Marathon Man

Mark's first Marathon was eventful, not only for me and the kids who tried to chase him all over the city, but for him as he battled with cramps at the 30km mark and passed us on the final kilometre gritting his teeth in absolute pain (see picture).

We saw him looking fresh as a daisy as he entered Centenial Park after about 12km, smiling and waving, and we had intended to see him again at about 35kms, near Circular Quay. However the road closures and traffic jams were so severe it meant we missed him. He said in hindsight though that it was best we weren't there because the sight of us may well have made him give up. Obviously at his lowest, after the cramps and the thought of another 7km (a whole Bay run) still to go.

We watched the video of him crossing the finish line as we couldn't beat the crowds to the opera house steps, but when we did eventually find him he was wearing his medal with pride and beaming ear to ear. He swears that crossing the finish line was up with his peak life experiences like the birth of the kids and our wedding!

Young Achiever

Today we went to Melbourne to attend the Australian Institute of Builders award night dinner. Mark was to collect the coveted award of AIB Young Achiever of the Year. We stayed in the Casino Promenade hotel on the 21st floor with a lovely view of the Yarra and city beyond.

Mark was a bit nervous but had practised the acceptance speech over and over and he pulled it off without a hitch. He had a fantastic night hobnobbing with some interesting and influential people in the building industry.

The next day we took the tram to St Kilda and lunched near the beach. In the evening we dined at Nobu which was a great trendy Japanese restaurant (with South American influence) how appropriate for us. Apart from plenty of R&R and some good shopping at DFO, we didn't see much of Melbourne so will have to go again!