Long Time Running

It’s been a long time running
It’s been a long time coming
It’s been a long, long, long time running
It’s well worth the wait
It’s well worth the wait
It’s well worth the wait
It’s well worth the wait

Long Time Running. The Tragically Hip

Going through my old emails, I came across a message sent on March 1, 2020. It read: 

“I have heard my knee again – this time hiking. They think it’s the meniscus. With lots of exercises, chiro, and patience, I am hoping to be still able to run the Noosa Marathon in May, maybe only the half.”

It did take lots of exercise and chiro to get back to running, but most of all, it took patience. Lots of patience. Three years of patience! 

But here I am! Noosa Marathon 2023, and I did it! Not the whole thing – I am three years older now! But Noosa Half is done! Check! It’s been a long time coming!

Noosa is a beautiful place on the ocean, an hour and a half flight north of Sydney. You get on the plane in Sydney in 7 degrees fall weather and arrive with a balmy 26 degrees sunshine. 

Noosa is a squeaky beach, swaying palm trees, coffee shops and small boutiques, ocean, rivers, and islands. But most of all, it’s flat! Super flat. There are a few misplaced-looking mountains in the hinterland – five to be exact. The five Noosa Mountains. Huge volcanic rocks that are categorized as laccoliths. Created about 26 million years ago, when dome-shaped bulges of magma cooled below the Earth’s surface. They look a bit like a pimple to me. Pretty pimples you can go hiking on.

Flying into Noosa and catching a first glimpse of the Sunshine Coast, there was a moment of panic when I wondered whether we had to run up one of these rocks during our marathon, but fortunately, we soon learned that our race would only take place on the beautifully flat streets of Noosa. Phew!

And so, three years after booking this flight, this hotel, and this race, I cashed in all my travel vouchers and was ready to run. Checked into the motel, picked up my race kit, had the obligatory pasta for dinner and went to bed at 8:30 pm. After all, we had an important race to run the next day. Always on my side, my energizer-bunny friend and running mate from school, and together we rocked this town.

Was I prepared? Nooo! Was I well-trained? Nooo! It had been three years since I last ran this distance, and in between, there was a messed-up knee, long Covid, years of quarantine, my father’s death… I was not prepared at all! 

 But I was ready! Because I wanted to finish what I had started. I had returned to Sydney to finish my contract with the German School. Had come back to finish the year of living my dream. Of experiencing fall and winter in Downunder. And to run this damn marathon.

And we did! It was hard, and it hurt. Kilometre 14 still sucks, and you ask yourself why you are doing this. Your legs hurt, your feet hurt, everything hurts. But then you look around and realize you are in paradise. The crystal-clear waters and the lush tropical vegetation. The morning sunshine warming the back of your legs, a gentle breeze cooling your face. And for a moment, you forget about your achy legs and the blisters on your feet, and you smile. I am running a dream! I am living my dream. It’s been a long time coming!