Having arrived in Australia 2 weeks prior to the race, the Clay’s quickly got a parkrun record under their belts for the longest distance travelled. I had lots of time to cram in hill training for a completely flat race so I felt prepared. So on the 4^th July at 5:30 we left the apartment for the Gold coast 10K with the intention of catching the tram. Obviously something had to go wrong and 40 minutes before the start we found out that a car had decided to crash on the tracks. So a 6k warm up to the start was the only option. Luckily the organisers adjusted the race start to 6:45.

This was the first event of the weekend with the marathon the following day; it had a similar vibe to Bupa 10k with over 5000 entrants. It was a very high calibre field with some of Queensland’s top runners including Olympic Bronze medallist triathlete, Emma Moffat. It was fun to be in amongst the elites in the seeded start as I had the qualifying time of 34 minutes. We set off just after sunrise with perfect running conditions. The course followed the coastline all the way so I had plenty of opportunities to take in the views of Surfer’s Paradise with the harbour being a highlight.

The Aussies were a vicious bunch and 100 metres after the start I narrowly avoided being taken down in what seemed like rugby tackle. I finished in 55^th place with a time of 34:39 and was forced into a sprint finish to avoid being beaten by Emma Moffat. As I crossed the line they announced my name and I naturally did a celebration to please the crowd. So having finished the race by 7:30, we had the rest of the day exploring the Tambourine Mountains.

So now I am an international athlete, my running career can only go upwards from here. If you are ever visiting Queensland then I recommend this race as it well organised, with some great finishing goodies and the chance for a PB.