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Jonathon's Racing Attacks and Adventure Packs!

Amazing racing and training adventures on roads and mountainous/hilly TRAILS, freewaybikehike and triathlons. Dreams of a SIX FOOT 45km finish,(DONE 2011,2013,2014,2015!),then ULTRA-TRAIL AUSTRALIA (50km DONE 2016! 100km DONE 2018!!!), memorable Melbourne Marathon and Gold Coast racing. Over a decade dreaming of a SUB 3HR MARATHON, sub 18min 5k, sub 38min 10k, sub 90min Half marathon etc...(shattered? or still realistic?)

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Location: Perth, Western Australia, Australia


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42.2km SB; 2004; 3.55 2005; 4.02 2006; 4.18, 2007; 4.10 2008; 3.55
2009; 4.11 2010; 4.05 2011; 4.02 2012;3.49 2013; 4.12 ... 2014; ; 4.08 ...2015; 4.00
2016; 4.11 2018; 4.15 2019; 4.25 2020; 5.38 ... 2021; 5.44 ... 2022 DNF at 37km
More ongoing GOALS;
***PB's pursuit; 5k 21.49, 10k 41.01 21.1k 1.41, ...42.2k 3.49

MM and the G!...

In recent years I have been enjoying races like;
December; 6-INCH(46km offroad)2005;--6 hrs 25 min...
2006; 7hrs 04 min 2008; 7hrs 00min...2009; 6hrs 16min
...2010:--5hrs 49min..2011:---5hrs 30min..2013---7 hrs 24min... 2014--- 7 hrs 06min 2015--6hours 43min ...2016---6hours 41min... 2017--7hrs 3min?... 2018-7hrs ... 2020 8hrs 19 ... 2021 8hrs 51
October; Melbourne Marathon 2007; 4hr 10 . 2008 DNF at 23km..
2009 4hrs 11. 2010 4hrs 05min...2011;4hrs 02min...photos
2012; 3hrs 49min 52secs PB!... ..2013; 4.12 2014; 4.08 2015; 4.05... 2016; 4.53
Rottnest Marathon 2004; 4hr 32min ... 2013; 4hr 16min... 2019; 4hr 41min 59secs
August; City to Surf most years since 1997 see HERE for details,photos.
PERTH C2S PB's; 4K;17min 25 (2002) 12K;52min 52 (1997)
21.1K;1.54.20 (2007) 42.2K; 4.00.20 (2015) (2010 video..45secs into it)
Perth City to Surf Marathon finisher 2009,2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019.
June/July;
GOLD COAST; 2012 HALF; 1.44 2013 HALF; 1.47 2014 HALF 1.49
2015 4.11 ..., 2016 4.11..., 2019 4.25
PERTH Marathon(42.2km)
2004; 3hrs55min
2005;--4 hrs 02 min. 2006; 4hrs 18min 2007;4hrs 33
2008; 3hrs 55 2009; 4hrs 41min 2010; 4hrs 30min
2011; 4hrs 12min 2012; 4hrs 6min 2013; 4hrs 19min 2014 4hrs 48min 2018 4hrs 15min
2019; 4hrs 28min
2021 5hrs 44min
May; Ultra TRAIL AUSTRALIA;
2016 50km 9 hours 50min 956th
2017 100km DNF CP4 57km
2018 100km 24hrs 33min 15 913th
2019 100km DNF CP3 46km 2021 CP2 DNF (severe back injury)
April;TWO DECADES of Bridges racing; 1997; 43min 43 1998; 41min 01
1999; 47min 29 2000; 46min 47 2001; (5km) 30min 01 2002; (5km) 22min 48
2003; 42min 40 2004; 48min 50 2005; 44min 40 2006; 48min 07 2007; 49min 16
2008; 50min 42 2009; 49min 54 2010; 48min 39 2011; 52min 55 2012; 47min 02 2013; 54min 45 2014; 48min 47 2015; 49min 53 2016 52min 20
March;6 Foot Track 45km;
2011; 6.53 2013; 6.54 2014; 6.47
2015; 6.14!!! 2016 DNF


As of October 2022; 37 road marathons finished (Perth x14, Melbourne x9,Perth City to Surf x7 Gold Coast x3 Rottnest x3 SunsetCoast x1)
Have also finished 20+ ultra races; 6 inch 47km ultra finished 12 times, six foot 45km ultra 4 times, Ultra Trail Australia ultras 2 times, Truth 50km ultra once within cutoff (and once outside cutoff), Lark Hill 50km ultra, 6hour track race, 24hr track race.
Also completed the Bloated Goat 31km (1500m Vertical gain) 2 times which is similiar effort to a 46km ultra.
DNFs in UTA100km, WTF50miler, WAMC40miler race, Truth 50km, Six foot and 6 inch.
The first 3 DNFs were after covering more than 42km, and with Truth one was a 25km DNF and the first one I finished the full 50km but was 19minutes outside cutoff battling an ankle injury for 36km.
In road marathons 3 DNFs one at 23km in the 2008 Melbourne Marathon due to severe ankle injury in the first 1km, and PC2S @ 30km, also 2022 Perth Marathon at 37km too fat and slow

Most races October 2009-October2020; >
30/10/2020 50th John Gilmour 10,000m track race 58min
20/09/2020 XTR Sunset Coast Marathon (#36) 5.38
30/08/2020 Fat Lamb PTS 20km
02/08/2020 Perth Half Mara 2.04
11/07/2020 Jumbuck PTS 3.39
08/03/2020 Darlington Half Marathon 2.07
01/11/2019 John Gilmour 10,000m Track race 51min
06/10/2019 Perth Marathon 4hrs 28min. #13 see here
01/09/2019 Rotto Biddi 3hrs.09.44
25/08/2019 City 2 Surf Marathon 4hrs 48min
17/08/2019 TW Parkrun 5km 24.29 (5th)
3/08/2019 Truth 50km DNF (at 25km in 4hrs 26min)
28/07/2019 RunMelbourne Halfmarathon 2hr 03min
21/07/2019 Champion Lakes R2R Halfmarathon 1hr 55min (32nd)
7/07/2019 Gold Coast Marathon 4hrs 25min
16/06/2019 Rottnest Marathon 4hrs 42min
18/05/2019 Ultra Trail Australia 100km DNF at 46km (CP3) 8hrs 58min
17/03/2019 Fat Lamb 20km 3hr 29min 49th of 70
02/03/2019 Lark Hill 25km 3hr 54 (Night race forgot headlamp)
24/02/2019 Swissmurdie 2hr 35
09/02/2019 Busselton Half marathon 2.13 (Late start actually 2.05)
20/01/2019 Chi Gong 1hr 58 134th of 158 finishers
16/12/2018 6 inch 47km 7hrs (12th finish)
21/10/2018 Rottnest Half 2hr 03 min
16/09/2018 Fremantle Half 1hr 58min
04/07/2018 Truth 25km 3hrs 11min 55 (PTS)
24/06/2018 Eagle 22km 2hrxx(59min officially, but 43min on my watch as started late)
17/06/2018 Perth Marathon 4hrs 15min
19/05/2018 Ultra-Trail Australia 100km 24hrs 33min 15secs 913th of 964 finishers
218 withdrawals
03/03/2018 Lark Hill 50km
17/12/2017 6 inch 48km 7hrs
06/08/2017 Truth 50km 8hrs 22min 59
16/07/2017 Jolly Jumbuck 21km 2hr 54min (94th of 129)
02/07/2017 King of the Mountain 16km 1hr 41min
20/05/2017 Ultra-Trail AUSTRALIA 100km DNF (at 58km and 10hours 38min)
26/03/2017 Bloated Goat 30km 5hr 18min
18/12/2016 6 inch 48km 6hrs 41min
16/10/2016 Melbourne Marathon 4hours 53min
25/09/2016 WTF 50 miler DNF at 55km
14/08/2016 Truth 50km DNF at 25km
3/07/2016 Gold Coast Marathon 4.11
14/05/2016 Ultra Trail Australia 50km 9 hours 50min
3/4/2016 My 20th consecutive Bridges fun run 10km 52.20 (hammy strain)
12/3/2016 Six Foot Track DNF at 30km 5 hours.
---------------------- 20/12/2015 6 inch 47km 6 hours 43min
15/11/15 Bloated Goat 30km Trails race (1600m Vert) 5hrs 43min
18/10/15 Melbourne Marathon 4.05
13/09/15 Fremantle 10km 47min 22
30/08/15 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4 hours 00min 20 secs.
05/07/15 GCM 4.11
24/05/15 R4R Half Marathon 1hr 46min 13secs
12/04/15 Bridges 10km 49min 53secs.
04/04/15 Perth Trail Series Truth & Consequences 50km ULTRA 8hours 49min
14/03/15 Six Foot Track 45km 6hrs 14min 11secs Smashing PB!!! (32min)
21/12/14 6 inch Trail 47km 7hrs 06min 30secs
12/10/14 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 8min (8th fastest marathon in 25 finished)
14/09/14 Fremantle 10km 49min 26 (first K 3.47 5k split 23.02)
31/08/14 Perth City to Surf 42.2k 4hrs 34min
06/07/14 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.49
15/06/14 Perth Marathon 4.48
01/06/14 Elleker Half Marathon 1.59.
21/04/14 40 miler DNF (28miles)
06/04/14 18th Bridges 10km 48min 47secs...since 1997
08/03/14 6 Foot Track 45km 6hrs 47min 02. (824th) A PB!!! :-)
09/02/14 Snakes and Ladders 15km 2.05
15/12/13 6 inch Trail Ultra 7.24
27/10/13 Rottnest Marathon 4.16.41
13/10/13 Melbourne Marathon 4.12.55
25/08/13 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4.13.28
11/08/13 Perth Half Marathon 1.54.05
28/07/13 Fremantle 10km 50.06 (very sick but first 1k in 3.55)
07/07/13 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1.47.29

16/06/13 Perth Marathon 4hrs 19min 55secs
My 10th consecutive Perth Marathon...Click to see -> how I became a SPARTAN...

19/05/13 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 58min 26secs 310th of 495.
07/04/13 Bridges 10km 54min 45seconds.
09/03/13 6 Foot Track 45km 6 hours 54 minutes 20 seconds. 740th of 804...blog post or ...photos! page.

24/02/13 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 37min 04 Placed 79th of 117 finishers.
09/02/13 Busselton Half Marathon 1hr 51min 58 secs 219th. full Busso results here
02/11/12 John Gilmour 10k track 47.17 ..see here
14/10/12 Melbourne Marathon 3hrs 49min 52secs ..(777.)
16/09/12 Fremantle 10km 47min 16
26/08/12 City to Surf Marathon 4hrs 42min 41 secs
15/07/12 Lake Joondalup 10km 47min 30.
01/07/12 Gold Coast Half Marathon 1hr 44min 49 secs. 1668th of 9035 finishers

17/06/12 Perth Marathon 4hrs 6min .. (post and photos here)
20/05/12 Joondalup Half Marathon 1hr 47min 01secs. (151st of 313 finishers)
15/05/12 Masters 5000m 21min 58secs
13/05/12 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 46min 45 secs. (76th of 240 finishers)
22/04/12 PTS Ellis Brook 21.8km trails race 3hrs 12min 28secs. 39th.
01/04/12 Bridges 10km 47min 02
25/03/12 17.3km (690m ascent) Swissmurdie trails race 2hrs 19min 17secs 54th of 60.
20/03/12 MastersWA 1500m in 5.56, 100m in 14.3, 400m in 76.4, 5000m in 23.33.
26/02/12 WAMC Swan Twilight 5km 24.32
26/02/12 Perth Trail Series Qi Gong 14km 1hr 44min 08 secs 70th of 102.
04/02/12 Busselton Half Marathon in 1hr 49min 31 secs.
18/12/11 6 inch 46km 5hrs 30min PB!
09/10/11 Melbourne Marathon in 4hours 02minutes 49secs...photos...

12/09/11 Fremantle 10km in 45minutes 50 secs.
7/8/11 Perth Half Marathon in 1hr 47min 46 secs.
17/7/11 Lake Joondalup 10km in 46min 33secs.
19/6/11 Perth Marathon in 4 hours 12min 54secs (351st of 547.)
12/6/11 Lake Monger 10km in 48min 09secs
22/5/11 Bunbury Half Marathon 1hr 51min 44secs 109th of 261 finishers
10/4/11 Bridges 10km 52min 55
12/3/11 6 foot 45km in 6hrs 53min 07 secs...819th...of 877...33 DNF's...4 outside 7hr cutoffRace Report and race photosPre & post race photos,initial ELATION
Note; Completing 6 foot is a major goal achieved which I have had in mind since 2005!!!!!!!

4/3/11 3000m in 12min 40 (19th of 19 finishers)Momentum building a little,sub 13 done! :-)
18/2/11 5000m in 23min 31 (20th of 20 finishers...4 DNF's)..results
5/2/2011 21.1km Busselton Half in 1hr 51min 41 secs for 124th of 218 finishers.
19/12/10 46km 6 inch trails race in 5hr 49min (63rd of 79 finishers)
10/12/10 5000m in 22.43 18th of 18!
5/11/10 John Gilmour 10,000m in 47min 36. (23rd of 31)
10/10/10 Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 5min...2895th of 5027 finishers...
12/9/10 Fremantle 10km in 46min 53...a big SB and my best time since 2005!
29/8/10; 42.2km in 4hrs 15min for 537th of 830 finishers...my 6th best of 12 M. finishes.
19/8/10; 5000m in 22min 06.0 secs (SB by 0.6 of a second, & Stan did a SB also that night)
22/7/10; 5000m in 22min 06.6 secs. (SB and 17secs off my track PB)
20/6/10 Perth Marathon in 4.30.
13/5/10; Masters 2000m 7.55 (first sub 8min run since 2005) & 5,000m 22.42
22/4/10; Masters 800m 2.46 & 5,000m 22.29!~(2nd best ever track 5,000m, track PB is 21.49,)
3/4/10; Australian Masters 35-39yrs; 4th in 1500m 5min 34secs. see here...
28/3/10; Bridges 10km in 48min 39secs. 388th of 1646
25/3/10; 300m in 47.6, 600m in 1.57.0 100m in 14.6
18/3/10; Masters 1500m in 6.03 & 10,000m in 49min 35
28/2/10; 4th place in 6 hour Track Race at Coker Park; 45.003km
6/2/10; Busselton 21.1km in 1hr 52min 50 secs
20/12/09;6 inch 46km 6hrs 16min
15/11/09; Peninsula 5km 22min 5225th of 73.
6/11/09; John Gilmour 10km 48min 39
11/10/09; Melbourne Marathon 4hrs 11 min 33 secs
4/10/09; Freo funrun 5km in 22min 53 secs
... ...
2011; 5hrs 30min 6 inchPB!! 2012; 3hrs 49min PB(Melbourne Marathon)!!2014; 6hrs 47min PB! @ 6 foot!

The next big things racing wise maybe;


6 inch 47km
on 20th December @ 0430hrs, countdown (activated a few days before?) is;


Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter K into the world May 2015 A.D.!

Kathryn and I welcomed our daughter J into the world June 2010 A.D.!
Kathryn and I welcomed our son J into the world in late July 2007 A.D.!
Our challenge is to be good parents with the Creator Gods help!



... 2004 ...2005 ...2006 ...2007... >...2008...2009...2010 ...2011... 2012.

but for the most important thing in life;
there is only 2 ways to live!...Bible Gateway...

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Bloated Goat 5 hours 43minutes of amazing Wungong Gorge trail moments (mission accomplished)

Magnificent photos by Dennis Tan from Paparazzi on the Run.
Pre-race hydration pack. Jamming 2 Gatorades and a powerade and 2L of water into my pack along with Chomps and a few Gels and other things. Carried another powerade as a handheld, so in all took 2.4L of sports drinks and 2L of water with me and refilled the water at the 16km aid station, so drank at least 5L of drinks during this race, and it wasn't really enough during the 5 hours and 43minutes...
 I knew it was going to be a long tough morning on the trails with warm temperatures ahead. One of my training buddies and fellow UTA aspirants looks on.




Bloated goat the first 4 hours 56min couple of K's from the finish the stravadata
Got through first 16km cutoff in about 2.23-2.25. At this point I was racing strongly but still had a bit to play with
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Going for my first Gatorade and second sports drink at aidstation 16km into the race after 2 hours 25minutes. Was 5min under the cutoff at this stage and the heatwave had not kicked into high gear yet. Also refilled my 2L of water here (wise move for the next 3 hours), and drank a complimentary bottle of Upbeat beetroot juice. jettisoned 2 of my sports drinks bottles into the bin provided. Quick pitstop as I knew it was going to be a tough mission ahead.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


. Seemed warm weather from the very start... Had lots of strategies in place to deal with heat including frozen necktie, 2 powerades, and 2 gatorades. Rode Lijn and NE ridge were as tough as ever, but found some momentum on the valley floor, and also near the foot baths in Bungedore Park, although surprised by a short but steep climb in the North east sector.

 These three photos at the top of a climb about 10km in at the beginning of the footbaths, taken by Ben O.


My phone started playing Jupiter VI song "Running" by itself in that area which helped.

 The descent down to Aid Station one was hard as usual especially with my shoes having very little tread left now, my ankle issues to beware of (twisted both of them about 4 times all up during the race, but nothing serious this time...)... and also the fact that the incline of this descent (Powerline to brook segment) is too steep for me with my high centre of gravity to descend quickly on... That turned my aid station 1 split from a comfortable 215-2.20 into a "a bit close for comfort" 2.23-2.25, but still well under the pre-race cutoff of 2.30, so happy days, although maybe got a bit slack at times in Bungedore Park.



The climb up from the creek is always a challenging one for me, and today was no exception. No sign of the snake, and descending lower Mojo was a surprise for me. Running with Mark from Rode Lijn to NE Ridge, and then at 11km JC started to work past me, and pretty much the same people from there onwards. Met one of the Rogue runner blokes. Fantastic to see familiar faces marshalling like Ben H and Ben O. By the time I got to Woodstock singletrack my legs were tired and not interested in attacking. But I passed 2 blokes at the top of that one, and I saw one of my training friends at the bottom of Woodstock so I expected she might catch me soon. At the top of Mojo I tried to get running again. Used Chomps from about 79minutes onwards at regular intervals, and drank my Powerades. Scored an Upbeat drink at the aid station, and a water refill which was very very precious later in the race. I was trying to average under 10-11min per K, after going after 7-9min per K in the first 15km or so... The tricky descent and then steep climb on west side of gorge was challenging. Again saw a glimpse of J's blue hat at the bottom of this one, but continued dueling with the same group of 4 or 5 runners that I did for most of the last 15km of the race. No zip, but still running the flats and walking the hills well, and even running some of the descents...

My motto/theme song  of  "walk the hills, run the flats" which I used at six foot track many a time, and learned from someone else I forget who now, was in full swing about 4 hours into the race on the big switchback ascent and descent.
 These two photos taken by Alan.

Body core temperature started to become a problem about 25km-27km, with lots of direct sunlight sections (about 32 degrees in the shade but about 36-40 degrees in the direct sunlight). Ascents getting really hard to deal with physically and mentally. Realised I was going to struggle to finish under 5 hours 30min but still in with a chance. Garmin started shutting down, running out of battery life as per usual, and it completely died at 27.9km, which was also about the time my body started refusing to take in Gels and burping them up... I stopped the chomps about 24km in... Gatorade burp, and feeling the heat a lot... Water still going in ok, although by 5 hours I was struggling even to absorb water. I was getting pretty dehydrated and overheated. Just wanted to get to the end. Tank Climb with 2km to go a bit demoralising, but I stuck to the task and got through it. Hundreds of Monarch butterflies out there including some mating. Ice from the back of Ben O's Ute, and a spray from BB's spraygun helped, and I resisted the temptation to detour to the creek (which would have blown out my time too much) ... Dug deep about 20 times in the race to stick with it, and it felt like a cross between Six Foot Track and 6 inch on a hot day... Urine colour after this run was dark orange/brown so is that pretty dehydrated!? especially considering my fluid intake was high throughout... Thanks God, my wife, and all the wonderful trail running people for such an incredible experience. If I am to do this one again I would prefer to be 69kg next time or at least have cooler weather and shoes with better tread. Amazing day.
Probably wasted a lot of time in various sections, but didn't anticipate how shattered I would be towards the end. Was fairly confident of maybe going under 5 hours in first 20km, but lots to learn from this race. Overall I think I had a good hard go at it. Excellent training for UTA although a painful strugglefest towards the end.


The march to the finish

The final march to the end, with no garmin option available. Actually I think I have miscalculated should be 46min... makes little difference... Surprised the worn out old garmin 10 survived for 4 hours 56min thats almost the maximum 5 hours. Must have charged it real good the night before. Surprised I lasted 5 hours and 43min in those conditions on that course without serious injury or giving in... pleased with my effort in this one... dug deep about 20 times at least to stay with it.... persistence pays off, and probably tapered much better for this race than I did for Melbourne Marathon, and probably needed to...especially as I only made it with 1min and 59 seconds to spare with the revised extra 15min heat policy cutoff extended to 5.45... So in the end MISSION ACCOMPLISHED just....

TheTANthedayafterMMfail


Start of the 3.827km TAN track...


No Bicycles permitted on the upper paths alongside the Yarra River.
On the lower path there is a constant procession of bicycles, electric bikes, even saw a motorised skateboard. Some of the bicycle riders carry a megaphone, to yell instructions to the rowers.

ROD LAVER ARENA and the MCG

The lexus centre where the collingwood magpies train.



Yarra River is home to a large amount of rowers and cyclists. Batman Avenue where the Melbourne Marathon commences is alongside the Yarra.

The day after my 8th Melbourne Marathon finish, I dragged my creaky sore body out and forced it to walk, then try jogging and eventually run very slowly the 5km to the Yarra River.
Returning to Batman Avenue
 On the way there I came across two amazing ultra runner legends running up the Anderson St bitumen hill section of the Tan... C2K and SFT are two legendary races they have both been involved with. As I was still measuring the distance to the start-line and thinking through what went wrong the previous day in the Marathon I did not run with the two legends I met there, but did a solo lap of the Tan and took the above photos after I had revisited the start line...
Lap O the TAN in 21min 42

MM #8 done. 1.47 half 2.39 30km, then 4.05 anticlimax

Pre race I was very nervous.  Calmed down with some photos of 4 hot air balloons, after completing a tricky 5km jog to the start. I knew my last few days was messy, and the night before was horrendous, had concerns I might even DNF, but figured my training in recent weeks had been good and I should be right.

This proved to be correct and early on I felt fantastic, getting through the first 3km in about 12.40 or so...averaging well under 4.20's per K...  one of my favourite moments was going past Flinders St station and Fed square at about 4.10 per K pace chasing a bloke with a gopro videoing himself, in a large group of sub 3 hour type marathoners...... surreal....one of the reasons I love coming back for Melbourne, not too many other races in Australia that you get that opportunity....

Felt strong for awhile, and even as far as 18-19km still in a pretty good zone, and went through 15km in about 75min, similiar speed to the Champion Lakes training run I did a few weeks earlier... started to get confident, but then I hit a stiff headwind alongside St Kilda Beach area, and worked a bit too hard into headwind from 19km-21km getting to halfway mark in about 1.47....  Backed off a lot from 21km onwards, but managed to reload about 26km-28km  with some uphill 5.20 per k splits from 28km to 30km... to make it to 30km in 2.39 my fastest strava 30km ever, and probably my best one since 2012 when I got the 3.49 PB... at this stage I felt like I was on target for 3.40's or 3.50's... well down on race goals a few weeks ago, but given the way I felt at the start I was pretty happy to be slightly in the PB ballpark with 12km to go....

However when I tried to push the pace again about 31km-33km into it, I went to the well and there was nothing, the hassles of the last few days took their toll, and instead of holding strong with 5-6min K splits I blew out to high 6min K's, 7min+, not disaster, but losing crucial time at the critical time of the race... Just couldn't get going again... was the strongest I have ever been on the hill in the botanical gardens, and at 37km while my pace was still too slow, I was certainly not broken....

At 38km  as we left the Tan and hit the downhill towards St Kilda Rd, I mustered up some determination and attacked the downhill.... was rewarded with a 5.32 Km split, but then as I hit St Kilda Rd, the wheels just fell off physically, and the effort of the previous K took too much out of me. The 4 hour pace bus streamed past me, my garmin ran out of charge, and mentally I knew it was over.... The last couple of Km was painful physically and mentally, just going through the motions with 7min Km again... not terrible, but 4.01-4.03 went down the drain, as the motivation fell apart, with 1km to go I got a bit of a boost as I saw the MCG looming up below, and then the cheering of the crowds as we eneterd the MCG was nice, and I enjoyed finding some legspeed again for a spurt around the MCG... some magical moments as usual at the end, but pretty disappointed with the 4.05, much better planet than the last 2 years, but fell short of challenging the 3.49 PB by a lot in the end.
If I had been able to eliminate the 7min K splits and the over 6.30 per k splits then I would have landed about a 3.54... which would have been a tolerable effort, but still well short of my goals....
Back to the drawing board.....back to square 1.

Pleased I put in a brave effort and convinced myself for about 3 hours that a PB chance was there, but a case of close, but no cigar by a long way today.... Financial troubles pre-race a big factor I think.... but very thankful I got to be there at all...  Hopefully good practice for a successful PB attempt in 2016... Although I am so sick of being close, and am not going to do this for too many more years if I keep coming up short, I am glad I had a decent shot at it again.... Thanks God!!!

Might get some of the photos later....
strava data





  11.0 km4:174:17 /km4:03 /km12 m
  21.0 km4:074:07 /km4:07 /km-2 m
  31.0 km4:184:18 /km4:10 /kmm
  41.0 km5:055:05 /km4:52 /kmm
  51.0 km4:434:43 /km4:33 /kmm
  61.0 km5:055:05 /km5:11 /km-9 m
  71.0 km4:394:39 /km4:53 /km-12 m
  81.0 km4:304:30 /km4:24 /kmm
  91.0 km5:445:44 /km5:31 /kmm
 101.0 km5:225:22 /km5:27 /km-5 m
 111.0 km5:165:16 /km5:16 /kmm
 121.0 km5:445:44 /km5:46 /km-1 m
 131.0 km5:105:10 /km5:08 /kmm
 141.0 km4:564:56 /km4:44 /km10 m
 151.0 km4:514:51 /km4:57 /km-7 m
 161.0 km5:405:40 /km5:46 /km-4 m
 171.0 km5:285:28 /km5:29 /km-1 m
 181.0 km4:544:54 /km4:53 /kmm
 191.0 km5:135:13 /km5:15 /km-0 m
 201.0 km5:085:08 /km5:10 /km-3 m
 211.0 km5:285:28 /km5:30 /km-3 m
 221.0 km6:146:14 /km6:02 /km10 m
 231.0 km6:006:00 /km5:59 /km-0 m
 241.0 km5:485:48 /km5:51 /km-6 m
 251.0 km6:556:55 /km6:46 /kmm
 261.0 km6:056:05 /km6:02 /kmm
 271.0 km5:455:45 /km5:47 /km-1 m
 281.0 km6:066:06 /km6:09 /km-3 m
 291.0 km5:205:20 /km5:09 /kmm
 301.0 km5:205:20 /km5:14 /kmm
 311.0 km7:187:18 /km7:02 /km10 m
 321.0 km6:286:28 /km6:11 /kmm
 331.0 km5:525:52 /km6:02 /km-13 m
 341.0 km6:566:56 /km6:35 /kmm
 351.0 km7:217:21 /km7:30 /km-10 m
 361.0 km6:266:26 /km6:06 /kmm
 371.0 km7:157:15 /km6:59 /kmm
 381.0 km7:047:04 /km7:08 /km-4 m
 391.0 km5:325:32 /km5:44 /km-14 m
 401.0 km7:097:09 /km7:11 /km-1 m


1.   2012 Melbourne Marathon 3.49.52

2.   2004 Perth Marathon 3.55.02

3.   2008 Perth Marathon 3.55.10

4.   2015 Perth City to Surf Marathon 4.00.20

5.   2011 Melbourne Marathon 4.02

6.   2005 Perth Marathon  4.02

7.   2010 Melbourne Marathon 4.05

8. 2015 Melbourne Marathon 4.05

9.   2012 Perth Marathon 4.06

10.   2014 Melbourne Marathon 4.08

Despite the big failure to smash the PB in the 2015 Melbourne Marathon which was my main goal for the year, I did run my 4th and 8th fastest marathons in 28 finishes this year......