Dani's Take on Queenstown

Dani Lombard

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.

With 5km to go, we picked up the pace to run 5 minute 45 per kilometre. This was faster than anything I’d done in training, but that’s what race day’s for. Our training and coaching came into play, we were tapered, feeling fresh and capable.

We wound around the lake with the sun shining and spectators cheering us on. There wasn’t as much chatting, we were working hard but feeling steady. With two kilometres to go, Paul slowed up. He understood when I said, “I can’t stop!”. If I would have I feared I’d never get going again. I wished my faithful comrade well and pushed on. It was time to give it everything. I picked up the pace and kept overtaking people. I waved at some fellow Can Tooers but had no breath to say anything! I was doing 5-minute kilometres. At around 1km to go, I feared I may have peaked too early, I managed to

Next Can Too stop: Hawkes Bay New Zealand 2019

hang on and ran into town, the crowds increased, and the cheers sounded. There was a nasty little hill before the finish line, I kept huffing and puffing until I reached the chute and crossed the finish line, completely spent. I was thrilled to come in at 2:08! Being mainly off road and as I was finishing a course of antibiotics for a sinus infection which had robbed me of my final long training run, I expected to do 2 hours 15. Hooray! I was bent over catching my breath when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Paul! He was OK and only walked briefly. We finished only a few seconds apart! It was another cracking Queenstown race, one made so much richer, being surrounded by so many Can Too friends. It felt like school camp! We had so much fun, memories and friendships that I will cherish forever. We all met up for celebratory drinks, Paul, myself and a few others soldiered on and danced to live music until 1am. Not the best post-race recovery, but certainly the funnest!