Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010

I have just registered for Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010 which will take place on 27 June 2010. If things work out and I manage to go, this will be my second go at this marathon. Last year's race was a memorable one being my first overseas marathon. I hope the kinks such as the lack of water at water stations which occurred at last year's episode will be ironed out and this year's race will prove to be an even more enjoyable one! Looking forward to this one :-)

NE Run (14 March 2010)

This is actually my first local race in 2010. This year, I decided to be more selective and discriminating when signing up for local races. This is because there are more and more races coming up and I do not want to end up signing up for every single race. I also want to sign up for races that offers unique and interesting experiences. To limit the number of races that I sign up for, the new 'policy' would be I will only sign up for races with distances that are longer than 15km. I figured that these races can also help me to train in terms of speed work for my upcoming marathon races. Well, the NE Run being a 16Km run fits perfectly with my new policy for local races in 2010.

The run itself was alright for me. I was mentally prepared not to have high expectations in terms of setting a PB for this run. This was because there would be at least 6 bridges (as in pedestrian bridges) along the route. I had mentally prepared myself for congestions at the bridges as well as the park connectors. Therefore, I psyched myself to simply enjoy the run and experience and not be too stressed about the run itself. My mental preparation proved to be very helpful. I actually enjoyed myself at the run. At the foot of every bridge, I would tell myself that was an opportunity for 'enforced rest' and to take a breather. Of course, there were really serious runners who actually took the race seriously and ran up and down the bridges shouting at others to make way for them. Well, I hope they achieved what they set out to achieve in terms of their PB.

The route itself was quite flat (minus the bridges) and I did not have to stop for traffic. While running, it felt like doing the Sundown Marathon in daylight... interesting. What inspired me was seeing the Singapore Blade Runner (a local runner with a prosthetic leg) as well as the 1ArmRunner (another local runner who only has 1 arm) at the race. Their pressence at the race really gave runners a real good reason to run. That is to celebrate life and living no matter what our life circumstances might be.

Well, I guess thats why runners sign up for races instead of simply doing the usual morning jogs or LSD (Long Slow Distance). Seeing other like-minded people of every ability participating in an organised race is both energising and inspiring.

At the end of the race, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the finisher medal (shown above) and amazingly, despite not stressing myself, I clocked in at 1:31 which was way better than my only other 16km race (Mizuno Wave Run 2009). I actually achieved a PB for a 16km race!

Next race: Passion Run 25km

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2010 (28 Feb 2010)

This is my first post for 2010 and it is about my second overseas marathon!

This must have been the toughest marathon I have ever done!

According to HK local papers more than 55 people were hospitalized for heat related injuries with 3 people in critical condition. Personally, I saw a Caucasian man lying on the street side with medics attending to him using a defibrillator. Scary!

Throughout the course, it was slopes galore! Well, the picture (left) from a local HK newspaper aptly showed what I meant. This picture was taken near the end of the course.

The elevation of the course was crazy! The chart below shows the Course Elevation.

The course climbed up to over 80m above sea level at Stonecutters Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge and went below 30m below sea level at the Western Harbour Tunnel near the finishing point. Therefore, throughout the course, I would have climbed up and down over 100m! Unlike Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon which might have been one of the flattest marathon courses in the world.

Climbing up and down slopes along the course caused me to cramp as early as 25km into the marathon. I had to resort to run-walk method to complete the race. The weather and pollution was something that I needed to get used to too. There was also an added pressure from the race organizers imposing cut-off timings at various points of the course and those not meeting the cut-off time will be ushered up double-decker buses awaiting at the various points. There were plenty of double-decker buses and I was determined not to board them!

I also chanced upon this review of the marathon from marathonguide.com that echoes the same view as I concerning the course.

Another thing that upset me at the beginning of the race was that my GPS watch failed to function. Therefore, I could not get readings of the pace I was doing and the distance I have covered. This affected my pacing as I needed depend on intuition.

I was very happy that my friend and I completed the race before the official cut-off of 5:30. I completed the course in about 5:03 (Net Time).

 

I wonder if I have to courage to come back next year... We'll see...

Next Race: NE Run