Sydney Marathon 2026: A dream of Sydney in ten years, PW is also a kind of romance!

Ten years ago (2016), Sydney was the second place in my life, and it was a blessed place for me to unlock "Sub 4". Ten years later, I stepped on this familiar and strange track again. I thought this was a new emotional journey, but before I set out, fate gave me a "heavy punch" first.

Pre-departure: Airbnb's "surprise"

"Don't start, get excited first" is the norm, and I'm "Don't start, worry first".

Just the day before departure! That's right, it's the last 24 hours after full payment! Airbnb suddenly informed us that the homestay we booked was blocked because "it can no longer be used for short-term rental". At that time, my mood was even more broken than running on a slope. With extreme helplessness, I had to book another hotel in a hurry and immediately, and by the way, I presented a letter of complaint with a resonant word, asking the conference (Airbnb) to give a statement.

With the feeling of suffering from gains and losses, we got on the evening flight (19:30–06:45). The nine-hour overnight flight is simply torture for people like me who can't get used to long-distance flights. The whole night was as if I wanted to sleep but couldn't sleep. I watched three and a half sets of movies, had dinner and breakfast, and finally got to Sydney.

Wealth is scattered and people are happy: exhibition "bloody fight" and Chinatown night market

After landing, I rushed to the new hotel to check my luggage, and then went straight to the Expo to pick up the number cloth. The conference is very powerful. From August 27th to 30th, participants can take all local public transportation for free!

As one of the world's eight major marathons, Expo's souvenir area is simply a "black hole". The shopping atmosphere is so hot that even the wind is broken, and the queue of people to pay is at least 100 metres long! However, in the spirit of "it's rare to come, how can you come back empty-handed", I still pay the money decisively. Wealthy people are at ease. Check in the hotel early to take a shower and get a nap, and most of your spirit will recover in an instant.

In the evening, go to the Sydney Opera House to enjoy the night view of the harbour - this is the end of the marathon. After that, I went to Chinatown and found that many old Chinese restaurants no longer existed, but there was a night market limited to Fridays. Finally, after eating a Japanese sushi, I always felt that my stomach was not full, so I ran to Hungry Jack's to eat an Angus hamburger set meal, which is called perfect Carbon-loading!

Warm-up before the game: Parkrun and Slow Life

I got up at 6:00 a.m. the day before the competition, cooked a bowl of hot egg noodles in the hotel, and jogged 2.5 kilometres to participate in the world-famous Parkrun (5 kilometres).

Thousands of men, women, young and old gathered at the scene, and the atmosphere was great! After running 5K easily, the whole person is refreshed. At four o'clock in the afternoon, I took a free car to the starting point of the field survey, and strolled through the sunny and cool streets of North Sydney. This kind of slow pace is really rare in Hong Kong.

In the evening, I had Korean-style braised beef rice in the mall next to the hotel, and then went to the supermarket to buy: steak, salmon, pizza, spati, vegetables and red wine, to prepare for tomorrow night's "Celebration banquet"! Tonight, I also made an appointment with my old classmates who had moved to Sydney for many years to get together and talk about my youth for more than two hours. Unconsciously, it was almost 10 p.m., so I hurried back to my room to rest and prepare for tomorrow's highlight.

Competition Day: Step on the track and travel through Sydney with both feet

When I got up at 4:45 a.m., the temperature was only about 10 degrees. I put on a disposable raincoat and went down to the street, and there were already dense runners moving in the same direction.

I was divided into the second purple group (starting at 07:06). The sun was slightly warm in the morning, and the first two kilometres were easy downhill, and then we went up the Sydney Bridge. On the left is the Sydney Opera House, and the scenery is so beautiful that it makes people feel relaxed! The Sydney track is famous for its many sloping roads, which is definitely not "easy to run", but the process of shuttle to the city attractions with both feet is quite addictive. I used DJI Nano to record while running all the way. The essence short film has been uploaded. Welcome to click the link to watch: (video link)!

Honest body: 10 years ago Sub 4, 10 years later PW

The good times were not good. After 10 kilometres, the body began to warn honestly - I was obviously out of shape.

In fact, this is also expected: I hurt my thigh at the beginning of June, and then I ran to the Gobi and Taiwan to go around the island by bicycle. The amount of running in the past two months is pitiful. Running a marathon will never deceive people. You get what you work hard and get what you get. It's just that I didn't expect that this "second half of the cooking" would be so thorough.

The lucky place of Sub 4 for the first time ten years ago turned out to be the stage for me to set a PW (Personal Worst personal slowest record). 4 hours and 31 minutes, 47 minutes slower than the Tokyo Marathon in March this year!

After running, I returned to the hotel, threw the coat into the washing machine, collapsed on the sofa, and the little things on the track kept reenacting in my mind. I wanted to take a nap, but maybe the caffeine of energy Gem was still at work, and my eyes were bigger than anyone else.

Although the results are miserable, the specifications of the "post-game celebration banquet" must not be reduced! I cooked the soup of salmon and vegetables, and my friend was responsible for frying the steak, and then served with baked spasshi, pizza, Australian red wine and champagne. The four of us laughed and ate a lot - perhaps this is the real essence of our journey.

The end of the journey: the magnificence of the Blue Mountain and the wild parrot

On the fourth day, I made an appointment with another old friend who moved to Sydney. We took a two-hour train to Katoomba, then took a bus to Scenic Skyway, and took three different cable cars to shuttle between the Blue Mountain cliffs. Overlooking the spectacular Three Sisters Stone and the Grand Canyon, the shock hits the heart. The most surprising thing was that I saw a group of wild parrots flying freely in the sky at the train station, and even stopped on the platform and paced leisurely, just like the real masters here.

On the last day, take the 10:30 a.m. flight back to Hong Kong. Drinking Latte in the waiting room, recalling this short five-day trip: running a full-horse trip, meeting two old friends who haven't seen for many years, punching in Expo, experiencing Parkrun, and visiting Sydney in depth.

Conclusion: Running is the fairest thing.

This Sydney Marathon gave me a profound reminder that running is an extremely fair language. How much sweat you put into it, the track will give you back a lot of results; if you are not prepared enough, your body will reflect it ruthlessly and honestly.

Although I have achieved the slowest result in recent years, I fully accept this result and regard it as a new starting point. It's time to regain running volume and regular training! I hope that in the next autumn and winter season, I can win back the lost speed and endurance step by step!