Where on earth do I start this blog? It’s been such a busy weekend down here on the Gold Coast and it’s all because of one of Queensland’s most popular sporting events is happening here – the Gold Coast Marathon.

Last year I entered the half marathon but this year I thought I’d step up a level to the full 42km marathon on Sunday. Having just come back from South Africa where I ran the 89km Comrades I knew I could do the distance but I thought I’d try and beat my personal best time of 3:47 set back in 2006 at the London Marathon.

I left Brisbane on Friday morning and drove down the coast ready for another energetic full-on weekend of activities; first appointment being the Gold Coast Marathon Gala Dinner. As a Tourism Ambassador I’ve been promoting this weekend’s running festival in different countries to try and attract as many people here as possible and the dinner acts as the official start to the weekend.

It’s a source of great motivation too with inspirational images, movies and talks from some of Australia’s best known runners and is attended by the likes of Pat Carroll and Rob de Castella (two famous Australian 2:10 marathon runners in case you didn’t recognise them!). Lee Troop is one of the speakers, has attended the last two Olympics and hopes to get to the next one. I feel full of drive and optimism now for my own race on Sunday!

Today Show

The alarm clock thunders through my head the next morning at 5am and I wonder what on earth the fuss is all about…oh yes I’m doing a live broadcast as part of Channel Nine’s coverage of the weekend! Emma, Beth and Mary from TQ have arranged for me to go on-air with Emma Freedman during her weather crosses on the show and it all takes place down at Sea World. We’re joined there by the characters from Sesame Street and have loads of fun watching jetboats and helicopters race around!

Q1 & QDeck

Whilst I’m down here I thought I’d try and fit in some of the must-do’s too and Q1 was high on that list as it’s the highest residential building in the world. It’s the tallest building by far on the Gold Coast towering above everything around it at 322 metres high and perched at the 230m mark is QDeck where there’s a restaurant and bar…plus of course cracking views both up and down the coast. Even the lift is pretty amazing as it whisks you up 77 floors in just 43 seconds…so fast that my ears popped on the way!

My evening is a much more relaxed affair in preparation for the big race tomorrow, I’m staying at the Marriot hotel and decide to order a fat pasta meal and a movie to fall asleep to. I always struggle to fall asleep the night before a big race and finally doze off hours after I intended to…

Gold Coast Marathon

I whip open the curtains my first look is up to the heavens – yes the stars are out which means when the sun finally comes up it’s going to be a clear day! I had visions of wind and rain which help no-one on a day like this. If records are going to tumble then conditions need to be good.

Just after 5:15am we arrive at the corporate section of the race start area; I have a job to do before the big one and that’s an interview with the local radio station, Sea FM. Once that’s out of the way I go through my pre-race preparations – vaseline between my toes and taping up my nipples!

The start area is alive with people, the Japanese contingent is big this year with over a thousand people having made the trip from their little island all the way here. The countdown starts and then just as the sun injects some light and warmth into the chill morning air we’re off….I’m running again and I love it! I’ve trained and run in a few different countries throughout my life but I can honestly say that the view across the beach to the ocean this morning is one of the most beautiful and motivating I’ve been lucky enough to witness. It certainly beats training for the London Marathon back home during winter!

I’d thought early on about going for a fast time, my previous best was 3:47 minutes set a few years ago in London and I’ve decided that today was the day to try and beat it. As I came around the last corner of the 42km course I spotted the timing clock reading just under 3:30 minutes and made a final dash to the line finishing in 3:27 mins – 20 minutes faster than my previous best! Awesome news and well worth the aching legs afterwards. The evidence is here

No sooner had I changed out of my race gear than it was back to work. Tourism Queensland Korea have brought across a group of children across to take part in one of the other running events on this weekend, the 2km Junior Dash. Eight of them have made their first trip to Australia and it was cool to be able to sit with them and hear their stories of their own races. I told them a few about the Best Job and their eyes all lit up when I showed them my finishers medal as it was much bigger than theirs. Maybe one day they’ll come back and get their own

I love gadgets and my new Garmin watch allowed me to record my route and times which you can see below or click here for more detail:

Two more interviews before I could retire for the day, one with a Korean running magazine and then a live web-cast with the Gold Coast marathon team! The fun never stops

Balunjali cultural tours

The last thing my legs wanted to do at 6am the day after a marathon was leave the comfort of my warm bed…but when the offer of spending a Monday morning paddling around the Gold Coast waterways was offered I couldn’t refuse. I’ve had some pretty grim Monday mornings in my life; recovering from the weekend’s hangover, heading back to my office desk or working in a garden gnome factory as I once did…I honestly, truly did!

There are kayaking operators up and down the coastline of Queensland all offering the chance to get out onto the water in pretty stable boats exploring the differing coastline from here all the way up to Cooktown in the north. Balunjali do it in a way that I’d not yet experienced – integrating the indigenous side of Australia’s history into the entire experience.

The minibus and trailer pulled up outside the hotel with Mark and Josh onboard ready to whip me and the other passengers out to The Spit where we’d launch the boats. The morning was just about perfect with sunshine and a light breeze and we unloaded the kayaks from the trailer and down onto the sandy slipway across the water from Wavebreak Island. The sit-atop kayaks are so simple to use; wide, balanced, floatey and with loads of storage space so anyone can just jump onboard for the first time and feel confident. Josh’s family are the traditional owners of the land here and their history goes back hundreds of years giving him a complete understanding of the way the earth, water and creatures of the area work together. Having the input of someone as knowledgable as Josh makes Balunjali stand out as a ‘real’ Aboriginal experience and as the day unfolds we learn lots more…

As I dipped my toes in the water for the first time I flinched slightly at the temperature…and then remembered this is the coldest its likely to get all year – toughen up Southall! Our group of 11 paddled our way across the seaway and fifteen minutes later had arrived on Wavebreak Island, a man-made sand bar that protects the Gold Coast shoreline from the heavy winter swells which can pound the coast. The offer of a snorkel came next and I suppose I considered myself a bit of a Barrier reef snob, you know what it’s like – once you’ve seen the best nothing else really comes up to the mark. But I was taken aback and pleasantly surprised by what I found beneath the surface.

I took as slice of bread down with me and the sheer number of fish was awesome…bream, small parrotfish, yellow pufferfish, flute fish and even a couple of batfish. I’m glad I took my camera with me and I even had them eating out of my hand. Well it was in the job description for Island Caretaker…FEED THE FISH!! The chill of the morning swim was reversed by the spread of traditional Aussie food laid out for us by the kayaks; Lamingtons, Damper bread and Anzac cookies – perfect to get the blood flowing again!

Our next stop was just across the water to South Stradbroke Island the home of the elusive Golden Wallaby – something I’d never even heard about but was keen to track down. Josh would be the man for the job here as he has the knowledge necessary to track and spot them in the bush. As a group we followed Mark and Josh through the wooded area to a clearing where Josh carried out a traditional ceremony using white ochre which he wiped across our foreheads, hands and feet to cleanse us. And then we were ready. Off on a Wallaby hunt…but with cameras not guns.

Their tracks were all over the place, easy to spot in the soft sand with the distinctive two long rear feet and one tail-trail but all appeared at least a few hours old..and then Josh was off. He’d spotted something in the distance and we all waited, crouching down being as quiet as possible. Then in the distance we spotted it…but a normal, bog standard Wallaby not the special Golden one which can only be found on South Stradbroke – this 22km long sand island, the forth largest in the world. It raced towards us as Josh had moved all the way around behind it and driven it through the bush towards us…in a second it was gone but just enough time to snap a quick photo.

We continued our walk across the island until we’d completed a 360 degree loop and found ourselves back at the launch beach, our kayaks obiediently waiting on the sand. As we paddled out into open water I glanced across at the city skyline in the distance and realised this is a pretty unique tour and experience. 10 minutes drive from Q1 and I’m here learning about Aboriginal culture in the bush tracking wildlife. My short half day adventure is just one of a range of options from one to three day trips during which everything is done in a traditional way. Totally amazing and a must do if you’re staying down here…ever!

Time to let the body recover now I think…

Ben