Once upon a time (4:40am to be specific): Busselton Half Marathon 2013
Once upon a time there was a
group of reasonably sane women. They
used to run around the bridges on a Saturday morning and catch up for coffee
afterwards. Somewhere along the line, some
of them decided that they wanted to run a half marathon. Two people here, three people there, a bit of
conscription and suddenly the 440s were born.
The bridges have always been
there. Most of us finally discovered
them during R1 or R2 2012, and started running regularly or semi-regularly
around the loop on Saturday mornings.
Well, "running".....we had never run before, so we started
with the Couch to 5K app, and went from there.
The Saturday run around the bridges became the "long run" of
the week that kept us accountable, and kept us on the running program during
the week, so we could keep up on Saturday!
The Perth Crew spirit was part of it, better runners helping those new
to it.
Why run a half? Each of us has our own story and
reasons. As with so many things, you
have to find the thing within you that drives and motivates. Ask any of us and I think you’ll get a
different answer.
For me (Kate Robertson) it
started earlier in 2012 listening to Joyce Keenan and Theresa Scott talking
about doing a half marathon and my being very clear that I wasn’t. These girls, along with Vanessa Baker and
Kitty Drok, had helped get me started running the bridges by kindly doing
intervals with me until I was fit enough to get around and I was in awe of them
and their mid week runs. In a separate
conversation, Faye Stewart and Karen Branch had decided to enter the Busselton
half marathon with Sharon Chetwynd.
Sometime late November I’d had a good run and at precisely the right
moment they came over to me and said I should do the half with them. High on adrenaline and lack of oxygen I
agreed. The different conversations
became one. Karin Smith was approached to
train us and help us get there, which she kindly agreed to. Meroe Mozzaka (I’d never have even started Bridges
without her encouragement) started doing long runs with us and carried on with
our mid week training. Kitty had long
been the backbone of the Saturday Bridges, but glute issues were restricting
her distance. She continued with mid
week runs (and leading and supporting the Saturday bridges runners) and
provided invaluable support to the rest of us both in the leadup and on the
day, as well as running her own 10km event.
Saturday breakfast continued to
be an important part of our training regime...
The term 440 was coined somewhere
along the line, in a conversation between Karin and Faye about the time of day
you have to get up to go running at 5.30.
It stuck, became a bit of a mantra, and once Karen had T-shirts made for
us it was official.
Having Karin agree to come and assist us was a huge part of our success. She knows the distance of every run in the metropolitan area, and has serious cred having completed a marathon. She’s been supported through her own running journey so knows when to push, when to pull, and when to offer a good stiff drink. She is a mine of information and we have been grateful at every step for her friendship and support.
Gradually we increased our
distance. 14 km, 18 km. Sometimes we could all run, sometimes we
couldn’t. Tuesdays and Thursdays there
was usually someone running the bridges as a fallback if you were looking to
train. Injuries and accidents came along
and gave particular challenges to individuals.
Even when we couldn’t train together we stayed in touch as a group;
supporting and encouraging as required, getting each other mentally ready for
what was going to physically challenge us.
Trust us, the head game was the hardest to win.
The run itself? That’s almost incidental, and again is different
for each of us. It was long. But at the
turn around for the half there was a sea of faces screaming encouragement. So you pick up and go again. Because the path was out and back twice, we
passed each other and other Perth Crew members and there were high fives and
well dones and keep goings. And coming
into the chute? Goodness me. Hearing people smiling and cheering and
calling your name lifted the spirits more than you could imagine. Don’t forget, we weren’t the only Perth Crew
runners or supporters. And then, as each
person finished and recovered they headed out to bring in the next lot. By the last person, we were all there in a
line, finishing as we had started out – together.
I was asked the next day by a
Busselton local if I was “one of the girls in the red shirts”. You betcha.
The crowd went nuts as we came down to the gate that last time. I think there were more cheers for the winner
and maybe for the 72 year old man that finished the half, but that’s about it.
This was more than a run. It doesn’t matter if it was our first, our 50th,
if it was 10km or 21.2km. It’s the
camaraderie, the commitment, the joy of achieving, supporting each other, and
forming friendship bonds which will last far beyond a single event. It’s inspiring and being inspired. It’s Perth Crew.
Written by Kate Robertson, 12wbt Perth Crew Member
