She knows all too well the challenges of a half-marathon but this year running content creator Haw Jia Xuan will push herself to complete her first full marathon in Gold Coast, Australia
It’s less than a month to go to the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon 2024, where the starter’s gun is set to fire at 6.15am on 7th July along the east coast of Australia.
Known as Australia’s flattest, fastest and most scenic race course, thousands upon thousands of runners will be hoping to achieve a personal best this July. For Singaporean Haw Jia Xuan, her personal best will be recorded no matter how her race goes for it will be her first ever full marathon.
Known on social media by her handle @WorldthroughJX, the social runner has been making her way through the local races having taken part in the 2XU Half-marathon and the Standard Chartered Singapore Half-marathon amongst others. Though she has also taken part in the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Half-marathon, the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon will be the furthest her running shoes will have taken her in a single race.
Want to learn more about the Gold Coast Marathon? Find out more in our team's 2023 experience of the event here.
“I’m a bit nervous because 42.195 km seems very long and I only have a few weeks left. I don’t feel fully prepared but I just want to give it my all,” she laughed nervously before gathering her confidence once more.
“It’s going to be the longest distance I've ever run. In terms of goals, I think it’s just to finish it without getting injured and hopefully, to finish it in under five hours,” added Jia Xuan.
Although long-distance running has always been a constant in her life, Jia Xuan has never ventured beyond the 21.1km mark. This makes not only the marathon itself but the entire training block uncharted territory for her. She began her preparations for the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon 20 weeks before D-Day and with the runs getting longer and longer, she admits that her biggest challenge has been juggling between training and well, every other aspect of her life.
“In the beginning, the distances weren’t very long. It started with 10km, then progressed to 12km and 15km,” she shared.
“Now it’s going towards 20km and 30km. It’s hard trying to maintain the intensity because the long runs take several hours. I have a full time job from Monday to Friday and my training sessions are usually after work or on weekends. I still have to meet up with friends and family and maintain my social life.”
Moreover, the 24-year-old’s training doesn’t just stop at running for two to three hours, Jia Xuan also participates in aerobics and can often be found in the gym doing strength training. The three combine to become some of her biggest forms of joy, so it’s no surprise she expresses a touch of disappointment at having to give up some of her time in the gym for running along park connectors instead.
“Strength training is quite important to me because I’ve been injured a few times from running and I don’t ever want to get injured again, touch wood!” she laughs.
“It’s really helped to strengthen my leg muscles, especially my leg and core muscles. All of this helps to prevent people from getting injuries.”
With only about three weeks to go, Jia Xuan’s struggles will all come into fruition in no time. With all the challenges she knew she’d face leading up to her longest run ever, she knew she had to pick the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon to ensure all the pain would lead to glory.
“I’m looking forward most to the race route itself because I’ve seen pictures of it. It’ll be very nice to run along the coast in Australia and the weather, oh my god, I can’t wait to run in a colder country because Singapore is very hot,” she laughed as she recalled all her long, painful and humid runs along the streets of Singapore.
She added, “I want the run to be enjoyable and something that I can remember with happy memories. So I decided that the Gold Coast route, which will be relatively flat, will be more enjoyable for me.”
After all, Jia Xuan will pack away her running gear for the rest of her time in Australia after the race as she turns from marathon finisher to tourist.
“After the race, at least I can go explore and explore Australia. I extended my trip! After the race, I’m exploring Gold Coast and Brisbane with my partner,” she shared excitedly.
Before she actually gets to celebrate though, Jia Xuan will have a mammoth of a hill to climb. With her goal being to finish under five hours, she has aptly created a five-hour-long playlist on Spotify to get her through her solo run to the finish line.
“I already have my playlist planned!” she gushed. “It has like 170bpm songs so my goal is to run to the beat of the songs and soak in the race vibes and I’m looking forward to the atmosphere.”
Running alongside the renowned Queensland, Australia’s renowned surf beaches in winter attracts around 26,000 participants each year across eight race categories. Though the popular Marathon, Half, Marathon and 10km entries are sold out, slots for the Wheelchair race, 5km and Junior Dashes are still available here.
Read up on Team SportPlus.sg's 2023 Gold Coast Marathon experience in our Gold Coast Marathon section here.
Yet to sign up for the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon? You can do so here.