When my alarm went off at 4.30am and it was pitch dark, I wondered what on earth had possessed me to run the Sydney half marathon, with its 6.20am start.  However, as I walked from the taxi down to the start underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge (on the opposite side to the city), I knew why.  There are few races that I will ever run that have such an iconic setting at the start – I could see the sun rise over the infamous Opera House and then the bridge -only the row of portaloos (as seen in the photo) spoilt the view!  However, I’ve discovered the aussies are good at many things, and race organising isn’t one of them – to cut a long story short, I was actually in the queue to visit said portaloos when the gun went off!

Not a good start to a race and those of you who know me well will know that my stress levels went through the roof and I started off at a ridiculously fast pace.  However, after 1km, we ran across the Harbour Bridge and it reminded me of running over the Tyne Bridge in my first ever half marathon 9 years ago – the Great North Run, which brought a smile to my face!  The union jack that I had hastily sewn onto the back of my BvH vest was of great interest to the aussies – after two miles, I met a man who used to live in Moseley and knew Bournville well!

After crossing into the city, the run went along the water, past Darling Harbour and then across the ANZAC bridge.  I was feeling good at this point and hoping that the 6am runs I had been doing with the many people on my training course every day since I got here (put it this way, non-runners are in the minority in this country!) would stand me in good stead.  I thought I had got used to running in the sunshine, but at the half-way point, I doubled back towards the city and the most ferocious sun hit me even though it was only 7am, reminding me of the London marathon.  This plus the surprising number of hills meant that I ran a positive-split, but I stuck to my ‘don’t stop for fuel as this disrupts my rhythm’ mantra and this seemed to work.  By 9 miles I was ticking along nicely, but pushing as much as I could and enjoying the view as the city skyscrapers got nearer.

I’d given up all hope of a PB by the time I ran into the Rocks area, through circular quay and as I was heading towards the Opera House where the race finishes I was chanting to myself ‘you can’t be sick in front of the opera house!’ but pushing it was worth it to finish in a very respectable 1.38.10 (only two mins off my PB) and 30th woman in my age group home!  I then met up with Steve James’ brother Nick, his partner Shelley (who also ran) and their boys and took in the views whilst recovering, before they rustled up a well-deserved roast lamb and wine.  Instead of the usual race t-shirt, I got a fetching teal cap which matches by BvH vest, which I am sporting in the photo.

So my international running career has begun.... Next race, Melbourne Half Marathon on 11 October, when I shall have my fellow Rocks all the way from Liverpool supporting me along the way! 

Sarah

Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Chip Time
927 (118th lady)	Sarah Rock	SF	1:40:46	1:38:10

Results here