TMFG’s fearless director, Belinda Gibson, ran in her 4th Melbourne marathon on Sunday.
With a goal to finish in the Top 100 for her age group—which her son thought wasn’t aiming high enough— for Belinda to finish at all, she thought was an incredible achievement considering the year she’s had!!
On top of all the global and local challenges 2021 has brought, Belinda has suffered through 3 hamstring tears, 2 MRIs, and more than 10 Physiotherapy sessions. But, for our, Belinda the Brave, nothing was going to stop her running her favourite race of the year!
Belinda admits her training style this year was not only compromised by her multiple injuries, but by the restrictions placed on Melburnians throughout our winter months at the height of COVID outbreaks. She pushed through however, and with all of the injuries and lockdowns behind her, made it to the starting line on Sunday after a long, long journey.
“I’ve been training since July – the longest prep time ever for me. It’s been touch and go a few times, not knowing if I’d even make it to the starting line, let alone the finishing line of my 4th Melbourne Mara”
Belinda recalls.
Belinda trained through all of 2021’s lockdowns, restrictions and curfews!
“At one point I was running 24kms around a 1km circuit when the 5km radius restriction was in place!”
And she poured every bit of energy into every single minute when Melburnians were only allowed to exercise for 1 hour a day. But it wasn’t only the government restrictions that were hurdles, her own physical restrictions posed threats to her training.
“At times I was only able to run on flat surfaces, hills were a no-no, and speed sessions were definitely out. It was a challenge and I had to adapt. But, the positive is that I’ve learned to run relaxed and slow, to let my leg heal. Adopting a geared-down training style is ultimately what got me to the starting line.”
So, with 90 training sessions;
1035 kms to date (equivalent of Running from Melbourne to Newcastle);
98 Hours and 20 minutes of training under her belt (for 2021 alone), at 6am on Sunday, December 12, Belinda kicked off her 4th Melbourne marathon. And , with her final 42.195 km still ahead of her at that point, she was feeling every emotion…
Cheered on by hubby, Paul, and helped across the finish line by a perfectly timed Zooper Dooper at the top of Linlithgow Ave, as the sun shone down brightly (and hot!) before the final stretch, Belinda finished the race of her life.
“I did 4hrs 20mins. I really suffered with cramps in my arches around the 32km mark so that slowed me down, but it was an incredible moment coming down Wellington Pde South and onto Brunton Ave. That home stretch is always my favourite part. The atmosphere was so great, that, the blue skies, and the Zooper Dooper definitely got me over the finish line.”
There were tears, there were cramps and there was a purple toenail at the end of the race. But, for Belinda, the whole experience was a journey of personal resilience. And for that she wears her purple toenail as a badge of honour to see out the marathon that was 2021!
