The Crowded Start Line of The Como Landing Half Marathon
The Como Landaing Half Marathon Race Review
I was in Melbourne for the weekend, so what better way to keep my 4 Marathons in 4 Months going, was to run The Como Landing Half Marathon in Melbourne. A small race that weaves its way through Melbourne's Yarra River, just outside of the central business district of the city. A much smaller race than what I have been running recently, but I would say more of a "Runners Race" with close to a quarter of the racers posting times under 1 hour and 30 minutes. Yep, it was a fast course with even faster runners.
Race Expo and Registration
Due to the size of the race there was no race expo and if you didn't get your race pack sent out by mail, you picked it up on the morning of the race. Although the half marathon was the main event, the organisers also held a 14km and 7km run all starting at the same time.
Race Location and Course
The course was a three loop course taking on the Yarra River Bike Track, which is a shared pathway that runs on either banks of the river. Even though the size of the race was small, the path was very crowded at the start of the race and if you were looking to be competitive, it meant pushing your way to the front as you would have lost a lot of time in the crowd at the start of the run. Even though the race was close to the centre of a major capital city, it was picturesque with a flat and scenic course.
Transportation, Extras and Finish Line
With a smaller race such as this, there's not much extra provided but for the $30 entry fee, you get more than your money's worth. The extra bonus is breakfast at the end of the race which is custom with the Sri Chinmoy race organisers in Melbourne.
Running the Race
This is the start of the running season in Melbourne and even though Winter is coming, the morning was beautiful with perfect running conditions. I ran conservatively at the start of the race as I was mindful of a Marathon only seven days after this race, but still managed a 2018 personal best over the distance. I can imagine it being a little annoying to get caught up in the traffic at the start of the run but I didn't have any issues.
Here is how Strava saw my day:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1598212550
Summing It All Up
The Melbourne organisers of the Sri Chinmoy events have been doing this for a while and know how to run a friendly, welcoming event with no major organisational concerns. The low key and the entry fee is the same, which makes these events great races to run and use as training races.
