Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

Dec 2, 2007
There were more runners this year compared to last year. 40,000. Of these, almost 10,000 were running the full marathon. I was one of them.

Strangely enough, I was not as overwhelmed as I was 12 months ago. Guess that's due to "experience". But got there early to use the john, reflect and warm up. I was prepared, as well as I can be, after a full year of training. I have done my best, so here goes.

The run through Marina was a breeze (relatively), and I tried to keep to my game plan. The idea is to start slow and pace myself. But planning my run and running my plan are two different matters altogether. I went out a little faster than I wanted to, about 30 sec/k faster. Partly this was due to an under-calibration on my watch, but partly due to race conditions. Later I found out that anything faster than 10 - 15 sec/k may lead to hitting the wall earlier than expected. And that was what happened.

As the morning broke, the weather was sunny but windy. I had a fantastic run all the way to 30k. I was going strong, and in good rhythm. Slight muscle tightness in my thighs after about 15k, but nothing unusual. From 32k onwards, my legs started cramping, both inner and outer thighs. Stopped to stretch several times, and glad for the deep heat rub along the way. But the cramping got so bad that I decided to walk. It was hard to continue running after that, so I ended up walking the last 5k.

Statistics from SCSM website:
Gun time:5:39:42
Chip time: 5:28:16
All runners: 4590/9697 (47%)
male runners: 4047/8341 (48%)
ave 7:47 per k or 7.7 kph.
0 - 8k: 7.9 kph
8 - 21k: 8.8 kph
21 - 27k: 9.7 kph
27 - 42k: 6.5 kph

In spite of the cramp, it was a good first marathon. My target was sub-5, but I'll take the 5:28 as a good starting point.

Family at finish line to cheer me on!!! That made it all worthwhile. Thanks, guys!



PK texted me the night before the race: "Praying for you to complete the race well and safely. Knowing in advance that you will achieve!" and after the race: "Congrats, my friend! It's a GREAT effort."

Thanks for your encouragement and support, PK!