MISS Aura International 2021 and seasoned triathlete Alexandra Faith Garcia conquered the Sydney Marathon recently, finishing the race in a personal best record time.
The Sydney marathon is a candidate race for the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM). Over the next 3 years, the Sydney Marathon will be required to meet strict criteria to achieve “majors” status by 2025 in order to join an esteemed group of races, namely: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW-Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.
“This is my second marathon and the first one was way back 2017 at Macau Marathon,” said Faith Garcia. “Conquering the Sydney Marathon last Sept 17 was no walk in the park! These rolling hills and ‘Pinas-level heat made every step a challenge!”
In 2017, her finish time was 4 hours and 54 minutes. “I’m happy that I got my PR, crossing the finish line at a time of 4 hours and 35 minutes!” Faith enthused.
More than 40,000 runners lined up for the Sydney Marathon, a record turnout for the event, and the biggest marathon held in Australia, according to organizers.
The race started at Milsons Point and was packed by the 17,000 people that took part in the main 42-kilometer event.
Temperatures reached 30 degrees along the course with the Bureau of Meteorology sending a warning to runners prior to the start at 7:10 a.m.
“Those last kilometers proved to be really tough especially with the heat which was not normal and considering that this is a 42-km. run, I need to really stop at every hydration station to hydrate and get some ice to pour into me just to cool down,” Faith continued. “My expected finish time was around 4-5 hours since this was just my second marathon.”
Faith was able to meet a group of the Pinoy running community in Sydney and was able to bond with them in a lunch Saturday before the race.
“Comparing this course to Macau, the route there was flat and the weather there during December is cold but overall I am really happy with my finish time here in Sydney,” recounted Faith. “That weekend was not just all about the Sydney marathon as I was able to meet-up with my younger brother (Keith Garcia – IT Professional working at an IT Consulting firm) who is currently residing in Australia and it was his first year anniversary since moving in Australia.”
Faith prepared two sets of running clothes, one was for cold weather running like when she runs in Baguio, and her usual running gear when running in and around the Philippines. “I expected to run in cold weather but during that weekend they announced that it will be unusually hot so I changed my plan and used my normal running attire,” Faith recalls.
Faith is proud to be part of the DTE Endurance influencers. She got to meet a lot of new friends in the running community and other influencers as well from across the region. “I was amazed with the dedication and commitment of the other runners that I met during that weekend for running,” Faith continued. “The overall experience was quite awesome and they were really organized starting from the accommodations, roundtrip tickets, tours and overall race experience. Watch out for updates as the registration for the Sydney Marathon next year will happen soon. They will be providing the Endurance Travel Package for an awesome all-in-one race experience.”
“Since we were part of the Influencers group, we were seeded at the start of the marathon together with the elites and knowing that they will be having a fast pace to start the run, I just tried not to get too excited and paced myself correctly to have a strong finish,” said Faith. “I am looking forward to joining this marathon again next year since it will be bringing in the Abbott Wanda Age Group World Championships.”
