Fraser Darcy

I said if I had time this week I’d write a recap of my training in the lead up to Cadbury as a seperate blog. I didn’t so you can already tell I had a busy week. Monday started off busy because I ran a loop in Belair, fired off a bunch of reply emails and text messages, did some gym, put together last week’s blog and started preparing myself for the big finale of the week, Cadbury Marathon. After a busy day and a good Sunday long run the day before I was tossing up whether to run again in the afternoon. Too much running in the week before a marathon is an obvious no-no but I felt good and was I really putting much pressure on myself this weekend? Screw it, I’ll run. It was an alright run and a bit shorter than my normal arvo runs so it was still satisfying the taper principle. Most of all it cleared my head after a busy but productive day.

Tuesday. RAO session on the bike but this time, as we were out at the track I didn’t bother pacing anyone on the bike. Just too busy for that. So again I continued the taper theme of the week by riding a bit less on Tuesday morning. I rolled out for my own session around 9am and enjoyed a smaller session of 3*2k. I felt the best I’ve felt on a Tuesday in months, maybe ever to be honest. Sure I wasn’t that fast, but all the cumulative sleep I’d been banking and only running 170km’s the week beforehand had meant I was a lot more fresher and upbeat than I normally am when I head out for my session at 9ish. This translated to me really enjoying 3:07/km pace for the first couple of reps and slightly quicker for the last rep. Again, I felt pretty good and barely felt like I had done a session in my warm down which was nice.

I ticked off a few admin jobs during the day, bought some new shorts with a Rebel voucher (that was gifted to me by someone I coach), wrote some more programs for a couple of late comers, stayed on top of my emails and then finished off the day with a nice cruisey walk. Yep, no arvo run tonight, just a nice walk to enjoy the sunshine.

Wednesday. The taper had really started today, no mid week long run of 90 minutes and certainly no Wednesday run of 3:36/km like last week. Instead, I ran 60 minutes from home so I could be back in time to head into the tennis for the whole day with Dylan. Switching my brain off from running all day at the tennis was a great way to spend a Wednesday. In addition to that, the tennis was very good and with this being my fifth time at the Adelaide International I think, it was nice to reflect on how much this event has grown. It was really just a great day overall, perfect t-shirt weather, great tennis, good company and very relaxed with no work or other training to do that day.

Thursday. Having taken the day ‘off’ on Wednesday meant on Thursday I had to run 10km, pack all my gear, write a couple more programs for people who had joined up the day before, organise my article for TBL, start eating copius amounts of carbs and then get to the airport for a 5:50pm flight. Once I arrived at the airport, caught up with a few texts and sat down on the plane I was relieved to be actually resting for what felt like the first time all day. Not that I’m complaining about being busy all day, I think, as I write this before Cadbury, that being distracted during the week and not thinking about Cadbury could be the best thing for me. Rather than stewing over everything, possible splits, possible competition etc, just rocking up and running it with only the necessary amount of thinking might be the best strategy. It’s worked for me in the past and when I overthink races the reverse happens as well.

That’s all well and good to be relaxing on the plane in la la land though, but once the plane landed, Simon, my fellow RAO travel buddy, and I had to make our way to the accomodation Simon had booked near the start line. This involved either a $80 Uber or an unknown taxi ride. We opted for the unknown of the taxi and scored an Ethiopian driver who knew about marathon running! He wasn’t bringing any of his mates to race for Cadbury but he did know all about Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie which was cool. After chatting to him and watching him drive 30 km/hr under the speed limit we finally arrived at our accommodation for pretty much the same price as an Uber. Ah well, it was a good adventure. We checked in to what is basically a cottage in someone’s backyard and then it was nice to be ‘done’ for the day essentially. I could relax peacefully on the sofa bed knowing all I had to do tomorrow was get up, jog a little, drop off my bottles and collect my big and eat a lot. Anything more than that was a bonus. Actually sleeping pretty comfortably on the sofa bed I also thought about the last time I was in Tasmania four years ago with Brodie climbing in the Tyndalls. This Cadbury Marathon trip was definitely a different trip than that and any of the other climbing or sea kayaking adventures I’d done in Tassie in the past. The main thing I enjoyed though was that I was back doing adventures in Tassie.

Friday. Up early-ish, around 6:30am. Simon and I went for a jog around the start of the marathon course and then collected some last minute supplies for the carb load. We both felt pretty good on the jog but working out how the race was going to go was strange for both of us. 5 weeks ago neither of us had thought about entering this race and now here we were together. Simon’s PB is from almost 5 years ago and is due for a refresh but is Cadbury the place to do it? On a hilly course in January? And for me, having put in the best training before a marathon I’ve ever done is a PB really possible given there’s none of the luxuries that are usually associated with running sub 2:21 (elite drinks, big group to work with etc., or even just any competition)? Who knows. What I did know at the time before running this marathon were my goals were to:

• Win. (The main aim of this weekend when I first signed up was to use the $1200 in prize money to fund a weekend away in Hobart and Melbourne visiting the Australian Open on the way through for a bit of a summer getaway).
• Smile at the end. (Enjoy the race. This is not the big A grade marathon of the year, not that I’m disrespecting it, but just more that it’s an opportunity to run with a lot less pressure than there will be in other marathons I do this year).
• Learn how well high mileage training transfers to racing a marathon. (I hope I race well and then recover pretty quickly).
• Practice tapering and carb loading (the more I do this, the better and more comfortable I’ll get at it).

Later in the morning we headed in to grab our bibs via the bus this time, not another expensive cab ride, and besides the bloke drinking a VB at 10am it was all pretty normal. The bib pickup itself was also pretty normal I guess, there wasn’t any expo or ‘hoopla’ about it, it was just two young girls at a desk in a running shop, tell them your name, grab the bib on top, they put your number against your name, drop your bottles in the tub and away you go! Very simple and straightforward. Very different to Sydney Marathon.

With our bibs collected and our bottles dropped off it was back to the accom for some pasta, relaxing, responding to a few emails, putting together the blog et cetera, et cetera. Besides it being a little warm in the cabin it was actually a really nice arvo. We even had a view of Mt.Wellington from the room which was cool.

Saturday. Race day. Up at 4am this time. Coffee, toast and honey, a few visits to the toilet and then I was pretty well organised. During the night I’d also organised my thoughts a bit more about the race. I had wrestled with the famous line from Steve Prefontaine of ‘to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift’ and how it applied to my situation. I should try and run a PB to give my best right? That’s how it works? Well it can but perhaps I can also give my ‘best effort’ by running 2:25-2:30 with a fast finish here and then saving an actual PB attempt at a more suitable marathon.

The other thought I had was having been keen to test my experiment of high mileage with a race, I thought I needed to try and run a PB to get good ‘data’ for that. But really, I’ve run 2:24 and 2:25:30 so I know how those experiences feel, what if I ran a time like that again and could compare the effort I felt at Cadbury to those past Adelaide efforts? Isn’t that a better test anyway because I’ve got a similar result to compare with but just different training to get there? In my mind that was enough to convince me that my game plan was to run the first couple of km’s (which were actually 2 small laps around the neighbourhood) at whatever pace the front group went at and if it was anywhere between 2:20 and 2:30 pace then I’d sit in and forgot about my time. If it was faster, well that was going to be an unexpected challenge, but whatever, I’d probably still go with it. If it was slower, then I would shoot off.

After dropping my bag off at bag drop and jogging a little 2km warm up I stood on the start line and noticed some pretty fast looking people and singlets. The giveaways are people running for other notable running groups around Australia. Doesn’t matter, I’ve raced people like this before in trail events who look the part but are certainly not the part.

The gun went, we all started running and straight away there was a pack of 6 or 7 ‘fast’ guys and even someone out in front. Ok, this is a bit weird. I thought Cadbury was a slower race than this. We went through the first 2km’s in 2:23 ish pace which is a bit bold because every marathon I’ve done, the first few km’s have been a little gentle as well. I spoke up and tried to get an idea of what the game plan was from everyone. ‘Is this the 2:20 low front group or what’s the idea?’ Not much response until someone said ‘2:20 mid’. Ok, well what the fuck are we doing running so fast. But whatever, if they wanted to drag me to 2:20 low then be my guest was my thought. That also didn’t explain why there was someone twenty seconds in front on their own as well but we had decided they weren’t going to last out there.

Down the big hill from the Cadbury estate I started to enquire a bit more about where my fellow front group friends were from. We had SA represented with me, QLD, NSW, Melbourne, a very popular local Tasmanian who everyone seemed to know and another Tasmanian who no one seemed to know. Just missing Perth and the territories and we would’ve had the map of Australia covered. So wait, are these guys all here to try and do what I’m doing, win the race and win $1200. It seemed that way. Explains why I felt they were a little cagey. They must’ve been focused on running at this earlier stage whereas I was focused on relaxing and not thinking about running at all.

By the 4km mark the lone soldier out in front had come back to us and we were now the actual front group. The pace had slowed a bit too to a more respectable 3:30/km for a few km’s and I started to average 3:28/km on my watch which is 2:20 high. Ok, this is a bit more reasonable. We went through a drinks station at 7km and I stopped to locate my bottle (there was no elite preference so I had to navigate mine in amongst about 30-50 others) and the group kept rolling along. I caught up and no-one seemed to care about slowing it up for a second to let me catch up. All good, they’re racing hard and not worried about anyone else. Fair play. Little do they know that in my head, I’m the Willy Wonka of this Cadbury Marathon and they’re about to ride the Tunnel of Terror with me. Anyone who can stay on the boat long enough is in for some fun…

A few more km’s down the road and we popped out onto an out and back section where we got a glimpse of the Cadbury factory and of the bridge we were heading towards for the turnaround. I exclaimed out loud, oh that’s cool, and finally I got a bit of chat from someone. It turned out the Tasmanian that didn’t know anyone was friendly and was on track for a PB. He had come 2nd here last year in 2:34 so a sub 2:30 was the game plan.

A few more km’s down the road and suddenly our front pack was just me and the two Tasmanians. The course was pretty nice by this point as well, mostly all a well sealed road and if not, it was just an old road so it was still a road, not a footpath like in Adelaide. We reached the turnaround point on the first lap and started to run into a sort of headwind through the 14-18km mark. The two Tasmanian’s went into single file behind me and showed no signs of getting to the front to help set the pace. At one point I even weaved onto the other side of the road and they both followed me. Ok, no worries, I can cope with this pace, but can you?

They still could by 23km’s at the turnaround to head back out for a 2nd lap. Note: The course turns around before the big hill at Cadbury so you only have to run up that once. The friendlier Tasmanian was dropping off a bit and then surging back on at times so I thought he was in struggle town but the popular Tasmanian just kept hanging next to me. I was getting a little concerned about how good he was when we started running low 3:20/km’s on the way out towards the bridge again. Fuck, maybe this guy is good. Maybe I’ll come 2nd. Ah well, at least I’ll get a training workout from this and $600 for 2nd prize.

We kept rolling along towards the bridge, me taking the occasional drink and gel but not really keeping a good memory of when and where I was taking them as they weren’t at 5km intervals. On the first lap I had picked a few places to maybe ‘attack’ on the second lap and try and go for the win but these spots were all on the way back from the bridge turnaround point. Heading over the bridge, just past 30km’s I was still feeling good and was glad I’d made it to the fabled 30km mark, ‘halfway’ in a marathon, without too much trouble.

We turned at 32km’s and without really trying I immediately got a gap on second place. I could see his shadow on the ground getting further and further behind and when this happens in a race, I, as the front runner, am just filled with confidence and energy. Ok, it’s time this fucker got put in the hurt locker. I ran a few sub 3:20/km’s and felt great. This was like that time I left Robbie behind in the Adelaide Marathon. I was really cruising now and as we went past a drink station a km or two later a guy on the side of the road said I had a 50m gap. In such a short time? We’re on here.

My ‘attack’ continued all the way to the highway and the only doubt I had in my mind now about winning was by how much. I had it in the bag and this was going to feel like a long run with a fast finish.

Or so I thought. The headwind on the highway and the lack of proper fuelling, plus the heat of the day, meant by 38/39km’s I started to feel kind of crap. A few little twinges in my calf were alerting me to the fact that if I didn’t get back soon, I’d be pretty fucked to be honest. I backed off the effort a bit to 3:30’s and just focused on getting to the bottom of the hill first. Although I was hurting, I did enjoy it because you only get this type of hurt in a marathon and so practicing it and embracing it was important for future marathons. I essentially ‘damage controlled’ my way through to 41km’s and started heading up the hill. I hadn’t looked back at all so didn’t know how far in front I still was but I was still in front. The winner of the half marathon was jogging down the hill towards me and gave me a pump up saying I was close to being done, rah rah rah, which was nice so I asked him if he could see 2nd. ‘Nah mate, daylight!’. ‘Oh great, that’s good’. And by having a quick chat, we have a mutual friend in Elise Beacom, I also realised, hang on a second, if I can chat to someone as I’m supposedly hurting up a hill in the final kilometre of a marathon I must be going OK actually. That realisation meant once the hill ended I was able to pick up the pace and run confidently over the finish line to win in a time of 2:26:45. I had travelled to come and win this race, and win this race I did. Job done. Successful business trip.

Straight after the race it was nice to chat with a whole range of people including: the other place getters, a fellow RAO mate, the winner of the Half Marathon Richie, Channel 7, the local Newspaper, a couple of people I coach and of course Simon, my travel partner. Poor Simon had a shocker of a race but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It did mean that we’d both be keen to have a beer later that day, me to celebrate and him to drown his sorrows.

Which is really what the rest of the day involved. We got ourselves sorted at the accomodation, replied to a few messages/calls etc. and then headed into Hobart via the bus for a meal and some beers by the waterfront. I’d always wanted to have a beer at the fancy pubs along the waterfront in Hobart but had always been too stingy on past trips. This time, having pocketed $1200 it was worth it. And it was good! Except for the two hen’s party and another dress up party crashing the same pub, which did provide some entertaining people watching, it was pretty good.

But the good times in Hobart can’t last forever. I had to catch a bus to the airport for a flight that same afternoon at 3pm so I bid farewell to Simon and Hobart and made my way out of there. Part 1 done. The intermission, in Hobart Airport went for a bit longer than planned due to a delayed flight but I was able to put together most of this blog and chat to a fellow marathoner. We eventually got flying and it was another lovely flight where I was glad to be ‘switched’ off from everything.

Landing in Melbourne, yes Melbourne to visit the Aussie Open for Part 2 of this trip, I got off the plane and needed to find some food and my way out to Brighton to stay with the Dohnts. In my original plan I had time to grab a burger at the airport, catch the sky bus to the city and then catch a couple of trains out for a cheap transport method. With my plane delay I didn’t have time for the burger so instead just went to grab a wrap from a cafe instead. I received a bit of good luck here when the lady I asked for the wrap ended up getting her coworker to grab it for me and then forgot to ask me to pay. So I stood there with my wrap already while they both served the next customer in front of them. Free wrap I guess? I gave it five seconds before they realised, they didn’t, I realised this was my opportunity to get one back at the world after a delayed flight and calmly walked off. I ate my wrap as I collected my bag, made my way onto the Skybus and then half an hour or so later I was driving through Melbourne in Golden Hour. How good! Such a nice city at 7pm! I was cutting it very, very fine to get a train out to Brighton and while I had every intention of doing that, I did a quick search on uber to find out how much it would cost instead to just get a lift out there and save an hour of travel time. $25?! That’s cheaper than I thought. I’ll do that instead. And so, not long after winning a marathon in Tasmania and having beers at the waterfront to celebrate, I was back at the Dohnt’s house in Melbourne eating cheese and biscuits watching the final of the Adelaide International. Pretty good day. The icing on the cake was the last time I was in the Dohnt’s house was 3 months ago for the Melbourne Marathon weekend when I had a sore hip. Since then a fair bit has changed and it’s nice to reflect on that.

It’s also nice to reflect on the key learnings from Cadbury.

• Winning a marathon is fun and certainly gets you a lot of kudos.
• Staying relaxed in the build up and during the race for as long as possible whilst trying to enjoy every element of it is also a great way to race.
• I need to make sure I really focus on my fluids and gels even when I am not racing as serious as I am for a PB attempt.
• High mileage training meant I felt great throughout the whole race aerobically.
• Mechanically though, I could become more efficient at 3:15-3:20/km pace by doing a lot more work faster than 3:20/km but still slower than my Tuesday workout pace. The reason I didn’t place a lot of emphasis on this range of speed in December was because I was just hoping to manage 200km’s a week, so now having done that and completed the experiment I can increase the quality a little bit.
• The strength work I’ve done since Sydney means my body didn’t feel as banged up when I finished which is nice.
• The taper and carb load seemed to work fine. There was one point in the 10-20km period where I felt a bit sick in the stomach and needed to piss but I worked through that. My only regret during the race is I didn’t stop to piss and so suffered through a few km’s before the feeling went away.
• Given I ran a similar race in Adelaide last year but suffered a bit more and then managed to run a PB three weeks after in Sydney you could argue that I’m in good condition to just add in some faster marathon pace work and then I’ll be ready to go no?

Well maybe but that’s not the next priority. The priorities as they come for the next two weeks are: watch as much tennis as possible and recover properly with mostly easy running. I got that wrong after Sydney Marathon by bringing too much intensity back too quickly and the game of running is all about making slow improvements each year. So far, I’m already ticking off the AO goal by sitting at KIA Arena and watching the match in RLA go ahead. Melbourne being Melbourne has had a big downpour and this afternoon my office appears to be KIA arena. I’m not complaining at all! Also, on the comment of improving each year, I recognised last year after I had won the Belair ATR race for the third year in a row that I needed to step things up and race some big boys in January time in 2025 and now having done so, and won, it’s great to have improved on last year but where I’ll be with my running in 2026 who knows (and is just as exciting to think about as winning a marathon is).

Thanks for reading as always and if you’re new here and lasted the whole way to the end well that is incredible. Good on you. There are no prizes though so bad luck, but maybe next week there will be.