For me Sunday brought two miracles...firstly, another marathon under the belt (and a pb) and the next one was slightly delayed...but finally after three days of constant prayers, I can WALK again...praise be to Jesus! 

Anyway...this one was full of learning's for me...I think I experienced the real pain of the marathon.  Last year was full of excitement and it was a day when everything just went right...and while I was sore and tired at the end, it was not a chore but a joy in which I cherished every moment. 

This year...my race plan came undone from the start with a loose shoelace (which was triple knotted and would not budge) costing me 75 seconds in the first km.  From there, I felt I was on catch-up.  My poor prep (dodgy shoelace) was my first mistake and trying to catch up the lost time was the second.  I pushed harder than I should have for the first 15 to 20 kms to get a good distance ahead of the 4.15 pace, but by 25km I knew things were very different from last year. 

Luckily, as I was starting to get my first worrying thoughts, the PCRG fan club kicked in for the first time...what a buzz!  It really lifted my spirits and spurred me on.  But by 30 km, I was just willing myself to the next kilometer marking.  Each signpost seemed to be spread further and further apart until I could have sworn that each kms over the last 5km were 10 km apart each!  I finally understand one of your quotes I read somewhere "Respect the marathon"...and now I really really do, as it took every essence of my being to keep the legs ticking over...as much as I wanted to, though, I refused to walk...there was just never going to be a soft option. 

But, despite the trip to hell and back, I had some wondrous moments of true inspiration on the day that truly got me through...they were:

- the PCRG team at the 26/27 km marking (man, what a lift)

- Candy and Peter at Runaway Bay (just awesome to get you through that gruelling, lonely and hot stretch)

- Ollie and his family (screaming out "Go PCRG!")

- My family at about the 24 mark...with a great big sign saying GO MUM on one side and on the other GO PCRG, which my daughter loved using to cheer on all the other non-Mum PCRG members!  She is quite a fan and reckons we all ROCK.

- each of the PCRG marathoners...not one of them, no matter how wasted they were, failed to give some acknowledgement or support (buoyant waves in the first half or just a raised eyebrow or a grimace in the back or business end of the course)

- and most precious for me was you and the PCRG group at the 42 km mark...at that point, I felt like death on legs and was terrified a pb was gone as I slowed and slowed despite the constant messages from the brain to the legs to run faster....I have no doubt that it was your support, cheers and electric energy that gave me that final boost to the line that just came out of nowhere as all their energy and enthusiasm somehow fired my failing legs...pushing me across the line just seconds under 4.19.  So in the end, despite my lost time on my stupid shoe laces and my very unwise strategy of trying to catch-up for lost time, I managed a pb of 34 seconds.   

What a journey, what lessons learnt, what a FANTASTIC group of people (PCRG).  What a DAY!  Can't wait for the next one!!!! 

You might have been a great world standard distance runner, but you are an even greater coach and motivator of people...you only need to look at what you have created with PCRG.  You should feel proud. 

Thank again Pat. 

Karen