WALKING ON SUNSHINE
The sea inside.
Stablemate and all-round good guy Nigel “Granddaddy” De La Rosa annihilated his PR at the Sunshine Coast Marathon. The Man City fanatic clocked a sensational 3:34:17 to slash an incredible 20 minutes from his former best.
Down in Mooloolaba (try saying that 10 times fast) in Queensland, Australia, De La Rosa stood under clear blue skies—what a shocker.
But damn and blast, those Ozzie temperatures kept climbing. And as he finished 203rd/830 overall and 15th/54 old blokes, he started to melt like Madame Tussauds’ Shane Warne waxwork under a giant Anglepoise lamp.
The Stable News was growing tired of the Chin’s annoying presence, so after fuelling up the Chin-mania tour bus Down Under, we sent him on his merry way to Moolaboolaloola:
Ally: G’day again, Nige! How’s things in Mba?
Nigel: G’day, Ally! It’s great here; we’ve been away for a few days here on the Sunshine Coast. My wife, Helen, did the 10K, and my son did the 2.5K kids’ dash.
Ally: Excellent. Your family loves getting involved. How was the full Mary?
Nigel: It was a great day, and I really enjoyed the route. It was a looped course, so my family handed me bottles. This allowed me to run through all the water stations, so I didn’t stop until it was all over.
Ally: Fantastic. If only your missus and kids could do that for every race, ha-ha. How did you find the heat?
Nigel: The last 10km was challenging, as it got into the mid-20s (℃), and I started to melt a bit!
Ally: But you got it done, mate; a humongous, 20-minute PB! Plus, as an extra bonus, you’ll have cheaper renewal fees.
Nigel: You little beauty! It’s been a great year so far, and I’ve managed to get a PB in 10K, half-marathon, and now the full. I feel like I am getting stronger and will work on some improvements with Coach for 2024. I would like to run Boston in 2025 and need a 3:35 to qualify. Boston and Comrades are the two races that are at the top of my list to experience.
I have learnt a lot about running with Stazza, and it is delivering a lot of positive experiences for me—I am really grateful for this.
Ally: Struth, mate, that’s quite the collection of personal bests. What’s next?
Nigel: Chicago Marathon in October. We are just running it for selfies and the experience of a big-city marathon. Then, a couple of weeks travelling through Nashville, Memphis, and Kentucky.
Ally: Nice one. Good luck in Chicago, and I’ll catch you next time, mate.
Nigel: Cheers, Ally.
The Stablemaster was catching up on MasterChef Australia when the News chimed in:
“Bleedin’ Nora … It’s the semi-finals and things are hotting up … The same goes for grandpa Nigel … A solid time on a looped course … Once he gets Chicago out the way, we’re coming for you, Boston!”