrots in the low trees. The morning of this run had beautiful blue sky, a noticeable wind out of the southeast, and temps of 76F.
This was the biggest crowd ever for the event in its 24 years with 255 race-day registrants. You could spot the members of the WAMC with their permanent club racing pin-on numbers whereas Jonnene and I got temporary non-member numbers that consisted of four digits.
When we arrived around 6:30 am we headed over to registration and were early enough to not deal with the longer sign-up lines that would form later. There were no timing chips for this race, it would be done the old fashion way. Jonnene spotted an old triathlon friend of hers, Annie, who was volunteering this time with the finish line water station. They visited for a bit. When we went out for a warm-up run I was a little concerned about the path being wide enough for a start with a large crowd but I wasn't there to set any speed records so I blew it off, deciding that I would deal with whatever happened.
Anyway, the call came for the lineup on the footpath (the announcer had a very low voice...tough to hear even with the speakers) and everyone graciously gave space where needed. I didn't feel crowded at all...I guess I was in the front 75, Jonnene was further back. The gun went off and off we went down a pristine footpath that would put the Fant Parkway bike/jog path to shame.
The initial pace was not as fast as I thought it would be but it did pick up. My first mile (I measured the run in miles on my Garmin) would be a 7:11 pace, about 20 seconds faster than I was aiming for since I wasn't looking to blitz this run. I just wanted a good workout over a long distance while participating in an organized run in another country. Surprisingly I had no problems with the other runners around me in the first half mile....no crowded start like at the FireCracker 5K! I had plenty of room to maneuver, passing people and getting passed. Just your typical run...except next to a beach in southwest Australia!
It helped plenty that we had a tailwind for the first 1.2 miles but then we had to turn around to begin the return leg of the loop, right into a nice headwind. The leaders were already several hundred meters ahead but I decided to stay on pace with two gentlemen a few steps ahead of me. It felt alright and gave me a chance to slightly draft off them. Second mile was finished in 7:20 which was still faster than I wanted. I was in a place where nobody was passing me but I wasn't gaining much on anyone else.
I turned the cone to start my second lap but I was noticing the heat from the sun a bit. The Australian sun is different from what we feel in Louisiana. It "bites" you more, almost like a stinging sensation on your neck, very intense. Helps explain why there's so much more skin cancer cases Down Under. Anyway, as I approached the turnaround the two guys I had been marking turned to the left for the finish line! They were just doing the 4K run! I had lost my pacers! So I went on...despite all the running I've done the last couple of months my legs started to feel tired and my pace was slowing as my third mile was down to 7:39...with a tailwind!! I forgot to mention that the outbound part of the loop is a very slight uphill. You almost wouldn't notice it early on but I was feeling it now on the second lap.
I saw Jonnene coming the other way on the downhill side of her 4K lap and we did a high-five to each other as we passed. My 4K time was around 18:20 at the turnaround and Jonnene's finishing time would be 22:12, placing her 4th in her age group and 50th overall of 98 runners who did the 4K. She was also the 21st female finisher of 48 total. Her pace would have challenged her PR in the 5K! Great job!
So, I went on and I was feeling tired. Maybe I had gone out too fast for this distance of nearly 5 miles? I passed 3-4 more people, especially this one girl who had been about 100 meters ahead of me for a long time. I went around her...finally...and didn't see her again. I was passed on the headwind stretch by 5 guys. A couple of them went by me so fast that I could only imagine that they were late to start and just chased down everyone. One guy went by me who had the ugliest running form but he was fast...I was thinking, dude, you need a coach!
My fourth mile improved to a 7:34 but the last .97th's of a mile was not good. My pace dropped to a 7:53 (I will blame the headwind) but I crossed the finish line solo with the next runner two seconds behind, probably trying to run me down. Two people in the finish chute took down my number and I went over to the refreshment tables where the club had set up a nice breakfast for the runners: croissants, bagels, jelly, fruit, juice, water. A really great setup! I found Jonnene and we talked about our races and went over to talk to Annie who we called "The Water Nazi" (yet she was wearing a Santa hat!).
My finishing time was 37:32 which was good enough for 55th place overall of 154 finishers and I was 4th in the 55-59 age group. My overall pace was 7:32/mile, about where I wanted to be anyway but I should have started out a tad slower. Still had a great time!
The races here have virtually no swag, something we're a little spoiled with in the States. For the $17 entry fee I got a race number and the breakfast after the race. That was it. Top three women and men in each race got medals only and there was a single door prize. No T-shirts or hats or anything. This is typical of the running races and triathlons here. Most of the money goes to paying for the city permit to close roads, signage, and pay for the police (and they are visible). The club makes some money but there's not much left for anything else. Nothing fancy about it and that was okay.
At the same time, further up the beach, there was a triathlon going on with nearly a thousand competitors! We drove up after we had finished sweating to watch. We were expecting a small informal triathlon and were treated to a professionally produced event with video, timing chips, elite racers, and a pretty large crowd to watch. We especially liked the finishing corral which had food, water, and medical all set up within 25 meters of the roped-off finish area.
I guess that shows that Perth is a real city: to have a record-crowd run race and large River City-sized triathlon both going on at the same time was quite impressive!
