Marathon man

On Sunday 2nd November, Gareth ran the Auckland Marathon. Although he trained hard for 4 months, the last 3 weeks of his training had been disrupted by injury. A sore ankle and painful hamstrings had prevented him running further than 8kms since the Hamilton half marathon.

After numerous physio visits and massage sessions, he decided to turn up at the start and give it a go. He did some stretching the night before to loosen up.





We were up at 4.30am the next morning to get Gareth there in time for the 6.30am start. The Jacksons (friends of Hannah's family from Cumbria) were also there en-masse.



Susan, Tom, Catherine and Rich



Pre-race nerves



The start line

Yvonne and Hannah were there to support Gareth throughout. They popped up all around the 42kms and waved/cheered Gareth on.



Anyone for a cup of tea?



Can you spot me?

Gareth's aim had been to get around, and if possible, finish in under 4 hours. He managed both - crossing the line with 54 seconds to spare (3hrs 59mins 6 seconds).



Finished



Official support crew






With the medal




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