As the year draws to a close, we reflect on the ‘Top 13 Moments’ that shaped our event in 2013.

13. Gold Coast Airport Marathon named QSport Queensland Sport Event

In December, we were named the 2013 QSport Queensland Sport Event at the Queensland Sport Awards in Brisbane, confirming our event’s status as an international standard sporting event. We were successful against finalists the calibre of the Queensland Open Golf Championship, State of Origin II, the British and Irish Lions v Wallabies Rugby Union Test and the National Taekwondo Championships. The award was a tribute to everyone who has helped build the event into Australia’s leading marathon over the past three and a half decades. From the Surfers Paradise Central Rotary Club originators back in 1979 to the tens of thousands of people who have worked or volunteered since to make it the top class race weekend and event showpiece that it is today.

12. ASICS Half Marathon breaks course participation record

The ASICS Half Marathon saw the biggest field of runners line up for the 21.195km race in the history of the event. A total of 10,342 participants crossed the start line at 6:00am on Sunday 7 July, eclipsing the previous record of 10,015 set last year. 9,233 of the starters crossed the finish line to collect their finishers’ shirt and medal. Women dominated this race in numbers for the second year in a row with 5,532 participating. For the past six years, women’s entry numbers have increased annually. You go girls!

11. Young gun Casey O’Brien makes it two from two in the 2km Junior Dash

Casey O’Brien, 10, from Korora, near Coffs Harbour, made it two Gold Coast event wins in consecutive years when he took out the 2km Junior Dash boy’s race in a quick 06:51, just outside the 06:43 course record. Casey shaved 19 seconds off his 2012 time and came out on top in the biggest 2km Junior Dash field in the history of the event with 989 little ones hitting the Gold Coast streets. Casey, who recently turned 11-years-old, will be pushed up to the 4km Junior Dash if he decides to race again in 2014. We won’t be surprised if he takes it to the older boys in what could be a record breaking contest.

10. Victoria dominate Australian Half Marathon Championships

For the first time in the event’s history, the ASICS Half Marathon doubled as the 2013 Australian Half Marathon Championship sponsored by Gold Coast Airport. Each Australian State and Territory nominated up to six male and six female competitors to take part in the Australian championship with a maximum field of 48 men and 48 women. 12 Victorians donned the traditional blue and dominated the championship with convincing wins in both the women’s and men’s events. The victory was led by Nikki Chapple who was crowned the overall ASICS Half Marathon female winner when she crossed the line in 1:11:00 in front of Olympic marathoner Jessica Trengove.

9. Ironwoman Courtney Hancock smashes her debut half marathon

Two-time IronWoman series champion Courtney Hancock ran her debut half marathon in scintillating fashion when she clocked an impressive 1:35:02. The 25-year-old Northcliffe Surf Lifesaving Club representative was crowned the 2012-13 IronWoman series champion earlier in the year and used the ASICS Half Marathon as training for the gruelling 41.8km Coolangatta Gold in October where she came third. Courtney was also a superb ambassador for our event, attending a number of functions including the official launch and the AirAsia Legends Lunch where she provided fantastic advice for beginners and elite athletes.

8. More than $500,000 raised for various charities including Cancer Council Queensland

A record-breaking $522,688 was raised for various charities through the Everyday Hero website, including our official charity Cancer Council Queensland, which raised more than $110,000 (well up on last year’s record of $80,000). Fundraising for the official charity as part of our event has exceeded $350,000 which goes towards providing all Queenslanders with the best prospects of preventing, detecting, effectively treating and surviving a cancer diagnosis. The $522,688 was just the money raised through our official channels and we know much more is raised across the weekend for charities that fundraise within their own established structures.

7. Three seconds separate first, second and third in men’s ASICS Half Marathon

What an absolute nail biter! Regarded as one of the closest races in the history of the event, the men’s ASICS Half Marathon podium was decided by a measly three seconds. Canberra’s Martin Dent led the sprint home in 1:03:56, with Japan’s Shinchi Yamashita one second behind, followed by British Olympic marathoner Ben Moreau in 1:03:59. It was Dent’s second ASICS Half Marathon win. Read Ben Moreau’s fantastic recount of how the race panned out here: http://www.runnerstribe.com/blog/46886-Ben-Moreau-RT-Journal-Gold-Coast-Half-Report

6. Paralympian Michael Milton breaks world record for marathon on crutches

Six-time Paralympian and multi gold medallist Michael Milton set a world record in his first ever attempt at a marathon when he completed our event using a custom made pair of carbon fibre crutches. The Canberran skier, cyclist and paratriathlete finished the 42.195km course in 5:23:30, well under the previous Guinness World Record time for a marathon on crutches of 6:42:47 set in 2008. The 40-year-old lost his leg to cancer when he was nine-years-old and beat oesophageal cancer in his 30s. When Michael crossed the finish line he collapsed into a chair and was embraced by his wife and children. Physically and mentally exhausted, Michael talked about his mammoth achievement through tears of joy and relief and was congratulated by three of Australia’s greatest marathoners in Rob de Castella, Steve Moneghetti and Lee Troop. It still gives us chills thinking about it.

5. Craig Mottram v Michael Shelley

Before the Southern Cross University 10km Run starters gun went off on Saturday morning, four-time Olympian Craig Mottram and London Olympic marathoner Michael Shelley shook hands and embraced on the start line. This was a mouth watering clash between two of Australia’s greatest athletes. 33-year-old Mottram sprinted away from the course record holder and six-time winner in the final few hundred metres to take the crown in 29:38. New father Mottram overcame a restless night, admitting to having only two hours sleep before the race. This was Mottram’s debut at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon and it was a stepping stone towards a possible shot at a place in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics. We hope this isn’t the last time we see Mottram on the Coast.

4. Gold Coast Airport Marathon awarded an IAAF Road Race Bronze Label

In January, we became the first Australian marathon race to attain an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Road Race Bronze Label, which put us in esteemed company around the world. We were judged on six areas including race organisation, course measurement, timing and results, media services, medical provisions and the quality of the international field of elite runners. The label is testament to years of continual improvement for how we plan and deliver the event.

3. Yuki Kawauchi equals men’s course record

Yuki Kawauchi made a triumphant return to the Gold Coast after finishing fourth in this race last year. The 26-year-old overcame the strong African field to take out the men’s race in a course record-equalling 2:10:01. Kawauchi is incredibly popular in Japan where he is known as the ‘Citizen Runner’ because he works fulltime and trains in his time off. Can you believe he jumped on a plane later that day with his $15,000 winner’s cheque to make it home in time for work on Monday!? In mid-December he notched his 11^th marathon of the year which included two sub-2:09, four sub-2:10, six sub-2:12, one national all-comer’s record, two PBs, four course records, five wins and eight top-three finishes. What a year it has been for Yuki!

2. Japan’s Yukiko Akaba smashes 20-year-old course record

Japan’s Yukiko Akaba smashed the 20-year-old record when she stormed home to win the women’s marathon in 2:27:17. The 33-year-old easily eclipsed the old mark of 2:29:29 set back in 1993 by Japanese runner Eriko Asai. She crossed the finish line with an infectious smile and grace. Her composure certainly did not reflect a runner who had just run 42.195km in course record breaking pace. The win came after her third place in the 2013 London Marathon in which she ran 2:24:43. Akaba returned to Japan $20,000 richer and we’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll see her grace our shores once again in 2014.

1. Daryl Howe shows fighting spirit right to the end

Watching Western Australian marathoner Daryl Howe run down the chute, cross the finish line and celebrate his achievement with a forward somersault and an infectious smile is a memory that is still engrained in our minds. More than four hours after the winner Yuki Kawauchi equalled the course record in 2:10:01, Daryl came crashing over the finish line under a scorching winter sun to a rapturous applause. Having already completed the New York Marathon and London Marathon, Daryl is an accomplished marathon runner and it was a pleasure having him run our course. So what’s so special about Daryl? Well, he has cerebral palsy. He was told he would never walk. But he proved the doubters wrong and became the first person in history with classification C6 cerebral palsy to ever run and complete a full marathon. He also tirelessly fundraises for Cambodian charity Rideaid. He’s a local running legend in the west and his story will go down in Gold Coast Airport Marathon history. Thanks Daryl.