Third Continent Marathon - Pittsburgh, North America!

I wasn't really sure what to do with myself after successfully completing the Antarctic Ice Marathon. It was truly an inspirational, rewarding, outstanding, unique and fantastic experience and I can't imagine undertaking anything else to compare to it. But as some of you might be aware after following my blog I love a challenge and having a plan motivates me to keep going, so this meant I had to come up with a new plan!

After chatting with a number of fellow runners in Antarctica it became clear what my new plan should be - to run a marathon in every continent. For those of you who can't remember primary school geography that is 7 marathons. I had already completed marathons in two continents, Australia (in 2005, 2008 and 2009) and Antarctica in 2009. My next question was - which continent to run next? Interestingly enough around this time a good friend had mentioned she was planning on running her first marathon in Pittsburgh. Now I actually did my first ever fun run (5km) with this friend and I thought it would be a great idea to be there when she and another good friend completed their first marathons!

With my next continent marathon decided it was almost time to start training again - although I did take a month off following the Antarctic Marathon. The timing of the Pittsburgh Marathon (2 May) meant that I could use the training for my annual King Island run (32km) as part of my marathon training. This did mean I was training long runs in the middle of Melbourne summer but luckily I had some great training buddy's to keep me company.

The King Island race came up quickly, this was my 6th time running this event and the race never gets any easier. In fact this year it was my worst ever run. It was quite warm and humid for the first part of the race and I really suffered as a result. I was already struggling by the 8km mark and at that point the only thing that kept me going was the video camera filming the runners. I managed to keep running past the camera and then had to slow to walk - I attempted a run/walk strategy but the rest of the field quickly overtook me and I was now the last person in the race.

I was quite disheartened and was planning my wooden spoon speech, right up until 20km when I finally caught up with a runner. Unfortunately for this runner he was feeling even worse than me and was cramping up pretty badly. Ironically enough just knowing I wasn't the last person inspired me enough to pick up the pace (still run/walking though). At this stage I caught up with a second runner who was running his first ever 32km race and had been ill with a cold all week so wasn't feeling so great. I finally got myself together and managed to run the last 3km into town to finish just on 40 minutes slower than last year!!!

The King Island run really had me doubting my running abilities, and in fact there were moments during the run when I thought I should give it all away. I could do the long-distance running training with no problems but if I couldn't get through a race without my dizzy spells than what was the point! I had already registered for the Pittsburgh Marathon so decided to keep going with the training and hope for the best. Interestingly enough I did a longish run the following weekend and had no problems - go figure! I continued my regular training runs along the beach (see the picture of my beach trail)



The training went quickly and before I knew it I was on a plane heading to America for my next big event, the Pittsburgh Marathon. The race website stated average temps of 10-16C with approx 4000 runners - quite a contrast from my previous marathon in Antarctica -4 to -9C with 20 runners!! Unfortunately for me the race conditions weren't so kind and the temperature was closer to 25C and quite humid for the first 5km.

I caught up with my two friends who were undertaking their first marathon and we all were feeling the tension before the start of the marathon. This was my 6th marathon and I don't think it gets any easier, I still get to the starting line and wonder why the heck I am doing this and 42km is really a long way to run! The gun went off and we started running, I spent the first couple of kilometers dodging and weaving around other runners and then settled into a rhythm. At around 4km it finally started raining and in fact didn't stop raining until near the end of the run but I was actually pleased since it cooled me down - although my shoes were quite water logged!

I have to say despite the rain there was fantastic crowd support along the way and I enjoyed hearing the bands. My favorite was the high school band and I also thought the nuns in full habits were pretty cool too! I was counting down the kilometers and really looking forward to the finish line at about 39km the hash house harriers were offering free beer - I did see a couple of runners take the beer!!! As always the last 2 kilometers just took forever but with crowds lining the streets there was no way I was stopping now!!

I finally got to the finish line and completed the marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes. I then waited and cheered on my friends as they successfully completed their first marathons.



So what do I take away from this marathon experience?
1) I specifically chose this marathon to share the first time marathon experience with two friends and that made the whole experience worthwhile. To see their joy in undertaking this massive effort and successfully completing the marathon was priceless.
2) Although I was disappointed with time I can say that I was really pleased that I didn't have any dizzy spells (I paced smarter and didn't push hard in the humid conditions) and I ran the entire marathon with no major walk breaks.
3)Do I still want to give up long distance running? NO, in fact I signed up for my next race, the Williamstown Half Marathon at the end of May and I am thinking about plans for the next marathon!!!!
4)I enjoyed the big crowd support but ultimately the event is still an individual pursuit, with that constant inner struggle to keep running when all logic says you should stop!!!

Antarctica Rocks!!

Okay so I am still on a high from my experience in Antarctica - it has been the trip of a lifetime for me, enhanced by meeting a fabulous group of runners and the wonderful camp staff at Patriot Hills.

Well what can I say the Antarctic Ice Marathon was amazing and surreal and bloody hard work! Poor weather conditions delayed our arrival into Antarctica - although by the time we arrived the weather was amazing big blue skies and snow everywhere! It would be fair to say I was starting to feel trepidacious about actually running a marathon under Antarctic conditions. And while those following the progress of the marathon may have wondered how I was coping with the delays of the marathon (we had planned to run on December 12 but didn't actually start until December 15) particularly since I am not a very patient person. But actually each delay felt like a reprieve and for once I was actually happy to wait!

The day of the marathon finally dawned at we started running at 11.32am on the 15th of December and 7 hours and 9 minutes later I finished the Antarctic Ice Marathon - exactly 3 hours longer than the Alice Springs Marathon in August! I was the second woman across the line and came 7th in a field of 18 marathon runners!

But I am sure you all might be more interested in the gory details of the actual run! Well the fog horn went off and 17 runners sprinted away to be immediately brought up short by the soft snow. We all spread out and settled into a rhythm - well as much as the conditions would allow. I spent a lot of time watching the track and trying and to identify the harder sections of the snow-covered track but in reality there wasn't any good line to follow. I found the first 8km particularly hard work and it wasn't till I got to the first check point that I discovered that I had actually been running on an incline. With no real markers and a totally white horizon it was particularly difficult to get a visual perspective that identified an incline.

I got to the first check point had a hot orange juice and went on my merry (okay not so merry) way. I was assured that this section of the course was downhill - but it took a really long time till I found the downhill section. Around 14km I was feeling pretty low but it was at this point that I caught up with Mark who was on his third 25km lap of the 100km Ultra Marathon. Mark gently reminded me that this marathon was all about the embracing the experience of running in sub-zero conditions in the Antarctic and not to focus on the 'race' it was a great pep talk and really helped to lift my spirits.
I made it to the second checkpoint at 19km for some more hot orange juice and then ran the best section of the course. A lovely sweeping downhill section leading into the campsite. Although once again distances in Antarctica are deceptive and it took quite a while to reach campsite. However, I was re-inspired at this point since I could see one runner ahead of me maybe one kilometre and one runner behind me about 500m - so you all can imagine my game plan try to catch one and stay ahead of the other!

I eventually made it back into campsite (checkpoint 3) at about 25km and had a quick change of tops because my thermal top was dripping wet. I actually ran with a camelbak (and insulated tubing) and drank the entire 2 litres during the run - with no stops for pee-breaks!

The last 12km or so was an out and back section and was just a hard slog and difficult to judge the distances as we were running off into the wide, white horizon! I finally resorted to alternating a run/walk program between the red flags, spaced about 50 metres apart! I was relieved to make it to the final turnaround point and only had 6km to go but let's just say it was the longest 6km of my life! Once again I had one runner ahead of me and one runner behind me and my goal was to try to catch one and stay ahead of the other. Ironically in speaking later to the the two runners, they shared similar goals, one was trying to stay ahead of me and the other was trying to catch me, so we were all driving each other forward :).

I didn't actually see the campsite finish line until about 1km to go and it took forever to reach but as you can my happy face I was ever so pleased to finally finish!

So what did I think of the Antarctica Ice Marathon? A truly awesome, amazing stunning experience.

Would I do it again? Right now I would have to say Maybe and if I did it again I would at least be better prepared mentally and physically for the experience.

Would I recommend the event to other runners? Absolutely, without a doubt, the camp staff were amazingly supportive, the food was outstanding, the tents were relatively comfortable and the race was well organised - just be prepared to wait on the weather gods for the starting date! In fact I waiting for the next Coolrunner to take up the challenge.

Once in a lifetime

Just a quick hello to all my followers - thank you all so much for your support it helped me tremendously knowing you all were encouraging and supporting me to complete this event. What can I say about Antarctica - it is truly the most awe-inspring place I have ever been to and I constantly had to pinch myself (it didn´t hurt because I was always wearing gloves) to make me believe I was really there. Wide open vistas with beautiful snow covered mountain back drops. It was also a lesson in patience - time works differently in Antarctica - it is dictated by the weather gods and they are fickle and can be ferocious! We had delays in our arrival and delays in the timing of the marathon - but fortunately no delay in our departure!

The whole experience was made that much richer by the fantastic people I met who ran the marathon and also those people who work at Patriot Hills! More to follow after I get some sleep!

ICE MARATHON STAR

She did it!!!!! They were able to run the marathon & Sharyn has made it!!!!! Her time was 7hr 9min & she was 7th competitor out of 17. Well done! The event was hard & cold but she still has all her fingers & toes - no frostbite. Hopefully she will be on her way home in the next few days, depending on the weather. Lots of photos to share upon return. Congratulations on a terriffic effort.

The weather finally cleared with -6c & Sharyn was able to fly & land safely in Antartica. Today it's -20c!! Marathon has been delayed to Monday morning as long as the weather is good - severely cold rather than freezing cold! Good luck!!

Hola from Chile

This is my first trip to South America and I am really enjoying Chile, the people are all very friendly and Santiago is situated in a beautiful location. I spent two days in Santiago touring the city and a day trip to the mountains - for some secret altitude training! Santiago is based in a valley surrounded by mountains it is a quite arid region with only 10 days of rain a year. The city is quite warm getting up to 30C during the day but cooling down quickly overnight.

My Spanish is very bad consisting of greetings and counting to ten, luckily for me many people speak better english than my spanish and I have managed to get along nicely - sign language is very helpful - pointing and smiling. I found it very interesting to see a mime artist performing in front of cars at an intersection - sometimes you don`t need the words.

I am now in Punta Arenas my final stop before Antarctica - I have already met a few of my fellow competitors. In fact some of them spotted me - they had seen my alice 2 antarctica website. There are some runners with excellent running and endurance sports pedigrees, just check out the list of competitors.

I took a mini tour around town, it is a small town which is quite windswept and exposed to the elements. The houses are all small (helps with heating during winter) and many of the houses are brightly painted - the ones I like have bright red roofs - I guess it helps finding them in the snow! The town is located right on the ocean and in fact my hotel room faces the beach which is lovely, today it is 15C and sunshine.

Adventure begins

Sharyn has begun her adventure and has arrived safely in Santiago, off on a mountain tour today.