Witnessing My First Marathon.

Oh I’m talking about the SCSM 2007 held this morning. I was there witnessing the full marathon. Haha.. That means I was there only to look-look-see-see and I was not a participant of the full marathon lah. But I participated in their lowest category. Not kid-dash hor, but the 10 km run.

I shall try to recollect some interesting moments or the things that struck me most (not in any particular order) :


(1) Very well-organized.

Thus far, this is the run with the most participants. Still, there is no bottle-neck effect everywhere. From baggage deposit, forming up at the starting point, get-set-ready-go, on-the-move, collection of medals at end the point, baggage collection, drink station, banana station, toilet facilities… just everything : almost negligible waiting time.

Thank you very much to all organizers, volunteers and helpers! Without them, it will not be possible at all.


(2) Babies clocking better time than their fathers.

I saw two male participants (at different locations) running with a pram in front of them. Heh.. Not empty pram hor! Ha.. The babies were seated comfortably in the prams while their daddies pushed on and jogged at the same time.

In one case, I actually saw that the baby was sleeping soundly within the pram. In another case, the baby was observing excitedly at the runners around him and maybe also enjoying the unusually high speed that the pram was moving.

So technically speaking, the babies eventually crossed the finishing line before their daddies. Haha..


(3) I was faster than an eagle.

A guy wrote a message and pinned at his back.

The message was :
Watch me soar on wings, like an eagle.

But I passed him effortlessly. :P

Erm… So I was only faster than a particular eagle. Haha..


(4) I can laugh during the run.

Two gals wrote the same message and pinned the message at their back. They were running side by side.

The message was :
To lose 10 kg.

I know I was a little “evil” to have laughed.
Hey.. Come on. I wasn’t really laughing at them. But I was simply amazed at their courage to admit they really have spare 10kg to lose.

Anyway, if I’m not wrong, these two ladies actually covered 21.1 km. Admirable, indeed. Don’t play play.


(5) Full marathon runners are all winners in my eyes.

We have some solid fellows covering the entire 42.195km and coming in well within 2h 15min. I really don’t know what to say man. Oh, it seems that KENYA and ETHIOPIA produce solid runners.

Anyway, some of my pals joined the full marathon and came in within 4h, 5h plus a little, around 5h 30min, 6h plus a little, around 6h 45min,…

Well past 7 hours after the official starting time, we still saw many full marathoners making their way to the finishing line. That was solid determination, I must say. To me, they are all simply amazing. I cannot imagining myself going through such punishing journey.

Full marathoners can also get an extra black t-shirt after they finished their conquest. For any reason, if they were to be disqualified, that t-shirt will not be given to them. In other words, those people wearing that t-shirt suggests a certain kind of status. While I was talking to myself whether will I ever have a chance to clinch that trophy (that black t-shirt), this WK suggested that I could just try ebay.com or Yahoo Auction. Argg… So encouraging lor. Haha... But I think he is so right. :o)

I just learnt that the prize money for the first runner (Men's Open and Women’s Open) is USD25000. Wow! Have I just given you a reason to pick up running? Haha.. If you think it’s already too late for you, go train up you kids!
跑吧孩子! :P


(6) I am part-time massager.

I mentioned before a good calf-massage after a run is good. I mean I experienced that during the Real Run. The relief of the calf muscle was almost immediate (when the massage was done properly lah).

This time round, the rub-down service was only available for full marathoners. It’s okay.

But while resting, WK’s right leg got a sudden attack. 是抽筋啦. That was when I came in as a substitute-leg-massager. I tried to recall what was done to me (on my legs) the previous time and I mimicked. It worked, I tell you (I think). Haha..


(7) Nice Atmosphere.

Running at Shenton Way or just the CBD area can be an interesting experience. The roads are wide, the buildings are tall. So when we were running on the roads there, the shadows of the buildings provide a good cooling shade. In other times, these roads will be congested with vehicles, but during such runs, we rulez.

I also quite like the music pumped up during the last stretch of the run. There were many supporters also. We (any runners in general) must be tired, but I felt that we were actually moving much faster.

I think atmosphere makes a difference (to me at least). In other words, I don’t think I can make it alone.


(8) Feeling fortunate.

After the experience, we were pretty tired, yet we were fortunate enough to be driven around comfortably by W, for lunch, and even for a relaxing journey home. Wow! What a feeling. Haha..


If given more time, I think the list could go on. But I think I stop at (8) : an auspicious number. Haha..

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~ Quite A Cool Millionaire Winner ~