Pick 'n Pay Marathon Race Report

On Sunday morning I ran the Pick ‘n Pay Marathon in Bedfordview, Johannesburg. This is one of my favorite marathons because of good organization, a pleasant route and because it was my first marathon way back in 1985. This was the ninth time I ran the full marathon and I’ve also run the half seven times.


It was an overcast morning after some rain and thunder during the night. I arrived early and was glad I did as the field was rather big with about 5000 runners. This is South Africa so 5000 runners means at least 4700 cars traveling to the start, each with one runner on board.

Waiting at the start.

06:00 start...early for some...

The start was a bit congested but we moved quite well as the road was fairly wide. I ran this as a training run and it was my 6^th run for the week. The plan was to make it a LSD run to help me with the transition from trails to road for my Comrades training. I had a comfortable 04:45 marathon in my mind.

First hill at 2km

Just after 7km, lots of runners way up front. 

I was taking it really easy and made sure that I conserved energy during the first half. It was still overcast and the weather was perfect for running. Just after the water table at 9km I was very happy to see Sandal Girl (Staci) from She Runs In Sandals ahead of me. If you’ve been reading my blog for some time you’ll know that I took photos of Staci in her sandals and posted them on my blog only to find that she has her own blog later.

Staci (Sandal Girl) just after 9km

This was the first time we formally met on the road. The marathon was a double lapper and Staci was planning to run to the 24km mark and then backtrack to the finish, giving her about 32km for the day. It was great to meet the very friendly Sandal Girl at last. We chatted about running and blogging and also about what we’ve learned about running in other countries via Blogland.

Getting some photos for her race report.

We ran the first half in 02:23 and I was pleased with that. Everything was good and I had no problems or anything that caused concern. I said goodbye to Staci as she reached the 24km mark, her turnaround point. The sun finally broke through the clouds at about 26km and it warmed up almost immediately.

26km done, getting a bit warmer now.

I carried on at the same pace and listened to the runners around me. There were quite a few trying to qualify for Comrades by running a sub 5 hour marathon. From 30km onwards we could feel the sun and the runners became quieter and quieter as we moved along. 

30km done, runners now quieter and looking more serious.

Between 35km and 37km I had a slight bad patch and also had to run into some bushes for a sudden and very unexpected pit stop. I’m still not sure what happened but I had no time to look for the best spot and just had to get to the nearest bush as fast as I could. The stomach was obviously the reason why I had a bad patch just before this as well. After the pit stop and bad patch I was way behind my 04:45 goal. I didn’t worry about this as it was a LSD run but I still wanted to finish in 5 hours if possible.

Just after 37km I passed the sad site of paramedics working on a runner that was lying on the road.

Paramedics working on a runner...never good to see.

We all thought the runner collapsed in the road but we heard later he was hit by a car. His injuries are very serious and he was airlifted to hospital with possible brain damage. I read in the news this morning he was hit by robbers that were making a getaway after robbing a local restaurant. The driver was arrested but the others ran away.

By the time I passed the accident scene and felt my bad patch and stomach problem were over, I realized I had to get a move on to make the 05:00 cutoff time. This is where the long hours on the trails and high mileage weeks come into their own. This is where I could get the strength to pick up the pace for the last 4km of the marathon. People always ask me why I train 6 days per week and why I put in such high weekly totals. Well, here I could show them why. I was able to run the last 4km at a much faster pace than the first 38km and recovered completely from the bad patch I had.

In the last 2km I tried to convince a first time marathoner to stay with me to qualify for Comrades but he just didn’t have it in the legs (or mind) to stay with me. I ran onto the field with about 2 minutes to go and finally crossed the finish line in 04:59:10. I was surprised and happy to see Staci and her husband waiting for me at the finish. I felt a bit embarrassed that they had to wait so long for me. Thanks for waiting Staci, I think that was just awesome!

With Sandal Girl (Staci) after the marathon.

All in all I am happy. I reached my goal of 80+ km for the week with 84.5km and I reached my goal of a sub 5 hour marathon with 04:59:10. Cutting it very fine towards the end but good for a long run and Comrades qualifier.

The swag…medal, long sleeve t-shirt, some breakfast bars, multi vitamins, arnica ice and a magazine.

Marathon number 124 in the bag! Have a great week everyone!