It was 3.00am. My friend and I woke up and got ready for the much awaited marathon event. I tagged on my bib, had my waist water-bottles filled with energy drink, and stuffed 3 packets of power gel (for replenishing energy for the later part of the race) into my back pouch. We then took a cab down to Merdeka Square.

The atmosphere was okay, but certainly not as packed and electrifying as Singapore’s Standard Chartered marathon. I did a bit of warm-up before the race, and also met up with a some Sgrunners friends coincidentally. 

Soon, it was 4.30am and the gunshot went off. The race had started! I decided to take it slowly in the first 2 km, as I’ve a slight sore at my right shin. Fortunately for me, the sore went away (or was it that I got used to it?) after the first km or so. I, however, still kept to my comfortable pace so as to not deplete my energy so soon.

It was rather amusing during the first 10 km of my run, as a lot of people would stop halfway and suddenly head towards the bush. No need to describe further eh? I guess many drank too much water, and were unable to adapt to such early hours. Such are sights that you’ll never get to see in a Singapore marathon, because here, portable toilets are placed almost every 500m or so. Anyway, there aren’t many huge bushes here for runners to seek refuge.

Ok, back to the run. Water points were placed at every 2.5km, where I would usually sip a mouthful of plain water or 100plus before continuing the run. It is commendable that the organisers had placed so many water points, which are very important especially for people doing the full marathon.

The first 33km was alright, and the only times I stopped for a walk was when I drank the water at the stations. My Ipod shuffle kept me going slow but steady, and the distance markers shown at every 5km motivated me to keep on moving. But once I hit the 33km mark, my legs started to get sore and tired. The thighs felt tight and I had to run slower to avoid any sudden cramps. It came to a point where I had to walk 100m for every 1km run. Luckily, time was still on my side, and I realised that I could make it a sub-5hr! So, as I didn’t want to tire myself out too much, I continued my run-walk routine while making sure I could finish before the 5th hour.

Alas, I’ve gotten to the last km! From then on, I began to pick up my pace and abandoned any thoughts of walking. In fact, the adrenaline was rushing in to the extent that I didn’t even realise my Ipod was accidentally switched off. Met Roonz near the finishing point, where she helped take a picture of me. Thanks!

At gun-time 4:59:03 hr, I crossed the finishing point. I’ve completed my first marathon! The kind of satisfaction I got overwhelmed everything else. I wouldn’t have thought that I could even run 10km half a year ago. The training that I’ve gone through either alone or with my running pals certainly paid off.

Thanks to all the Sgrunners pals, as well as friends who I’ve run with, prior to this marathon for giving me tips and advice to prepare for this 42km run. Without your help, I wouldn’t have completed it without much suffering. Thank you for helping me fulfill one of my resolutions of 2007. =)

Oh yah! And a big big thank you to all my friends and students who gave me support and encouragement! It was the thought of your encouraging words that kept me going when I was exhausted.

Timing:

10km: 1:11:14

21km: 2:25:12

30km: 3:25:51

42km: 4:59:03