Cool, dry & dusty, Alice Springs is a runners dream in winter time. Ok, maybe not the dust, but the scenery is amazing. Under the cover of darkness about 100 runners began their marathon & half marathon races out near Mt Gillen 
at the Alice Springs Desert park. The first 10km were stunning as the dawn broke & the rising sun lit up the west MacDonnell ranges. The first 10km of just about every marathon feels easy, but in Alice the serenity of the fading stars, the rising dawn and the birds of the desert (ignoring the passing runners), was magical.
The build up to the race in Alice Springs was truly Australian…
Apart from those actually doing it, no one had a clue it was on. In typically understated fashion there was no general notifications about the race and the roads weren’t even closed.
Another very Australian and uniquely Alice event is the Henley on Todd Regatta. The day before the marathon the Todd River, well the dry sandy bed of the Todd (that hasn’t seen water in years), hosts the annual regatta. It’s hilarious! The local Rotary club do an amazing job putting on a full day of festivities, ably supported by 3 leading crews and lots of local support and entries. 
The big 3; the Pirates, the Vikings and the Navy (the actual Australian Navy) put together huge vessels that lead the charge in the opening parade down the central Todd Mall, down to the river bed ‘race area’.
Throughout the day there is a host of ‘boat races’ with smaller vessels built & sponsored by local businesses, schools, organisations and clubs. The rowing 4’ are a prelude to the rowing 8’s Head of the River late in the day. The commentary is perfectly nautical & the atmosphere hilarious. The crowd is full of families and bewildered tourists wondering what they’d wandered into. The Pirates & Vikings regularly raid the crowd shooting the water pistols or waving their swords. Giveaways & spot prizes keep everyone engaged as do the multitude of competitions. Sand shovelling, kayak races, rubber duckie races, the figure 8 run, kids egg & spoon races, lolly scramble, egg throwing contest and sand castle building are all popular. The little nippers race and the budgie smuggler run bring the coastal feel to the red desert sands as well. It’s fair to say it’s a highlight on the calendar for many and a great fundraiser for Rotary Alice Springs.
The race in Alice is quite a nice (mostly flat) ‘out & back’ course with a turnaround at 21km. Heading out along Larapinta Dr the road bends in at Honeymoon gap at about 12km in & onto the quieter roads. I settled into a relaxed pace with a few local members of the Alice Springs runners & enjoyed the company. In our little pack of 5 there were 2 marathon debutants (Taylor & Jarrod), a veteran of 7 Alice Springs marathons and Jamie & myself who’ve both run about 20 marathons 
over the years. The conversation support was good, but Taylor (only 18yrs) had gone out way too hard so soon the group of 5 became 4.
The 4 of us continued on at a really consistent pace through 20km as we spotted loads of galahs and red tailed black cockatoos. Turning around at 21km we realised the tail wind, we couldn’t even feel, suddenly was a decent head wind… but as the day was heating up it was a nice cooling wind (for now). Luckily there were drink stations every 3km along the route as the desert has a really drying effect. The very pungent road kill was a heady wake-up that you could smell well before you saw it. Luckily there was only one. I don’t think it would’ve been too helpful late in the race!
As we passed 25km we saw Budgies and other smaller birds darting through the vegetation while a few Major Mitchell’s announced their presence. The race is beautiful and the landscape changed colour & scale throughout as we headed back through honeymoon gap again.
After 30km the group chat started to die off a little & everyone had to dig in for the real marathon effort. The last 10km were tough as we ran straight into a head wind straight into the sun, the temps rose, and the wind gusted sending little whirlies in the dust. And no doubt we all started to fatigue. The 4 of us splintered a little bit but probably no more then 15mins between us all 
at the end. Smiles all round at the finish line & even a couple of celebratory beers with new running friends at Monte’s after the race later that afternoon. Another great new running friend Luke (over in Aus on holidays from London) ran his 2nd marathon, for a new PB! Without any solid preparation and no electrolyte drinks he finished in 3:33! He’s a machine & no doubt faster times ahead… Talking all things running, while we rested the legs in the hotel spa, I may have planted the seed of the Six Star Medal for the World Marathon Majors. Good luck mate!
Finishing the Alice Springs Marathon was the completion of my Australian Marathon sweep, now having run a marathon in every state and territory in Australia. This race in Alice is 1 of only 2 in the NT (the other being the Uluru marathon) so both very unique & picturesque races. 
In Queensland I’ve run the Brisbane and Gold Coast marathons, with a few more on the wish list (Great Barrier Reef, Sunshine Coast), in NSW the Sydney marathon, my first holds a special place s does the 6ft Track. In the ACT Canberra saw my first sub 3 and my first real ‘race’ pushing my limits. In VIC the Melbourne marathon and the absolutely beautiful Great Ocean Rd marathon have been fun. In Tassie the Hobart (Cadbury) marathon was a great challenge, where we saw Cathy Freeman tackle her first marathon, and feel the grind of the longer distance. In SA the Barossa marathon was a great run through the vineyards and the Perth marathon back in 2012 had a nice local race feel.
Clearly I love running. It’s been an amazing vehicle for me to keep fit & be my best, but also a great way to see lots of new towns and cities in Australia (& the world).
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