Gold Coast 2024, July 06

Once again there was a lot of noise to deal with inside the hotel room overnight. There was a constant humming sound that made it seem like the heating was still on, but I ruled that out and it was even louder towards the hallway. My best conclusion was it was from the nearby outdoor pool pump or other similar machinery that has been positioned way too close to these street level rooms.

I had to sleep with a pillow over my head just to try and drown out the noise, so I can't believe everyone else allocated to these rooms hasn't already complained about the noise too. I got some sleep despite this issue and woke up at 4:30am ahead of the 6:15am race. I wasn't very thirsty so just finished off a powerade and an energy gel for some basic food.

There was lots of rain outside so I made a run for the tram at 5:00am and tried to avoid any big puddles to keep my shoes and socks dry for a bit longer. Like every other year the tram was almost full by the third stop, travelling slow due to the crowds, but it was just good to be inside and warm. It was freezing cold with a bit of light rain still when we got out at Southport about 5:30am, I should have planned ahead and brought a disposable rain poncho at least.

Somehow the Australia Fair shopping centre was already open, maybe for extra toilets, so I waited inside there to keep warm for a while longer. I finally decided to brave the weather and went over to the start line at about 6:00am before too many other people. I was worried I might be a bit too far back due to the late arrival but it turned out to be quite spacious from the start, better than previous years.

My main problem from the beginning was having had no warmup, and stiff legs from standing around in the cold. The first five kilometres in particular was much too slow, and there was still quite a large bunch of runners all around. The following six kilometres up to the turnaround point went much better and the field started to spread out a lot more. I was only a few seconds off PB pace but knew the second half would be slower with the headwind about to arrive.

After the turnaround I immediately felt that strong wind and lost about ten seconds per kilometre right away, and with no crowds around to help either. I took out my gel for a bit of energy recovery but still started struggling a bit from around fifteen kilometres, which is about the usual time that happens.

There was still a few position changes late in the race, where I gained more than I lost. The wind picked up even more for the last few kilometres and a bit of rain arrived, for the first time since the beginning of the race. I managed to speed up a little just for the last kilometre or two, to finish about 1:19:30. It would have been good to be under 1:19 but the slow start and wind prevented it.

My finishing position was initially similar to last year just inside the top 200, but after the final results were published I think it was around 225. After the finish I picked up a participation medal and a black finisher t-shirt, maybe not as good as previous ones.

I quickly got on an empty tram back to the hotel, got changed then asked about getting another room that wasn't so noisy, although it was a bit late now since the race was over. They said they'd sort something out after the morning checkout and call me about it, I couldn't tell if they thought the request was reasonable, probably not.

I walked across to Pacific Fair to buy some food for later then back to the hotel to watch the race live stream replay. I was only about half way through the live stream and my new room was ready. I had to quickly throw everything back into my bags and take the elevator up, which took forever to show up every time.

The new room was good, with a separate bedroom and a second TV, but most importantly it was quiet. I walked over to Woolworths to buy the rest of my lunch, then came back to watch the rest of the live stream. My legs were very sore while walking still, both hamstrings in particular.

The men's half marathon was good to watch, the four leaders were all within a few seconds up until the last kilometre, and the commentary was good. I tried to check for any changes to the half marathon official results but they had all disappeared and didn't come back until Monday or Tuesday.

I rested in the afternoon before going to the shops at Pacific Fair again, one hamstring was cramping a bit while walking. After picking up dinner on the way back to the hotel I watched the Euro 2024 quarter finals highlights.