Synergy Gallipoli 8km – 36:42

A beautiful morning. Dragged the whole family down for a 9am start at Kings Park. There were 2 new dinos in the park which the kids noticed straight away. I was feeling good and quietly confident I could beat last year’s time and go sub 38mins. Said to hi to Lou, who was doing the 4k.

Once again a very moving bugle call of the Last Post, as we stood in silence at the start line with the gentle breeze rustling the trees that were planted in memorial of those who died in the armed forces. Always brings a lump to the throat, especially as the poem is read by John Gilmour, a well known local runner and veteran.

As we set off I was determined to take it easy, instead of blowing up like last year. The first 1.5k is a rather brutal uphill. I managed 5:10 for the first 1km and I knew then that I was on the right track (5:22 last year). The next 1.5 is a fast downhill in which I managed to get my first ever sub 4min km - 3:59 :-)

I think my 4km split was around 18:20 which is as fast as I’ve ever run. The second lap uphill was brutal and I shamefully stopped to walk for about 20 secs. I hate doing this and I need to work on my motivation. As Lance Armstrong says “Pain is temporary”. I need to push on through these moments. But God my legs were shot. At the turnaround I sped up again downhill but this time could only manage around 4:07.

I love the run down to the finish line, you can see everyone in the distance. I powered down as fast as possible and could hardly believe the time on my Garmin – 36:42. This was an improvement over last year of 1:20. I was pretty pleased and know I can do even better if I didn’t stop halfway!

I brought my new camera and took some photos of the winners. The mens 8k was won by Roberto Busi and Tina Major took out the womens 8k.