Singapore Marathon 2009 Race Report

Before i start with the report, here's the results ... BTW, 95% of the men (11510 to be exact): EAT MAH DUST!!!




First of all, an all time PR! However, an all time disappointment as well. This is because I remember that around the 30 km mark I told my legs, "Cmon now, speed up a bit to get under 4!!" and then ... I. JUST. FORGOT. Yup. I guess the tiredness and the hoards of people (and i mean rivers of people) that we intersected around 32 km probably just wiped that thought from my mind. I only remembered around the 39th that I was supposed to speed up. And by that time I just couldn't anymore.

Woke up at 03:45 am, had a peanut butter slice of bread and a power bar (probably regretting it later) drank some water and we were off. Yixiang and his friend Matthew bumped into me, I bumped into Liu Li later in the race. Did not see clara or nita but they finished too!

Notes to self

• Cmon! Is it that hard to remember?!!? Use the toilet before the race! Wake up early, with ample time to use it! HAD to go pee around 7km. HAD to go do other stuff around 10km and then i just cramped it up until the first port-a-potty which was around 15 km (ORGANIZERS, what were you thinking?!) - I am not too upset about the second thing because I had been fighting a stomach flu since Thursday. Glad I didn't puke though.


• Energy gels. They work.


• Chocolate energy gels. They suck. As ever.


• Pacers. Stay in front of them.


• Next time, run faster such that you avoid. the crowds. - last time i write like this, promise!


• Never forget to hydrate - around 39 km an ambulance was driving through us (we were the River of People by that time) towards a white guy on the side that was on his back, with his feet up, surrounded by first-aid workers. I wasn't planning to drink anymore but I just stopped and had another glass

Sights and sounds

Well mainly sights.

• A full marathoner girl dressed in a full Santa suit - not sure if the belly was fake though.


• A half marathoner dressed in the big black witch - hat, wig, black dress


• On the back of somebody: "Older and faster." - on the side - "i am 40" - thumbed him up


• Remember the guy with the bell? He was in the same spot this year! No girlfriend though, but more posters with motivational writing! I told him I saw him last year, and he told me in the same tone I heard him use on the walker: "I saw YOU last year!" :))


• One-arm guy


• Father with two kids (boy and girl) spotting a huge banner: "Run run run! Marathon mum! Proudly supported by James and Lucy" at 5, 8, and 23 km

Pros

• Great weather this year! No sun, cloudy - when we left home I was even hoping for a big rain to give me an very good EXCUSE not to run


• Very cheerful volunteers - I guess they had to be, because there were very few supporters, at least compared to 2007 - no bands, no people dressed up (pirates, ppl on stilts, etc) - I guess this is recession marathon :)

Cons

• I love the ending at city hall but! there are too few lanes freed up. The crowds of WALKERS (mostly from 21, 10km - notice the snub, yeah?!) was HUGE!! A meet-up like this happened around 32 km as well ... a lot of people and very very few were from the marathon.


• Very few supporters


• Race route: seriously, a big highlight of my first 15km is seeing the Kenyans when they get out of East Coast park - us normal people are just getting in by that time. This year we were detoured around a parking lot and we never got to see them running. So sad.


• Race route again: there was a car driving through us between 13-15 km - it was not an official car and the people inside were not wearing any official t-shirt. How did they get there I wonder? In the end I either overtook it or it stopped, I can't remember because I was frantically looking for a loo.


• No Marian at the finish line - he was expecting me much later, so I only have fat pictures of me But here I am on the massage table: