Auckland Marathon

I finally cracked it — a sub 3:30 marathon. It’s been a goal I’ve been chasing for a while now, and while I’ll dive deeper into the training side of it in another post, I wanted to share how the day unfolded — from the sleepless night before to the final push through the streets of Auckland.

Let’s start with what I didn’t plan well for: the time zone change. Rookie move. Between the time difference, loud music from nearby clubs, and what seemed like every revhead in Auckland deciding to test their exhaust at 2am, sleep was non-existent. My Garmin even confirmed it — zero sleep. I asked Chatty (yes, my AI coach) how I should handle it, and the advice was to stay mindful of irrational thoughts that come from tiredness. That ended up being spot on.

Despite the chaos, I stuck to my tried-and-true pre-race routine: overnight oats, a coffee, and then off to catch the ferry to the start line. The ferry ride was a novelty — calm and scenic — and left me with an hour to prep and warm up before the gun went off.

The first few kilometres were a comedy of small inconveniences: needing to pee, sorting out shoelaces, and finding rhythm. I hovered around the 3:30 pacer but kept drifting ahead and back. Around 18km in, I made the call to settle in with the pacer group, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of the race. The mental load lifted completely — no more checking the watch, no more calculations — just steady pacing and the shared energy of the group. The crowd seemed to love us too, and every cheer gave an extra little boost.

As a marathon location Auckland was amazing

I felt solid through most of the race. There was a brief patch where my glute tightened up, but it eased quickly. At the 30km mark, I was still in good shape, averaging 4:53/km and feeling confident. That’s when the race turned for home — 11km to go — and things started to get real. My left hamstring began to tighten, and by the 9km mark it was close to cramping. A quick stretch on the side of the road, a deep breath, and I was moving again.

I eased back slightly, letting the pacer go ahead, but as the kilometres ticked down, my technique held together and I started to come good again. In fact, I caught the pacer with about 6km to go — he looked like he was the one struggling this time.

The final stretch was strong. My last 5km were all around 4:50/km, and when the finish line finally appeared, it was pure relief and satisfaction. Sub 3:30 achieved.

After months of focused training, early mornings, and more gels than I’d like to count, everything came together on the day. Auckland delivered a stunning course, a great atmosphere, and a reminder that sometimes the best races aren’t the smoothest ones — they’re the ones you fight for.