Marathon Man

Chris rode down the course to find Andy. He then rode with him for a while. Andy was looking really strong where we met him. Just short of the half way mark. We had seen lots of people passing who were really struggling. He looked confident and was clearly running well within himself. He had a re-fuel and headed on for the next half of the race. We got back on the bikes and took the back roads to try to catch up with him closer to the finish. The roar from the crowds was amazing. Chris took us on a very picturesque route through the most beautiful suburbs. The houses looked as though they should have been in picture books. We got back to the course at Chestnut Hill Reservoir at the 35 km mark. The crowds were just as noisy. We waited for Andy but couldn’t find him. We were worried that he would already have passed by – so we continued to the finish. We still couldn’t locate him. Chris and Kate were running out of time to meet their 6pm flight. We returned the bikes and as we got back to the hotel we met up with Andy in the foyer. He looked great – as good as any other competitor and had completed the race in a credible 5 hours and 17 minutes -22,172 out of 23,162 starters. A great achievement.

Marathon Day

Andy left before 7am to catch the team bus to Hopkinton – the start of the race 42km out of town. Just before 9am Chris, Kate and I headed off on our bikes to watch the race. The weather was kind – slightly overcast but fine. We just rode up the course short of Natick where we stopped at a cute little café for breakfast. As we sat there the wheelchair athletes began to pass. We set up on the side of the road and cheered them through. Next came the elite women and men athletes. We knew that Andy had started out later, and wouldn’t be coming through for some time, so we took back road to progress up the course. We finally set up after the 12 mile mark (short of half way) with our Australian flags and encouraged all the runners.

Marathon

Quite a buzz here in Boston because of the marathon. People all about jogging and in their marathon jackets. Some have jackets from other year We checked out some of te marshalling areas yesterday. They have family meeting areas A to Z spread around as there are so many competitors. Andy went off to a primary schoolk today to give a talk on Australia. He took alomng a whole pile of tiny kangaroos and koalas to give out. He has been given an official marathon single, jacket and gloves 9as it is going to bea very cold - max 8 degrees). He is getting really excited. His back was sore and I hope it holds out.

Last Run in Kings Park

This morning Andy went for his last run in Kings Park. This Sunday morning run is a longstanding tradition. Since commencement of training for the marathon, Andy has tried to increase the pace and push himself a little harder in this run. Trevor, his running mate, sets the pace. Today was a perfect morning - crisp and cool. The birds were loud in their morning chorus in the Kings Park bushland. The 9.7km run took 61 minutes - 4 minutes off his best ever time.