Australia, You Were Pretty Special: Everything I Loved
I went to Australia to run the Sydney Marathon, but somewhere between the Harbour Bridge, far too much good food, family time in Melbourne and a little bit of shopping, it became so much more than a running trip.
I've already shared all the details of the marathon — the hills, the crowds, the incredible experience of running over the Harbour Bridge and that finish at the Opera House — so this isn't another race recap.
Instead, this is everything else I loved about Australia, and unsurprisingly, quite a lot of it involves food.
Sydney: Marathon Week
I stayed at Hotel Woolstore 1888 in Darling Harbour, which was such a good base for the Sydney part of the trip. It wa close to the start line so perfect for marathon morning. It was an old 19th century woolstore converted into a lovely boutique hotel. The hotel did a lovely breakfast, which became particularly important as race day got closer and I wanted to keep things fairly sensible.
Sensible didn't mean boring though. We had dinner at a Brazilian restaurant in Darling Harbour one evening, excellent bbq’d steak with hit the spot.
One of my favourite outings was taking the ferry over to Manly Beach. The best and cheapest way to see the harbour bridge and the opera house. A quick 20 min ferry ride over to Manly it was a beautiful sunny day so we made the most of it with a trip to Yo-Chi for frozen yoghurt — something I quickly discovered Australians seem to take very seriously! I now know why there were huge queues when they recently opened one in London. Yum!
Aside from being such a lovely way to see another side of Sydney, we found Little Italy, where I had exactly the sort of food I wanted before a marathon: proper pizza and pasta.
Carb loading with an Italian meal by the beach. Absolutely no complaints from me.
And Then There Was the Marathon...
Sunday was, of course, the big one.
Sydney Marathon was everything I'd hoped it would be — and considerably hillier! Running over the Harbour Bridge with the Opera House in the distance was one of those moments I'll never forget.
I came away with a 22-minute marathon PB, but what I'm most proud of is how I ran it. I kept things controlled from the start, managed a brutal course and still felt strong enough to push towards that finish line.
And after months of training, gels and thinking about race-day nutrition, there was only one appropriate way to celebrate...
Pizza and wine.
Crocodile Pizza, Anyone?
Post-marathon we headed to The Rocks and stopped at The Australian Hotel.
And when in Australia...
I tried crocodile pizza.
Yes, really.
Add a glass of vino and a marathon medal and I was very happy indeed.
Melbourne: Time to Slow Down
After Sydney we headed to Melbourne to spend time with my brother and family, and this part of the trip had a completely different feel.
The pressure of the marathon had gone. There was nowhere I needed to run. I could just enjoy being with everyone — and my brother made very sure we were well fed!
Our first evening was at home and set the bar ridiculously high: a fabulous steak with Dutch carrots and a chargrilled courgette salad with pine nuts and Yarra Valley feta.
Sometimes the best meals on a trip aren't the ones you book months in advance. They're the ones eaten around a table at home with family.
Melbourne Does Breakfast Very Well
We headed into Northcote for breakfast one morning and this was my kind of breakfast.
I had sourdough with the most delicious nutty avocado chilli topping, while my brother had smoked salmon with whipped goat's cheese.
Good sourdough, great coffee and interesting toppings — Melbourne definitely knows what it's doing when it comes to breakfast.
A Day in the City
We spent another day exploring Melbourne and stopped at the Waterside Hotel, where fried chicken and calamari hit the spot perfectly.
And obviously we couldn't just leave it there.
Pistachio ice cream followed.
I'm beginning to realise this entire trip can basically be documented according to what I ate next.
A Proper Melbourne Lunch
For our more grown-up dining moment, we went to Marion for lunch, run by one of Melbourne’s best-known chefs, Andrew McConnell. This was our special meal of the Melbourne trip and it absolutely lived up to expectations.
We settled in for a proper long lunch and started with oysters before moving on to octopus with flatbread, followed by mussels with ’nduja — rich, spicy and ridiculously good. Then came the John Dory with green peppercorns, beautifully cooked and another standout dish.
At this point we probably could have stopped, but where would be the fun in that?
A selection of cheeses came next before the absolute star of the show arrived: quince tart with vanilla ice cream. Totally sublime. One of those desserts where everyone goes slightly quiet after the first mouthful because it is that good.
The whole lunch was exactly what I love about eating out — fantastic ingredients, beautifully cooked food, good wine and no rush whatsoever. We could properly settle in, work our way through the menu and realise there was absolutely nowhere else we needed to be.
After months of marathon training, schedules and always thinking about the next run, spending an afternoon doing little more than eating, drinking and chatting felt like a pretty perfect way to enjoy Melbourne.
From Marion to the Night Market
And then, because Melbourne apparently wasn't finished feeding us, there was the night market.
This time there was nothing remotely posh about it — just lots of brilliant food eaten as we wandered around.
We had prawn cones, chicken skewers and the most delicious warm doughnuts.
From a beautiful lunch at Marion to eating hot doughnuts at a night market... honestly, give me both.
The Best Table Was at Home
My brother then decided to pull out all the stops for another family meal.
We BBQ'd prawns, barramundi and an enormous rump of beef, alongside roasted spicy kale.
And I took responsibility for dessert.
I made a huge homemade pavlova topped with raspberries, strawberries and passion fruit.
I'm pleased to report it was a big win.
It was also probably one of my favourite moments of Melbourne — everyone together, far too much food on the table and absolutely no need to rush anywhere.
Those are the bits of a trip you remember.
Obviously, I Did a Little Shopping...
It would be very unlike me to travel all the way to Australia and come home without discovering something new.
This time it was Australian sports brand LSKD.
I picked up some running belts — particularly useful given my ongoing mission to perfect my marathon hydration set-up — as well as a quarter zip and a stone-coloured baseball cap.
Because apparently even immediately after running a marathon, I'm still capable of buying more running kit.
Some things never change.
My Australia Favourites
Best special meal: Lunch at Marion
Best meal at home: The family BBQ
Best pre-marathon decision: Pizza and pasta in Manly
Most Australian thing I ate: Crocodile pizza
Best sweet treat: This is a close call between the warm night-market doughnuts and pistachio ice cream
Best breakfast: Sourdough and that nutty avocado chilli topping in Northcote
Best thing I made: The pavlova — I'm claiming this one
Best purchase: My new LSKD running kit
Best achievement: That Sydney Marathon medal
Best part of Melbourne: Time with my family
Home With a Full Heart
I thought Australia would be about the marathon.
And of course, Sydney Marathon was huge. Months of training went into getting me to that start line and coming away with such a big PB made it even more special.
But Australia ended up being about so much more.
Most of all, it was getting to spend precious time with my family on the other side of the world.
So I'm heading home with a medal in my bag, considerably more running kit than I arrived with, and a very full heart.
Australia, you were pretty special. ❤️
