Running On THE Road

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The Great Ocean Road is one of the most iconic stretches of tarmac in the world.

Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, it is both a testament to human endeavour and a striking memorial to those who lost their lives in the First World War.

The Road is featured in many a Top 10 traveller list and thousands of tourists traverse it every day in buses, cars, campervans and motorcycles.

What they can’t do, if they value their lives, is travel the road on foot.

Except for one special day in the year.

The Great Ocean Road Running Festival is a two day event in May incorporating races for everyone from the 1.5km Kids’ Gallop to the 60km Ultra Marathon. There are also multiple distances for walkers.

The shorter races are held around the township of Lorne on the Saturday and has quite the party atmosphere.

But it’s the Sunday that is special. On Sunday, the Great Ocean Road is closed to traffic between Lorne and Apollo Bay and thousands of runners and walkers line up to complete the 23km Half Marathon, the 44km Marathon or the 60km Ultra Marathon. (Yes, they run the Half and Full Marathons hard here, tacking on an extra couple of kilometres.)

With a 24km run on the training schedule, it seemed logical to run the GOR Half Marathon instead. Run much the same distance and gain some bling at the end? Easy decision.

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Very nice bling it is, too.

I think because I only saw it as a training run, I didn’t really take the run all that seriously. I didn’t chase up accommodation, choosing instead to travel from home on the morning. The night before, I was wondering about the wisdom of that decision as I was facing a 5am departure. Meh. Who sleeps before a race anyway?

The Marathon and Ultra Marathon both kick off from Lorne and finish in Apollo Bay (the Ultra taking a detour or two off the road to add the extra distance). The Half Marathon starts (predictably) half way at Kennett River. Shuttle buses run from both Lorne and Apollo Bay to the start line.

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Kennett River – Not a bad place to start a race

For some, this is not the optimum start to a race. The Great Ocean Road is a very windy road and those of a travel sickness disposition can find the bus ride to the start a bit unsettling. Hard to face 23km of running when you feel like you’re going to throw up at the start line.

We’ve been having some unseasonably warm and sunny days this Autumn but typically, Mother Nature decided to pull out a cold, misty and windy day for Race Day.

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I loved it. I am most definitely a cold weather runner. I am also a winter beach person. I would much rather a walk beside a wintry, wild ocean than a warm, crystal blue lagoon.

I had registered in the 2.5 hours plus group since I’ve only just got back into a proper training program and it being a bit further than a normal half marathon.

I surprised myself and finished in 2:15:17. I had a great run. So much so, that I actually got a bit of a shock when I reached the 18km aid station. I was beginning to wonder if I’d miscounted the stops until I saw a walking track sign saying “5km to Apollo Bay”. Only 5km to go? Sweet!

Now, that time of 2:15:17 is the actual time it took from the start line to the finish – my “net time”. My “official” time is more than two minutes longer than that.

Results

This is the injustice of the humble runner. You put yourself at the back of the group and then it takes you several minutes to reach the start line when the gun goes off. I noticed a runner on the list who crossed the finish line a few minutes after I did but her official time was almost the same as her net time. This means she stood right on the line at the start but took longer to run the race than I did. Sometimes I wish I had that level of nerve. You can see the difference the time makes in the rankings between the two times.

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Feels like a half marathon just to get to the start line

Of course, it must be confessed that as a white-bibbed more-than-2.5-hour runner, there was some measure of psychological boost whenever I overtook a red-bibbed less-than-2.5-hour runner who got to start closer to the line than I did. There’s always a silver lining.

The Great Ocean Road Marathon is included in the book “50 Place to Run Before You Die” and I can definitely say it’s a run to be experienced. Of course, the great thing is that you don’t even have to run it. With the option to walk 5km, 10km or the Half Marathon (or, if you’re a bit sneaky and can walk fast, even the full Marathon), it’s an experience open to more than marathoners. Put it on your bucket list.

 

 

 

The views were worth a stop and turn around
Up hill…
And down again…
Happy runner
Beside the wild ocean
Just to show it wasn’t always easy
Destination in view – heading for Apollo Bay
Sprinting for the finish line
Made it!

Now, what else is in that book….?

33 thoughts on “Running On THE Road”

  1. Well,bugger me if that isn’t your nicest bit of bling to date, you amazing woman ! Sorry I refused to lay eyes on it last weekend. :\
    So: virtually nil preparation.
    It’s beginning to look as though your body is acknowledging that it belongs to A Runner, eh ? 😀

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    • Definitely worth the effort. And, you know, the marathon and ultra marathon medals were just the same except for saying “Marathon Finisher”, etc and having a different coloured ribbon so this was a good one for doing the shorter distance. 🙂

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  3. Heatherrrrrr! Another run, another thing accomplished. ‘Meh. Who sleeps before a race anyway?’ And to come in in just over two hours for the half marathon, you make it sound so easy and not hard at all to get a medal just by trying and crossing the finishing line (we really should all get something for trying lol). What a view. Windy road that can lead to motion sickness in a vehicle, but was it actually gusty wind in the face all the way? Looking forward to your next run. My hat’s off to you and congrats 🙂

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    • Thanks, Mabel. Luckily it wasn’t windy all the way and often it was more of a side wind off the ocean. It certainly wasn’t fun when it was a headwind.
      The GOR Half Marathon is a good one to have a crack at because they give you a long time limit. Because you have the option to walk it, the cut off isn’t for 6.5 hours!
      It’s a spectacular place to run. I did enjoy it so much.

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  4. Well done H. You are really putting in those miles. And that is a pretty medal. The GOR is lovely, but I confess that I prefer it to be much quieter. Where next? The South African Comrades Marathon (Durban to Petermaritzburg) is an Ultra I think (The race distance is approximately 89km.) A shame you are too late for this year’s as it is the DOWN run. Next year is UP starting from Durbs. Must be in the book surely?

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    • It was certainly different for the road not to be full of crazy drivers. I reckon if you took on the full marathon and hung out the back, you’d almost get to run bits by yourself. 😉
      Thanks for the tip about the SA Marathon. I haven’t come across that one. Despite my “I’m only doing one marathon” claim last year, I’ve already signed up for another (which I’ve also declared my last…haha), I must confess I was watching the tail end runners on my way back to Lorne on the shuttle bus and there were a few Ultra Marathon runners that looked like triers and I did have the thought pop up “Maybe I could try an ultra marathon”. Sigh. I’m hopeless really. 😀

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  6. Nice one, Heather!! If you have to do a long training run, then doing a beautiful race course is a great way to go! It *almost* makes me want to start running again 😉

    Great run, great time, great bling! I’d say you were definitely on track!

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