As I mentioned in my last post this years Perth City to Surf Marathon was shaping up as a straight fist fight, bigger than Mayweather and  McGregor, between the general consensus of running diets being carbohydrate focused, to the new pretender, albeit from last century, citing high fat and low carbs, the Banting diet.  In one corner was Mark ‘extra maple syrup please’ Conway and the other Jon ‘ hold the bread and add bacon’ Pendse. It was gong to be a beauty and I couldn’t miss the main event so , against my better judgment, I decided to run with the boys and watch the fight unfold.

Both Mark and Jon had ran the Perth Marathon in June with Mark just edging that by a few minutes but it was decided for, the show down, it was a straight race to the line. They both has sub 2:50 in their sights with Mark targeting the next step on his road to running greatness a sub 4min/k average for a marathon, 2:48:48. Jon was setting his sights a little lower on a sub 2:50 but on the day they would start together and run together and what would be would be.

So at 6am off we charged from Perth’s CBD to the surf at City Beach, via Nedlands and Kings Park. The route is a new one and the organisers have found a few extra hills but overall I loved the new course. The perfect weather conditions helped as everything looks better bathed in Winter  sunshine with a tail wind caressing you home.

The first half of the marathon Jon and I ran with two other runners with Mark a few hundred metres behind us. We cruised along at 4min/k pace which was probably faster than I wanted to go but as I said earlier I had a ring side seat to the biggest fight, in my view, of the day and it only cost me $130 for a marathon entry fee, and the best part was I got to run a marathon and got a medal at the end. (Maybe Mayweather and McGregor might take this onboard for their rematch, there will be a rematch right? With Mayweather earning $111k a second for a 10 round sparing match you’d have thought he’d go again? )

At the half way stage and just before we got into Kings Park Mark , fuelled by a carboshotz no doubt, made his move and me and Jon were dropped like a bad habit. Although Jon and I didn’t slow and actually dropped the two other runners in the group we let Mark go as there was still over 20k to go to the finish and as everybody knows a marathon is a 32k warm-up and a 10k foot race to the finish. We had plenty of time to reel in Mark once he carbohydrate fuelled body ran out of fuel and he hit the wall, just a matter of time. Funnily enough a few kilometres later the Banting pin-up boy started to drop off the pace and I was left alone between the two of them.

For this marathon, being the first since a three month lay off for a calf tear, I was entering unknown territory, without the long runs in my training block,  pre-race. I was not confident of how the last 10k would go. As it was my splits show I just about ran a perfect split between the first and second half, nearly a perfect paced race. I put this down to mental toughness from experience, sometimes age can be a bonus. As Jon loves to quote ‘ the person who slows down the least wins marathons’.

After I left Jon I kept Mark in sight, albeit a long way in the distance and he stayed there till the last hill when he started to come back to me. This was a temporary drop off in pace and he pushed on for a 2:48:42 (13th overall) , leaving him 6 seconds to spare for the infamous 2:48:48 required time. I cruised in behind him, hamming it up for the finishing shots, for a 2:49:23 (14th overall)  , a time I had no right to claim but sometimes ‘magic happens’. (I wrote a post about that once . ) Jon finished strong for a 2:51 and a 16th place. So there you have it Matt Fitzgerald 1, Banting Diet 0, we are now all safe to go back to eating muffins, pancakes and pasta and Matt Fitzgerald can continue to preach to the converted. ( https://mattfitzgerald.org/)  Jon was not convinced by the result and begrudgingly admitted defeat but he wouldn’t go down without a fight citing improvement times from previous marathons rather than the result of the marathon distance on the day. He is still convinced the Banting diet is the way to go but the Judges scorecards read a different story. Unlike the Mayweather and McGregor fight there will be a rematch between these two sometime soon so I’ll keep you all posted.

Nike Vaporflys 4%.

I broke a few rules for this marathon. Running way too fast for my training block, wearing a new ‘Front Runners’ singlet that was probably a tad tight and the biggest sin of all , new shoes for race day. My Nike Vaporflys 4% turned up on Tuesday but due to work and family commitments I never got the chance to test them out prior to the big day. (How does this happen !?) This was a massive risk but I hoped with all the positive reviews there wouldn’t be a problem and losing toe nails is part of marathon running right ? (In the end I would lose two.) So the first time they were used in anger was Sunday morning. I am happy to report they passed the test with flying colours. They really do do what they say on the box and then some. Admittedly they are expensive but what price can you put on a finishing time improved by minutes and a comfortable ride to-boot, priceless (well actually $350 Australian dollars)  I’ll give a full report in another post but as a parting comment regarding these shoes, quoting Nike, should you buy a pair, ‘Just Do It!’…

When you run these events you need to do it in company with runners who have shared the pain that is needed to put in a good showing on race day. Brothers-in-arms (and pancakes normally) who know what it takes to get the start line in shape for the challenge ahead and the sheer determination that is needed to get to the finish.  The experiences shared in training and running marathons is unique to us runners and non-runners would not understand.  This is what makes the time at the end of the marathon as precious as all that has come before it. Sharing the experience of the day over a muffin and coffee (or a bacon sandwich with no bread for Jon?) is as important and, certainly as enjoyable, as the race itself.  (Well for me anyway?) The photo below shows the lads all smiling like Cheshire Cats decked out in their new bling basking in the glory of their achievements, a wondrous feeling trust me. Please note:  Mike only ran the 12k so is not decked out in bling due to an injury. Also Mark L. is portraying more of a grimace rather than smile as he ran just over 3 hours (his target) on a potentially short course, this is on par with Mike’s 1:30+ at the Fremantle half, both times hard to stomach.