Gold Coast Bound

What a lovely day for a run. We are about half way through our training for the Gold Coast Marathon and ½. Marathon.

We all live in an Aboriginal Community in East Arnehemland, Northern Territory. It is in a very remote part of Australia between Darwin and the Gulf of Carpenteria.

What made us all get together to run ? A few reasons. I’m an Ironman Triathlete, and was training for IM Melbourne, and IM Port Macquarie. I got asked if others could join in. It was great to have others to train with. I am involved in The Marathon Project and we have a candidate from Maningrida, and we used this blossoming group as a support group for Grace as she made progress towards her ½ Marathon at the Gold Coast, and then on to the New York Marathon. Yvonne, our doctor wants to attempt the Athens Marathon in November, and Robert and Martine wanted to attempt their 2^nd Marathon at the Gold Coast. Joe , Lynne , and Dave all wanted to have a go at the ½.

The weather up here is very hot and humid. It is not hard to lose 2litres of sweat an hour, and you have mud, very heavy rain that can turn our tracks into rivers, snakes ,buffalo and during the dry season neverending dust. Phew and then we have to run!!

Rob and Martine "Storm Run"!!!!

So as I said it was alovely day for a run !!!!!

Today is a test, we are here to see what will work on race day, and what won't. We are also here to support Grace as she journeys towards the Marathon in November. It really is tough to train for something like this on your own, especially for the 1st time, so the more support she has the better. We had a meal together last night, and it was great to hear everyone's reasons for running or taking running up the 1st place. There was a common thread, of clearing your head, stress release, time to sort through problems, and to get your "house" in order. The satisfaction of completing something at the beginning of your day, sets you up for what will happen at work. If you have had a good day, then it makes the whole day so much better, and if it is a bad one, you can say, well at least I got my run in.

Everyone today will run at a pace that they were going to try and hold on to. It helps in all areas of life to know your limits. But sometimes you have to go too far, to find out how far you can actually go, and that's what we are finding out today. Everyone will find out today that running is very much a mental exercise, as well as physical. As our lives become more comfortable, we are losing the art of the mind body connection, when both of these great gifts that we have ,work together, and I think it's a positive way to view running, (or any physical activity really) but running especially as it is so basic. You don't need equipment, just you, and a pair of runners. It is so satisfying when your mind and body work together, you feel so alive, so much energy. It's like a shot of caffeine without the  caffeine.

But you have to work at it. If you want to keep running, and become a "journeyman," then running is a means to clean up other areas of your life. You have to learn to become organised, you have to prioritise things in your life. You are forced to eat better, and to make sure you sleep well, instead of sitting up to watch the television. You have to learn patience, as your body will tell you how it is going. You do not tell it. That has dire consequences, of injury, and frustration. But the most important point of all in this is consistency. To be regular, to make your exercise a non-negotiable vital part of your life. The result of that, is your days are better, your health is great, and if you do get sick you recover quicker. Running regularly, is a process of getting better every day. You are improving all the time, sometimes in big steps, sometimes small. It's like an eagle gaining hight on a thermal. That's what running will become if you stick at it long enough , light, natural, energising. It will not always be hard work.

So we are on our journey to the Gold Coast. We are here on the only road out of Maningrida to run our 15 and 21km trials to see how our mind and body get along with one another. If you have the patience in your runs you will truly feel like that eagle on the thermal, as we head towards the Gold Coast Marathon Festival.

 

Our Full Moon Run at 8:30pm. The local police are saying "What the"!!!!!!

Reflections

Well, the Gold Coast Marathon has come and gone. For the past 5 months, our little running group in Maningrida have been preparing for this day.

Running is a metaphor for life. You only get out what you put in, and it has been interesting to see the challenges in each of their lives, and how they try to deal with them. Work, injuries, family, and just life, can make regular training challenge, depending on the priorities of your life.

Along the way I think everyone learnt 2 things. 21.1 and 42.2 kilometres was a long way for people that were not used to running those distances. They all realised how much of a mental effort was involved. They all started learning and understanding how their bodies worked, and hopefully gave them the incentive, and realisation, that they are a unique, and complicated set of interlinked systems, that really needed looking after.

There is one thing that brings runners very close together, and that is continuously running side-by-side, experiencing each other's challenges, and there is a bonding brought about by a long run on the weekends, that bring people from very different backgrounds, careers, ideas, thoughts, and values together into a close knit group. We are all brought to a level playing field by running, doctors, nurses, teachers, we are all equal in a running group, and that can be very grounding for some, and uplifting for others.

Race day was a great one for running. From a coach's point of view, it was very emotional, because I had the responsibility to guide them in their training, to encourage them as we all ran together, and to be part of "their" day.

The saying, you are stronger, and better than you think you are, is very true, and my little group found out how true that was today.

Our full squad both past and present

Joe was an amazing example of that. She had suffered badly from knee problems, and I very much doubted whether it was a good plan for her to actually attempt her 1st half Marathon. But she believed in herself, and in her abilities, and stuck to her guns, she did everything she could to get to the start, and to see her at the finish with a medal around her neck was just so great. She found out what that saying meant to her, and I hope she will remember that for a very long time to come. Lynne was also doing her 1st half Marathon. She has dutifully been a spectator at many of my athletic endeavours for a lot of years, and with the encouragement of Yvonne, she was also a very happy finisher. Yvonne has run a half Marathon  before. She is a very determined woman, and derives alot from her running. This was a stepping stone in her journey towards her 1st marathon in November. I think yesterday she gained the belief that she was a capable runner, and I think she is confident of her ability to complete the Athens Marathon. Two runners in my group Robert and Martine, lined up to run their 2nd Marathon. Their 1st one was in Hobart in January, and running has really bitten them. Robert and Martine, are a running couple, and they gain a lot of pleasure, and closeness by training, and running together. It gives a discipline to their lives which they enjoy. They both love talking about

  Martine at the 30km mark

Running, and are continually improving, and finding out more about themselves. To see them take on the challenge yesterday and how they overcame their problems was a lesson for me to remember. They both showed "pluck", "ticker", courage, persistence, and sheer bloody minded stubbornness that got them both over the line. As their weary bodies crossed the line, I shed a tear or two, as in my heart, I really felt, and understand what they were going through.

I felt like a clucky mother hen around them all. I was so happy for them, and their achievements, for the things they learned, and how yesterday was a step to being a better person. I would like to thank them for allowing me to be part of that journey.

Grace, our indigenous marathon project candidate, ran her 1st half Marathon as well. She was so uptight beforehand I think if you had said BOO to her she would have jumped 20 feet into the air. After I caught up with her at the end, I saw in her eyes how good it was to achieve something that you didn’t you could do. It really was a"runners high".

  Grace and Rob high 5 at the 30km mark

  Joe with a well deserved medal

Grace and Alemayrhu Shumye

Maningrida Athletes