Felt great after the run, very thirsty, and soon, very cold! Luckily, for the first time I wore a light top under my cycling singlet, took off and found it a few kilos heavier and completely sodden. Bags at the finish provided easy access to warm clothes. A nice touch was the ample provision of chairs around the finish for fatigued runners, and some volunteers walking around with plates of jelly beans and cups of water.

Not long after I finished, Expozay came home looking strong with a 3:21 finish. I was delighted that she did so well! The PPRB was a few minutes behind (3:27), followed by an ecstatic Mario. I kept drinking, kept standing to avoid stiffening up, and started to turn blue! Peter and I headed to the car to warm up, and I had a Fortijuice and SMS'ed the run info from the s625x to Bob. I began to defrost, very slowly, and we headed up to the hall for the presentations. Alice achieved her sub 4:30 goal to qualify for the Six Foot Track and was also the first woman over 60. (Better look at the photo again, she is as marvelous as she looks!).

Keen for a decent coffee, and feeling good after standing in the hall and surruptiously stretching, we headed off to drive back to Canberra. It was slow through Penrith and the Sydney traffic, and my attempt to navigate from the seat of my pants resulted in a "scenic diversion" through Mulgoa. Once on the freeway, the drive was uneventful and pleasant. Once again McDonald's cafe provided the coffee (and a Deli Choice Roll for PPRB), and the full moon rising was a spectacular sight, especially over Lake George, the surface of which looked like a deep blue ocean.

By now I was carefully weighing up the options for how I should approach the Marathon. I felt great, despite the cold, and did far better than I imagined possible.