I nearly packed it all in at that point but with my time goal of 3:15 already blown and not wanting to claim my first ever DNF, I decided to push on slowly. Every km felt like 5 and by 14km I was just about to quit but at that moment I knew this was a challenge I had to take.
I walked often and by 20km got my first stop-me-in-my-tracks cramp. These would continue to stop me every km or so for the rest of my run. Salt tablets didn't fix them and I was in a world of pain. Only 22km to go....
I kept shuffling along, run/walking and stopping at aid stations to rest and water myself. Once I hit 30km I knew this would get worse but I also knew I would finish. I started to think about crawling in under 4 hours and with that new goal fixed in my mind, I went about finishing this damn race.
Time was catching up with me and my revised goal but with such amazing crowd support over the last 3km I was feeling a little buoyant again. When I crossed that finish line outside the Sydney Opera House, I felt like I had achieved something great. 3:55! Yes! I had just finished the Sydney Marathon for the first time and I was happier than if I had run my original goal of 3:15. Well, nearly.
I found out later that it was over 20 degrees at the start of the race at 7:30am and climbed over 30 degrees during the run.
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