LOCAL runners, Carolyn Van Kalken and Caroline McDonald, have qualified to participate in the world-famous Boston Marathon in the USA after beating the qualifying time at the Gold Coast Marathon on earlier this month.

To qualify for the Boston Marathon is a huge thrill for both competitors and it has been a goal to achieve for many years.

Boston Marathon runners must have a qualifying time under four hours and while McDonald has posted times under this, Vankalken (51) ran a time of 3:53:48 (which is only seven seconds outside her personal best) on the Gold Coast.

In a huge achievement for her friend, McDonald finished in third place in her age group.

The two friends, who have been running partners for many years, run two marathons a year with the Melbourne Marathon being a fixture they then branch out for other events.

They have completed marathons at various venues but most notably the Great Ocean Road Marathon stands out, but with the lure of the Queensland coastal strip during winter they chose to run the Gold Coast Marathon this year.

The course ran through Surfers Paradise, Southport, Labrador, Burleigh Heads for 42.2km, (the traditional length of the marathon since the London Olympic games of 1948) and while each was fully expecting to cover the full length of the course, the time wasn’t really a factor for them.

“I knew I would get through the run as we had done all the lead up work required to tackle a marathon, but I didn’t expect to get so close to me personal best,” Van Kalken said.

“If I knew I was that close to it, I would have gone quicker to make up those seven seconds.”

“To prepare for these events we run for 12-15 weeks prior to the competition where we cover 60-90km a week so as to build up stamina,” Van Kalken said.

“In the last few weeks, we like to taper off with distances of 32-34km per week and then the last week prior we are down to 10-18km as we fully prime ourselves for the event.”

“You always know who hasn’t done the work required beforehand, as they end up on the side of the road exhausted, and it’s usually the young ones.

“It was a 6am start and to be finished before 10am was fantastic, I’m so happy with what we achieved.”

The pair weren’t the only locals to do well on the Gold Coast last weekend, as Hamilton’s Diane Kavanagh competed in the 10km event for those aged 70 and over, claiming the bronze medal for her age group.

The lure of the Boston Marathon is one that the ladies have in their sights, with the race of a lifetime locked in for April next year.