Three more days to SCMS!

Today is the first day participants can collect their race pack for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011. And boy oh boy oh boy, at 10am, there were already a lot of people and the queues just got longer and longer. It definitely proved that Kiasu-ism is very much alive in this island!

Well, to be fair, the queues were long but we were moving forward all the while. Hence, the waiting time was not that long, still acceptable.

Tiger Balm has a booth here as well! Runners who need a muscle rub or two can conveniently pick the Tiger Balm ACTIVE range of products from the booth. And if you spend $30 or more, you get a cute Tiger pencil case!

There they are, the Tiger pencil cases!

If you intend to sign up for the Sundown Marathon 2012, you should consider signing up at the Sports Expo as you might receive an additional singlet from this year’s edition. (While stocks last!)

Some time back, I wanted to become a Pacer for Team BMW. But somehow or rather, I didn’t managed to do so. Surprisingly, Team BMW prepared special gifts for runners who registered with them. And it came in a white box with Team BMW tee, a running belt, a cap and a wrist band! 

Now I am ready for the marathon, can’t wait for Sunday morning to be here! ^^V

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will be held on 6th December 2009 this year and New Balance will be replacing Adidas as the apparel sponsor.

The official lanuch for this marathon will be tomorrow, 16th July 2009 @ the Raffles Place Park; just right above Raffles Place MRT station. It will start at 11.30am all the way till 5.00pm. For the first 500 people who sign up at the launch, they will receive an additional goodies bag. The year before, I signed up during the launch and I got the "special" goodies bag which was pretty good.

Therefore, I am looking forward to signing up tomorrow and be one of the first 500 to do so. For people who didn't run last year, it will costs $65 before 5th August, otherwise 2008 runners need to pay only $45. For more race information, click here!

Stand Chart credit/debit cardholders will enjoy 15% off if they register online with their cards. If you sign up for Stand Chart credit card during this period, $50 will be given to you to offset the registration fee for the run.

And interestingly, the organisers have selected 150 runners who ran during the last few marathons and put their photos on the website. If you are among them, you can run for free this year!!! Isn't that awesome?

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

It was my third marathon. Well, training was progressing smoothly initially until i was down with flu. Then, when i recovered, Hanxiang injured his leg and decided not to run. With my marathon-training buddy down, i got lazy and train less and less.

I even got negative and thought of not running this year. But considering that i had paid $45, i might as well go for it. (yes i know... kind of cheapo right...)

Then i arranged with Zhengwei to run together so that we can pace one another. This further discouraged me from not running. And so, i slept early on Saturday night and woke up at 3.30am on Sunday morning.

By 4am, i was on my way to the Padang. I got into a taxi and the uncle surprised me by asking me, “where is the Padang?”

We were on our way after i described the surrounding landmarks. After which, I got a greater shock. The taxi uncle kept rubbing his eyes and there was time when he actually drove in the middle of 2 lanes. It was scary.

Luckily the trip took only 10 minutes; I do hope nothing bad happen to the taxi uncle.

Then i met up with Zw and we were all ready to warm up for the run!

My number tag... Bought 4D but never win...

This year, the organizer set up different start-lines for runners with different expected finished time. So, there were the sub 6hrs, sub 5hrs and so on... This allowed those who aim and can finish fast to be in the front. In a way, it is helpful to some as human congestion always occurred at the start-line.

At 5.30am sharp, we were flagged off and there was no turning back. To and fro Marina Bay was good, with the cool weather and good pacing. As i approached ECP, fatigue begins to hit in and i slowed down. So, i signaled Zw to go ahead without me. I reduced my speed and there were times when i really feel like walking. But i reminded myself that, the run has just started and there is still a long distance to go; i can’t afford to start walking so early. With that thought in mind, i hung on and run and run and run.

ECP is always the killer. It is a long stretch and it never fails to bore runners. Hence, the power gel, which was distributed along ECP, was something to look forward to. It gives the body energy almost instantaneously. However, i still prefer the good, old banana. Haha... It taste and smell better.

There many supporters along the run, and gosh, they are really great. Without these runspirators - this is how the organizer called those who went down to support the runners - the run will definitely be harder to complete. They cheered, they clapped and some gave out banana. They were the ones who pushed each and every runners.

And there were the bands and cheerleaders. They were young and dynamic and their music and cheers motivated me to progress forward. They are good lah...

I was so looking forward to get out of ECP. This is because i will be on my way back to the Padang. This is also the stretch that is a killer. I was tired and have started to walk. Then i jog a bit, then i walk, then i jog, then i walk... This process was repeated many times.

And i actually drank more water from the drinks stations. Last time, i was taught to grab a cup, pinch it and take a sip. I guess i was really tired and that’s why i drank not just one but two cups. And together with the intake of some banana, I got very full in the end; which is good and bad at the same time. Good that i got myself hydrated, bad that i got too full to run properly.

I think this year is my best run out of my three marathons. I got tired at a later time and i get to appreciate the city’s landscape more. Of which, I like the Spore Flyer the most and i just can’t wait for it to start operation next year.

Me and Zw with the finisher medal...

Overall, i enjoyed the run, although i took slightly longer than last year. I felt great and satisfied after the whole run. We are after all, the 1% of the population who woke up early to run. And by finishing it, i can call it an achievement.

If somebody asked me whether i am going to spend $45 again next year to suffer again? My answer would be, “Of course!!”