Walt Disney Marathon Expo, Orlando

James Canton, in his book The Extreme Future, highlighted 10 trends. Among these were Longevity Medicine (people want to live to 100 as healthy and active as they can be) and Weird Science (how science affects our lives, culture and economy). Both these trends were evident in the Walt Disney Marathon Expo, as in many other race expos. But what's interesting for me was a number of new discoveries.

• A running top that not only moves moisture away from the body but balances body temperature through the use of silver embedded in the garment, good to a low of 20 deg F.
• Lightweight jackets that are windproof and thermal insulating, twice as light as my old adidas bought 3 years ago.
• Running shoes that use springs for better bounce.
• All manner of gels, gums, cereal, protein bars.

I was happy to browse through the expo, and armed myself with a pair of thermal gloves, a running top, rain top and pants as well as a massage stick for MBH (and myself)! Also bought some Clif bloks (cheaper than ordering online) for FOTR kakis.

The clothing purchases were out of necessity for the weather was expected to dip to zero this weekend. Rain and perhaps even snow and sleet on Sat morning (would affect the half marathon), hard freeze overnight and we'd have to stand in freezing temp for 2 hours waiting for the 5:30 am start. If the Tokyo marathon was anything to go by, it was the waiting in the corals that was the hardest, coz we didn't have much space to move about except to huddle.

Talking about hard freeze, sections of the road had black ice on them this morning when I went out for a short familiarization run. Dry-run for the actual race, with my newly acquired top, gloves, woolen hat and all. Figured an extra layer that I could discard if it warmed up. Temp was about 1 deg C. Only met two other runners out this morning, though I saw many more later in the day.

It felt ok after one or two km, and I had to unzip the jacket later on. Remembered what IN said about good thermal running gear. The running top seemed to work so far.

Suffice it to say that I didn't anticipate having to run a marathon in near freezing conditions. I don't particularly like the cold, and of course, I didn't train to run in the cold. Dressing appropriately is the best I could do under the circumstances. Two things that I should watch out for - stay warm prior to race start and watch for slippery roads. Totally new territory for me.

Estimated turnout for the weekend - 55,000. What's different was the number of elderly participants. While I may be considered elderly by some, I mean these are grandparents. They are certainly not letting age hold them back.

I would have to mention that I was impressed with the silver folks, first, manning the check-in counters at the airport and later at the theme parks - even in motorized wheelchairs, chugging along happily in the rain. The level of attention for the elderly is impressive. First time I saw a wheel chair friendly coach that tilts toward the curb-side, lowers a platform so that the wheelchair can disembark. The coach also has wheelchair securing devices in addition to a wide clear space next to the door.

There's a whole range of industries to cater to the aging population and changing attitudes. The silver generation (at least in the US) is not limited by their lack of mobility, continues to live active lives and contribute economically.

Wonder how long before motorized wheelchairs catch on in SIN.