Ewen's Running Diary - 1980 and 1981

This page is a record of my running in 1979, 1980 and 1981. I've misplaced my 1981 diary so total training distances are an estimate. I ran throughout 1980 and would have averaged about 38 km per week for a total of 2,000 kilometres. I increased this in preparation for my first marathon in 1981, building up to 80 km per week including a number of 32k long runs. My total distance in 1981 was approximately 1,600 kilometres.

My best results during 1980 and 1981 were: 10k road in 41:36 and 42.195k marathon in 3:28:28.

Links to all my online diaries: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022


YearDate                     Comments
1979 Saturday 6 October 8th Annual Daily Advertiser - 2WG City-To-Lake 9k Fun Run - 418th in about 51 minutes (5:40/km). Approximately 3 weeks of training prior to this race, very short jogs and short 'sprints' up Willans Hill (200 metres or so). Total kms for 1979 including this run, approximately 30. Stopped running afterwards and resumed in January 1980.
1980 Saturday 5 April Griffith AAC Fred Eardley Bacchus 12000 - 182nd in 62:03 (5:10/km).
1980 Saturday 26 April First Annual Tumut Times-Lions Club 6k Fun Run - 18th in ABOUT 27 minutes.
1980 Sunday 10 August 10th Anniversary Sydney City to Surf - 3,431st in 65:56 (4:43/km). Tim O'Shaughnessy 1st in 41:50 and Laurie Binder from the USA 1st female in 48:16. My 1st City to Surf! Started near the sign indicating 60 minute finishers but I was too far back. Very crowded, took me about 2 minutes to reach the start line. No chip times in 1980. A lot of slow runners started near the front of the field.
1980 Monday 6 October Temora Centenary Gold Rush Fun Run - 9.2k in 40:05 (4:21/km).
1980 Saturday 11 October 9th Annual Wagga City to Lake 9k Fun Run - 67th in 36:35 (4:04/km). 1st Joe Murphy in 27 minutes. Sue Bradley 1st female in 37 minutes. Very happy with this result, a big improvement on the 51 minutes from 1979 which I ran off minimal training.
1980 Sunday 12 October The Rock 'Climber League' Fun Run - unknown distance in 43:54. This was a local 'fun run' to the top of 'The Rock'. Basically a mountain race.
1980 Sunday 16 November Young Annual Cherry Festival Fun Run - 33rd in 40:01 (unknown distance) About 9.5k.
  1980     I ran about 2000 kilometres in 1980. Weight was about 71kg.


YearDate                     Comments
1981 Sunday 1 March Canberra - Marymead Civic Permanent 2 Bridges 8k Fun Run - 33:10 (4:09/km). I was living in Wagga Wagga during 1981 and the only racing opportunities were in 'fun runs' which were a huge thing in the 1980s. They were listed in the calendar of 'Fun Runner' magazine. The '2 Bridges' was our first fun run of the year. I travelled there with my father, also a keen 'fun runner'.
1981 Sunday 12 April Canberra - Nike International Marathon - 459th in 3:41:14 (5:15/km). Ran the first 25k at 5 minute pace then gradually slowed. Very difficult! Graeme Kennedy 1st in 2:15:16 and Judith Hine 1st female in 2:44:08. There were 22 runners under 2:30! Geoff Moore 18th in 2:28:30.
1981 Sunday 18 April Griffith Bacchus 12000 - 65th in 52:36 for 11.8k (4:27/km), one good hill. Not sure what I was thinking, racing a week after a marathon. You recover faster when you're young, but this was still a stupid idea. I could have done with a coach!
1981 Sunday 26 April 5th Annual Border Morning Mail Nail Can Hill Run 11.3k - 59th in 50:40 (4:29/km). Jeff Chambers 1st in 38:52 and Denise Harris 1st female in 47:25. This 'fun run' is still going in 2019! Same distance but a different last 3k to finish in a park and avoid road crossings, similar difficulty. Hard!
1981 Saturday 2 May 2nd Annual Tumut Times/Lions Club 6k Fun Run - 24:30 (4:05/km). Very happy with that race, close to 4 minutes per km pace if the distance was accurate. Fun Runs were often measured with car odometers.
1981 Sunday 14 June Air New Zealand New South Wales Marathon Championships (Holsworthy west of Sydney) - 258th in 3:28:28 (4:56/km). Placed 126th in the 21-34 A/G. Ran an evenly paced race with halves of 1:42 and 1:46. Very happy with the PB and to break 3 hours 30 minutes. I was a keen marathoner but running 2 in 3 months wasn't a great idea...
1981 Saturday 20 June       Coolamon and District Pony Club Run or Ride-A-Thon 10k - 3rd in 41:36 (4:10/km). Remember being very pleased with this run but racing a 10k a week after a marathon resulted in the knee injury which saw me stop running for a year. I would 'test' the knee every few days but it was still sore. After a month I decided to give it a good long rest which ended up being longer than planned.
  1981     I ran about 1,600 kilometres in 1981. Weight was about 71kg.


The End - Total distance for 1979, 1980 and 1981 approximately 3,630 kilometres.