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I ran the Sunshine Coast half marathon at the start of August and my number one takeaway was simple: I love running trails. Roads, yeah … not so much.

The Sunny Coast was a training run for me in the build up to the Sydney Marathon, which I’m running at the end of the month. Because I want to have a good crack at that race, I’ve been spending a lot of time on the roads, and really not getting out on the trails much.

That’s reinforced two things I already knew - road running is more boring than running trails, and it’s a damn sight harder. On the trails, there is always a hill to fast hike up, or a downhill where you can let gravity take the lead. Or an aid station where you can stop, chow down and have a chat.

But the roads are relentless. It’s you, the road and your watch. It’s all about maintaining a pace that will allow you to hit your goal time. To be honest it’s a bit soul-destroying.

On the Sunshine Coast I wanted to break two hours. That meant running at a bit better than tempo pace for 21.1k (a “tempo” workout is run at a pace that is uncomfortable for a long period of time - this was a bit faster than typical tempo pace for me, in other words it was bloody uncomfortable). I managed it - with just over a minute to spare - but it was a slog.

Don’t get me wrong, I came out of this with positives and the experience as a whole was great. But I’d rather be on the trails.

One thing I did appreciate was running with my people. I was one of nine Fat Cannon Run Club members who ran on the Sunshine Coast. Most of them were taking their first crack at the half marathon distance.

So there were pre-race nerves and post-race elation and that was great to witness. They are already talking about next year, and other events that feature the 21.1k race. Most of them are not so keen on the trails. They don’t know what they’re missing!

And most special of all was the support from my wife Caron and daughters Alex and Charlie who were there, in the middle of the road, cheering not just me but hundreds of others on as we slogged away under brilliant blue skies.

Running in Suva

I’m travelling for work again, this time in the Fijian capital of Suva (my other job is consulting on strategy and leadership and leadership coaching - hit me up if that sounds interesting).

Just like my trip to Timor-Leste in July, I’m taking the opportunity to run around the city to get to know it a bit better. And again it’s proving that running is a great way to sight-see in a city.

Parts of Fiji are a tropical paradise. It’s famed for its resorts with white sands, blue lagoons (a number of the eponymous films were shot here) and unfettered luxury. That’s not Suva. It’s the capital of Fiji and the economic hub of both the nation and the broader South Pacific.

So while Suva has the coconut palms, tropical breezes and the waterfront, it’s certainly not a holiday paradise. And there are lots of parallels with Timor-Leste. The people are super-friendly, the infrastructure is falling apart (though not as badly as in Dili) and there is rubbish everywhere, despite the presence of street sweepers out every morning.

As for the running - it’s humid. I’m one of life’s great sweaters and after a 12k run one morning (more about that below), I was saturated. But the route I took was lovely, following the coast around the southern end of the peninsula the city sits on.

Just like in Dili, it’s been a pleasure to be here and to see more of the city on foot. And it’s a privilege to be able to work here.

Coach Bennett update

Regular readers will know I have been using the Nike Run Club app to help me train for the Sydney Marathon (I wrote about how it works in this post: Running a marathon? There’s an app for that!).

We’re getting to the pointy end of the 18 week marathon program now (I picked up the program with 13 weeks to go) and I have to admit it’s not going great.

I was targeting Sydney to try to break four hours for the marathon, at what will be my sixth attempt at 42.2k. But after both my time at the Sunshine Coast marathon and the state of my hip flexors AND how things have gone since then in my training, well let’s just say this relentless optimist is glass-half empty on that aspiration.

In a way it would be nice if there was one culprit I could identify for this downturn in fortunes, like a specific injury, but it’s not that simple. I’ve had a really bad cold which left me feeling pretty rotten for most of July and early August (yes, before you say it, this was definitely man-flu but it made me feel sad).

Being winter, it’s also football (the sport known to some of you as soccer) season, and that means I’ve been playing in my local old-person’s league. I know from long experience that while running is good for football - the fitness running’s given me means I can run all day on the football pitch - the reverse is not true.

After training or playing, more or less everything hurts. And more or less everything is stiff. Just getting my 56-year-old body out of bed is an effort, getting out for a run even more so. And that’s before you factor in being kicked.

For some reason, since the Sunny Coast half, I have really struggled. My 12k in Suva was an example. Towards the end I had to stop and walk, and afterwards I felt a bit faint. I’m just chalking this up to a “rough patch”. Let’s face it, all runners go through them. We just like to put them behind us.

Despite this I’ve not missed too many Nike Run Club runs and Coach Bennett has been consistently upbeat throughout. And while I can take or leave the coach’s over the top cheerleading, the guided audio that accompanies the training plan has included plenty of wisdom.

In particular, the weeks spent focused on running mindfully and running with purpose have been interesting and useful. More about that in coming weeks.

Follow Katie

In the past couple of posts I’ve previewed Katie Lovis’s crack at the Leadville Trail 100 race, which will be run this weekend: Saturday 16th - Monday 18th of August. There was so much to say it took two posts which you can find here and here.

She’s currently in Colorado getting used to being at altitude. It was a great opportunity to visit the Manitou Incline, a famous stairway to heaven or hell, depending on your attitude (I know which I would choose).

This monster consists of 2,768 steps. It rises 2,000 feet (more than 600 metres) in elevation in less than a mile. Crazy people run up this thing. No thanks!

So far, Katie’s coping okay with being so far above sea level. “Altitude is going well, a little rough on arrival and the first run, but feeling good now. It’s tougher, but manageable,” she says.

“Feeling very excited and nervous but the enjoyment of being back in Colorado and heading out on family adventures is keeping that more at the back of my mind. I’m sure when we head to Leadville they’ll start peaking.”

You can follow Katie’s progress via the official results page of the website. If you’re really keen, you can sign up for the SMS service that will ping you when she passes through each checkpoint. (And yes, I’ve signed up for that one.)

In case you’re interested, she’s wearing bib number 207. Go Katie!

Upcoming Events

There are way too many events for me to list everything that’s happening around the country, but here is a selection of upcoming races (with a bias towards South East Queensland).

The Running Calendar website is a great source if you want a comprehensive understanding of what’s available around Australia.