Sydney Marathon Clinic is one of the oldest running clubs in Sydney and the club organises a nine race series during the year. Various distance starting from 5k, 10k, 1/2 and 30k. The race venue is at Smithfield, Western Sydney approximately 30k from the city centre. The course is run along a traffic free route along a shared cycleway/footpath. I ran the 1/2 on 16th March 2014 and it was my second time at the event.

The race started early at 7.00am and there were about 100 runners lined up for the 1/2 making it a nice change from the mass participation races. It was easy to get into a nice running rhythm early. I was running at about 4:30 pace and it was manageable due to the flat nature of the course. However, there is an uphill section about 2km in and stretches for about 400m that can test the runners. Following that hill the route is mostly flat with some undulating sections. It is a 5k out and back course which means for the 1/2 marathon runners, you will be hitting the hill for the second time which can be tough.

For the 1/2 marathon after the second lap you will run a short 1.1km lap to complete the half marathon. There are no medals handed out to finishers of the race but you get to help yourself to free drinks and sandwiches courtesy of the organisers. Massages from physios are also on offer. At this race, there was also a charity BBQ.

Support at the race was brilliant. There were three aid stations with both water and sports drinks. GU gels are one of the sponsors of the event and at some races there are also GU gels at the aid stations.

The route in general is a bit boring. It is a shared cycleway/footpath and it runs alongside a residential suburb. The scenery isn't exciting. But it is a good thing for runners as it lets you concentrate on your running. The route is quiet and is not busy. You might see an occasional cyclist. An important thing to note is iPods are banned at the event for safety reasons. Runners who ignore this rule are disqualified. It is important for runners to be aware of this rule. If you are a runner that is used to running with your favourite tunes, running without your music at an event can be tough. Took me a while to get used to running without my music.

It can be a good thing to run without music. During the second lap, without music to concentrate on, I started thinking about where I should have lunch, holidays plans for 2014 and which new shoes should be next on my list. Before I knew it I had almost completed my second lap. Brilliant!

Overall, it is a great event, great bunch of runners and the social aspect at the end chatting to your fellow runners is awesome. Definitely will be back for the last three races of the season.