If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)
By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)
My Experience – An Athlete’s Perspective.
When I was a secondary 2 boy studying in Saint Joseph’s Institution, I was asked by my Mathematics teacher Mr Ramalingam that if there is anyone interested in getting a gold pin award they can come down to do their 2.4km test to achieve this. I tried to get the gold pin award by doing 8min 40sec. Each week, I did the test without any form of training. From a time of near 10min, I reduced the time over about 2-3 months to 8min 46sec. I had to run around a route which was 600m, running 4 rounds. No matter how hard I tried, I did not progress and eventually, I did not get the gold pin award. I realized that it was too difficult to attain and I did not know how to go about in attaining this award. The most I did to achieve this was through playing football and basketball nearly every day. There was no form of running training. I also realised that I was the only one attempting this as at that time my friends Zameer Mallal, Tan Chin Chai and Ravindran were not interested in this.
Few years later, I started to focus my attention on 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5km and 10km races. I did not focus my attention on 2.4km at all. However, in the army, while doing the usual army training, I was able to do 8min 36sec for 2.4km test. This was done during the Basic Military Training (BMT) time. Before completing BMT, I came in first for the CAMP 1, CAMP 2 and CAMP 3 cross country race, beating the favourite Tan Yong Yong, who during student days won the gold medal in the National Schools’Track and Field for the 3km race, doing a time of sub 9 min 30sec. I witnessed his 3km race and it was a splendid race.
Over time, as a Track and Field captain of the 1st Signal Battalion, I used to train with an army driver by the name of Khoo Tiam Teng for the Signal Battlion and SAFSA Track and Field Championships. He was the only one dedicated to train regularly, sincerely and with passion. We used to push each other in workouts and over time I was able to do a 7min 41sec for the 1st Signal 2.4km army NAPFA test.
Few years, later, I found this time a threshold which was hard to cross. I gave up on this and started concentrating on other events like 5km and 10km. When I was teaching in Clementi Town Secondary School at 25 years of age, in one of the 10km race, while running the race I did the first 2.4km in 7min 14sec. I came in first for 10km race, doing a time of 32min 52ssc for the race. This time of 7min 14sec became my personal best for few years.
Over a period of time, in order to attain a good time for my marathon race for the 1995 Chiengmai SEA Games, I became very determined and told myself that speed for me was of paramount importance in order to come in top 3. Hence, I did different types of speed sessions once or twice per week. At that time, I was training Ernest Ng Soo Hong for the marathon. I decided to do a sub 7min for the 2.4 km run organised by the Singapore Sports Council for the NAPFA ENCOUNTER 2.4km Run.
In the 2.4km run, the first 800m was run too fast and after 400m we had to run a very narrow route where G. Elangovan, who, around that period, had a personal best time of 8min 49sec for 3000m, and I were blocked and for the next 800m, I could not do anything but wait for the wide route at 1.2km to come. The Malaysian Junior Champion, Ramesh, was about 50m in front of me. My race was severely affected because of the blocking for I could not do anything but just watch the race and wait very patiently. The pace was slow for me. I knew that my race time will be affected because of this. However, at the 1.2km mark, I started to keep left at the extreme left of wide route and started to overtake all the Gurkha contingent for they were bunched together.
Then, I went for Ramesh who was earlier defeated by me a few months back in the 10km race, where I did 32min 22sec and he did 32min 52sec. As I was about to overtake him at the last 500m, there was a 90 degree sharp angle turn. At that turn, I ran in a wide manner and he negotiated the bend well. I lost my balance there and this situation made me tired and gave him to have fast break effort over me. I tried to come back to him but the gap was increasing. I lost my momentum because of the wide swing around the sharp turn. At the last 300m, I could hear from behind G.Elangovan shouting and cheering for me to overtake Ramesh. I tried all my best to increase my speed but he kept going away and away and won me by about 50metres.
I believe that the sudden surge of speed at the 1.2km to the last 500m must have made me accumulate a high level of lactate buildup. I ran past the finishing point in 7min 02sec. G. Elangovan was about a few seconds away from me. I was terribly disappointed at that time that I was not able to break the 7min barrier. I also can also vividly remember doing a 1min 10 to 1min 12sec pace for first 6 laps of the 5000m race in the Singapore Open 1992. I was doing a sub 7 or around 7min flat for the first 2.4km at that time. I was leading the South Korean and the runner from India. Finally, they did sub 15min and I did the 5km race in 15min 31sec. In that race, N. Ganesan, the current National Record holder did 15min 41sec.
Anyway, over time, I felt very happy about my time because I realize that I ran a very good tactical race. I also know that at that time G. Elangovan was capable of doing 2.4km time of below 7min while running the 3km run. Also, the runner that I was training at that time, Ng Soo Hong, managed to come in with a time of 7min 21sec. Around this period, Ernest Ng Soo Hong was able to achieve a 2hr 44min in Gold Coast Marathon Race. I felt that it was an achievement for me as an athlete and a coach.
Note:
By Narayanan
Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes to do marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners to do sub-4 hours for marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’ by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
