Karen writes: Perth likes and dislikes

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It is 5am, we have both been awake for a while, and we have just had the first of probably several breakfasts and had a good discussion about yesterday.  Both of us have been thinking about the 30 year old man who went out to run a marathon and never came home again, we know these things happen very very rarely, but it still makes you think about the nature of the event, and of course feel very sad that something which had been entered into with excitement and anticipation ended in such a way.

I don’t feel like I ran a marathon yesterday.  Today, not a chafe, or a blister or even a sore bit.  I am still tired, but that is probably as much a left-over from mixed up sleeping hours and the last traces of my cold.   

Things to be liked:
  • Beautiful route with interesting scenery
  • The chance to experience a perfect early morning in a strange city
  • Friendly volunteers, some stood out, especially the children.
  • The talkers, there weren’t that many, most seemed to be ex-pat Kiwi’s or South Africans
  • These same talkers, telling the stories of the things they overcome
  • Just being a marathoner, lots of people called out encouragement with “go marathoner”, we were the rarer breed, we think less than 3% of the field!
  • Being part of something with so many people in it…

 Things not to be liked
  • The indiscriminate nose blowers…it got to the point you watched the person in front warily and were ready to jump out of the spray
  • The litterers…extraordinary how easy it was for people to rip the top off an energy gel and just drop it as they ran
  • The superfasts were frightening, but they were interesting to watch as they disappeared off into the distance.
  • This sounds really daft...but men wearing really really strong cologne.  Terry Pratchett writes about 'Foul Ol Ron' who smells so bad the smell can wander off by itself.   It was a bit like that when you ran into a cloud of perfume which had been metamorphosed by hours of its owner running in the heat...and you kept running into it after its owner had left!
  • Being part of something with so many people in it…

Recovery now means going for a relaxing walk to work out the muscles, and of course find FOOD.   Hot baths, stretching, and lots of sleep.

And consider the rather daunting thought that the next marathon we do will be part of the Ironman!

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