Lismore Runners and the Gold Coast Airport Marathon

It’s time to introduce you to my running buddies – the Lismore Runners crew! Some would describe us as quirky and others would say insane, either way we should be committ… are a committed bunch 😉   A friendly group of runners of all standards – ‘shufflers’ through to ‘zoomers‘. Some of us meet on Mondays to tackle the hill repeats, then a few more of us get together for a mid week run on Wednesday but the majority of the group gather for our Saturday morning long runs that depart from Lismore’s Luv-a-coffee generally from 6am. Afterwards, it’s just great to stop in for a coffee, juice or breakfast and catch up on how everyone’s doing – quite a social bunch really!

Before my time, the group has been written up about in the local newspaper and it’s always handy to know that the group comprises of a priest, a doctor, some osteopaths, and a number of high school teachers, among other professions. Such a mix from young to old-er 🙂 and all so encouraging! The wealth of running experience in the group is nothing short of amazing and very inspiring.

An annual pilgrimage for many of the Lismore Runners is the Gold Coast Marathon. They tend to target the marathon or half marathon, but some happily run the shorter distances. All did a great job last weekend, with PBs being smashed left, right and centre – and I’m sure if you’ve seen any of the wonderful faces below around this week, they might have been sporting a fashionable recovery limp and/or the Finishers T-shirt 😛

If you’ve recently taken up running or you’re a seasoned road pounder and are looking for some running company in Lismore, come down on Saturday mornings to Luv-a-coffee and say hi! It’s always good to see new enthusiastic runners! You’ll never know where the journey could take you!  If you’re asking yourself ‘why run?’, check out Craig’s post – So, Why Run?

On a personal note, less than a year ago, I was not a runner and loathed the idea of getting up soooo early in the morning. Now 11 months later, with 2 10km races and 2 half marathons under my belt… I am thrilled to say that running is definitely a part of my life – and God-willing, for many more years! With great thanks to my wonderful husband, Craig (who started it first in our family) and all those quirky Lismore Runners that have set the bar, cheered me on, shared in the early morning craziness, encouraged me and even treated my injuries along the way! It means a lot and you guys rock!

Some stats from the GC Marathon events

So a BIG congrats to all those who competed in the Gold Coast events last weekend. Whether the run was tough or cruisy, whether you broke a PB or not, the fact that you finished is a mighty effort! Three cheers! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

– Diana