Run With Marathon Pacers - Session #2

Run With Marathon Pacers #2, Courtesy DO, Byron

After a week of heavy evening showers and wet weather, the record turnout of Fatbirds, Sunbirds, Pacers & Pacees were greeted with clear skies, with a light touch of cool winds at The PlayGround @ Big Splash. The FatBird Nest was crowded by 6.45am, as I met David Shum and his entourage of students and helpers setting up for the Edward Whistler Charity Run. After some arrangements and coordination later, we moved most of the Pacees and Sunbirds to the open space at the Playground for the group briefing.

Marathon Pacers' Pre-Run Briefing

We had 3 group briefings conducted separately…the Pacer Briefing by FatBird Anthony, the Sunbird briefing by Coach Jonathan, and the ‘Run With Marathon Pacers’ participants by FatBird David, Terry and the team. While there seemed to be a sea of people, the proceedings went on in quite an orderly manner….thanks to the good work put in by the FatBirds and Pacers who helped out.

A round of introductions of the various Pace Groups, followed by the 10km, 18km, 28km route briefing, and the large group photo shot, the enthusiastic groups were flagged off in the direction of Fort Road. It was nice to have Ben Pulham from Racers Toolbox join the 3:45h group to share his experiences on running and pacing fast distance runs. We had quite a large 4:00h group today, and I was having a good time getting to know some of them, as well as explaining our Optimal Pace Strategy. The enthusiastic group had quite a fair bit of questions ranging from nutrition, hydration, making toilet stops, breathing and running form in general.

The first turnaround at Fort Road was again opportunities for us to cheer and applaud the various Pace Groups running past, and as usual, the 4:45h and 5:00h groups made the most noise..tsk tsk. The 4:00h group was real focused, and Pace Group Leader, Keonz was maintaining a good 5:38min/km pace. The body of Pacers Darren and YN were towing the line well, as we hit the 10km mark in 56min, about 5:35min/km. I told the group to maintain our pace for at least up to 21km, and re-evaluate later. We welcomed the shade along Changi Coastal Road, and enjoyed the cool breeze blowing in our faces. Loy and I were covering the rear, 10m from the front pack.

The U-Turn at the 2nd Shelter was a welcome as we ran back towards ECP, in anticipation of meeting up with our fellow Pace Groups & runners. The groups were very much still running together, and keeping their respective paces….well done. Cheers and applause, some Hi-5s, and more words of encouragement ensued. I could see that the 4:00h runners were still going strong and were able to keep up. We reached back into NSRCC area, made some water-stops on the run, and generally practiced with the Pacees how we would be taking breaks and yet maintaining the pace. Runners who went off for water or toilet breaks, caught up slowly but steadily with the Pace Group (who maintained Pace throughout). We held on to a steady 5:35min/km.

After 23km, some of the runners who were not feeling well slowed a little, while 1-2 hit the wall early due to the warmer weather then, and the lack of conditioning on their part. Nevertheless, the slightly faster pace we had achieved for the first 21km, allowed them some luxury to slow down a little and still stay within target. With 3km to go, we still had a number of runners who were staying with the pace, as we completed the near 28km at an average of 5:35min/km for the 4:00h group. The 2:00h half-marathon group also did very well to stay within that pace, and we had a number of happy Pacees.


After a quick drink and some group photos, we were down at the end point to cheer the rest of the Pace Groups and runners returning. The 4:15h, 4:30h, 4:45h all returned strongly with very few stragglers behind. The 5:00h and the 2:30h (half-marathon) groups also ran to target pace and returned with some nice finishing poses for the camera. Byron, decked in his very nice Monash University top, was most busy with capturing ‘ACTION’ shots of all the runners. He had to be called back a few times as he tried to sneak off for a quick drink, as the stream of runners up to 5:00h returned….haha.

The 4hr Pace Group

There were a few run events happening at The PlayGround area as we moved around from The FatBird Nest to the Pacee water point to the Milo Van at one of the carnivals. There were Sng Paos and Nasi Lemak kindly contributed by friends who were organized the Edward Whistler Run…thanks guys! When most of the runners returned, we conducted a short briefing on next week’s Marathon Pacers’ Run, Race Pack collection and ‘Meet Marathon Pacers’ @ Floating Platform, carbo-loading dinner arrangements, race-day meet-ups and post-race group photos and gatherings.

As we enter into the final week of tapering, there remains lots to do in terms of race-day preparations, resting our legs, recollecting all that we have gone through and learnt in the past 10-12 weeks, preparing race day equipment and fuel, as well as doing some research for those who would need a back-up ‘Run-Walk’ strategy if they feel insufficiently prepared. The Sunbirds, who have gone through most of the 10-week program, would be sufficiently conditioned for the mission, and confidence of completion within target should be good. Barring any injuries or sickness, we are confident and hopeful that those who will Follow Our Pace will Win Your Race!

Run With Marathon Pacers - Session #1

Run With Marathon Pacers #1, Courtesy DO, Byron

It was the longest run for the Sunbirds of 35km, as well as the start of the 3-run series of ‘Run With Marathon Pacers’. To better organize the various groups training with the Pacers, we had the Sunbirds gather in the FatBird Nest and then the Marathon Pacees (who were generally new runners who have signed up to familiarize with the Pacers and their paces) assembled at the open space at The PlayGround@Big Splash.

After the tip #8 was dispensed to the Sunbirds by Coach Jonathan and the FatBird Trainers, the 150 runners assembled together for a welcome and introduction of the various Pacer Groups. That was followed by a detailed route briefing, before the customary Group Photo, and then the flag off of the respective groups starting with the 6:00h down to the 3:45h together with the 21km and 10km runners.

Each Pace Group easily had 10 runners running along, and as we got into pace, there were lots of cheering and chatting to get to know one another. The 4hr Group was maintaining 5:42min/km pace for the first 9km, a tad behind optimum pace, but we took the time to get warmed up (in that rather cool weather...hehe). It was nice getting to know a few of the new ‘Pacees’ following our 4hr group. Keonz was heading the group, with Spencer, YN and Anthony providing the mid and rear guard. Weison, Kevin and the 2hr group was true to form in maintaining an equivalent pace till NSRCC, where they U-turned for their remaining 21km journey.

We could see the 3:45h group in front, and signalled to CH to up the pace, before we all ran into the Changi Coastal stretch. The weather remained cloudy but nice. Changi Coastal was full of bikes and bladders plying the routes, and we took extra care to stay vigilant in order to avoid any nasty incidents. The U-turn at the 13km mark had our pace down to an average of 5:39min/km. It was fun again as we cheered the various pace groups and their runners coming to the U-turn point. The 4:15h group was rock steady, the 4:30h group was large and smiley, the 4:45h group gave the loudest cheers, 5:00 group was large but very focused. The 5:15h and 5:30h groups were a little thin, as most of the runners joined the 6hr group. The pacers did well to maintain their respective optimal pace plans, hardly skipping a beat.

It was a sight to behold as we see large groups of Team FatBird Pacers and Runners running along Changi Coastal. Some biker shouted from across the road ‘FATBIRD!!!’...I thought he looked like SC5, but I will have to confirm ;) As we got back into NSRCC, we spotted more familiar faces, but did not really stop to chat for long as we had a ‘pace’ to maintain. Yamsong and the 4hr runners were maintaining the pace well, and was soon rewarded with our 1st toilet break just after the sailing centre. Keonz continued to push the pace after a short break, while we tried to catch up slowly but surely (average pace down to 5:38min/km). I informed the rest we had some buffer built up, but we should try to take advantage of the nice weather to maintain pace.

We reached back to The Playground (26km mark) still feeling good, and posed for Byron who was taking running shots. Byron was a real help with taking the runners in action, and his ‘ACTION’ photos make for good material in our field reports :) Onwards towards Fort Road we went, still feeling good. The 4hr group was maintaining well, and we soon saw CH turning back. The 21km 2:30h pace group of Ee Lyn, Angela, accompanied by Helen looked steady with their Pacees running alongside. We cheered again, and before long, spotted the SAFRA MF runners at Carpark B1 area. They too shouted ‘Jia You’ as we made good progress. I told the group that we would take another toilet break after we U-turn at the end of Fort Road.

The turn back put us in good view of YN who was closing in on our 4hr pace, followed by Li Lian, Johnny, Matthew and the 4:15h group, and then the 4:30h group. There were other ‘Pacees’ strung around these few groups, and we made sure we gave one another some applause as we crossed paths. We reached back to The PlayGround for 29km. With just 6km to go, our spirits remained high, as we made sure not to drop our paces. It was by then 5:37min/km pace. One of the 4hr runners bade farewell, vowing to join us again next week. Yamsong was feeling a little of the effects, and slowed down a tad to maintain a sustainable pace.

Keonz and I pushed forward, our sights set on the Yellow Toilet, the final U-turn back to The PlayGround for the finish. We saw more Sunbirds and Pacees coming our way, and again, we cheered one another as we pass. It is always the encouragement and cheers that motivates and relieves the boredom in such long runs. We soon reached the Yellow Toilet, and as we turned, we saw Yamsong, followed by YN. The 3:45h group had turned slightly earlier, and now it was our turn to be bound for end point. Everyone looked happy enough, with smiles of encouragement, knowing that we will complete the 35km in good shape.

Our group (4:00hr) finished 34.5km in 3hr13min, at an average pace of 5:37min/km. The rear guard along with the body finished in about 5:40min/km. It was a hive of activity at the Pavilion down by the finish point, as we took some drinks and mingled with the runners who had finished. Most were very satisfied with the pace and the entire run. Wee was with his family to support the runners too. Patrick had a blazing run, starting with the 4:30h group, and then moving up to eventually finish with the 4hr group.

As more runners returned with their Pace Groups, there were cheers and smiles of joy as they accomplish the final long run in good form. It was great for the ‘mind’ as they bring with them the knowledge they can complete the race at the desired pace (with even some buffer built in) on the big day. There were not much complaints of soreness, nor shoes giving problems. The weather was real kind to all, allowing us to end this long run with such a good feeling. The 5:30h and 6:00h groups completed their runs dutifully before 11:30am, which was the cut-off of the 4hr15min they should come back by. With all the happy faces, we grabbed the opportunity to take more photos for the marathon album.

A Job Well Done!

Next weekend will be the start of tapering, with a 28km run on Saturday for all Sunbirds, Pacers and Pacees. Registration for Session 2 of the ‘Run With Marathon Pacers’ was opened on Saturday. A quick check showed that ¾ of the slots have been taken up. We will see yet another large group at next weekend’s 28km paced run, and it was be another opportunity for the runners to hone their paces and try out their hydration, fuel and gear for race day. After this morning’s experience, we expect the runners to be even more prepared and conditioned next weekend. We are on the final stretch of the Journey Towards SCSM09. The Team FatBird Marathon Pacers will be there in full force to provide the pacing and guidance yet again. Follow Our Pace, Win Your Race!

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The Spirit Of The Marathon

Finally....Change Your Life Forever!

The Spirit Of The Marathon

The Spirit Continues...

Team FatBird Marathon Pacers: MEDIA/NEWS