Photos from Michael's Camera

Here are some photos from Michael Gan's camera. Thanks Michael for taking the photos and congrats again for clocking your PB in 10km.

Michael broke the 50min barrier in 10km for the first time and he claims he didn't even train as hard as his last race in KL. Amazing result.

Michael ran the whole way with the jacket

The elites leading the race at the start

Saw Michael the last minute so didn't have time to move out

Me finishing the race - new PB time of 3:18:38

3:18:38 Personal Best

Woke up "early" at 5.15am to get myself ready for the big event. I know, it's probably not the "standard waking up time for a race" in KL. I probably would have missed the start if it was the KL Marathon or probably missed the finishing of the Penang Marathon. The marathon will only start at 7am but had to get up early as I need to do my usual pre-run "business". Haha. And of course I need to get to the start which is about 4km from my cousin's place. I ran and walk there to warm up. Hey, it was a cold, 7 C and the sun wasn't out yet, but the good thing about this particular morning, there's no/only light wind. I just hope it will stay that way throughout the race. Most of the roads were closed when I came out from the apartment. St. Kilda Road will be one of the main stretches used in the race besides the Beach Road. So I will actually passed by the apartment twice.

The half moon that greeted the morning

.

Walking towards MCG to drop in my bag/warm clothings.

As I make my way to the baggage drop-off, I was thinking hard whether I should use my arm warmer or not. Don't want to repeat the experience I had for the Sri Chinmoy Run, where I got really cold in the second half of the race. In the end, I just took the risk of not using it, as the forecast for the temperature today will be up, with a top of 22 C. At the drop-off point, only competitors displaying their bibs are allowed in. All boxes were labelled alphanumerically and it does not matter you are running the half or the full. The 5km and 10km drop-off point are at different place. Once you dropped your bag, your bib will be labelled according to your box's label. Easy.

The clothing and bags drop-off point at the MCG.

The moment of waiting between the bag drop-off and the start was a freezing moment for me. A whole 30-40mins of waiting. You can actually see my goose bumps coming out of my arms. Now I am wondering whether I'm going to regret not wearing arm warmers.

I met up with Michael, Tony and Bazz, guys I met through Cool Running site. Michael is aiming to break 3:20, told him that I was going to break 3:30 and even had a pace timings on a wrist label I got from Runner's World booth yesterday (see pic below). I was thinking if I can just keep my pace under the timing stated on the label, I should be on track in breaking my PB. Just hope my legs will hold up.

Well, there were quite a few pacers around with ballons or flags. SCKLM was supposed to have pacers for the marathon category but not sure why it was scrapped the last minute. I went with the 3:30 pacer. I wasn't sure exactly how many runners took part in the full, I think it should be close to 3500 runners. In total, there were about 23,000 thousand runners today. Rob De Castella was there to give a pep-talk. Rob was the 1983 World Champ and 1982 and 1986 Commonwealth Games champion. The late Kerryn McCann's son was given the honour to start the race. Kerryn is twice Commonwealth Games champion in 2002 and 2006 edition before she passed away with cancer. Her sister, Jenny Gullard was at the starting line and later went on to finish eight in the women's race.

The starting line

I found this photo from the official website

I started off at a comfortable pace, knowing I had done only above 30km run once since KL Marathon. I rested almost 2 months after SCKLM. A couple of 20-25km here and there, so wasn't sure whether my legs will hold up for the full distance. But here I am at the starting line, like it or not, just have make full use of the good weather.

One of the Pacesetters member, Michael Gan is here too for the 10km category. His event will only start at 7.30am. He came with his wife, Angie. He mentioned that he will be there about 200m from the start to take photos of the start. I stayed on the right hand side of the road hoping he could take a photo of me at the start. Saw him and waved my hands so he knows I'm coming...: )) We went through Flinders St, before turning in St Kilda Rd.

As I passed the 2km mark with the pacer, the time was about 11 mins. A quick check on the timing on my wrist label, 9:56. Does this guy know what he is doing? So I went ahead on my own pace, not particularly fast, as I don't want to end up having cramps early in the race. I don't particularly have to worry about running alone here as there are sea of runners ahead of me, even the womens. I've already checked my PB of 3:30 against last year's result and I can't even make it to Top 500 runners overall.

Passed by my cousin's apartment the first time before we turned into Fitzroy St, heading towards Albert Park, the famous site for the F1 Australian Grand Prix. I ran here couple of times before the marathon. As we turned into Albert Park, I saw Michael. Now I'm wondering whether I was going too fast as he was going to try and break 3:20. I've already lost my 3:30 pacer, so I just kept going. Soon I was right up to Michael's side and I followed his pace from Albert Park onwards. There are 18 water stations, including the finishing, so plenty of water along the way. A lot of the station were giving out small water sachets, which I find easy to carry along the run. I've never mastered drinking on a cup while in running motion. If cups, most times, I'll just stop to drink, so I can control the level of water going into my throat. With the small sachet, I could just bite off a little tiny hole and sip the water slowly. One of the water station is located outside the pit building (pit stops for F1 cars) in Albert Park, how appropriate. GU Gels are given out to marathon runners at quite a few of the water stations. I tried to keep a few but I didnt have pockets so decided to take the gel myself. Only kept one for Around the Bay Ride next weekend.

Coming out from Albert Park, we headed towards the Beach Road. Michael was telling me that we are on track for a 3:15 finish. So I held on to the pace and I was still feeling good. Since it was a good day, there were plenty of people along the stretch of Beach Road. And it was a great sight to see, it keeps you going with people cheering you on. Even if they are not cheering for me, well, still the sight of people lining along the road gives you that little extra energy to push on.

Here, you can also see who's ahead on the other side of the road. The two Ethopians were way ahead of the third runner and everyone else. They don't have many top runners coming here to this race, particularly because of the limited prize money. Only top 3 gets the cash prize, which is, 1st-AUD8000, 2nd-4,500 and 3rd-2,000. Since this race was awarded the right to host the Australian Marathon Championship, Australian will have additional cash prizes, i.e. 1st-AUD3,000, 2nd-AUD2,000 and 3rd-AUD1,000. Both men and women have equal prize money.

As we made a U-turn at one end of Beach Road and reach another water station, I lost Michael. I think he must have slowed down. I decided not to wait for him as I was still going on a good pace and wasn't feeling as tired yet. Reached the halfway mark, and my time was 1:37. About 7 mins under the 3:30 pace (according to my label). On track to break my PB. There was this runner next to me, he took out his phone and actually called someone. Here's part of the conversation (not exact) I heard,

Man: Hey, I think I will be reaching by 10:15 (am)
Man: Nooo, I just hit my PB for half.

Haha. And that was only the half way mark. Don't know what happened to the guy, whether he was ahead or behind me. I hope he didn't end up hitting the wall. I knew my pace was increasingly faster. Suddenly, I see this guy "walking" pass me. (You know those race walkers). I let him go, don't want to let my ego get into way and burn out later. But it's kind of demotivating seeing a walker passing a runner.

By the time I reached 27km, my time was around 2:04, about 10 mins faster than the time on my label. On track for a 3:20 finish. 30km mark clocked at 2:18, 11 mins faster than label time. I was still going strong. At this point, the regrets of not training specifically for this event crept in. Not only that, a sub-3 hour marathon time now seems achievable. Of course, it's impossible to do it today, but with proper training and perfect weather, I think I can do it one day. Twice I ran the marathon distance, twice at 28km, I'm was already starting to curse myself, "Why am I in this race?!!". Let alone a hope of running a sub-3 hour marathon. I just felt different this time.

We came back to Fitzroy St and head back to St Kilda Rd. This is where the human traffic begins. Marathoners are greeted by thousands of Half Marathoners along this road. I'm already starting to feel the twitch on my legs (cramps) then but I thought it was minor, so I just pushed on. I just felt zig zagging thru the crowds will only make my cramps worse off.

Luckily as we head into Botanical Gardens the field was seperated, but at that point my pace slowed down. "Oh no! I'm hitting the wall already?! I've got about 8kms to go!" I just grabbed the sports drinks at every water station after that, hoping it will help me with the cramps and giving me some boost. I really felt my legs are coming off then. Even my arm was twitching and I was even feeling like fainting. I thought could it be worse than just legs cramps? I don't want to end up in an ambulance. I struggled on, 35km, 36km... and I told myself since I'm so far ahead of my PB time, I'll slow down and see if my condition improved. Then I saw this lady (a spectator) handing out chewy candies. I went passed her and thought maybe it's my low blood sugar level that's causing the fainting, so I went back to grab it from her and thanked her. Put the whole candy in mouth and started chewing away. Along with some sports drinks along the way, I felt better. I could increase my pace a little bit from then on.

As we turned into Flinders St, heading back to MCG, I even gave a little shout to myself, "Come on!". Only about 2-2.5kms to go. The MCG is within sight and I could push on the pace. The thoughts/feelings of cramps were completely nullated. All I could think of is a sub 3:20 finish. I kept checking my watch and I was still within the time. Entering the historic and huge stadium was huge sigh of relief. Running 3/4 laps around it to finish was special. As I finished, gave a little pump of fist in the air (which I don't normally do) when I saw my time was 3:18. A huge satisfaction. I could always regret that I didn't train more for this but I've done my best for the day. Didn't give up, didn't walk (well, I did stop for few seconds to drink at the 2nd last water station) at the point where I felt like doing it.

Entering the basement, grab lots of drinks / bananas and apple to eat. Normally, I will not have any appetite to eat after runs in KL. I can feel the soreness of my legs and thought maybe I should go for the complimentary massage. But the queue was just too long as it was open for half marathoners as well. So decided to head over to my bags and put on some warm clothes as I'm starting to feel cold. On the way to the baggage claim, medals are handed to you according to your categories. This is the only part which I think they should improve since a person can always go back to get another medal (for whatever reasons) as there's nothing for them to check against.

I didn't join my friends at the Transport Bar after for some post run drinks. Decided to head back home as I was feeling tired. Walking for another 4km home was real a struggle till I had to stop at Fawkner Park to sit for a while to rest my legs. I've already covered 52km on legs today!Reached home, ate again.

Rested myself in the afternoon before riding to the city to meet Michael Gan and his wife for dinner at Sharkfin Inn Restaurant in Chinatown. He was meeting up with his ex-unimates from Melbourne University. Had a great chat and a wonderful dinner with them before I rode home on my tired legs.

The crowds at MCG at the finishing line

Me at the finishing line

Runners heading into MCG

More crowds in MCG

Crowds outside MCG

This is my hard earned medal. Nothing fancy but it has a place for you to engrave your name and finishing time. I might just do it when I go back KL.

My hard earned medal

Video from inside the MCG

My split time (my watch):

0:50:32 - 10.5km

1:09:15 - 15.0km

1:37:46 - 21.1km

2:18:30 - 30.0km

3:18:36 - 42.195km

Results just in (link). Here are some of the statistics from the site:

2:17:32 - Fastest Time

6:58:05 - Slowest Time

3:58:50 - Average Time

Overall participants: 3691 runners

My stats (link)

3:18:38 (Gun time)

3:18:31 (Net time)

Splits - Chip Timing

0:50:26 - 10.5km

0:47:19 - 10.6km (21.1km) - 1:37:46

1:40:52 - 21.095km (42.195km)

Overall position : 530

Gender position : 485

Category position (M30-34): 87

Although I didn't get a positive split but picked up a lot of runners in the 2nd half of the race, from 709 to 530. Not too bad. 2nd half split was 1:40:52 (well no thanks to banging myself into the wall!). But I am pretty please with the PB timing.

The Eve of Melbourne Marathon

I've already picked up my bib on Wed morning, the first day of bib collection for international entrants, last min registrations/changes. Anyways, I thought I drop by to see what's the buzz about the marathon expo, which was launched on Fri. Oh, also to pick up my gift bag. Well, you don't get t-shirt or vest like ones we get in Malaysia or Singapore. For event's apparels, you will need to buy it, but kind of pricey to get one. However, you do get gifts. Marathon runners will get a towel (photo below). Inside the gift bag is a can of tuna, a bottle of sports drink and a pack of Salonplas (probably need it after the run). Oh and some brochures. That's basically it.

Quite a lot of booths set up for both organiser and sponsors, pretty much similiar to KL Marathon, but no bib collection hiccups like we had in KL on the first day. Maybe because most of the bibs have already been mailed out to local competitors. Only thing wasn't sent out was the gift bag. All you need to do is to bring along your bib to exchange it. A hole will be punched on your bib once you collected.

Take a look at this. They are even have refreshment drop off for marathon runners only based on the certain distance markers, i.e. 9km, 16km, 25km and 35km.

Asics, being one of their main sponsors besides St. George Bank.


Merchandise booth, nice but a little pricey.






Collection of gift bags




Some of the other booths at the expo.

One good thing that I got out from this expo is, I've collected a lot of free Salonplas patches. Haha. Kidding. I was at this Timex booth browsing through their watches and I thought just asked them about my Heart Rate Monitor which wasn't working. Just wanted to find out whether it's the problem with my HRM or my watch. Since my GPS pod is working fine, I don't think it was the watch. I was hoping they will be more professional answering it than those back in KL. You asked them about it, first thing they tell you is, "Oh, I think you need to bring it to the HQ". Probably because my watch wasn't bought from their shop. It was a gift from my sister in US.

So the lady there, explain it that could be the battery in my HRM. I told them that I've already got it changed. They suggested to me maybe I can try out using their HRM on my watch. Damm, I wasn't wearing it. So I told them I'll come back later with the watch. Before I left, I asked whether they sell the HRM seperately. They answered something but I didn't hear it properly, so I left. Went back home to have lunch and rode back again with my watch. I went straight to the booth, the lady remembered me and said "Ah, you came back." So, we tried using their HRM and it worked! So, I asked them again if they sell it seperately (just want to find out the price just in case I want to buy it). The lady just told me, "You can have it." That took me by surprise, I asked, "Are you sure?". And she said it again, "Don't worry about it, you can have it." Wow, I was in cloud 9 hearing that. What's the use of a HR watch without a HRM, right? Haha. so I went back with my pricey 'new' HRM. I am so glad that I went to the expo now!

Here's my bib number for tomorrow. Which reminds me, I need to go to sleep now.

Running with the Training and Coffee Group

Ever since reaching Melbourne, I've been searching for a group to run with. I don't mind to run by myself, but at times running in a group can keep your motivation up, especially on the longer runs. I've done a few runs with the Melbourne Marathon training series group, usually on Wed evenings. Think I've done 3 runs with them on Wed nights and 1 on Sun morning run. However, the best group runs I had were with a few runners I met through the forum of Cool Running Australia website (link). Got in touch with Michael, a 51-year old runner who has vast experience in marathon running. He has done sub-3 hours marathon time and has plan to do it again soon, however, not for this coming Melbourne Marathon (MM). Not all are sub-3 runners, but they are very easy to get along people which i like in a running group.

I don't think I got all the names right, as most are known by their nicknames in the forum. But Im sure of the names of Michael, Grace, Baz, Bruce, Michelle and Michael, as I've run with them for the 2nd time. Well, I've only done 2 runs with them. The first time was a 34km run, which they were about 15 runners turning up for the run.

I had a hard time waking up for yesterday run as the Daylight Saving Time (DST) for Australia started at 2am. That means I lost an hour of sleep due to that. I can't understand why don't they just stick with one time and do away with the DST. Before I went to sleep I adjusted the time and realised Im sleeping around 2.30am and not 1.30am!! And I need to wake up at 7am. Anyway, dragged myself out of bed and was there by 8am.

We ran around 5 laps of the Tan Tracks before we head for the usual coffee catch up at a cafe in the Royal Botanic Garden. Too bad this is the final run as Im not too sure whether they will get together for a run after the MM.

Michael (middle) and Baz (Right)

From left: Alisson (white cap), Grace (black cap)

From left: DiJ (forum nick), Michelle, Marcus, Bruce, Flick (forum nick)

(From left after Flick) Bennie and Adam

Guess this is officially my last long run before the MM this coming Sun. I can't expect a good time, but I'm pretty excited about the run. Better than how I felt when I first reached here. I guess running in group really helped. The catching up after runs, sharing stories of the ups and downs in the race or training, the experience, something most runners look foward to after a hard run.

Pizza for Dinner

Followed my cousin, Elvin, out for lunch yesterday. We went to this Chinese cafe, @ Rice which is just a short walk away from Kheng's place. At first he was thinking of driving me to another place further away to eat, then he thought of his friend who is working as a chef at the cafe. We reached there during lunchtime and the place was packed. We managed to find seats, and he went on to order the food. But he came back saying that the chef asked him to sit, as he already made a special dish for him. The chef is from Hong Kong and soon he came with our dishes. Looking at it, WOW!

Rice with Prawns, Squid, Roasted Chicken (I think), Peas

Then we went on to Hawthorn suburb. This is where Swinburne University main campus is located before heading back home.

Today, with cooling weather with temperature of around 16C, I just went for a leisure ride and getting to know my way around. I tried riding back to Hawthorn, hills are terrible. I wasn't using my clip-on shoe this time so had to work hard in pushing the pedals. Even passed Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. I came to this club in 1998 to watch the Kooyong Classic matches. It's usually held just before the first Grand Slam of the year, The Australian Open. Actually, this is the home of Australian Open before it was moved to Melbourne Park.

I came home and wasn't sure what to cook, so I tried out baking pizza since I got Lebanese Bread which I bought but haven't use it yet. Well, it turned out ok, wasn't great, but it was edible. I used tomato sauce, mozzarella, onions, minced meat, fresh tomato and mushroom for toppings. Anything for a hungry stomach.

Pizza 1

Pizza 2

Around The Bay in a Day - Melbourne

This is the event which I hope I will be in the starting line come Oct 18. I got to know about the event from my cousin, Andrew. After reading some details of the event, it was opportunity not to be missed. I'm sure if there's a bike event like this in Malaysia, most of you cyclist, will not even think twice to sign up. I've already missed out all the big rides in Malaysia, mainly the Inter-State Ride and also The Century Ride. So it was just hard to miss this big ride again.

Oh, if you don't know yet, MM is actually taking part a week earlier. That's the reason why I say I hope I will be at the starting line for the ATB event. Hopefully I don't too sore after the marathon.

I have signed up for the 210km via Sorrento (with ferry) - clockwise. This category has a limit of 4000 riders. Places for the other rides categories, 250km and 210km (via Queenscliff) - anti-clockwise are all sold out. Other distances are 50km and 100km. Here's the map of the ride. (From 50km to 250km)

Here's some history of the ride which I got from the event's website.

Starting in 1993, Around the Bay® in a Day has grown into Australia's largest mass participation bike ride.

The heat in 1993 added to the challenge for those who participated in Around the Bay in a Day, with the mercury climbing to a torrid 32 degrees. The event numbers were restricted to 3,000 due to ferry capacity and the West Gate Bridge was so easy to ride over that some riders thought that it should be open to riders full time – we can dream!

In 1994 and 1995, the ride grew as additional ferries were added. However, although there were extra ferries, the participant numbers still outweighed the ferry capacity. So much so that pedals had to be removed on bikes so there was enough deck space on the ferries. By 2001 the ride had grown even further and a record 5,000 riders participated.

The event capacity was raised by another 2,000 riders in 2002 after securing another ferry, bringing the grand total of participants to over 7,000. The event start and finish location was relocated from JL Murphy Reserve in Port Melbourne to Catani Gardens in St Kilda. 272 teams participated, ranging in size from 4 to 120. On the international front, a huge Irish team of 43 toured especially for the event, as did others from Singapore, New Zealand and Texas.

The weather increased the challenge again for the 2003 event. A number of riders were caught out after a warm morning start, into what turned out to be the coldest and wettest event ever!

By 2006 the event was really gathering momentum with more than 14,000 bike riders across the four ride distances (42km, 100km, 210km and 250km). This was the first year that the 250km distance was offered and it was a hit with the riders.

From 2004 to 2006 the start / finish site was located within the Melbourne Docklands precinct. As this area has became increasingly developed with residential and commercial buildings, we sought a “green space” which meet the requirements of the start / finish site.

From 2007, a three year partnership with the City of Melbourne began with the event being held at Alexandra Gardens. The event joined forces with the GO Bike Expo to bring you the Melbourne Cycling Festival, involving whole weekend's activities at the Gardens Precinct in Melbourne.

38 degrees and hot northerly winds made for very unpleasant riding conditions in 2007. However, once the weary riders reached the finish in the heart of Melbourne, they still had the energy to celebrate of their amazing achievement.

In 2008, the 250km route returned to the anti-clockwise direction and with this being the favoured start direction by riders, the Queenscliff ferry was sold out in record time for the 210km distance - 10 days! and the 250km selling out within four weeks of entry opening.We also introduced a 80km School Challenge ride option to encourage students to have a go, 77 riders lined up for this inaugural event. They had a great time and loved the fact that they were one of the 16,300 riders that took part of the largest ever Around the Bay ride.

The event is considered as one of Melbourne's major events sitting between the AFL Grand Final and the Spring Racing Carnival.

Check out the stats (graph): (frm only 3000 riders in 1993 to 16,300 riders in 2008)

Click here for more info about the event.

How's my preparation so far? Well only a few short 40km rides, when I say few, that's 2-3 rides only. One 70km ride almost 3-4 weeks back. And another 40km ride just 2 days ago...am I ready? Haha, I hope so. Well, hopefully with good weather, less wind and 3999 riders to draft behind, I think I should be fine........

Stubborn, Stupid or Brave

This article goes out to those athletes who goes through the pain of an injury to train or race. I'm sure all of us have been through it or have seen fellow athletes and friends, who just can't sit home to rest and recover from injury.

It's hard to describe them actually. Are they just stubborn, stupid or brave? I guess even high profile athletes goes through this at least once in their sporting career. Lance Armstrong, who won 7 straight Tour De France title, admitted in his book, "Lance Armstrong: It's not about the bike":-

"Of course, I should have known that something was wrong with me. But athletes, especially cyclsits, are in the business of denial. You deny all the aches and pains because you have to in order to finish the race. It's a sport of self-abuse. You're on your bike for the whole day, six and seven hours, in all kinds of weather and conditions, over cobblestones and gravel, in mud and wind and rain, and even hail, and you do not give in to pain.
Everything hurts. Your back hurts, your feet hurt, your hands hurt, your neck hurts, your legs hurt, and of course, your butt hurts.
So no, I didn't pay attention to the fact that I didn't feel well in 1996. When my right testicle became slightly swollen that winter, I told myself to live with it, because I assumed it was something I had done to myself on the bike, or that my system was compesating for some physiological male thing. I was riding strong, as well as I ever had, actually, and there was no reason to stop" ~ Lance Armstrong

Just to let those who don't know much about Lance's history, he was diagnosed with testiscular cancer in 1996. After going through, chemotheray and surgery, he went on a road to recovery, came into his beloved sport and went on to win his first of his 7 Tour De France victories.

So how many of you have gone through this stage, saying the same thing what Lance has said - you do not give in to pain? Of course, I don not mean getting cancer, even injuries such as the common knee pain, ankle pain, etc. Do we rest? Or do we continue on and say this is just something which I need endure to get better in my sport? Or even having a fever, how many times have you heard that from your friend (or maybe you youself have been through it), he or she is having fever, but there they are, at the starting line.

For myself, yes, I do admit that at times, I tried to ignore the pain and train on. More so, if it's a race. But lately, if I do feel pain I will try to rest a day or two, to recover from it. Weeks, if need be. It depends on the severity of the injuries. Even if I come back, will try to do things slow and not try to hurry myself back into shape. Probably getting old. Haha!

The point is, I think there are many out there who just can't seem to find the courage to rest when they seriously need it. I have friends who just went through a surgery or even gone through a series medication/treatments and next thing you know, they are back training and competing, just a week or two after it or even sooner. And they still continue to have pain and try to ignore it as much as possible, until it becomes unbearable again.

Then you have those beginners or those trying to be fit or lose weight. They went straight into the sport and play it like there's no tomorrow. In this case, sports like running, cycling and even gym workouts. These are common sports exposing beginners to injuries. For those getting into running, since it has strong impact on your legs and knees, most beginners will feel sore the very next day, especially in almost every part of their legs/feet. And even beginners will try to ignore it.

Sometimes, they do need to get the right advice before starting out a sport. For beginners in running, what they need to do is to start it slow, maybe doing brisk walking first before they actually start running. One should not go right into what other seasonal runners are doing. You are just exposing yourself into injuries.

For those injured runners, my only advice is (although maybe I am not the right person to say it), you need to REST. It won't kill your fitness, just to rest yourself for a few days, a week or maybe two, to recover from your soreness/pain. If it gets any worse, maybe you will need to see a specialist to diagnose your problem and get treatment.

All I can say is, we are not Lance Armstrong.

Sri Chinmoy Yarra Boulevard Half Marathon

Results and photos of my last half marathon run are out in the Sri Chinmoy Runs website. I finished the race in 1:30:47, placed 39/211 overall and 26/81 in the Mens 18-39 category. For overall results, please click on this link. The winner came in at a time of 1:20:10.

Here are some photos of me from the site (For view more photos, please click on this link):

The Start - On the left side of the road is the 10km start. The are heading the opposite direction.

Campbell Maffett - 10k overall winner (40-49 Mens)

Time: 34:59

Nathan Hill - 21.1km overall winner

Time: 1:20:10

Rohan Day - 21.1km 2nd place

Time: 1:20:35

Rhiannon Snipe - 21.1km Womens 1st

Time: 1:29:13

Ok, ok, I know she beat me lah. Don't have to rub salt into my wound!