Monday, May 30, 2011

Great Ocean Road Marathon Festival.


 There are some runs which will stay in my memory as one of the best. And for me the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon is one I will always remember as one of my best running experiences.The scenery along the run was truly spectacular and made every step an absolute thrill.
This run followed the Great Ocean Road along the south western Victorian coastline from Kennet's River and finishing in the main street of Apollo Bay. The run was not for a beginner as it was quite hilly for most of the course  plus it had some quite long challenging climbs.




 Dear friends Ros, Ava, Erica, Melissa, Brian, Moi and the Chubby Hubby all drove over to Victoria together for a long weekend to compete in this event.We stayed in a luxury apartment right above the finishing line with spectacular views, and have already booked it for next year to run again.
These are some of the photos I took along the way, although I did cheat and take some the day before.
















 The run was really well organised and supported and the local residents lined the roads to encourage us and watch the mass suffering.
The finish line was very exciting and people lined the last 200 metres to form a tunnel of support.
My finishing time was 2hrs 18mins which I was very pleased with given the nature of the run. The Chubby Hubby ran in 2:50 and he was very happy with this given that this was his first road run. The rest of our friends all finished around the same time as me.
My only disappointment was that I did not attempt the full marathon as when I crossed the finish line I still felt that I had plenty of running left in me. So hopefully next year I will run the full distance.







Happy running,
Cheers Karen.

7 comments:

  1. it is certainly a beautiful part of the world - well done on the run...I was content to drive and stop along the way for pics! Tried to send an email following your comment on my blog re my "transition"...but it bounced...so just wanted to say "thanks"!!

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  2. Karen you are a legend. Great pics as well was these taken during the run or after lol. Hope to see you tomorrow, have scones, jam and cream to share.

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  3. A few of my friends have done GOR and I'd love to do it one day. The scenery is spectacular and I've heard that the competitors are a friendly bunch.

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  4. Madness is what I say. Great snaps though the GOR is on my to do list.

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  5. Well, I didn't run it, but managed to enjoy it nevertheless. Such a beautiful place and Apollo Bay is one of my absolute favourite spots. Hope you get to do the full marathon next year!

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  6. Chubby Hubby must understand who rules at home and racing: Karen!!!
    What a beautiful place to run a half. I would lose a lot of time to watch the landscape.
    Congrats.

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