Story about Ego and Arrogance

Note:

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)

Stories That Fascinated Me During My Running Days

Jane Fonda (Left) and Jennifer Lopez (Right) in the Movie
 Monster-In-Law

Ego - The cause of a person's downfall. One of the five vices.


Stories From the East

In India, there was an incident where two ladies in the house were arguing and quarrelling. One of them was the mother-in-law and the other was the daughter-in-law. The argument was getting worse and worse to the point that there was shouting and screaming, except for the throwing of pots and pans.

Suddenly, to save the situation, fortunately, a beggar was standing outside the door asking for alms. At first, he did not see anyone coming. When the daughter-in-law heard the beggar, she immediately attended to this by going to the front door and opened the door promptly. Seeing this, The mother-in-law also made her move towards the door. Before the mother-in-law could attend to the beggar, the daughter-in-law started asking the person what he exactly wants.

The beggar was very happy to hear this and told the daughter-in-law that he wants some rice. The daughter-in-law told the beggar that she does not have any rice in a stern and firm manner. Hearing this, the beggar started to leave the place at once with disappointment. He was walking swiftly for some 50metres from the house and then all of a sudden someone else called him back to the house again. It was the mother-in-law. The beggar saw hope and he was smiling. He thought that the mother-in-law was kind enough to not turn him away. Seeing this, the mother-in-law spoke kindly and told the beggar to wait while she had to go inside. After a period of 5mins, the beggar lost all patience and started calling out loud to the mother-in-law to come and attend to him. Finally, the mother-in-law came out of the house empty-handed.

When she saw the beggar, she told him to go. The beggar got mad at this. He asked the mother-in-law the intention of stopping him from going to other places for food. To this, the mother-in-law told that she is the real decision-maker of the house and not the daughter-in-law. She told, " Who is she to make a decision?" Then, the beggar realised that actually he only wasted his time by coming back to the house. He left the place finally with a bigger disappointment.

Ego - An Analysis
When the daughter-in-law had told him a no to the beggar for food, the mother-in-law should have just not bothered to call the poor beggar back. The poor beggar had actually wasted his time for other person's whim. I find that the ego of the mother-in-law is unnecessary as the answer was already given by the daughter-in-law. It only wasted the beggar's time, that's all. The result was the same - no food. This is the ego. A fall in a man comes when ego and pride appear first. Ego appears before a man's fall. Ego is being not natural and egolessness is our natural self. Egolessness leads to fearlessness and there will be no nervousness in a person.

Applicable to Running
If you take your time as the opponent, there is no ego. You are in fact challenging against your own self. Hence, since it is your own self, one will not feel stressed to perform. When you know that the enemy or opponent is you yourself, we tend to go for goals that we can achieve easily. You are not afraid of your own self.

If you take your opponent as your target, you may not have a peaceful sleep the night before. The target may not be gradual, systematic and progressive. It could be something that cannot be achieved. Furthermore, when one loses, the ego is affected and depression may set in. In the case of losing to your own timing, one will strive to achieve the time one has done or a little bit better. This will give one less stress. The only person you are going to lose is oneself. Our great runner from Malaysian, M. Ramachandran has done this and had achieved success most of the time, if not every time. Also, I had this form of experience of doing well during a race by concentrating on improving my own time rather than concentrating on winning. Winning will take place by itself automatically. Hence, no nervousness and only fearlessness will set in. The muscles will be relaxed. 

It is good to note that the ego is not one's self. 
 

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.

The Training Secrets of the Kenyan Runners (Part 3)

Note:

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)

Kenya Training - Running to Win

Picture 1 -  Haile Gabreselassie from Ethiopia (Nominated as the Best Long Distance Runner Ever and Current World Marathon Record Holder 2hrs 03min 59sec) and Paul Tergat from Kenya ( 5 times World Cross-Country Championships; Former World Marathon Record Holder 2hrs 04min 55sec) giving the thumbs up. A mark of true sportsmanship shown through friendship after a competition.

During my stay in Kenya, on one of the day, I went for a run at Kaptagat Forest once. The forest was very nice to run. The width of the route was around 3 metres. The slope was gradual and it can go for 1km up and 1km down. The gradient is about 1-3 percent. It was very hard to see any very steep hill/s. On the other hand, in MacRitchie Reservoir (Singapore), we do have hills. However, these hills are considered steep to my standard. From my experience, it is not advisable to do long runs in a terrain which has many steep hills. One gets tired easily and get knee injury if run repetitively daily. It is possible to get achilles tendon injury.

The long runs should be done on a flat terrain which has a soft surface. This allows a person to have more distance during the run. I realised that the Kenyan terrain allows one not to get injury easily. The track is made up of sandy track. Near Kip Keino Training Camp, there was no synthetic track was found. In fact, Mike Kosgei, the former coach who led the National Team for 15 years, believes that athletes should avoid training on the tarmac and on a synthetic track because it brings a lot of injuries. He also feels that a lot of injuries are come from running on synthetic tracks.

Picture 2 - Terrain is usually flat and filled with plenty of very gradual upslopes and downslopes

Poverty
Poverty in Kenya has driven some to succeed in running to be successful in life. For a Kenyan, it is an avenue to travel and seize an opportunity. Poverty makes the runners work very hard to do well in running. It is not just the altitude training that matters. The attitude of the runner also matters much to do well in Kenya. I have seen the attitude of the runners doing the workout in Kenya. The Kenyans do the workout 10 times more with a good attitude than what we do in Singapore. It is good to witness this and if one wants to see this attitude, which is shown outwardly, one should be present during the workout. It just strengthens one's mind. Also, with less luxury, the Kenyans are very tough inside. I feel that luxurious life of rich people will only make one attached to materials more for better comforts, which is usually not that helpful to a person who wants to do well. More comforts mean less tolerance for pain.

Picture 3 - Poverty makes one run or walk to school enabling one to exercise their body from formative years.

Food
Most of the hotels have chapati, a kind of Indian food which is made of wheat.  Chapati (looks like an omelette but is prepared only flour and water). The Kenyans sometimes include rice to their food. So that explains why they get slow energy throughout the day (glycogen) and fast energy (glucose). Another important food that the Kenyans consume and is a basic Kenyan food is Ugali (a thick mash made out of boiled white corn/maize meal and water, at least once a day). The ugali is known as super stable food.

Picture 4 - Kenyan food ugali (Staple food of the Kenyans providing good vitamins and minerals and trace elements in the diet)

Weather
The weather was cooling to run at any time of the day. I used to think, in the past. that the weather in Kenya is hot like those found in the Sahara Desert. However, this was proven wrong when I was there. I found the weather to be cooling most of the time. The humidity level is much lower than those found in hot countries. The weather is great to do workouts during most of the months, except for November and December, where you will experience the winter time. It is in a way harder to run at this time of the year as the weather will be very cold.

Picture 5 - Kenyan weather is usually cooling or cold but not hot and the humidity level is low and generally dry.

Friendly People
Nearly all Kenyas, the rich and poor, are generally very friendly towards people. Nearly everyone tends to smile, even those who were found to be poor. When I was there, I found that it was very easy to mix with them. If you take up some of the language, Swahili, and converse with the Kenyans, they will tend to think of you as a very good friend or a brother. Even just calling a person 'jumbo' is enough to make one a friend of the Kenyan people. The Kenyan runners, even though they run competitively, tend to look relaxed throughout the day by smiling most of the time. Rarely they frown. 

Picture 6 - People are usually smiling, by nature, most of the time even during stress. 'Nevermind' and 'that's ok' are some of their key words to allay a stressful situation. It takes at least 55 muscles in the face to frown and at around half of the 55 muscles to smile. Less energy expended this way. Even during poverty, they smile. This is my true experience.

Massage
It was very hard to get the massage person to help all athletes. Top athletes are given opportunities to have a massage as a daily thing. Massage is another reason for the Kenyans to do well in sports. I was able to have my massage in Kenya, after some time. I believe the massage will be able to make a person to recover faster. Massage will enable the muscles to loosen up. I felt that, at the elite level, massaging is important to recover and perform well in running

Picture 7 -Massage is something that is very hard to come by. It is a privilege for those who do very well and are the elite runners.

Raising the Women Standard
The runners during the workout are usually men but they also have women in the group. The reason for putting women runners in the men's workout group is to make the girls work very hard and improve in running. At a high standard, the athletes were working very hard and do the workout. The girls were fortunate in doing the workout with the men.

Picture 8 - The Kenyan women athletes doing workouts are fearless of doing workouts with men and have the attitude to chase men who are elite as well.

Periodisation
All year-round, the Kenyan athletes train and rest only for 5 weeks in a year. This is a magical formula which allows an athlete not to get burn out or get oneself very lethargic. They also know that 5 weeks in a year is enough to make the body to recover and recoil back in training. During the 5 weeks of rest, the Kenyans athletes, in fact, usually feel the hunger rising to train harder in training and they will look forward to doing this. During the 5 weeks, they will not focus on anything to do with running and they usually attend to things that they have missed in life, such as, being with the family, after being in the training camps, where they have to stay in most of the time. They have off-season, pre-season, mid-season and finally the competition season to work on throughout the year.

Picture 9 - Periodisation allows proper planning to ensure success in the long-run in long-distance running.

Goal Setting
Once the Kenyan coaches set a target for the Kenyan runners to attain, they train very hard to attain the sub-goals. Even during the off-season, they do workouts which keeps them ready to prepare well for the very intensive season, even though the goals during the off-season is not too high. I realised that there are conditioning workout goals that are quite hard to attain, but the Kenyans runners work very hard to attain it. Many athletes I talk to generally talk about coming in first in future in international races and become a world-class runner. They have big dreams.


 Picture 10 - Talks were given on goal-setting, the answer to achieving any impossible tasks at hand. There are sub-goals and long-term goals set.

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.

Rishi(Sage) Pose - For a Great Hip Flexibility

Note:

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)

Rishi (Sage) Pose - For Hip Flexibility

Benefits of Rishi (Sage) Pose

(1) Strengthens the back and spine
(2) Promotes flexibility
(3) Balances your body
(4) Streamlines the waist

Directions on how to do the Rishi Pose.
Make a jump and make your legs and feet go astride, more than shoulder-width apart. Hands are to be at the side of the body. In standing position, breathe in and at the same time bring the arms outstretched at shoulder height, palms open with fingers touching each other. The toes should be facing forward. Breathe out and go down in a relaxed manner using the left-hand fingers to touch the right foot. Do this by breathing out at the same time. While in this position, ensure that the other hand is up as like shown in the picture. The hand should be such that one should be able to see the palm of the hand that is up. The other hand should be on the toes. On the next inhalation lift the arms outwards to shoulder height with the palms facing down. Exhale and lower to torso down placing the right hand on your left ankle, shin or knee, twisting the back slightly. Raise the left arm up with the palms facing you. The eyes should be able to see the palm that is up.

Hold the posture for about 20 seconds by breathing normally. Breathing in, come out of this pose, bring the pose to the original standing pose with hands outstretched. The arms, as usual, should be outwards to shoulder height with the palms facing down. Release the pose by breathing out and the hands coming down to the side of the body. Then, jump in from legs astride position to legs and feet coming together.


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.

Sahara Desert 250km Challenge - 25th Oct 2009

Note:

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)

Sahara Desert 250km Run - The Fantastic Three

Mika Kume - In action in one of the race that she had taken part in

Mika Kume is one of those who came with me to Kenya in 2001. She went there to train swimming, cycling and running. During my stay there, I found her to be one of the fittest in the triathlon group from Singapore that joined us in Kenya. Over time, after the Kenya Trip (10 days), we were back in Singapore. After that inspirational tour, in the year 2002, I trained hard to do a 1hr 17min and came in as the champion for the Army Half Marathon (21.1km) Men Open, local section. Over time, in the year 2008, at the age of 43, I came in first for the Men Open local champion in the Standard Chartered Marathon (42.195km). As far as Mika Kume is concerned, I realised that she came in as a champion for the Desaru Long Distance Triathlon 2009, for 35 years old and above, Women Veteran category.

Recently, from my former classmate, Johnson Jacob, I realised that there were some people who were about to take part in the Sahara Desert 250km run, last year (2009). I was thinking that anyone who takes part in this race must be crazy. The reason is that these people will have to prepare their training very well and must be physically and mentally very strong to endure pain. At that time, I did not have any blog to write about this but I had all the admiration to those who want to push their limits. I also did not believe that Johnson will take part in this race as he was not that active during his teenage years. It was very surprising to find that my very own former primary school classmate now is doing Ironman race and Ultramarathon races in an active fashion.


Last week, I told myself to do an interview on the three people who went from Singapore to take part in this event, the mixed group who trained in Singapore and brought the Singapore flag to the Sahara Desert. Since two of them are available - Johnson and Mika - I decided to do an interview on them.
  
Before discussing the Sahara Challenge, Johnson has taken part in the Gobi Desert 250km. Let me ask him about this before we look at the Sahara Challenge.

An Interview with Johnson

What is your age now?
 Johnson: 45

What was the year that you took part competitively?
Johnson: The year was 2003. On the day that I started training around May for Triathlon, I also gave up smoking totally.

Which was your first competition?
Johnson: It was in July 2003, I took part in the Port Dickson triathlon event consisting of 1.5km swim 40km cycle and followed by a 10km run. Our friend, by the name of Christian, is right now is attempting his first-ever ironman in Paris. The race is coming in a week's time.

How many Ironman race have you taken part in?
Johnson: 6 times.

Can you tell me your personal best time for the Ironman?
Johnson: It was held in Langkawi 2007. I did it in a time of 13hr 34min.
I have completed 3 marathons already.


Interview to Mika and Johnson on the Sahara Desert 250km run.

When was Sahara Desert 250km race held?
Mika: 25th Oct 2009

How many athletes did the team consists of?
Mika: Three

Can you name the people who took part in this challenge?
Mika: Christian, Johnson Jacob and myself.

When did you decide to train for this type of challenge?
Mika: I cannot remember exactly when but it was around May?

Johnson: I started training for this from June 2008 with my friends Christian and Steven Lim

How was the feeling like when you know you are about to do this type of challenge?
Mika: Scared, the only fear I had was I had to carry my own baggage.

Johnson: Nervous. because one blister is enough to affect our movement. It is a matter of time when you are going to get it. The heat was blistering with 57 degrees centigrade. We also had to eat the barest minimum per day. It is like running a marathon per day.

Did you run with sufficient water?
Mika: At every 10km point, there was a water point?

Do you need a Compass? How do you find the route?
Johnson: Even in the dark, we could see. We find the route safe to travel.

Is there a chance of getting oneself lost?
Johnson: At every 50m or 100m, there is a flag planted to the floor, The possibility of getting lost is 0%, except when you focus. There are cases of people getting disoriented when dehydration and exhaustion take place. In the dark, we use a headlight.

Was the route challenging?
Mika:  The organisers set the course. We were daily going nearly 1 marathon per day for 4days. On the fifth day, we had to travel 170km. On the sixth day, we need to travel about 10km to finish the race, in front of the pyramid. The reward for us was cold beer and pizza was waiting. My achilles started to hurt. I was very hungry. During the run, I slowed down the team a lot because of the pain at the achilles. I was very hungry also.
My team-mates were very patient with me. 

How was the organisation and organisers of the event?
Mika: It was organised very well. The organisers were good. They did a fantastic job.

Johnson: The volunteers have had first-hand experience having done the race before. They voluntarily assist the raced with pure dedication. The checkpoints are there to monitor whether the competitors have reached the point safely and they are not lost. 

What position did the team get and was there any award for this race?
Mika: We were given a trophy. Overall we were second.

How much was the registration fee for this race?
Johnson: The fee was US$3200. The race registration fee fluctuates with the market conditions.

How did you feel when you have finished the race?
Mika: A sense of achievement.

Johnson: The memorable day was the 2nd last day. We felt that the race was already over. For the last day, we just had to do a last 10km run.

How was the facilities during the race?
Mika: There were no luxuries to enjoy.

Johnson: We did not have a shower for the 6 days. We had to go to the hotel. There were no facilities. There was no water to brush our teeth. I was not able to shave and I was growing a beard.

What is/are your future goal/s?
Mika: In future, I would like to go for the Nepal 250km Challenge

Johnson: After the Sahara, I have done the Standard Chartered Marathon in Singapore in 2009. I am now preparing for the Antarctica race in November 2010. However, I would like to take part in the 100km Northface Run and the Safra Army Half-Marathon before the Antarctica race.

We wish Christian, Mika and Johnson all the best for their future challenges.
 

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.

Marathon Runners That I Coached - (Part 1) - Bala - 2hr 33min.

Note:

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)

Balasubramaniam - The Long Forgotten Runner

Around 1989, when I saw Balasubramaniam, he looked like a strong young runner, who was about 3 years younger than me. He had broad shoulders and was fair in complexion. I met him when he was training with the then national coach Sivalingam. He was a mediocre runner in the group of runners which consisted of top youth athletes like M. Maran (4.8km – 14m 13sec, 1500m – 3min 53sec, 3000m steeplechase – 9min 11sec). M, Maran was a bronze medalist for the SEA Games and Asian Youth Athletics Championships. Another runner who was training at the same time and a training partner to M. Maran was Saravanan, who was able to do 3min 53sec for the 1500m and has a championships record for the under 20 National School Track and Field with a time of 3min 59sec for the 1500m.

Over time, Bala, being slow in the group of marathon runners. Hence, he was willing to stop being a track runner and become a marathon runner. I supported him because of his strength to run with easily getting tired. Later on, he was getting faster over time. He also came with a back pain injury when he joined me. He told me that the injury came because of doing intensive workouts after workouts every other day. He also has been asking around for someone to get him out of the back and spine problem. In fact, he was not able to run well because of this severe pain.

Seeing this, I recommended to him to lower down his mileage for the time being and increase the total mileage of the week gradually only when the injury disappears. He was open to this idea of doing some of the yoga stretching exercises that I suggested to him to strengthen his lower back muscles. Anyway, he had no choice in this matter for he had waited for the injury to go and it was to no avail. He had to do the stretching exercises and he did it. Earlier on, in all training sessions, he was complaining about the injury all the time. However, after some time, his complaining suddenly decreased and finally stopped.

For several days, we two used to run our daily long runs together. He was getting much faster over time. He also had this boundless energy to run non-stop. He was in a way grateful to me because of the simple stretches that I thought him to do. He told me that he felt good because of these stretches. He became an ardent person who liked doing the yoga stretches before and after the runs.

Seeing his improvement in running, I told Bala that he had the potential to come in top 3 in the Singapore Marathon. My prediction was that he might even come in first. I told him this truth. To this, he always humbled himself down and told me that he wants to run for fitness only. During that time, he was very enthusiastic to train with me. He was also particular on punctuality. This affected me because I was always going by the feeling of my body and not to the program. I make changes to my program if I do not do well.

I had the idea of better later late than never attitude. This is because, sometimes, a day before the run with him, I feel very tired and need more rest. I used to listen to my body. By resting, I was able to run better, maybe in the later part of the day. I used to tell Bala not to wait beyond 5-10mins for me. As soon as I do not turn up, I usually will ask him to go first. I used to get scolding from him because of me coming late. That went on for some time.

In the 1990 Singapore Marathon, Bala ran and took part in the race. At the start of the race, he was running with me. We looked strong. We ran all the way until the 25km mark where he felt stronger started surging. I was taking a conservative approach to the race, even though, I felt strong. Somewhere, at the last 3km, I ran fast and caught up with a lot of people. As soon as I entered the stadium, I realized that Bala was first and I was second. He did 2hr 35min and I did 2hrs 36min. Bala told many that I coached him to do well. However, I felt I said that I only gave my two cents worth on the training program. He even invited the Media Corp to take a 20min documentary of both of us. We worked as a team. Bala was appreciative towards me for what I had done. He even started telling many people about this. However, I told myself not to get elated with this and also kept my ego at bay. I told myself to ever to remain humble all the time.

After some time, the two of us used to train together for some months. Bala decided to get a program from overseas, from countries like Japan and Korea. He even asked me to follow suit in the pursuit of excellence. I wanted to see what program he was having. I realized that a female runner from Sivalingam’s group gave the e-mail address of the overseas runners to Bala to contact for the program. Evaluating the program, I told Bala not to train like the program. To this, “You don’t know Rameshon, this is the way to do well, then we can improve”. The reason I said that was because he was aiming to do the 3 rounds of the northern route at Macritchie, every day. I told him that this is absurd and tried to save him from this predicament. That went in vain as he was very aggressive in carrying out his plan. I could not stop him as success had conquered him and he was not willing to listen to me. I left him alone.

While I was training, at times, he came to me to ask me to join him. I firmly said a no to him. All-day long, Bala kept running 3 rounds of the northern route. One round of it is 10km. He was also eating amino acid bread and a kind of amino acid powder. I told him that some of the amino acids are essential and are able to be manufactured by the body and some essential one are not. However, it can be taken from outside in the form of food, in a diet like soya bean and milk, as suggested by Dr Teh Kong Chuan. He did not believe me this. He believed that amino acid is the answer and key to run faster. I believed that Bala should have got supplement drinks which are good for recovery, instead. He turned a deaf ear to me. I told myself that I have done my best to help him.

In February 1991, he was the first choice runner to represent Singapore and because of his 2hr 35min performance in the Singapore Marathon, he was selected to represent Singapore in the California Marathon. He did 2hr 33min there while I represented Singapore in the Hong Kong Marathon and came in 5th with a time of 2hrs 31min. I broke the record set by Tan Choon Ghee in China 2hr 34min. I was immediately selected for the SEA Games Marathon then. Bala was not selected. He was disappointed with this. The Singapore Amateur Athletics Association told him that only one person can go for the SEA Games. I was hoping that the two of us could go.

Over time, he avoided a lot of races and after a period of time, he came in 9th position in the SAA Cross-Country Race. He kept running 30km per day relentlessly. He kept asking me to join him. I avoided him because of his repeated calls to do this run. Bala was still doing 30km per day for several months with a pace which was faster than sub 5min per km.

I really do not know what happened to him later on. He used to complain to me that SAAA is not helping him much. I was not listening to this as I believed in hard work. If we work hard definitely fate will give us the opportunity to run overseas. After so long, I still did not meet Bala anymore. Maybe, I feel that the 30km that he did running fast had made him burnt out. Only, God knows what happened. When people asked about him, I used to tell them, “ I don’t know”.

The End


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.