My toes have vanished! It was 2005 and I was 39 years old in the shower realising I had lost the direct line of sight to my toes due to some good middle-aged spread.
Just run a marathon! So out the door with the family dog for a little jog around the rural 3km block, then the 6km block, then leave the dog at home and begin a daily run around the ‘Duck Road Loop’ of 12kms.
My toes are back and time to get a marathon under the belt! 40 years old with toes now in eyesight, and my first marathon, the 2006 Rotorua Marathon, completed in 4:09:24. It was a game of two halves, smashing out (a relative term) the first half in 5 minute kilometres, and on track for my targeted 3:30 finish, to only be brought to my knees on the brutal Mourea hill as I crawled the thin strip of land between Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti. The second half was ugly. Along the airport straight the legendary head wind was in full force along with a chilly rain. And to make sure I got the true marathon experience in all its glory, I hit the wall! And I thought ‘wall’ was a metaphor, but soon discovered it is a run stopping, physical phenomena! After a small tantrum, and being overtaken by several dozen real marathon runners, I hobbled my way to the end to receive a champions welcome from my girl Lorraine.
My best mate Mark and me, both running our second marathons in Rotorua in 2007. This our first race together. Mark had run his first marathon at Rotorua as a teenager and I had run my first at Rotorua in 2006.
Better luck 2nd time around! Feeling a little defeated by Marathon #1 I returned to the Rotorua Marathon in 2007 with my new running buddy Mark, ready to run my #2 with a little more strategy and try and get closer to my 3:30 goal, but more importantly finish well. It was Mark’s turn to struggle up the halfway hill at which point I was feeling ready to race. A warmer, dryer day, along with another year of training saw me run a negative split and cross the finish line outside my target but feeling good at 3:48:48. Mark arrived a little later and as we sat at the prize giving we discovered that the winners of much older age groups were still way ahead of our finish times. It was then that we realised that marathon podiums would not be in our futures no matter how many years we ran for. So, Mark and I declared our marathon days were over. Thank you Rotorua Marathon for two unforgettable days. Time for some easy halves and a dabble into trail running.
This was the day I decided it was time to empty the wardrobe of a few old running gears. The discarding of my two Finishers Tees from Rotorua was deeply grieved!
Look out I’m back! It is 20 years to the month since that 1st marathon, and I am heading back to lap the lake in the 2026 Red Stag Rotorua Marathon. This time another good running friend Jo will join me. We will not be racing or setting personal bests as we are the tail end Charlies bringing everyone home. The interesting fact is that though this will be my 3rd Rotorua Marathon, it will also be my Marathon #96. Not all have been races, and some have been multiple marathons in one hit like last months 100km Ring of Fire around Ruapehu. But each has been a marvellous adventure and many with my good friends Mark and Jo. This 2026 Rotorua Marathon will mark 20 years of marathon running for this mid packer.
And you can read all about it! The story of those first 2 marathons, and many more, are now available in my newly published biography, FIFTY-TWO: Birth of a Soul Runner. The core story is 52 marathons, in 52 weeks, in my 52nd year of the planet. A couple of races, some amazing NZ locations, heaps in my own Waikato backyard and a few exotic adventures in Australia’s Central Coast, Central Africa, the mid Pyrenees, the streets of Paris, and the Canadian Rockies. But more than a runners guide to taking on big challenges, 52 is about real life and a deepening understanding of love. I hope that this story helps the reader to dream big, live freely and love deeply.
The true story of mid-packer Campbell Forlong's 52 marathons in 52 weeks in his 52nd year on the planet. More than a running book, FIFTY-TWO introduces the reader to a bunch of great people and beautiful places, provides some good laughs with a few good yarns, and most of all is a call to live and love well.
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