My Journey of a Sub 3hr Marathon Attempt
By Daniel Rees
Dan Rees Marathon Report
But as we all know 2020 turned on its head in March due to covid with all events canceled to the least December so this meant yet again I was unable to run the Melbourne Marathon. This was until the Melbourne Marathon 2020 decided to go virtual with the event for the first time in its history.
All of a sudden my sub 3hr attempt was back on so I knuckled down to training so I could reach my lifelong goal of a sub 3hr marathon.
Marathon Day Saturday 13th December
As I stood at the start line of Albert Park ready for 8 laps and 640m to make up the 42.2km distance I knew I’d put in all the work and this was my time.
As the laps turned over my pacers Damien Bruneau and Julie Ann Undrill did a fantastic job of keeping me accountable to my target pace of 4.11/km and I’d pass through 21.1km in 1.28.10 feeling confident I had this.
As lap 6,7, 8 rolled around I felt great and started believing the sub 3hr marathon was within my reach. Having my twin brother Jason and my Dad on the bike beside me giving me encouragement in those last few kilometers helped me enormously as the cadence in the legs started to drop off and the shoulders started to slump.
With 1km to go, I focused on rhythm, breathing, cadence and form and managed to cross the line in 2.56.48
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