Hitting the wall is one of the biggest fears of every long distance runner. One of the leading causes is starting out too fast, driven by all the excitement building up till the flag-off. Furthermore, with so many things going through the mind and bodies of the -especially unexperienced- marathon runners, not being able to pay attention to your timing and maintain a constant pace is very common. Luckily, pacing teams are a common sight in major events.
Pacing team in Singapore. www.runningdept.com
A pacing team is a group of runners led by an experienced leader who run together in the race. They can usually be spotted easily by the banners or balloons with the designated finishing time written on them that hold up and run with. The pace team will run at an even pace per mile, and the whole group can achieve their goal of finishing the marathon at a particular time.
Major events often provide pacing teams for a variety of finish times to cater for all types of runners. It might be normal for the pace to feel a bit too slow in the beginning of the race, but remember that pacing team leaders are very experienced and keep track of the time throughout the run. If, on the other hand, you feel like you can’t keep up with your chosen pacing team, just slow down and drop back; chances are you will be able to catch the oncoming, slower pacing team, and be able to enjoy the rest of the race and finish strong.
Pacing team preparing for a race in Singapore. www.teamfatbird.com
It might be a cliche, but the most important thing is to listen to your body. Pacers are only guides to help you meet running goal, but if you are having an off day and need to slow down or walk don’t try to stick to your original plan; just finish the race on your own time frame instead.
Pacing team in Miami Marathon. Photo: www.marathonpacing.com
And well… it was okay. Didn’t achieve my targeted finishing time, but still a good run nonetheless.
This year’s route had a new twist: the organisers added the climbing up and down of the Sheares bridge. It was indeed challenging, by the 34th km, I was already doing a walkathon, so I could only walk up the bridge slowly. For me, the rain at 20km was a welcome one! It chased the humidity away, and it was rather refreshing.
There were a few things that I didn’t like about this year’s race, one of it is definitely the need to stop traffic (and vice versa) in order to continue the race. This literally breaks any momentum and for a event this big, I simply feel that it is wrong. I did not experience any water stations running out of juice, but there were complains of water running out at certain hydration points. It’s a repeat every year, the organisers really need to look into it. I also didn’t like the other gimmicks like the glow zones (which in my opinion, is a complete joke!), and how in the world did 2,000 runners gets their results lost in technology? Small but critical thing… hopefully they can only get better.
Well, this one is done and dusted, I’ll be looking forward to the next 42km, and hopefully to achieve a new personal best the next time.
Sundown Marathon Winners: Russell Ericksen and Alex Ong
Singapore-based American marathoner Russell Ericksen emerged as champion, with a timing of 3 hours and 3 seconds, in the 42km category of the recently concluded Sundown Marathon.
Singaporean Alex Ong followed closely behind, in second place, with a time of 3:00:50.
Third-placed Thomas Greene, from Britain, clocked 3:03:59.
I recently interviewed the two top Sundown Marathon podium finishers. Here is what went on in their minds, during the race.
Thought Alex would overtake him
Russell admitted that he had thought Alex would overtake him in the last 10 kilometres of the race. But he managed to hold off the competition to take the title.
Bridge not a problem
For both runners, the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, termed as Heartbreak Bridge by a lot of marathon runners in Singapore, was not too much of a problem even though Russell thought the Singapore bridge was comparable to some of the toughest hills he has done overseas.
And Alex wasn’t too bothered by the climb either. He thought that he could compensate for the loss of time during the downslope.
The bridge portion of the route was introduced this year – to partly challenge the participants and to showcase the city skyline.
Their Strategy
For Russell, he was more concerned about not going too fast, keeping to a 4:05 to 4:10 pace.
And for Alex, he didn’t want to inflict more damage on an earlier calf strain – so he didn’t really think too much about strategy.
About the climb
Both of these elite runners thought that the Sundown Marathon was particularly challenging though – but for different reasons.
In Alex’s case, it was the dark sections of the route, particularly at East Coast Park, that made him wonder why he was running at that ungodly hour and not sleeping.
But for Russell, the weather and humidity of the Singapore night almost got the better of him as he still gets exhausted more easily, compared to racing in cooler and less humid climates, such as America or Australia.
Click here to read an interview with Russell on his winning run.
Click here to see what Alex said of his podium finish.
So I recently visited Sydney for a short business trip and, as usual, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to run around and explore the place. While planning my trip, I chose to stay at a hotel at Bondi Junction, an eastern suburb of Sydney. The area seemed to be well connected to downtown and the main attractions, but at the same time there’s a more laid back appeal. I was not wrong. Darling Harbour and the rest of sights are only 20 minutes away by train, and Bondi Beach, one of the most famous beaches in Sydney, was within walking distance.
My first morning at Sydney was rainy, so I only went out for a very short run. Bondi Beach is massive, and even though the weather was bad, there were quite a few people running or walking their dogs there. However, it was getting colder and there was no sign of the rain stopping, so I soon decided to return to my room and hope the weather would get better.
And it did.
Throughout the rest of my days in Sydney, the sun was shinning, and the temperature was perfect for comfortable long runs.
From Bondi to Bronte Beach via Cooper Park
After a quick look at Google Earth for other places to visit nearby, I saw a “Cooper Park” located somewhere on my way to Bondi beach, so I decided to pay it a visit. It is a small park – more like a stretch of land – rich with trees and plants which accommodates quite a few tennis courts.
I ran past it, briefly consulted my GPS, and headed to Bondi Beach, which is approximately 2km away. This time the situation was different, the beach was full with people sunbathing, swimming and surfing. Plenty of runners and families walking around as well. I took the path heading south all the way to Coogee Beach, but since time was pressing, I only made it to Bronte Beach (check GPS map below). It is a medium grade pathway with some steep steps to climb. Highlight was probably the Mackenzies Point, where you can enjoy breathtaking 360 degree views of the cliffs around. Before I made it to Bronte, I passed through – the quite busy – Tamarama beach. I was determined to come back for more!
Cooper Park, Sydney
Bondi Beach, Sydney.
Bondi to Coogee
The next day I returned and I was ready to run all the way to Coogee Beach. I followed the same path heading south, passed from Mackenzies Point, Tamarama and Bronte. Next up is Waverley Cemetery. Now, I don’t believe I’m actually saying this, but that is an amazing cemetery (check photo below)! Not only the views from the platform are outstanding, but the largely intact Victorian and Edwardian monuments (yeah, I Wiki’ed that) themselves add something to the whole picture… Further down is Gordon’s Bay with its beautiful green waters and all those wooden boat docking structures – photo below. Finally, Coogee Beach. Another massive beach quite similar to Bondi, filled with surfers and people hanging out enjoying the sun.
All in all, if you are ever in Sydney and have a free morning to spend, do take this run. The views are amazing, and all beaches have facilities and are connected with public transportation to the rest of the city – so even if you don’t have time for the whole route, you can still enjoy a small part of it, take a shower and go on with the rest of your day.
Bondi beach, Sydney
Along the route, near Mackenzies Point.
Waverley Cemetery. My first run through a cemetery…
Gordons Bay, Sydney.
Arriving at Coogee Beach, Sydney.
Bondi Junction to Bronte beach via Cooper Park and Bondi beach.
Bonus: A “Google Auto-Awesome” animation of some photos I took during a cruise from Manly Beach to the city.
How was your race last Saturday? Anyone got a PB? I was hit with muscles ache and painful knees. Nevertheless, I’m recovering. It was so tiring after the run that I was in a daze by the time I reached home. Hope all of you have rested well enough.
My thoughts of the race
It was my very first Sundown full marathon.
During the race, after the race and reading the posts and comments from many friends in Facebook, this year’s event seemed not as good as last year. It was all about the lack of 100 plus, the water was not cold, the route was too cramped, and the long, long Benjamin Sheares Bridge. I admit that I only managed to grab 3 cups of 100 plus along the way. And I do wish that I can have really ice cold water to gulp down since the weather is so humid. I do have a hard time walking that bridge (oh yes, I was so drained that I walked more than I ran).
Many times, I wanted to give up, as my legs were really hurting so badly that I can’t run anymore. I thought of the medal, the finisher tee and photos of me crossing the finishing line. The time was in favour, hence I decided to walk to glory.
The crew along the way was supportive. Those at the hydration stations were encouraging everyone. It was really an experience for me. The moment I crossed the finishing line, I heaved a big sigh of relieve! I made it!! (But sad to say, I forgot to flash my megabyte smile for the photographers..)
The hard-earned medal and finisher tee, my pride, my sweat.. And now I can proudly say that I am a 42.195km finisher!
[ot-video type=”youtube” url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-hCuYjvw2I”] Seems a long time ago now, doesn’t it? If you are anything like me, this video clip is how you feel today. Why do we do it 🙂 Can’t wait for SCSM2014? Or never again? What’s your story?
They began with fast laps of the stadium track at a pace of five minutes per kilometre.
Next, they progressed to doing intensive interval laps around the stadium. The timing was 76 seconds per lap (400 metres). Each interval was broken into 700 metres.
After that, it was a “slow” jog around the track to cool down in between intervals.
The 700-metre sessions were done ten times.
This is a sneak preview into an interval training session of Singapore’s top marathoner, Mok Ying Ren, and his running buddies – Ivan Low, Russell Ericksen and Fang Jian Yong, who are regular podium finishers.
Performing well at the beginning
At the beginning, the runners were keeping pace with each other.
Struggling towards the middle of the workout
Around the middle of the workout though, some of Mok’s running buddies appeared to be slowing down.
That was when I wondered whether the amount of fitness required for such an intensive training session would prove to be too much for even this group of elite runners.
Showed their true colours as Singapore’s top runners
They showed their true grit as Singapore’s top runners though – by digging deep and eventually managing to complete the interval sessions strongly.
Satisfied with the workout
And at the end, they were all satisfied with the workout – and this was clearly seen by a smile on each of their faces.
Click here to read more about the training session of these top runners.
Sundown 2014 is exactly 3 days away. I have signed up for my virgin full marathon! All my past races were 10km and I only did one half marathon before.
Anyone out there like me, feeling the jitters now?
I’m both excited and worried. Excited that there will be around 12 other friends doing this run with me, but worried that I may not finish it within my preferred timing. I’m guilty to say, I hadn’t train real hard for this. Nevertheless, I’m just gonna go for it and complete it with pride. It’s not about the timing, it’s about being able to cross the finishing line.
I will definitely hit my PB! (Of course I can. It’s my first full marathon after all.)
Sitting here today thinking about next weekend’s Sundown Marathon, has me recollecting marathons past and I’ve decided that my sporadic and unfulfilled relationship with 26.2 miles is worth a blog post.
By way of intro, Sundown 2014 will be my 5th Marathon. I did my first in 2003 in London, did two in 2007 (London and Chicago) and then London again in 2012. So this will be marathon number five, on continent number three.
The First One
2003. April. London.
My first marathon, I trained hard, as you do for the first one, worried that I may hit the dreaded wall and not be able to finish. 10 years on I can still remember it very vividly. A cool spring day in London, starting inside Greenwich Park. I was in good shape, ran sensibly. I finished tired, but fit in 3 hours 32 mins. The London Marathon is an amazing event – deep crowds for pretty much every inch of the route. I’m hooked.
A tale of Two Seasons
2007. April. London
The London Marathon is always massively oversubscribed. 40k runners, about 150k applicants. So in 2004/5/6 I entered, but wasnt successful. At this time there was a rule that if you applied 3 years running you automatically got a place the next year. So, April 2007 I find myself again in London, in Greenwich Park, Except this time it’s hot (not Singapore hot, but hot for London in April!). I am in pretty decent shape, but probably not as good as I thought, Went through the first half in around 1.40 and was on for a decent time, but messed up the drinking/pacing and faded badly in the heat of the second half. I dont remember this one anything like as well as the first, except I remember finishing in around 3 hours 55 and being gutted. This wasnt the plan, 23 minutes slower than my first marathon! still loving the event, but not happy with the performance
2007. October. Chicago
Which is how I ended up in Chicago later that year having another go. My wife and I did this as a long weekend – flew over Thursday, expo Saturday, race Sunday, home Monday. October in Chicago is always perfect running weather, 10-15 degrees. Except, in 2007, it wasn’t. We got off the plane at O’Hare airport and it was 90 degrees. A freak October heatwave. This made for a great weekend sightseeing (amazing city BTW), but the Marathon was something else. We started early, it quickly warmed up. Too hot to run hard I just tried to get round. The spectators here are as good as London, loud, enthusiastic, lots of people out in the sun. I got to half way in around 2hours, and then walk/ran for the next 5-10 miles – drinking gallons of gatorade with the other runners. I crossed the line in 4 hours and 15 mins. I later found out that the race was stopped for anyone who crossed half way after 2 hours 10 mins. The finish area was very chaotic. It was an incredible experience, very strange, but a real endurance test. Again I have run a marathon 20 mins slower than the last one – but this time I’m less stressed about it. PB seems a very long way away though!
This link gives you a lot more background on the crazy events of that day in October 2007.
One more for luck
2012. April. London
Just as my move to Singapore is confirmed, I am offered a place in a company charity team for London 2012 Although I am not really marathon fit, I decide to take it. 1) It’s Olympic year and 2) this might be my last opportunity to run the race for a few years. I trained quite well, but not really enough 18-20 mile runs. In my heart I know I’m not in the best shape for it, but let see how it goes. Halfway in 1.42, looking decent. Then, 17 miles, funny sensation in my left knee – ouch, thats not good. Can’t run without searing pain through left knee, have to walk. Walked the last 9 miles, ran the last half mile past Buckingham Palace because you just can’t walk through the finish of a marathon. 4 hours 23 minutes.
That’s the story of my unfinished marathon business. It’s the story of unfulfilled potential. It’s also the story of the marathon. It’s a long way, 26 miles – many things can happen. You can’t control all of them. Try to focus on the things you can.
So next weekend I’ll line up for Marathon number 5, and I’ll try to reverse the pattern of the thre preceding runs. But whatever happens, it will be my first Asian marathon, my first night marathon and my first ‘insane humid hot sticky what the hell are you doing’ marathon. I can’t wait!
Enthusiasm to be soaked in foam and water? Checked.
At 8.15am, I arrived at the starting point of the 5k Foam Run- Siloso Beach. All participants are supposed to arrive about an hour before the timing of your selected wave so as you can guess it, my selected timing is 9.15am. The earliest timing is hereby 9am sharp. I passed by the Sapphire Pavilion where many of its volunteers, who were decked in orange T- shirts, were already setting up. Participants who did not have any friends or family to help them in looking after their personal belongings can then leave their items or bags at the Sapphire Pavilion.
At around 8.45am, many of the participants for the earlier waves were already at the starting point, waiting to get into the pen that is fenced up -taking selfies with the selfie stick, doing warm-up exercises and pinning up their race bibs. However, the host and several of its volunteers were late so the race was delayed a little. Yet, we were glad to have the pumped-up music to keep our enthusiasm going whilst we were waiting.
Flag-off time!
When the pen is finally opened, the host started briefing us through the details of the race. At the starting point, only 20 to 25 people were allowed to race to prevent overcrowding at the obstacle stations later. The race consisted of 6 obstacles in which many of them required you to be soaked in sand, water and foam. Creating an atmosphere was what the host did best. She gathered each small group of us at the starting point to take a group selfie, greeted us with her loud bubbly voice and most importantly, urged us to roll in the sand and foam at the starting point. Buddies were hurling foam at each others’ faces and pushing each other into the foam before the race even started.
We ran all the way to Pelawan Beach where not only our 1st water station was located at, but also, our 1st obstacle. The 1st obstacle is to jump through many tyres. Being short and small-sized, it was pretty tough for me to jump accurately into each tyre yet, it served as a great warm-up for other obstacles later on.
Ever been jealous of Hollywood actresses running along the beach with ease and grace? Well, we ran along the sandy beach yet, without any ease and grace. Running on the sand itself is not a joke at all. Stability is a crucial point to care about and many of the runners were concerned about sand getting into their shoes. Yet, this was what was unique about the run itself! How many races have you joined that gives you the chance to run along a sandy beach like a Hollywood actress?
Here comes the water
The 2nd station was to test your stability. Each of us have to run through floating platforms out in the sea without falling into it. It was similar to those water games that Running Man’s fans would have known. As this station can be a little daunting for people who do not intend to fall into the sea, the volunteers were then encouraging and motivating enough to get people who have fallen into the sea or who were hesitating whether or not to skip the obstacle, to get them going and succeeding in the end. In fact, I overheard one girl claiming that falling into the sea was the best part of the run since the weather was scorching hot and that served as a cooling point.
The next few stations were mainly inflatable slides as you slide into foam and water. It was definitely a delight to witness friends holding hands and sliding down together, couples splashing foam at each other, kids immersing themselves in the bouncy-castle-lookalikes. As this is a non-competitive run, many families participated together, especially those with younger kids. However, this would be a hassle for people who were there to run competitively as many of the participants did not intend to finish the run fast and ended up walking instead. As the paths for running were narrow, they then jammed up the paths and might affect the timings for competitive runners. Yet, we all have to bear in mind that this is a fun run and timing is not important at all. What is important then? It is to be soaked in fun, foam and fantastic obstacles!
At the end of the run, face towels were given and volunteers with water hose will act as a cleaning station for you. Slippers that we were entitled to can be collected at one of the booths whilst polaroid photos can be taken at $2 for each photo with extra props provided. Not to forget, SKORA set up a booth there too selling apparels and shoes.
As many of us have said, running can be a social activity. That was proven true for me for this run as I have made 2 new friends during the run. I am not sure about many of the other runners or even, you who are reading this but I have always been making new friends for every race that I have participated. They are usually the ones that pushed you through the run.
However, everything has room for improvement. The same goes for this run. The volunteers and host can be more aware of punctuality since many of the participants looked bored whilst waiting for the run to start. Moreover, the overcrowding issue for each stations should be solved since waiting under the hot sun is not exactly ideal for many of the runners. In addition, running paths can be wider and more clearly indicated with a barrier or something instead of small orange cones.
Besides all these, the run has proved to be one of the most enjoyable runs ever. Yes, it is indeed a hard time washing off the sand and foam after that but the scenery and fun that you get from the run made it all worthwhile. Most importantly, these fun, laughter and joy and never be washed away. Enjoy the photos I have taken for the run. I will definitely join this again!
I decided that I’d train through this race, instead of taking a few days out before the race as usual. So I did a long run on tuesday (vesak day), some interval work on thursday and a macritchie loop on saturday morning ahead of the Green Corridor Run on Sunday morning. This kept my week total up around the 50k mark
So I wasnt quite sure what this would mean for my performance on the day – but was keen to find out if the recent higher mileage weeks would be good base, or give me legs to tired to race.
The Mount Sinai Striders were out in force today, with: Neil, Pete, Pete’s mate Rob and Jo. Neil and Rob not around when we took the mandatory Sinai Striders pre race pic
This year, wave one was an 0900 flag off, one of the positives of the complaints from local residents after last year was that there was no MC or music at the start of the race, just one guy (not the idiot DJ from 98 FM) talking quietly for a few minutes
After a short delay, we got started just before 0910. I was about 70-80 people from the start and had a solid uneventful first few kilometres. I remember last year falling in an effort to overtake a bunch of people too early, this year I was determined to bide my time and go through when the opportunity arose on the trail.
Despite the wet, the trail was (I thought) in very good condition, it’s only really on the section after Holland Road where there are more mountain bikers using the trail to get to Bukit Timah that it churns up a bit. The first section even with a few days of rain was really very smooth. My preferred puddle technique on a trail is just to run straight through them – they are rarely deeper than a few inches, especially in the middle of a trail. This served me well yesterday and I was able to overtake many people as they took uneccesary detours around the edge of the trail.
Good pace and through 2k in around 9 minutes, with 5k passing in around 22.45. I then had my customary slight dip at 6-7k (actually not a dip in pace interestingly, just a dip in mood!). This I think is around 6.5k (at Buona Vista).
Got to around 8k and was starting to pick off runners in the groups ahead, definitely feeling strong – although since my wife and daughter think I look ‘at least 60’ in this pic, perhaps I didnt look as good as I felt.
Anyway, soon enough we were at the 9k mark, where I started to debate with myself when I should kick on. Decided not to go at 9, nor 9.5, eventually went at 10k, which proved too late as the supposed 600m was actually less than 400, so I wasted the opportunity to go earlier.
Great race, perfect conditions for trail running when I was out there. At the finish I met Neil, who finished 9 seconds and 6 places ahead of me – yet somehow we hadn’t seen each other the whole race.
As we were waiting for Pete the heavens opened and a torrential downpour began that lasted at least an hour. This is the finish area, taken from the drinks tent
We ended up running back to Mount Sinai, so all in all around 14k for the day
I REALLY like this race, it’s simple, well managed, very ‘un corporate’ and a reminder (for me) of what races used to be like.
Chip Time: 47.09, 71st place. 3 minutes quicker than Green Corridor 2013, so I guess that’s a PB!
Next up is the Sundown Marathon on May 31st!
Finally – big shout out to the volunteers and photographers who sat out in the rain all morning! Kudos!
I hope everyone that did the green corridor had a great time, and hope to see you all again next year.
There’s plenty of room on the busy Singapore race calendar for this unique, simple trail run.
Running Tips From Veteran Ironman Adrian Mok – for Sundown Marathon
Adrian Mok, a former national triathlete and endurance athlete, recently gave a talk to runners – in the lead up to the Sundown Marathon. Adrian, the founder of HiVelocity and the brains behind the Sundown Marathon, shared with runners, how to interpret the data on their heart rate monitors and also gave running tips in other areas, such as building running mileage and tapering for a marathon.
Here are some of the highlights of the talk.
Monitoring Heart Rates are Important
Monitoring your heart rates through the heart rate monitor will help you to understand your own limitations, according to Adrian.
This will prevent you from pushing yourself beyond your capacity – which may even result in heart failure. Endurance athletes can collapse and die because of this.
So by using heart rate monitors, you will be better equipped to decide when to push harder and when to slow down – to give your heart a break.
And training with a heart rate monitor is all about working in the different heart rate zones.
With Adrian Mok after the talk.
Heart Rate Zones
There are five zones, according to the intensity that your heart is working at.
Zone 1 is for activities done at 50 to 60 per cent of the maximum heart rate (MHR) such as strolling or walking.
Zone 5 is for activities done at 90 to 100 per cent of the MHR. This zone is generally used by elite athletes to push themselves towards victory at the end of a race generally. Here, your heart is working at almost its maximum capacity.
Building Marathon Distance
According to Adrian, to train for a marathon such as Sundown Marathon, you should only build mileage up to 30 or 32 kilometres. If you try and run further, you are putting yourself at a higher risk of injury as the body may not be able to cope with the demands.
A group photo
Tapering For A Marathon
Adrian also said that before the marathon, your longest run should be roughly three weeks before race day. After that you should start tapering.
But tapering does not mean to take it easy. You need to maintain the intensity of your training, but just try and cut down on the volume of your training sessions.
Click here to read more tips on heart rate measurement and running tips from Adrian Mok.
Hello everyone. I’m very happy to be a new blogger on the site. For my first post I thought I’d do a little preview / build up for the Green Corridor Run 2014 coming up this Sunday.
10.6k from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station up the KTM to Bukit Timah Railway Station
Green Corridor RouteMap
I did this event last year and really enjoyed it – it was in January, with a 0700 flag off, this year in May with a 0900 flag off.
I guess the late start is due to complaints from residents in Everton Park area? Perhaps we could try having an event without an ‘MC’ and keep the earlier flag off – I know lots of people who’d be very happy not to hear ‘make some noise’ 10 or 20 times before they race 🙂
Around 7k in to the 2013 Green Corridor
Singapore is of course a small place and so meeting people you’ve seen before is pretty common, but still I was (pleasantly) surprised to see the lad from this 2013 GC Race pic (me on left in Red, lad on right in white) at a recent Macritchie Runners 25 5k time trial – he’s a good runner – did the MR25 5k in around 22mins so keep an eye out for him in the future 🙂
Also last year I was talked into doing the Commando Challenge with some friends. It was a fun event, but I won’t be doing any more obstacle races – I’m an old school runner and all this climbing and jumping isn’t really my thing.
My latest competitive effort on the Green Corridor.
So this will be my third competitive run on the Green Corridor – I’m really looking forward to it – I’m finding the Marina Bay / Tanjong Rhu 10k/21k circuit a bit boring and I’m really happy to get back out on the trail.
Last weekend I ran the stretch from Rifle Range Road to Holland Road as part of a long run up to Bukit Timah Hill and the course was looking in great condition. After this I picked up the race pack – I must admit the vest is very bright, would have been nicer if it was a little less luminous, but I like the design and the absence of sponsor logos. Not sure about the references to New York and Paris, I guess they are trying to build a global brand.
My Top Tips for an enjoyable Green Corridor Run this weekend:
1) Go steady. Expect to be slower than you are on the road. Take in the scenery. It’s 10.6k, so unless you do the exact same race again, the time is meaningless – so dont chase the PB.
2) Watch out for the cobbles. Under the AYE there are some very large stones which are quite uncomfortable to run on, particularly if you run in minimalist type shoes. So expect this, wear some more cushioned shoes and watch your footing under there.
3) Mind the Gap. Unless something changes, there will be a bit of a bottleneck just after the start where everyone has to run through a gate in the fence to access the Trail itself. Expect this, dont let it distract you – after this it’s clear trail all the way
4) Keep it clean. Try to put your empty plastic cup into the bins after the drink stations, we can’t throw them on the road here like we can at a regular road race.
I was going to add ‘Enjoy a McBreakfast at the finish’ but King Edward McDonalds has been demolished since last year, so no McMakan for us 🙁
That’s about all for this post. I’ll be back again with a post race report – it’s a busy weekend, also got to collect my race pack for Sundown (21k)!
This is me – runner M6570 – give me a wave or a nod or say hello.
… to the annual Sundown Marathon. I have a special thing towards the Sundown marathon, as this was the first 42k that I competed and completed in 2011. It’s a first for me, and definitely a humbling and gruelling one…
First attempts in 2011 and 2012
I was doing well until the 25km mark, and when I started to walk, I could not pick up pace to even jog after that, and everything just fell apart for me… I walked the entire rest of the distance, finishing at a time of 7 hrs 12 mins for my first ever marathon. And thereafter, I told myself that I want to improve…
The most memorable was the 2012 one where most runners braved the heavy downpour to complete the race…. and so did I… and suffered abrasions thereafter.
Fast forward, 3 years and 7 marathons later, I’m a lot more prepared to run marathons, and I’ve managed a timing of 5 hrs 15 mins in the recent 2XU marathon.
I’m now targeting a below 5 hrs finish in 3 weeks… and I know I will be able to do it.
Looking for costume ideas for your next race? We have put together a collection of some of the most creative costumes seen in races and marathons all over the world.
London Marathon, U.K.
Don’t drink and run!
No chickening-out for this one.
The bird is the word.
Rubik’s cube – a very creative one.
The Paddington bear.
Save the rhino. An amazingly detailed costume.
Still looking for those droids…
Must be hot in there…
Hong Kong Marathon
Sharks came out to play.
Tokyo Marathon
Not much to comment here…
Another nominee for the special effects award!
Gold Coast Airport Marathon, Australia
Running to freedom.
Geelong Half Marathon, Australia
This duo of runners decided to go in a camel costume.
Vancouver Sun Run
Nom nom nom
New York City Marathon
As if running a full marathon wasn’t bananas enough!
Brighton Marathon
We finally found him.
Boston Marathon
The king lives!
Bonus: San Diego Costume Party Run Half Marathon & 5K (Link)
A costume-only race in the U.S.A., and what’s more, this half-marathon has the world’s biggest finisher medal!
The design of the medal is a Classic 45 Record, with silhouettes of dancing party people and a real disco ball in the center.
Featured photo credit: Photo by PA Photos / cntraveller.com
Singapore Blade Runner Returns to the Boston Marathon
He was in the centre of the Boston Marathon bombings last year. But instead of letting that discourage him, Shariff Abdullah Peters, who is better known as the Singapore Blade Runner returned to the scene of the bombings this year in April.
According to Shariff, who runs with a prosthetic leg, he had wanted to complete the run not only for himself, but also for the people of Boston too.
However, despite his running experience, this year’s Boston marathon was far from easy for this 44-year-old mobility impaired athlete.
Suffering flashbacks
Shariff had suffered fears and flashbacks during the marathon race and began to wonder whether he would even be able to complete the marathon – because of his ill-fated experience there, last year.
These fears eventually went away soon after he started running, but came rushing back when he reached the same point as the bombings last year. This had been 800m from the finishing line.
It also didn’t help during the race either, when Shariff faced problems with his prosthetic leg. The alignment of this leg had shifted slightly, thus causing him immense pain, from the 18-mile mark onwards.
So Shariff had to bear with agony for the rest of the race.
But never once did he contemplate giving up, despite the fear, pain and suffering that he had been going through during the race.
Made it to the finishing line
Shariff eventually made it to the finishing line – with the help of an American lady, Jennifer Nocella Dugan, who had been a guide for another mobility impaired runner. She had seen Shariff struggling, shortly after his prosthetic leg had shifted. After that, she was determined to help him reach the finishing line.
And she definitely succeeded in her goal. Shariff crossed the finishing line in about 7 hours and 11 minutes – thus succeeding in his quest to complete the marathon for the people of Boston.
Click here for a moving account of Shariff’s Boston Marathon experience.
