DANI LOMBARD
DANI’S TAKE ON QUEENSTOWN
It was a beautiful, crisp November morning when I lined up for the 2018 Queenstown International Half Marathon. I completed the full Queenstown Marathon with Can Too the year prior. I could enjoy the spectacular views this time without the trauma of putting my body through 42 kilometres! (Don’t get me wrong, last year’s marathon was one of the greatest experiences of my life.)
The atmosphere was festive as the gun went off and our collection of Can Tooers made a big impact in our signature orange. I ran the start of the race with my friend, fellow Can Tooer Paul Green (pictured with me above). I can’t count the number of Can Too programs we’ve done together on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, but we’d never run a race together. Paul is usually faster than me, but we were both managing niggles, so were happy to take it easy and enjoy the ride. The scenery was, from the get go, STUNNING. We kept laughing that we didn’t have to run the “first
21km” of the race like last year, when we both did the marathon. We started at around 6-minute kilometres, enjoying what can only be described as one of the most magnificent locations in the world. Most of the course is ‘groomed trail’ – we were offroad meandering through mountains, lush pastures and pristine rivers. The course was undulating, with the last 9km flattening out around the lake and back into the town to the finish line. At about the half way point, we were feeling fresh and started to pick up the pace. This was my 8th half marathon with Can Too, and the point when we saw the benefits of the program kicking in. We started running past people, ‘picking them off’. We heard huffing and puffing, while our breathing was steady, and our legs felt strong. Can Too teaches you to go out easy and come home strong – to ‘negative split’, ensuring that you don’t go out guns-a-blazing, blowing up and finishing the race in struggle town. So far, our pacing was perfect, we were running comfortably, chatting as we went, with plenty left in the tank.
