Running > Report

2002 Sep 15 - Austria, Wachau Marathon #5. Time 3:18

The Wachau Marathon in Austria is a straight course all downhill along the banks of the Danube. Yesterday's tailwind and cool temperatures made for a fast run. The vineyards, the apricot orchards, the mediaeval castle ruins, the quaint old 1000 year old towns along the way all added to the enjoyment for the 10000 participants in the full & half events.

Respect to the organisers for a highly successful event, despite the catastrophic floods that hit these places just 4 weeks ago. It was amazing to see all the small towns back to normal with 95% of the damage repaired.

The theme of the event was definitely wine: Every participant received a free bottle - required most definitely to help cloud out the knowledge that the event t-shirt was again sadly lacking. (Well there was one for $10, but it was very low quality and had a poorly designed small logo). The finishing medal was a giant sized wine bottle cork with coloured metal strips showing the name and date of the event, and a tiny strap which was so tight passing over my head that it ripped open... ah well, true wine drinkers all have tiny heads, I suppose. ;-) There was a cool engraving service free to finishers, engraving name, placing and time onto the medal just minutes after completion of the run.

The run itself: Being my 5th ever marathon, i am slowly learning from past mistakes, but also adding a few new mistakes along the way. It was a mistake not to train at all except for a few long runs, and lie in the hot Asian sun for 2 weeks at the end of August feeding myself to 7 pounds above the usual running weight. My legs were sore after mile 5, and at mile 13 i really felt like stopping. Mile 18 onwards was a painful struggle, and today i can hardly walk.

I definitely ran much slower than in the last few marathons, but made up the time by avoiding a potty stop! You won't mind if I skip any further colonic details, except to mention that at last i have learned to be 10 minutes faster by stoking up on carbohydrates the evening before, and restricting breakfast to liquids on the morning of the run. (Sounds simple now, but somehow i never got the hang of it up until now)

The fast downhill course and the strong tailwinds must have helped with my speed. Being without a watch (as usual), and there being no clocks along the way, it was most surprising to see the clock at the finishing line show a race time of 3:19 --> Another PR! :-))

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