Negative:
When I signed up for this (dragging Jeannie along with me), I figured that Melbourne is flat, so this should be a fairly flat marathon. Wrong. Straight after the start line - rather significant rise for a bridge over the river. Everyone was still in the "I'm going to smash this race" zone, and kept running. Another longish (but, in my Brisbane opinion, fairly gentle) incline was met with groans by most around me, and several people started walking. Nothing else was that horrible, until we got to near the end. Horrible. Quite a steep, extended rise into the MCG. Most people started walking - understandably! - and because the path was narrower, it was more difficult to overtake.
Positive:
I didn't walk for any, except when hydrating. There were times when a small part of me thought, maybe just a little bit of a walk... but the rest of me would then shout KEEP RUNNING!!! Thank you brain.
Negative:
Having to think. Part of the course was shared with the full marathon, so there were times when I only noticed there was a difference by chance, looking up and seeing a sign for half marathon go left, that sort of thing. I'd much rather just run and look at the view. The other thing about the course was the twisty nature of it. I would look ahead, see the crowd veering right, move to the right side - only to discover it was veering right and then turning left. A bit annoying.
Positive:
Seeing a new(ish) city a whole new way. Running along the middle of major roads is always exciting; running along tram tracks - how novel! Seeing, all in the one morning, a whole array of Melbourne landmarks is a great way to see Melbourne.
Negative:
Hydration organisation. So, Melbourne, hydration is super important in long running events. I had worked out beforehand which points I would use for water, and which for Powerade, and those I would just run right past. The first 2 went to plan. Then there was one (about 8km) that we were told, water on both sides. I didn't need water, so I ran down the middle (such a good feeling). I knew that I'd need water at the next one though. The next one had no cups with fluid available. I gritted my teeth and kept running. The next one also had no cups with fluid available. I nearly cried. I could have stopped and waited; some people were picking up cups from the ground that had already been used and holding them out to be filled (really); neither of these were appealing options. I actually had to tell my brain, Think Happy Thoughts. Not good. The next one, I sprinted past the people in front of me (I didn't want anyone getting water before me!) but there was such a bottleneck, volunteers holding out cups but that was forcing us to stop if we wanted anything.
Positive:
Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous. The last few days had been rather un-spring-like, quite cold and miserable and wintry. Today was warm but not hot, clear skies, the sort of day that makes you happy to be alive and healthy and able to run a half marathon.
Negative:
Okay, most people probably didn't have this problem - once inside the MCG, there were 3 arches. The middle (and largest) was for the full marathon; to the right was the 10km; to the left, half marathon. So reminiscent were they of the finish line, I thought this was the finish. Everyone else kept running, so I did too, all the time thinking "Why is everyone still running? Surely we can stop now?" - until I saw the actual finish line.
Positive:
Black swans! In one of the lakeside areas, I saw one of those wildlife signs with a black swan - so I looked further afield, and saw a group of 3, long necks curving into the ground as they hunted for food. Looking to the other side, another group of about 5 - keep going, and I must have seen about 30 of them all up. Incredible.
Negative:
So many people. 9, 115 entrants in the half marathon, which is (from what I overheard) capacity. However, if that's your upper limit, I feel you should be able to deal with that number. The hydration problems, the narrowing paths, and the exit strategy all needed improvement to deal with that many people. Getting off the field at the end was poorly organised, the post-race hydration was minimal and brusque (and so crowded), and there was a single escalator to get us all up to the warm clothes drop-off point. Also, that many people meant we didn't spread out at all (well, not much) so there were no good points to speed up.
So many people. Yes. I get the same kind of feeling from singing in a choir, or playing in an orchestra. A situation in which there are many of you, and you might not interact with many, or even any, other people, but you are all engaging in the same activity. This I find heartening.
Negative:
I feel my brain is getting used to the whole half marathon thing. I was very excited, but in no way stressed about this. I am hesitant to try for a full marathon just yet though!
Positive:
My flight home was the fittest ever. I saw maybe a dozen people who had obviously run this morning, so no doubt there were quite a few more of us.
Negative:
Um, Melbourne - where were you? I know it felt like most of Melbourne was running, but I know there are more people out there... I really missed the spectators and cheering squads along most of the route. There were a couple of pockets of supporters, but there would not have been more than about 50 people for the whole route until we got close to the MCG. This was disappointing.
Positive:
Recovery Food. Oh yeah. We had a quick breakfast at Grindhouse on Carlisle St (very yummy, great coffee, and mercifully quick service); and I had Indian for dinner. I love recovery food. And I'm looking forward to eating normally again!
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