Cobh

Sonia's marathon journey 
Normally it takes me 24 hours to fly back to <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_location=Australia" target="_blank">Australia</a>. One day out of your life, then another three days to get back to some sort of normality. Only like everything else this year there would be nothing normal about this journey back, and just as you adapt to the new normal things change again.

It’s been a week now since I passed through Cork Airport and I’m still nowhere near touching down in Melbourne to be reunited with my family and dogs, who I’ve been away from since July.

It wasn’t the normal summer in Ireland, but still wasn’t short of adventure and activity, making the most of a compromised situation. One thing that has stayed constant throughout the year is the importance of sport and activity. Whether you are taking part or watching, it can be a pivotal part of your day, something to look forward to, and for some more than others.

I stopped off in Teddington, southwest London to link in with some Australian athletes who took advantage of the few opportunities to race in a not-so-normal European season. A worthwhile trip but, like me, this also came with the new challenge of a two-week hotel quarantine stay on arrival back to Australia.

We’d one last run at sunrise in Bushy Park before heading for the airport for a journey that would be like no other for athletes returning home after a summer in Europe.

There was talk of creating an athlete hub, where there would be limited freedom to train, but in the end the Australian Bio secure requirements deemed this too expensive, coming in at $62,000 for the two-week period. Even the best athletes in Australia could not escape the strict hotel quarantine.

We arrived at Brisbane Airport, given there isn’t yet any international arrivals into Melbourne Airport. One thing you notice is the lack of any urgency once people are off the plane; there’s no rush, as you can’t go anywhere until you’re taken in a group.
 We were handed paperwork to fill out and details of a hotel where we would be taken. Everything is handled by the Queensland police. Temperatures are taken, you wait until everyone is through, before you’re escorted to a bus and then taken to your assigned hotel. Interestingly the bus was full, so no social distancing here. We were met at the hotel by a jolly policeman who came onto the bus, and made it feel like we were on tour. He collected our forms so that we could be allocated rooms, then we waited on the bus until we were called forward.First the good news: we could exercise outside, so just call up and you can go to the courtyard for some fresh air. Then the bad news: as we were past midnight, this would have to wait until morning.

Sonia Marathon

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