How Alister Thomson overcame the odds to finish the Gold Coast Marathon

HIS feet were sore, his back was aching, and his energy was draining fast. But there was one big thing driving Gold Coast Bulletin journalist Alister Thomson to cross the finish line.

LET me preface my last column about running the Gold Coast Marathon by first saying I did complete the race.

But it was much harder than I anticipated (funny that!).

Around the 17km mark up at Burleigh Heads my feet absolutely ached and it became harder and harder to jog. I thought my ‘highly conservative’ strategy of going at a slow pace and breaking the run up into 10km ‘chunks’ would see me through and leave energy to burn by the halfway mark.

Gold Coast Bulletin reporter Alister Thompson stretching before the race. Photo by Richard Gosling

Instead by the halfway mark I felt my energy draining.

Then it just became a grind to finish the race, and yes, there was walking involved as well (don’t ask about my time!).

I had to focus on the race and make sure my pace didn’t drop off too much.

For a period I found myself counting to 90 seconds over and over, which, believe me, is not that exciting.

However, it wasn’t all bad. There was plenty of humour. One sign read: “Run like you stole something”. I thought I was back in Coomera!

A group of people decided to hold a party outside their apartment building, pumping out such tunes as AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, which I thought highly appropriate when struggling with my run.

But, what is really terrific about these events is the instant comraderie between perfect strangers. It makes the experience enjoyable, and even made me forget about my sore feet and aching back, and just go with the flow.

Completing the Gold Coast Marathon is another thing I can tick off the ‘bucket list’, along with eating three buckets of KFC in one go, and something I am proud to have completed.

Gold Coast Bulletin journalist Alister Thomson successfully finishes the Gold Coast Marathon. Photo: Tanya Westthorp

Well done to everyone who participated in the race and the Gold Coast Marathon event crew

And my thanks to all at the Gold Coast Bulletin and my wonderful girlfriend for their constant encouragement. Now for next year! But first a few glasses of wine are in order…