Race Report – Great Ocean Road Marathon 44 km

My first Marathon! The Great Ocean Road is known for the views and it did not disappoint.

In a group of 10 friends, we went down to Anglesea a couple of days before the race. We were excited as for many of us this was our first marathon. The opportunity to run from Lorne to Apollo Bay doesn’t come around too often!

Staying in a town on the Great Ocean Road was perfect. Close proximity to the start line and quite the holiday destination. Unfortunately, we weren’t there to put our feet up.

On Saturday, we drove from Anglesea to Apollo Bay. Some of the group had entered the 14 km event, which starts and ends in town. This gave us an opportunity to check out the Race Day Festival Hub and get some much needed merchandise. We managed to get our hands on some Great Ocean Road finish line cowbells which could not be easily silenced. The atmosphere was electric, and I was excited to cross the line myself the next day.

Heading to Apollo Bay on the Saturday also allowed us to drive the marathon course. I took notes of the particularly hilly areas and some of the steep grades. Definitely worthwhile.

Back to Anglesea after much cheering and celebrating with the 14 km competitors, we settled down with a big bowl of pasta. Getting the carbs in before the race. I was feeling pretty good at this stage. I had perhaps spent too much time on my feet but managed to stay hydrated throughout the day. I laid my race kit out and prepared my nutrition for the next day. So excited!

I woke up about 3 hours before the race started. Too early… perhaps. I wanted time for my food to digest.

As we reached Lorne, the sun began to rise and I knew it would be a good day. 

Lachie and I would be running the Marathon and Matt, another mate, was running the 60km Ultra – WOW. My wife, Whitney, and several others were running the Half Marathon commencing at Kennett River. We would see them at the end. Lachie insisted we start towards the front (he was chasing a 3 hr 30ish time for his first marathon). Starting gun went and we were off! We waved to our crew as we ran past, taking it nice and easy. For the first kilometer Matt and I followed the “start slow, get slower” mantra. Not easy due to being so pumped up and excited with the crowds cheering. We were getting passed by a lot of people and we hadn’t even reached the Lorne Jetty yet!

By no means was I fully prepared to run my first marathon, but I was surprised about some competitors’ clothing choices. Sure, people were suited up in Nike’s, running singlets and compression gear. But then there were also people in puffer jackets and trakkies. I thought at first they were doing the half marathon, but they couldn’t be because the half marathon starts at Kennett River. I picked my own running gear based on trial and error and what I felt comfortable running in.


“It’s all about the preparation – practice the way you want to play.”


Anyway, Lachie raced off eager to get his PB. I didn’t really have a goal time. As it was my first marathon I just wanted to enjoy it and check out the amazing views. As the sun continued to rise, it was turning into a perfect day.

I was running with Matt and we were hovering around the 5:50 /km pace, which was suiting us both nicely. I was finding the course to be fairly hilly, but not unexpectedly so. Thankful we had driven it the day before. I had also made a point of trying to memorise the elevation profile. It came in handy. We were able to get into a nice rhythm. Churn through the kms and enjoy the views. Matt and I were able to take a couple of photos as we went. It would have been good to take a few more though.

By far the best views are in the first two thirds of the marathon. There are some lovely outlooks in the final third but the road is further back so the ocean is less visible in some areas.

Matt and I ran through Wye River on pace and waved to the spectators cheering us on. Note: The Wye River General Store does an amazing breakfast if you’re heading through (though we opted to give coffee a miss on this occasion!).

We were taking on water as required. I had eaten my Clif bar after 7-8 kms and was on to my GU Gels. Feeling good. Feeling relaxed.

We reached the start of the Half Marathon course still on pace but I decided that a quick toilet stop could be the way to go. Matt kept going and I tried to catch up once I was done, but what a killer hill! Again, not unexpected, but it took me much longer to catch him than I thought it would. It was possibly the longest hill of the race.

By this stage we were starting to overtake people a little more, as some had started too quickly and us perhaps a little slow. It made it easier at the times we were struggling to try and stay with the people around us.

I was still feeling good and wanted to push on. Matt was keen to maintain the current pace but would also be turning off the Great Ocean Road soon for Ultra detour number 1, so I pushed on. A nice long descent was just the thing to stretch the legs and pick the pace up temporarily.

Running with friends or others of a similar ability is so worthwhile. It definitely helped me maintain pace, and having a chat helped the kms tick over.

I was starting to overtake those walking the half marathon distance. This was a little difficult in some places as they had spread out and were not always easy to get past. The sun was now higher and the day was getting warmer. I was heating up. There was not much shade for the last 15 km as I ran through Skenes Creek.

I realised I had been going a little easy and was keen to keep pushing for a marathon (42.195 km) finish under 4 hr 10 min. I had saved a bit for the end. I could see Apollo Bay from a long way out. It didn’t seem to be getting closer!

I hadn’t drunk enough water. Towards the end I was starting to get dizzy. Eager to finish, I crossed the marathon distance finish line but still had 2 km to go! Did I need to keep running? I decided I did. Lots of people were walking but I wanted to finish strong. I was surprised how few spectators and officials there were at the marathon distance finish. A timing mat and clock seemed anticlimactic after such a distance! But the real finish line was still to come.

Crowds were cheering as I entered the Apollo Bay township. I was light headed but I could see the finish line. The end was in sight!

Done. Running through the finishing arch felt amazing. My first taste of finishing a marathon – months of hard work. I felt exhausted but elated.

I signed up for my next marathon soon after.

Stats

Marathon No.: 1st Event!

Distance: 44.64 km 

Elapsed Time: 4:21:10 

Pace: 5:51 /km

Weather: Sunny, 18°C 

Nutrition/Hydration: Clif Bar, GU Gels, Water. 

Gear: Decathlon sunglasses, Nike Running Singlet, Garmin Forerunner 25, RVCA Active Shorts, Spibelt, Aldi Compression Shorts, Bonds ankle socks, Asics Kayano’s.

Tips for the Race: Stay in a town near the start or the finish – long way to come from Melbourne in the morning; run with a phone or camera for photos; still a long way to the finish even after you can see Apollo Bay! 

Finished: Position 390 out of 1046

8 thoughts on “Race Report – Great Ocean Road Marathon 44 km

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