Sunday’s XCR Athletics Victoria Half Marathon was held around Lake Wendouree in Ballarat in some of the toughest conditions I’ve raced in this year.

The weather was absolutely woeful. It was extremely cold, and anyone familiar with Lake Wendouree knows how exposed it can be when the wind blows across the water. At times it felt almost Arctic, particularly when running directly into the cold wind.

I hadn’t felt particularly good when I got out of bed that morning either. One area I know I need to improve is my pre-race nutrition. I often struggle to eat early in the morning, and unfortunately this time I started the half marathon having eaten no breakfast at all. 

I then completed the entire race without taking any nutrition or even water at the aid stations.

For much of the race I managed reasonably well, but on the final lap of the three-lap course the lack of fuel really started to catch up with me. I began to feel faint and seriously considered pulling out with one lap remaining.

However, I very rarely withdraw from a race unless I absolutely have to. I decided to keep going, worked my way through the final lap and made it to the finish.

I crossed the line in 1:44:32, placing 14th in the 60+ age group. When the results were broken down further, I was also first among the country athletes.

I had hoped to run under 1:40, but given the strong wind, freezing conditions and my lack of nutrition, that was probably not realistic on the day.

It wasn’t my fastest or most comfortable race, but sometimes the difficult races teach you more than the good ones.