Robert Song's Complete Running History

There have been various periods in my Runnning life. Here I hope to give you an idea about what I have been through and achieved in those periods.

The Age of Youth(1968 – 1975).



I started running in Grade 9 at high school after becoming disillusioned with rugby League. I competed in 800m and 1500m on the track and cross country in Winter. I only ever was second best at the school for my age. My best achievement was a 4:26 for 1500m in the U15 Qld State Secondary Schools Titles in 1970 where I came 4th.
After coming 2nd in the State Junior (U19) 1500m Steeplechase, I got to represent Qld at the National Titles in 1973 where I finished second last.

I competed in Inter-club track and field regularly at high school and for the first few years of University.

A 4 or 6 miles (as it was then) run along Gympie Road out to Chermside and back were my usual courses. I still have many fond memories of running along that road and coming back home and lying in front of the stereogram listening to The Beatles, Elton John and Neil Young.

By 1975, the training became less and less and “The Wild Years” were unleashed.

The Wild Years(1976 – 1980).

Moved out of home into a student house for the last year of Uni (1976) and so it was party time. Started going out with My Wife at the end of 1976. After graduating, started real paid work in 1977 but could only hack it for six months. Took off on trail bikes with a mate to Cape York for six weeks. Came back and My Wife and I moved into together Sept 77. We pursued a highly charged social life. As Ian Dury said "sex and drugs and rock n roll"...

In June 79, we left for an Overland trek through Africa, Jo’berg to London. After much adventure and hardship arrived in London December 1979. I was a total physical wreck. Had almost died in Bangui in the Central Africa from gastro. Spent a week in hospital there on a drip. Worked very hard for seven months in London before returning home to Australia when my mother died.

My health was still quite fragile and recurring bouts of intestinal problems made it no better. I was unwell and unfit and “The Wild Years”- great while they lasted, were by the end of 1980 at the tender age of 26 over!


The Golden Age (1980 – 1995).

There is a lot to say about this age and I will fill in all the details soon.

The highlights are the 1982 New York Marathon, a 2.53:45 marathon at the Gold Coast in 1985, a half marathon PB of 1:21:23 in the 1993 Brisbane , and
a 10k Road race of 35:19 in Nov 1986.


The Barren Years (1996 – 2002).

The Golden Era died a slow death in sympathy with my knees. It got to the stage where I would come back from an ever shortening run and put the ice packs on both knees for an hour. Hobble off to bed and the next morning struggle down the stairs to go to work. Have a rest day and then do it all over again. I did the knee and leg exercises. I rested. I cross trained. But the pain in my knees never went away. After fifteen years of training it wasn’t that hard to have a break. By 1997 with four kids and the eldest only six, there was more than enough to keep me busy.

Then I started getting the headaches. This lasted a couple of years and I must have been miserable company for that time as I continually fought off the dull throb in my head. The last thing on my mind was exercise.

In 2000 at work, I found myself assigned to a nightmare project which I had to put enormous time and effort aver a two year period to turn it around . (Never again!)

Coming straight off this project, I had a skin cancer diagnosed on my right shin and this had to be removed. It had twice been burnt off but always came back so it had invaded quite deep and needed surgery and a skin graft. As well it required me to lie in bed for three weeks whilst it healed (which it did). You wouldn’t believe the muscle wastage and fat accumulation you can achieve in three weeks of total inactivity.

So by June 2002, I am over-weight, unfit, on daily medication for my head and have not exercised for close to seven years. Must do something!


The Age of the Phoenix (2002 - ?)

The first thing I decided to do was walking. I bought myself a digital audio player , loaded it up with music and started walking. I can still remember the albums that I loaded and listened to at that time- "Sea Change" by Beck, "1 Giant Leap" by 1 Giant Leap and a Congolese Album "Sam Mangwana sings Dino Vangu". As it was winter, it was not too hot to go out at lunchtime.

Ducky and Me and the 2003 Bridge to Brisbane.

By this stage, I had lost some weight, I was fitter and I had a taste of running without pain. My company had moved to new premises which had a gym and a personal trainer. His advice and direction was for general fitness, meaning some aerobic, some flexibility and some strength training. With this regime, it lead me into doing the BRW Corporate triathlon in March 2004 which was a lot of fun. A couple of guys wanted to continue on and so a little running group formed and we would run once or twice a week with the aim of doing the Half at the Gold Coast in July. These runs were mostly around the 6m/km pace and our longest run got up to18k. I complemented those runs with Bike Sessions in the Gym so that I wouldn’t over strain my knees. I finished the 2004 Half in 1:50:34 (58:10;52;24 splits) and I was pretty pleased with that, considering how little training I had done.

I suppose at this point is when I decided once again to become a "serious runner" and not just somebody trying to keep fit and have fun. The Phoenix had risen. The best part now is that I probably have three or four years now were I can build up and continually improve if I can stay healthy. With little chance of getting back to my performance levels of twenty years ago, there is also not the pressure to go overboard with the training to get that extra bit out of your body in the pursuit of that elusive PB.

So my goals for 2005 are to build up my endurance till the end of April with as many Ks as I can. Then to go into anaerobic and speed training for a The Half at Gold Coast and possibly another in Noosa in August. This will then give me some benchmark performances, that I can aim at beating in the coming years.

And it would be kind of nice to do another marathon again.