Hot, Flat and Crowded

Limpeh has hung up his running shoes. Whereas before I ran I was 80% certain that my first marathon was going to be my last, I am now 99% certain. However I am entitled to be an armchair critic and give advice to people who might want to do the marathon one day. Of course he would be better off talking to people like our former colleague from PRC who did a sub 5, or the colonel who also did a sub 5 even as a veteran.

1. The sooner the better.

First the enrollment for the marathon has increased every year since 2002. I should have run in the early days when there were like less than 10000 participants. It is always more difficult with more people. Your running route is actually that much longer when you have to overtake people all the time every time you run. The other compelling reason is that everybody's growing older all the time, and fitness goes downhill after 30. I ran at a time in my life when I could afford to burn all the weekends I wanted to.

The first marathon I actually saw live was the Boston marathon. I was there for the weekend, and when I woke up it was going on, I could see them running a few blocks away from my friend's window, so it was a nice surprise. A cursory check finds that the qualification time is 3:20, so I don't think I will ever run that race. In Singapore anybody can participate.

2. Do your half marathon first.

I have my own half marathon timing from last year, and my running buddy's. Also I have both our marathon timings. In both cases the marathon timing is approximately 3 times that of the half marathon. A simple calculation will tell you that if you want to run a marathon in 8 hours (you have to because after that you don't know when the marshall will stop the race), you must do a half marathon in 2:40.

3. The one factor that determines whether you will get injured or not is your running style

If you are flat footed (I have a low arch) or if one of your legs is longer than the other then you should not run a marathon. Considering how easily I got injured during my marathon I concluded that I was actually a little lucky to finish the race. I should have been more careful about my running style. My feet get bashed up before I hit 25 km, so after that it's enduring the pain.

I had problems training. There was once I bashed up my feet while doing the rounds at McRitchie once and for the next few weeks was not able to go beyond 15 km.

4. Training

I undertrained. At the 28 km mark I realised that that was actually the furthest I had ever run in my life. My eyes popped out when I saw that the recommended running distance was 60 km a week. At my maximum I only ran twice a week, and a total of 35 km. It also recommended that you do a maximum of 32km at a stretch, while I only ever pushed myself up to 24 km.

I achieved what I wanted in the end - but barely. I would have run much harder if I was going to make a regular habit of marathon running, but I don't think so. Well I got what I wanted in the end so no point complaining.

Running on an empty stomach could make it more difficult for distances of more than 10 km.

5. Buddy

It is a real slog training for a marathon. Of course the buzz you get from running is good at relieving boredom. But even though I managed to do half my training on my own, it is good to have a buddy who is after the same objective as you are, and who is not going to fuck up, and whom you are not going to fuck up on. It helps greatly if he is of roughly the same fitness level (but my buddy is slightly better)

One reason why I have given up on marathon running is that the length of the time involved in training, and the having to recuperate and sleep a bit more after every run. The real marathon is not the 42 km but the training you have to put in for 4-5 months before the run.

6. National service

I would not have been able to do this without first having gone through national service. The big reason why the Singapore marathon is so well attended is the surfeit of people who have gone through national service. Running the race for me was only possible because I had foreknowledge of what it is like to eat shit. I found myself pushed to limits of endurance only previously encountered during NS. People who are eating shit for the first time will find it more difficult. Of course many others who have never put on a soldier's uniform before have run this race.

7. Singapore

Since Singapore is a tropical country, it is one of the toughest marathons on earth. Not a large part of the route is shaded. I realised that I had spoilt myself my picking shaded routes for my training (but I would not have it any other way. Why kill yourself training?) It is also tough because it is very crowded. But it is also easier than other marathon routes because it is flat. It is perfectly flat, I believe. You know the Thomas Friedman book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded"? That's the Singapore marathon.

In Singapore they stop the marathon after 8+ hours, because I didn't see any finishing times after 9 hours. I saw that in NY they allowed people to walk the marathon for 10 hours (this was mentioned because a walker - a 66 year old man - died after that).

Actually I have done some wikipedia-ing for marathons. I need to change my statement. I am 99% sure that I will never run another marathon in Singapore.