My Maiden Marathon: A Brief Race Report

Its the culmination of 3 months worth of training, in preparation for my maiden full marathon, a distance of 42.195km at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2005 (SCSM05). It seemed like only yesterday when I did the 10km race last year at the same event; and this year I was signed up for the full marathon. Nonetheless, I went into this marathon full of hope for a good completion, getting the very nice finisher's T-Shirt as well as finisher's medal.

Pre-Race

The race expo and carbo-loading sessions were held during the few days when I was tapering. I was to abstain from a list of things, and it was certainly not easy. I slept for maybe 30min the night before the race. It was good that I had a few nights of good sleep prior. I had taken 100plus, salt tablets and sweet potato soup as part of carbo loading and preparing my body. I pinned on my race bib, secured 2 packs of powergels to my shorts by safety pins. Packed my bag with tape, patt strap and a few other essentials. I laid on my bed at 12.30am, and soon was up again at about 3.30am. I went for a quick bath and took a breakfast of two slices of bread with peanut butter, downed with my usual cup of coffee. I brought along some bananas to be consumed 1hr before the race.

Prior To Race Start - Gathering near The Esplanade

I arrived at Adelphi carpark, just metres away from the Padang, and met Alvo, taz, runaway girl, and a few SAFRA Running friends. We sat around a bit, took a few photos, and I took a banana. We did some light warm-up, before proceeding to The Esplanade start point to meet up with the rest. There I saw chairman, Teen, Adam, Jimmy, Akira and many other safra members. As I moved around, I also met Ultraman deep in meditation and a few other SgRunners. After my final pee break, it was time to gather in the starting pens. It seemed a bit chaotic, and I could not seem to find the race pacers with their balloons anywhere. I spotted Bug looking around, and went up to him. He mentioned he was looking for me too. After waiting for about 15min with music and fanfare, the race was called to a start.

The First 10km

I started off with a slow shuffle, and I was going slow. I did not attempt to skirt round anyone in my way. I was just patiently moving along at what might have been a 6.30min/km pace. I wanted to slowly warm up. As I moved along, I passed Teen and then Jaime and Adam. We wished one another good luck and moved independently along Shenton Way in the rather humid morning. Soon, we turned into the Marina South area. I had run this route for the past few weekends during training, and was in familiar territory. I plodded along in slow pace, and was feeling very comfortable. I looked at the skies, and it seemed reddish, threatening to rain. I was praying that the rains won't come. As we entered into Marina South, the first of the Kenyan frontrunners were sprinting back in the reverse direction, to loud applause by the rest of us. We were overawed by their sheer speed and raw power...Whoa. A group ran past us, then another, and then the ladies. After that, it was quiet again and we continued on our journey. I ran along with quite a large group still along Marina Avenue, and by the 7km mark, have made up for lost timing. I was aiming to do a 5:45min/km in the early stages. As I ran out of Marina South, passing Victor's Bowl, the 21km frontrunners were running past. I acknowledged some that I could identify. All along the way, I could hear people calling out my names at times, most of them friends at SAFRA and SgRunners. I acknowledged them with a wave, but not really wanting to shout or talk, to conserve my energy.

Coming Out Of Marina South - Cortesy SportsphotoX

The next 10km

As I ran back onto the Shenton Way area, I could see the 10km runners coming in the reverse. It was 7.10am or so, and that was the time they would have started. I was looking out for Beverly, but there were just too many of them to spot anyone. As I moved on, I spotted Goola and ran past her, with a friendly wave. Then Teck Hou came from behind, and we chatted a bit before he moved up. He was expected to do a sub-4hr based on his recent good performances. As I ran into the Kallang area, I took my first packet of powergel which I had carried in my shorts. The sun was up and it was getting warm. I was using some of the bottled water to douse myself, and cool off. I did a body sense, and all was going well. No pain in my legs, nor knees...my Patt Strap was firmly fastened....no PF pains too....I continued on, and overtook quite a number of people as i ran into East Coast Park (ECP). It was about 19km then, and I could see the local and some international elites on the other side.

The 30km mark

My Patt Strap was getting very wet from my dripping sweat, and was slipping. I had to stop a few times to readjust, and it did disturb my momentum quite a bit. It was a small group of about 5 of us running along, and there were quite a number of people cherring us on at this stretch. As we reached the 22km mark, I took the 2nd pack of Powergel. My legs were feeling a bit blistery, but other than that, all was good. I was overtaking quite a few people, as more of them were walking or slowing down. I ran past the 24km mark in good timing (sub-4hr on track) and was trying to spot the SgRunners support team. I didn't see them but there were many other support groups along the way. Soon reached the lagoon area, and the sun was burning. Quite a number of people were slouching and dragging their feet already. My conditioning under hot sun in recent training was useful as I ran on. At about the 26km mark, I grabbed a banana provided by the organizers. I saw Ong walking at that point, and passed him without alerting. He seemed tired, as was what happened to EH when I passed her at the 22km mark. I then saw runalone/Freddy coming back on the reverse. My, he was fast...he later completed the race in 3hr35min, a very good timing. Further on, with 150m to the U-Turn point, I saw Bug and Commando running back too. At about the 28km mark, powergels were given by the organizer. As I had just taken my 2nd pack, I held this in my hands for 2km later. As I ran in the reverse towards Fort Road direction, a few like IronManDreamer, Sotong, taz, runaway, Teen were spotted on the other side at various points. From the 27km mark, I felt a sudden tension in my right calf, and had an attack of muscle cramps. I immediately changed to a heel strike action, pulling in my toes, in an attempt to relieve the pain. I hobbled a bit, but did not stop to walk. At the 29km water point, I walked a bit as I drank to relieve the cramps.

Applying lots of Deep Heat for my cramps @ The SgRunners 30km Support Point

It got worse as I moved along, and I was so glad to see the SgRunners support team at the 30km mark. I told renohtaram I was having cramps, and he immediately passed me some deep heat rub...I applied generously, and also took my prepared bottle of Livita. I stopped for about 3min at the station before moving off. As I ran, I could feel some heat build-up, and relief to my right calf. I brought along another pack of Powergel in my hands from the support station.

The next 8km

I soon spotted Skyvers at about the 31km mark. He was running quite slowly. I told him I was having cramps, and he mentioned he too was suffering from cramps. He told me Alvo was in front. I moved ahead but didn't get to see Alvo, whom I found later that he had actually gone to the side at the grass patch. At this stretch, my cramps got worse, and my left calf was also having spasms...Ouch, I was wondering if I could carry on. I pushed on by pulling my toes back as I ran, adopting various different landing styles to ease the muscle pain. As I recalled, I did not take the salt tablet earlier, and I was then paying for the mistake. I struggled on, hoping to complete the agony. Soon I was nearing the exit out of ECP to Fort Road. I spotted Jimmy Chow who was running very slowly. I ran past him, and despite my calf pulls, I continued along onto Geylang Road. It was about 8km more to go. I peservered, taking sips of drinks from all the water points. More and more runspirators were appearing, but I was trying to focus on not getting my calf muscles tightened. Everytime I increase my pace, the calf muscles will tighten and pull. It was frustrating, as I was feeling strong in my legs and my lungs. I was still on target for a sub-4hr, if only I could pick up the pace...haiz

The final 5km

As I ran along Kallang Stadium and out of PA, my legs were getting all very tight, including my quads and even hamstrings. I know that if i stop or do any funny action like bending over, I might just get into a muscle spasm which will immobilize me. I tried to be careful not to get into a situation where I had to abandon the race. Just as I entered into Marina Promenade, I took my first walk break. I did a fast walk of about 200m, and started to run again. I then spotted DO in front, with his white cap. He was looking tired too. I chugged along and soon caught up with him. DO indicated he too was suffering from cramps and fatique, and told me to go ahead to find Ultraman in front. I moved on and soon caught up and overtook Ultra. I did not say much to Ultra, as I could see he was focusing on getting to the end point. With about 2km to go, my muscles pulled very badly and I had to hobble. I walked for about 300m, and Ultraman and 2 others overtook me. I walked fast, so I wasn't lagging that far behind. With 1.5km left to go, I started to run and overtook ultraman with about 1km to go. I decided to run all the way, and even with my muscle spasms, I was not stopping. With 200m to go, Tiwazz was there to cheer me on. I perked up and knowing it was near the end, I increased pace. Then my muscles pulled hard...eeeeks...I slowed down immediately. I did not want to collapse just 200m away from the finish, as what had happened to a Ang Moh runner. With 100m to the finish, Ultraman overtook me for a final time. I ran about 25m behind him and when I looked up, it was 4hr08min. I maintained a good posture and raised my hands as I crossed the finish, hoping for a nice photo shot...:)

Crossing The Finish Line In 4h:08m:02s

Post Race

Just Crossed The Finish Line in 4hr08min - Happy mood with SgRunners

Immediately after crossing the finish, I continued to slow jog to avoid cramps setting in. I spotted Brokie, runalone and leh-lio girl, and went to have a few photos with them. I then proceeded to have 100plus, did some stretches, and proceeded to collect the finisher's medal and T-shirt. I bumped into Teck Hou and LNH who were also collecting their finsher's T. Teck Hou did a respectable 3hr56min. I then met DO and we went to have our free massage for marathoners. 2 trained students from NYP attended and gave me a 10min light massage which was supposed to be good at relieving cramps. While attempting to take out my shoes and socks for the massage, I has a big seizure which immobilized me for a good 5min. Phew!. After the massage, I met the SAFRA Runners for bananas and cakes, to fuel the immediate glycogen needs of my depleted body. I found that Wong did 3hr59min, SH did 3hr55min, and a few others' timings too. Most of them did worse than last year, and they mentioned that the route and weather conditions this year were a lot tougher. That sort of made me feel a little better in some ways for my 4hr08min timing. I then went back to my car, had a good washup, put on my finisher's T, and proceeded to meet up with SgRunners at The Padang for group photos.

A satisfied group of SgRunners and 30km Support Crew - Well Done Guys!

Along the way, met Lai Chee, Alan Chao, Kumaran, Derrick and many others. All shared stories of hot weather and cramps. This was a great experience and achievement for me, my maiden marathon. With my first marathon completed in a reasonably good timing, I am now planning to tackle the next interesting challenge, the MR25 Ultra-Marathon on Dec25.

The race analysis provided by Standard Chartered showed that I finished in the top 9% of the entire field, and top 5% finisher in the Singapore field.

Distance Ran:42.195km
Chip Time:4hr08min02sec
Pace:5:53min/km