HypoActive

Sunday April 5 dawned chilly, but thankfully not raining - a blessing for the 2009 HypoActive Run for the Kids team.

Getting to the team meeting point proved to be a challenge for some team members, with road closures, Sunday train timetables, tram disruptions (because of the run) and multiple floral gardens near soldiers on horses adding to the confusion and the nerves.

After getting decked out in the team running singlets, armed with mixed lollies in case of hypo's (many thanks to our good friend The Nut Bloke) and reminders to check blood sugar levels the all important team photo was taken and then the team headed to their respective start lines for the morning, the short course of 5.7Kms leaving from Linlithgow Avenue and the long course of 14.1Kms setting off from Alexandra Avenue

With 30,000 people participating in the events and their respective families and friends on hand to cheer them on, finding our way to the baggage drop off section and the start line was an achievement in itself. While the Long Course runners marshalled in their respective areas the Short Course participants set off - due to the vast number of runners in attendance it seemed some competitors were still crossing the start line while the first runners were finishing!

This is the first time that I’ve attempted the Run for the Kids – and considering that at Christmas time last year I couldn’t run around the block, am quite pleased that I made it over the finishing line after 14.1kms – I really think that the 14km marker was in the wrong place as that last 100m felt like it went for at least 700m!

For anyone considering joining the HypoActive team for the run next year, I would highly recommend it – the experience of running through the Domain tunnel was amazing, as was coming up over the Bolte Bridge (once you finished the slow climb up there that is!) to look out over the Melbourne skyline. If you take a look at the photo’s of the crowds on the day, this event is unusual in that you do run practically shoulder to shoulder for the entire course

The HypoActive team finished a very respectable 30th of the 56 Community teams in the long course with a cumulative time of 6 hours 40 minutes and 57 seconds. We placed 41st in the short course with a cumulative time of 4 hours, 49 minutes and 38 seconds

Some excellent times were recorded by all to contribute to this effort – big congratulations to all participants on challenging themselves and getting up super early on a Sunday for an excellent cause!

5.7Km Walkers:

Asha – 48 mins, 58 secs
Leeanne, Kelsea & Kim – 1 hour, 7 mins, 15 secs

5.7Km Runners

Darren – 38 mins 52 secs

14.1Kms Walkers

Gabe & Will (plus bub!) – 2 hours, 17 mins, 3 secs

14.1Km Runners

Jason – 57 mins, 31 sec
Dan – 1 hour, 9 mins, 39 secs
Scott – 1 hour, 28 mins, 47 sec
Laura – 1 hour, 38 mins, 12 sec
Amy – 1 hour, 38 mins, 40 sec
Meg – 1 hour, 44 mins, 20 secs

A big thank you as always to our sponsors – Abbott, Medtronic and Novo Nordisk, without whose support HypoActive’s participation in such events would not be possible.

I’m looking forward to being part of an even bigger HypoActive team for the Run for the Kids in 2010 – keep your eyes on our upcoming events section and the newsletters for details to join us!