Race Account by FatBird Anthony
Photo Contributions from Roy Foo, Ronnie Goh, Angela Lee, Mohan, Khim, Beverly
Video Contribution from Tick Hock
The 12-week Kookaburra training have prepared the 100 runners well for the cooler Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM) 2011. This year there was a record 200+ runners from Singapore, making up the 3rd largest international contingent after Japan and New Zealand. We had received good coverage from the official GCAM website of the kookaburra training as well as Team FatBird and Singapore runners going down under.
The special travel package along with training, all supported by Tourism Queensland, proved to be very popular with the Singapore runners who enjoyed group registrations for air, hotel, race coordination and support at the event. The pre-departure briefing presented some useful tips and information on meet-up points as well as preparations for racing in cold weather like GCAM. Because of the size of the group, we went in 2 packets (A and B), and for the first time, tour leaders from Scenic Travel accompanied us all the way to Gold Coast, taking care of the runners’ needs and coordinating race pack collection, transfers, etc. Khim, from Tourism Queensland was there half a day earlier to tie up with the GCAM organizers to welcome the Singapore contingent and make arrangements for photo and media opportunities.
Friday, July 1 (D-2)
Packet A........................................Packet B
Saturday, July 2 (D-1)
The Southern Cross University 10km race was held on Saturday, in cool temperature of 9C. 20 runners from the Singapore group participated, and were duly rewarded with a scenic coastal route, crisp cool weather leading to many Personal Bests…some did very fast timings even without having trained for that distance…amazing what the nice weather can do for distance running. The finisher tee was so very nice, and some of us who didn’t do the race immediately regretted not signing up, and vowed to do this 10km race if we are back for the half/full marathon next year.
After a restful night at the wonderful Grand Chancellor Hotel, we joined 500 others at the AsiaX carbo-loading lunch @ Race Expo. The Singapore group was once again seated together, and we were mentioned by the organizer for being one of the largest international group at the race and carbo-lunch, along with our neighbours Malaysia. It was a nice pasta spread with cool dessert, lots of refills, in the company of Marathon Legends sharing their experiences and giving tips to us mere mortal marathoners and Marathon PB-wannabes. We had the opportunity to visit Pat Caroll 
Pacers’ booth and had a great meet-up with Keith Hong, a Singaporean based in Sydney, one of the experienced A Pacers of Pat Caroll in the 4hr pace group. These guys have pace bands, booklets where runners can indicate their names in the respective pace group they wish to follow, chats with the Pacers on their race plan, and even opportunities to win some cool souvenirs…nice, we hope to incorporate some of those Pacer set-ups to the Singapore Marathon scene for our pacer roles in the local marathons.
After lunch and more group photos, we were sent to different places of interest, but we were advised not to spend too much time on our feet shopping or getting ourselves too tired for the main race the next day. This being the Winter season in Gold Coast, the last light is at about 5.30pm, allowing us to settle ourselves down earlier to have a good rest.
Sunday, July 3 (D-Day)
I myself did not sleep a wink, most likely due to the excitement of racing for the first time in this country, as well as anxious for the whole group of FatBirds and Singapore runners doing this race. Transfer to the race site was arranged for 5am (Full Marathon) while the Half Marathoners 
(smaller group of 30) went to the race site in the free shuttle coaches provided. For the first time this year, Tourism Queensland provided a tent for us to meet pre and post race.
When we arrived to the start line at 5.45am, there was already a crowd photo-taking and busy with feeling the weather for decisions on what to put on or what to leave on. We took the opportunity to grab some quick shots, looked around for the pace group pens, corporate and media tents for our supporters, before proceeding to meet-up at the Tourism Queensland tent – our meeting point. Lots of excitement and buzz as we discussed about the weather, some putting on their ponchos, while others had blankets….blankets? hmmm haha. By 6.30am, we were ready to walk to start point for THE RACE….what we have trained and prepared ourselves for…The GOLD RACE…..The GOLD COAST AIRPORT MARATHON 2011.
The temperature went from 12C to about 15C before the start. A number of us decided to peel off one layer, and even did away with the poncho. We were well prepared for the cold winter weather, but were pleasantly surprised by the warmer race conditions. As we lined up near to our respective pace groups, we were looking at a great race for everyone in our group. The elite Singapore runners were in front, all going for national times and Personal Bests. The next tier 
were the Boston-Qualifying prospects, who had trained well and were looking to crack that important BQ milestone. The third tier were those going for their 
sub 5hr and sub 4hr timings, many of whom were rather new marathoners who have been meticulous @ training. And then it was the rest of us who were going for our maiden marathons and Personal Bests in our respective categories, and those mega-marathoners who were going for even higher accolades of the marathon maniac kind. All of us at the start line, all with a common objective of finishing the race in great form and enjoying the whole experience, all who trained as a group and will now race as a team….Team Singapore, Team FatBird.
And then the gun went. The start was not too fast, as it took me a while to cross and break into open space, following the 3:30h pace group. The 3:45h, 4:00h and 4:30h Pace groups were very popular with our runners as well. The crisp air enveloped our faces as we started to get warm…and the engines revved to the next gear. The first 10km was taken at about 5min/km pace for myself, something which would not have been easy in Singapore.
The runners were all bunched up and running at very good, steady paces. There were not much blocking, and with the good running etiquette, it was a real pleasure running alongside runners of similar pace and target times. Each time I see a familiar face on the other side, we would give each other a high-5….we would shout words of encouragement. It was quite easy to spot the FatBird runners as a number don the bright yellow Ops Kookaburra race tee. I could see Han Chee, Roy, Winston, all running very strongly, not that far from my position…..they were looking strong and happy.
When we ran along the coastal areas, the headwinds were rather strong….I was glad to have my shades to protect from the glare of the sun, and the cuts from the winds which can irritate the eyes. I enjoyed those portions when we ran along sidewalk cafes and private housing estates, where diners and homeowners and families would come out to watch the race and give words of encouragement. Although the shouts weren’t exactly booming, the atmosphere was one of neighbourliness and friendliness….the encouragement and support that close friends and family
would give to us when we were racing….we could feel a sense of warmth emitting from the whole route….quite special.
By the 25km mark, the weather had turned warmer, with the sun out in full force. Soon we reached the 30km mark, and the crowd lined along the streets became larger. As I grabbed the Endura gels given out (they tasted quite good), I could see some of our supporters in the distance. The GCAM course has its fair shape of rolling terrain, and there were still a number of slopes to contend
with in the final 8km. I was riding it easy, and saw Han Chee and Roy on the other side, going very strong for their respective sub-4hr PBs.
As I reached the final 4km mat, there was a big screen that displayed ‘Jia You...Keep It Up, Don't Give Up!’. Whoever put that message into the ASICS RunWithMe system….thanks so much for that perked me up somewhat to bring the pace up, albeit with caution. A number of the runners around me seemed to be pushing hard and some were really suffering. Their determination and never-give-up attitude was really impressive….some vomited, others fainted when they crossed the finish line. The final 270m run in to cheers and applause of the capacity crowd was electrifying. In my usual tradition, I aligned my running gear, looked at the clock…it showed 3:39h+….made sure there was no crowd around me, and I crossed the finish line with arms up and a smile.
was happy that the Singapore runners did so well…Mok at 2:27h, was just 1min away from his PB; Ashley Liew scored a 2:41h PB; Ramesh 2:55h, WenLong 2:59h. Ben Tan and aerosolcan did very fast 3:13h, a few other Singaporeans did 2:18-2:20h. Yian Soon did a superb 3:28h to qualify for Boston. Ernest did 3:35h PB. Yvonne ran a remarkable 3:38h at only her 3rd marathon, first overseas. And then there were the many sub-4hr FatBirds like Han Chee (3:49h), Li Lian (3:51h), Roy (3:54h) and a few from 3:55h-3;59h. There were SAFRA Runners like Colleen who did a very respectable 3:51h and Daveid from SgRunners who did a similarly good time.
The Half Marathon group of about 30 runners did very well too. With 9,000 participants, it had the largest signup for all race categories. Many FatBirds and Kookaburras did PBs and good timings as well. Because the HM started earlier at 6:00am and ended by 9:00am, many of the finishers were able to get back to the hotel for a sumptious breaky.
There were smiling faces and happy FatBirds all around as many achieved their PBs and qualifiers. The weather was kind and all the training and race preparations were put to optimum use to achieve those excellent results. Details of results and the race were published in the Gold Coast Bulletin newspapers, recording of every participant's timing splits.
Gold Coast Marathon 2011 webcast on Team FatBird & Singapore runners
- select Ondemand replay of hour 8, 12:30min onwards.
It was really satisfying and encouraging experience for all who went for the race. Thanks to all the great support we received not only from home, but from the organizers of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and Tourism Queensland. Team FatBird shared the resounding success and experiences in the GCAM webcast, and hopefully more runners from Singapore and all around the world can see how this event have benefitted not only elite runners, but also the ordinary runner wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle through distance running, and being able to deliver his/her best at such international marathon events like the GCAM 2011.
Run Kookaburra Run Kookaburra Win Our Race Have We!
The Sunrise @ Gold Coast Airport Marathon
- video courtesy Tan Tick Hock -
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