By CASEY NEILL
CRANBOURNE’S Laurie Joyce had his eyes on a sub-60 minute finish time in the Run Melbourne 10 kilometre event on the weekend.
But an injury meant his goal of breaking the hour mark before his 60th birthday wasn’t to be.
His best time over the distance was 64 minutes, and he finished in 78 minutes on Sunday.
“I carried an injury into the day, and although I was on track to meet my goal I walked through the mid-section of the race to make sure I finished, so I missed my time,” he said.
“I’ve still got a couple of years to break 60 before I turn 60!”
His wife, Raelene, was alongside him.
“It was such a perfect day for running, and it’s such a great course,” she said.
“Happily I finished in under an hour – just – and I ran most of the event with some good friends from Parkrun.”
Raelene had back surgery in November 2011 and started walking as part of the rehabilitation process.
“Three months later I had built the distance up to 5km and was feeling quite strong, had dropped around 20 kilograms and was the healthiest I’d been in 20 years,” she said.
“So I ran.
“Only a few very tentative meters at first. And day after day I increased the run and reduced the walk.”
A close friend then encouraged her to enter the MS Fun Run at Albert Park Lake in June, and Raelene set the goal of running the whole 5km course without stopping.
“I remember being quite emotional for most of that race, and crossed the finish line with tears streaming down my face, in a time of 35 minutes,” she said.
“I felt free. I felt empowered. I was hooked.”
Raelene joined Berwick Springs Parkrun, which organises free, weekly 5km timed runs around the world. About 350 people regularly take part at Berwick.
She returned home raving to Laurie about how friendly and inclusive everyone was.
“I’d intended to walk the course, but when I got there, people of all ages and abilities were out there giving it a go,” Laurie said.
“At first I wasn’t able to run the 5km course continuously, but over time my fitness has increased and although I wouldn’t say it’s easy now, it’s certainly a lot easier than it was when I began.”
Laurie has entered the 10km event at the Melbourne Marathon in October.
“Is a sub-60 on the cards? I’ll give it everything I’ve got,” he said.
Raelene is heading up to Sydney with four girlfriends for the City to Surf in two weeks and is aiming to run her first half-marathon in Hobart next January, “which means some serious commitment”.
“In addition to running three times a week, I’ve also started strength training and pilates to build a solid base,” she said.
“Re-injury is always at the back of my mind, so it’s important to me to do the right things so I can continue to run for many years to come.”
