Gold Coast 2026

July 02

July 03

July 04

July 05

Gold Coast 2026, July 05

I got a 4am wakeup thanks to a text message saying that my 9am flight was cancelled. By default I was put onto a flight from 2:30pm to 6:30pm with a stop over in Sydney instead. Thankfully I was able to choose from other options, since none were great I ended up picking a direct flight at 7am.

Due to the change I had to change to a very early 5am alarm then rushed to get packed and make the bus. I was at the airport at about 6:15am and due to the early departure everything went smoothly. By the time I made it home it was close to 11am. Before lunch I went for a run and my legs didn't feel too bad except my quads were very sore, particular on any slight downhill sections.

14487 steps with 12 km running

Gold Coast 2026, July 04

My watch alarm was set for 4:20am but I woke up a few times during the night and then finally at about 4:15am. I was feeling quite thirsty during the night due to a warm hotel room, which wasn't ideal preparation.

For a small breakfast I managed to get through a couple of 60g carb bars and a bit of energy drink, then took off for the tram. The tram at 4:50am was quite empty compared to usual and didn't even get too packed by the end, so I must have left a bit later in previous years. Since it was only about 5:20am I sat in Australia Fair for about 15 minutes as it was just slightly warmer than outside.

The start zones hadn't opened yet so I did a quick one kilometre jog to warm up until the zones were opened at 5:50am. I managed to get in the front row, but there was two big sections of elite and preferred runners ahead like usual. With a couple of minutes to go until the 6:15am start they removed the tape and everyone bunched up further, although you couldn't really sneak further ahead.

The start was quite crowded but I've experienced worse, I was running about 4:15/km in the beginning but got the first kilometre done in just under four minutes. The second and third kilometre were a bit too slower than I would have liked, but then I finally got into a pattern of running close to 3:40/km.

I managed to get a bit of water at most drink stations and a gel after 7 kilometres before the turnaround point. I didn't keep track of what my time was at the half way clock, but it was also about 10-15 seconds ahead since I took a while to cross the start line. By rough watch calculations I was close to 78:30 pace and possibly having to deal with a small headwind on the way back.

Through the start of the second half the wind was quite light and the main challenge was going back over the three small bridges again. I quickly got through a second gel as the 15 kilometre drink station was approaching. Only at around 16 kilometres did each kilometre split start to feel like it was taking longer, although my times were still consistent. I was roughly trying to calculate if I could catch up to 78 minutes, and though it was possible with a slightly faster five kilometres.

Despite working quite hard I didn't feel like it was totally at the limit, so I was still putting together good times but my form was suffering a bit. In the last kilometre I tried to speed up but didn't have much energy left. I couldn't tell what my time was heading into the final straight, and didn't see the official clock, so I just tried to run as hard as I could across the line.

I only stopped my watch a little after the finish line and it had 78 minutes exactly. Depending on when I started it, I was hoping to just sneak under 78 minutes, and later found out I had an official time of 77:59. There was a lot more faster runners than ever this year, and I only just managed to make the top 350. Three years again when I ran just over 78 minutes I was inside the top 200.

After the finish I wasn't feeling great, so just got a quick drink, then the finisher medal and t-shirt and jumped on the tram. Getting off near the hotel my legs were alright as I could still jog a little to the hotel.

Once I was done getting changed I only watched the extra time and penalties of Australia vs. Egypt, since I had overheard the score after 90 minutes already. Sadly Australia lost of penalties, which is probably why I didn't hear about the end result on the tram ride back.

It was only about 10am still so I decided to walk over to Pacific Fair for some food and head back to the hotel for an early lunch. There wasn't much interesting at the shopping centre but I managed to find a bit of food for lunch, then watched the half marathon live stream. The men's race was interesting again, but the women's wasn't competitive at all. Before heading out for the afternoon I also watched a bit of the Box Hill NPL women's match.

I took the tram back up to Surfers Paradise but it wasn't much different to the usual. I went across to the beach and found somewhere in the sun, but it was still a bit cool and breezy. As the afternoon was getting on I took the tram back to the hotel and picked up some food along the way. My room card was set to the wrong date, so it didn't work in the lift and I had to get it reset at the front desk.

After dinner I did a bit of packing up for the morning as I had to get a bus at around 7am for the airport.

29420 steps with 22 km running

Gold Coast 2026, July 03

I got up just before 9am and ran to the convention centre, but it was barely 500 metres. There was only a few people already at the venue so I was able to get my bib quickly and then walked through the stores at the expo. In the large Asics are there was one good t-shirt but it was about $150. Afterwards there was lots of shops selling similar products like socks but I didn't buy anything, just got a free milk protein drink on the way out.

I decided to go back to the hotel first to drop stuff off, then got the tram and bus up to the outlets, which is always a very slow trip. At Nike they didn't have any specials but got a Pegasus Premium from the 50% off wall for $95 which was good value. The Asics store surprisingly had some Superblast but the largest size was 11, and I probably didn't have room for more shoes anyway. Afterwards I found a cheap singlet in the Adidas shop, then nothing in New Balance or Puma.

I made it back to the bus top just in time for the next bus and then another slow tram down to Broadbeach, and today it said they were actually going down to Burleigh Heads. I stopped in at Woolworths again for a bit more food and then back to the hotel for lunch. On TV I tried the first episode of Celebrity Escape which was not too bad, and also the highlights of the morning World Cup games.

I had a bit of rest in the afternoon and decide to do a bit of Japan trip planning since I'm running out of time. I started dinner a bit earlier due to the morning schedule and watched another Celebrity Escape.

6690 steps with 0.5 km running

Gold Coast 2026, July 02

• 9:30 train delayed at Camberwell
• 10:30 bus
• 11:10 airport

I got another McDonalds fries and cheese toastie for an early lunch, but no milkshakes !

The plane was only boarding through the front door so it took quite a while to get everyone on board, and lots of people were still coming through very late, even though the cut off is meant to be ten minutes before departing. There was also an additional half hour delay taking off due to high winds.

After landing at Gold Coast airport I missed a bus by about minute, but they come every 15 minutes so I was first in line for the next one. The tram line extension is finally almost finished to Burleigh Heads, but not fully operational yet, otherwise I could get off the bus there instead for a slightly more comfortable ride, and probably slightly quicker. Sadly it seems like there is no immediate plans to take the same tram all the way to the airport - why they build the airport so far away is a very strange choice.

The bus trip was quite slow since it makes heaps of stops, so I got to the hotel at about 4pm. The check-in to the same hotel as last year was quick, with two bedrooms again but only one bathroom this time.

I walked up to closest Woolworths but didn't find much different except a lamington milk drink. A new Zambrero had opened up nearby but it was really slow, you have to place an order and wait rather than making it on the spot like Subway.

Back at the hotel I just watched some shows on TV with USB drive, plus Twitch streams and World Cup highlights.

8985 steps with 4 km running

Parramatta 2026

June 19

June 20

June 21

Parramatta 2026, June 21

The race was scheduled to start at 7am and was a little over 1.5 kilometres away, just south of the finish  area at CommBank stadium. I woke up with my alarm at 6:15 and had one gel and a small drink before leaving the hotel, which is definitely not the ideal pre-race nutrition but low risk.

There was a lot of detours through the city centre so the walk was a little longer than expected, but came out just in front of the start line. It was possible to do some warmup laps on the road, but I wanted to get a good spot at the start so only did a very short jog. Once I found a spot I had about 20 minutes to wait, a little cold but not too bad.

As the race started I was a few rows back from the start line, but a bunch of eager people immediately went ahead down the first straight. I estimated I was around 100th place as we started through the park, which was a little steeper than I expected. The first drink station came at 5km but was just after a corner so I wasn't prepared for it and was also on the wrong side of the road. It wasn't a hot day so I didn't really need a drink, except I knew the next one wasn't until 12km.

The middle of the race was not the best, switching to some narrow river paths and footpath sections, with a few step hills added in. I was staying on pace at around 3:45/km and even started to feel good after 12 km. I got through some gels at 7 km and 14 km and then we were back into the park for the final third of the race. Inside the park there was another steep hill down and then straight back up again, which probably could have been avoided with a better route.

Going through 17 km my hamstring started to feel weak but I was still managing good times just behind a small pack of about five runners, even getting a bit quicker it turned out. Only after about 19 km as we had a very long route around the back of the stadium I probably started to struggle a bit. I didn't realise I was so close to 80 minutes due to the increasing difference between the course markers and my watch distance. I only got a view of the time when it passed 79 minutes 50 seconds on the board, so there wasn't enough time for an extra sprint and I ended up just missing out on 80 minutes.

Overall it was a well organised race with great crowd support, but just a bit too complicated to run really fast times. There wasn't as much of an expo or finish line experience as other races, although that will probably improve in future. A free t-shirt and free photos with the entry price was a good addition.

After the race I didn't have a lot of time so headed straight back to the hotel. With a quick shower, breakfast, and packing up I was just on time to run to the station in time for the train. Getting off at central station I walked all the way down to the airport platforms only to find they were closed for maintenance. Instead I had to walk all the way back to the street outside, and find a poorly marked queue for replacement buses to the domestic airport terminal. The bus took a while to show up but the trip itself was fast, hardly any different to the train.

I had a little over an hour before departure so got some food for an early lunch and headed to the gate. The flight and the rest of the trip home took the usual five plus hours from start to finish and that was the end of the weekend trip. Being only two weeks before Gold Coast I'm not sure if this would be a definite inclusion to my plans for next year at this stage.

25658 steps with 21.25 km running

Parramatta 2026, June 20

The two parkruns closest to Parramatta could each by reached by bus rather than train. The Auburn Botanical Garden event was smaller and seemed like a slightly better option of the two, however the only valid weekend departure time was 6:55 and arriving at 7:13, with a 1.5km walk afterwards.

Following the plan I got to the parkrun by about 7:30 and it wasn't too unbearably cold, I tried to find somewhere to sit with a bit of direct sun, and soon the briefings were underway and the race was starting. The course had a narrow path in the first kilometre, and with a turnaround included there was also people running the opposite way so I got a bit stuck where I was.

Surprisingly the leader was only running about 20 minutes, but today I was only aiming for 23 to 25 minutes and not concerned with positions. My hamstrings both felt terrible since I got up, but started to get a bit better during the race. I picked off quite a few people along the way and ended up 6th in a bit over 22 minutes.

After getting back to the hotel I had to pickup my bib from CommBank stadium, which was nearly 2 kilometres away. I didn't want to do that much extra walking each way so looked at bus options from Parramatta station instead, and there was quite a few going in the same general direction.

The bib pickup was very fast, and included a free t-shirt and some very small safety pins. There wasn't much else happening at the expo yet, so it was a quick trip there and back on the bus again to the town centre.

I decided not to make a trip all the way to DFO Homebush because of how my legs were feeling, and I might go to DFO Gold Coast in a couple of weeks anyway. Instead I went to Westfield for a much needed haircut and then some shopping. I got another Top Juice yoghurt for lunch and then back to the hotel to watch Welcome To Wrexham and eat lunch while resting.

I also watched some Twitch streams and rested for a bit in the afternoon, then went back to Westfield shops since it wasn't too far to walk. Nike had 25% off but nothing good in their regular store, so I tried Myer and a few other places. While walking around I put in a Nando's order for pickup and went back to the hotel for dinner. In the evening I prepared for getting up at 6:15 and watched more shows on the laptop.

15397 steps with 5 km running

Parramatta 2026, June 19

I just had time for a quick 5 kilometre run in the morning before leaving for the airport, reducing run  distance for the last two days before the half marathon. The travel journey was the same as usual.

• 10:30 train
• 11:10 bus
• 1:00 plane
• 2:50 train
• 4:00 hotel with detour via shops

After getting to the hotel I went back to Parramatta Westfield for food and dinner, picking up a big tub of berry yoghurt from Top Juice and custard rolls from Bread Top. At the supermarket I also found some new sour Powerade drinks, which was a bit unusual for hydration purposes.

That was my whole adventure for the evening so I walked back to the hotel to have dinner and rest after a tiring day or travel with lots of standing and walking.

12398 steps with 5 km running

2025 Running Review

A very similar year to 2024 with no new records but not far off my best.

The annual total was down a little due to holidays:

• 2025 - 4931 kilometres and 376 hours
• 2024 - 5147 kilometres and 392 hours
• 2023 - 5050 kilometres and 381 hours
• 2022 - 5119 kilometres and 390 hours
• 2021 - 5128 kilometres and 392 hours

I had eleven races for the year which is a pretty good number. My 10km results were all very similar after a slow start to the year, while the 2XU course may have been a little short. On the other hand my half marathon times were a little bit disappointing, but I had some hamstring soreness going into Melbourne Marathon and various other left leg issues have been continuing ever since.

• January - Rosebud Australia Day Run 10km
• 37:08
• February - Carman's Fun Run 10km
• 37:06
• April - Run For The Kids 14.4km
• 54:02
• April - Ballarat Marathon 10km
• 36:29
• May - Sydney 10
• 36:31
• June - Brisbane Marathon 10km
• 36:26
• July - Gold Coast Marathon 21km
• 1:19:19
• September - Run Prix 10km
• 36:24
• October - Melbourne Marathon 21km
• 1:19:50
• November - Auckland Marathon 21km
• 1:22:09
• November - 2XU Wellness Run 10km
• 35:55

I went to 53 parkruns for the year which was an equal best, only missing one due to Gold Coast half marathon like usual.

• 53 events - 51 in 2024
• 6 new events - 6 in 2024
• April
• Aintree Reserve
• May
• Wentworth Common (Sydney)
• New Farm (Brisbane)
• July
• Meijo Koen (Nagoya)
• Shibamata Koen Kadan (Tokyo)
• November
• Orakei Bay (Auckland)

The goals will be very similar for a third year in a row, but I'm unsure about the interstate and international events so far.

• 2025
• 5km 17:00 - 17:32
• 10km 35:00 - 35:55
• 21km 1:17:00 - 1:19:19
• 4500 to 5000 kilometres - 4931
• Parkrun
• 10 new events - 6
• Races
• 3 new events - 3
• 3 interstate events - 3
• 1 international event - 1
• 2026
• 5km 17:00
• 10km 35:00
• 21km 1:17:00
• 4500 to 5000 kilometres
• Parkrun
• 10 new events
• Races
• 2 new events
• 3 interstate events
• 1 international event

Brisbane 2025-2026

December 31

January 01

January 02

January 03

Brisbane 2025-2026, January 03

Another 6am start to get a train to Eagle Junction then a short 1.5 kilometre run to the Kedron parkrun starting area. I had enough time for some extra kilometres beforehand, where it wasn't quite as hot but still quite humid.

After a Thursday parkrun and a lot of walking since I wasn't sure how I'd go, but my legs felt quite good. From the start a group of four fast runners took off, then another group of three so I was in eighth. My splits were alright around 3:40 or better and I slowly moved up into fifth place, but way behind the first four. At the end I finally pushed a bit harder to get down to 3:30 and finished in around 18 minutes. The course was quite good and simple, with a pedestrian path next to the bike path the whole way, only it was all concrete.

I did a few more kilometres back to the train station and while waiting 10 minutes for the next service to arrive. Back at the hotel I went straight to the breakfast again before it got too busy, then back to my room to pack up. I wasn't in a big rush so had nearly an hour to get ready and walk down to the train station again.  The train was easy and much better than the Melbourne side of the public transport. The airport and flight also went well, and the whole travel time was about the usual 6 hours.

16,600 steps with 11.8 kilometres running

Brisbane 2025-2026, January 02

As usually happens I had a loud fridge powering up about once an hour in the hotel room, and was also a bit uncomfortable due to dealing with a sore right shoulder and upper back. I still got up for an early breakfast just after 7am and it was much more empty, although with the same stuff available.

At about 8am I took off for a morning run, but had a long walk to get down towards the botanical gardens. Finally the new bridge across the river was open, but parts of the river boardwalk just nearby remain closed for more years. Across the river I headed north east to start but had to turn around at an inlet after about 2 kilometres. I continued back the other way along most of the South Bank parkrun course, before turning around and finishing through the botanical gardens.

After walking back to the hotel and getting ready I set out for the morning. It was a more mild day of only about 25 degrees, and almost no rain. I just walked back towards the city mall area again, which is a bit of a long and boring walk from the hotel past central station every day. Since I had a bit of time I stopped in for a haircut which took a little longer than I expected, then got some snacks for lunch. I had a look around some other stores in the city as there was more open today, but didn't find anything to buy. Eventually I made it back to the hotel for a late lunch and to watch the next episode of Match Of The Day while resting for a while.

I didn't have much planned for the afternoon and didn't feel like an hour trip each way to DFO. I had to spend a bit of time in several mobile apps trying to get a $10,000 BPAY payment reversed between a bank and share investment platform. I ended up just going around in circles with my investigations, then still had a couple of hours left in the day. I didn't feel like doing much more walking with another early start and parkrun coming up. I just went out for a short afternoon walk then picked up a burrito again on the way back for dinner. For the evening I just watched some TV shows and Twitch, then the BBL to get enough rest before another early start for parkrun.

20,900 steps with 13.0 kilometres running

Brisbane 2025-2026, January 01

I started the year with a 6am start to get a train for 7am parkrun. The route was 15 minute train to Boggo Road then a 1.5 kilometre run across the river to St Lucia parkrun. This was my first attempt at loading a course into my Garmin watch to help navigating from the train station to parkrun. The route itself worked alright except the map had so many other lines and markings on it with similar colours. I ran a bit extra for a 4 kilometre warmup and was sweating before the start.

I took off from the start in about 5th place, dealing with some slight hills on a gravel course, with a bit of mud from previous rain. By the 1.5 kilometre turnaround I was into second place and then took the lead, but had someone still right behind me. I lost the lead at both of the next turnarounds but got back ahead soon afterwards each time. I was sure the other person was going to pull away for the finish but I managed to do that instead. I used the watch route in reverse to get back to the train station and had to wait less than 10 minutes.

After walking back to the hotel I got changed and went down for the free breakfast. The range was quite similar to other Holiday Inn Express hotels, the highlight was some good berry yoghurt.

Getting packed for the day I took a bus to Woolloongabba bus station for 10am, with an impressive bus network on some of it's own dedicated roads. Probably because they have less of a train network they have put more effort into having efficient bus trips.

I arrived at 1 Up Arcade just after the opening but there was already quite a few people inside. The entry price was $30 for unlimited play all day, but was closing earlier at 4pm due to the public holiday. There was a good range of games, including beat them up, fighting, guns, and racing. A small negative was how many Street Fighter games they had, which nobody seemed to be interested in.

My first stop was to try out a strange Quake arcade machine. It turned out to be just the single player game but with a track ball for aiming. The button to fire kept getting stuck also, so I only played the first level as it was not easy to move and shoot at the same time. Next I moved on to The Simpsons which I've played before, but some of the levels didn't seem familiar so maybe it was a different version. There was a kid that kept walking around waiting for me to finish playing which was a bit annoying.

I would have gone to the 6 player X-Men next but it was broken, instead I went with Double Dragon 2 and NBA Jam tournament edition, although most of the codes for secret players weren't working on this version. I also had a quick try of Galaga, and Sega Rally, and played through all of Captain America And The Avengers. My final game was Mega Man The Power Battle, which was like a weird boss fight only version of Mega Man, but the characters only had basic weapons.

The combination of sitting and standing and using the controllers had made my arm and neck quite sore after a few hours, by the time I was ready to leave. Some of the cabinets had seats nearby, or you could grab them from elsewhere, but others were a bit high for seating. I spent a bit under four hours there and played most of the games I was interested in, but easily could have stayed for longer.

I took a similar bus back into the city which comes out underneath the mall and shopping centre, which was convenient. I got a quick energy drink from Chemist Warehouse since I hadn't had anything since breakfast, and had a walk around the mall. I stopped in at the EB Games and Zing store which had some interesting merchandise, but probably was all too big for my backpack.

I stopped in at a couple of Woolworths and an IGA on the way back to the hotel, but didn't find much different, usually they have some different flavoured milk at least. Watched some TV shows and Twitch while having a combination of lunch and dinner, and made some basic plans for tomorrow.

20,200 steps with 11.70 kilometres running