Queenstown marathon

Date: 21 November
Distance 42.2km
Time: 5:51:44

At the start at Millbrook Resort.

Self-seeded wave starts helped spread out the trail of runners to ease congestion on the walking tracks. We had no problem whatsoever, not sure what was going on in the front.

Not long now – grrrr …

And we’re off. Long road ahead.

The downhill into Arrowtown which was the start of my ITB problems.

Arrowtown – a quaint historic gold mining town north of Queenstown.

Gerry making his way through the suburbs.

Running next to Arrow River.

Enough runners not to be alone, and not so many to congest the walkways.

Lovely scenery and a perfect day for it!

Flying round the corner on a downhill. Yeah right.

One of many bridges across streams and rivers.

Queenstown Trails Trust was getting $10 from each entry towards the maintenance of the river/lake walkways.

A mainly flat course with just a few undulations and a hill or two thrown in for good measure.

Water point with lots of little helpers. All stocked with water and Powerade. Most of them also offered Sport Beans.

Point taken.

One of the short sections on a sealed road, running along the Arrowtown Lake Hayes Road towards the lake.

Reaching and rounding Lake Hayes.

Have to fool myself to look strong, although I was far from it.

The sound of a band drifting across the water, made for a very enjoyable run.

Beautiful paths to keep your mind off the pain.

So very far to go still …

Nice pathways through boggy areas.

Not too far from the end of the 7km circle around Lake Hayes.

Gerry still going strong and having a ball.

Colourful dots all along the walkway.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the halfway mark. Took us 2:37.

A steep downhill which I had to walk on account of my terribly sore ITB’s.

Lush new growth on the trees.

At 26.5km we reach the waterpoint before crossing the Shotover River.

Gerry on the Shotover River bridge.

High fives all round!

Around this area we passed some waterworks which wasn’t all that pretty. But the lupins cheered me up.

Just a few little hills to keep things interesting. This one dubbed “Marathon Hill” which is quite tough at around the 32km mark.

Lots of inspirational posters en route with this one near the top of the hill. 🙂 Next to the Kawarau River.

Some more musicians. I love events that have local bands to entertain runners and crowds.

The Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu in the back.

The organisers made the most of the main sponsor, Air New Zealand.

Gerry still doing well next to the Frankton Arm.

Turns out it wasn’t only my legs that didn’t work so well anymore – it was also my trigger finger! Luckily the photographer got his Charlie Chaplan jump at the right time.

With only about 1km to go, these guys were really going all out cheering runners on.

Through the streets of Queenstown with lots of support along the closed roads. This must have been fantastic for the guys who were still part of the event. Being so far behind, we definitely missed out of some highlights the event had to offer.

With his landing gear out, Gerry is on the runway taxiing his way to the finish.

Very happy to have made it to the finish with near nothing training in the two months leading up to the event.

Chilling in the finish zone with bananas, water, Powerade and a happy grin.

Prize-giving. Our luck has definitely run out this year. 🙂

The Air New Zealand Queenstown International Marathon saw its second running in 2015. It boasted a huge field of 9000 participants across all three events (42.2, 21.1 & 10km, plus a kids 2km). At $149 entry fee it is not the cheapest marathon in the country ($10 goes towards the Queenstown’s Trails Trust). Add to that the $15 bus fare, and, if you want, the official event cotton T-shirt at $40, and you’re already looking at $200+. Other event branded merchandise like technical tops, peaks, caps etc were also on offer. The expo consisted mainly of sports-related brands advertising and selling their goods. Continue reading →