Perth Two Bridges 10k: Return of the imposter

We identified this one a little while ago and were up with the Cockatoos for the 10k that starts on the Spectacular Perth Riverside. The sun was low in the cloudless sky casting long shadows as we parked up on the south side of the Swan River and crossed the bridge.

There were loads of joggers and cyclists using the wide paths through the park. Around 1800 runners started and I found myself quite far back. I spent the first 2 or 3k ploughing past one or two hundred runners and felt pretty good until the 5k mark. Predictably though there was no fooling the body and with the sun beating down, even early in the morning, I began to toil badly. By 8k I was watching the shadows on my shoulder expecting a busload to be passing me and was a wee bit surprised that only 2 or 3 got by. The pace was lamentable in the last 2k as I struggled to maintain the effort. Finished in 38:56 around 60th.

We lolled on the short grass among the crowd and soaked up the atmosphere of a run on foreign soil and after an hour the prize giving took place. To my surprise I was awarded the M45 category and got a nice medal and Asics voucher.

I read later though in some Aussie blog that I was 'the guy' who got the medal even though I wasn't first. I read even later (when the results came out) that I was 6th in category, so I guess they awarded me the silverware because I was the most knackered looking vet or the runner with the raggiest style!

Wandered off to the Houghton Winery in the afternoon and forgot all about running.