runningcoachsg: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Trikoasana - Pose to avoid ITB problems.

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)

During my 20s and 30s, when I had problems with the outer knee, usually situated at the lateral part of the knee, I find this asana beneficial.

One such asana that is good for the ITB band is the asana shown in the two pictures. Both are known as Trinkoasna (Triangle Pose). It will be a good idea to stretch like this for 20sec on each side, left and right-hand side of the body.

Knees are to be straight. Where we are bending, the opposite side of the body is benefiting from the stretch. A guide can correct for good posture. One should stand laterally and not moving the body to the front or back.

Usually, we do many of the asanas and forget to do this asana., This is one asana which will be good for the lateral part of the knee.

Try it! Especially before and after the runs.

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Nelson Rotich and Janet Rono - Winners of Hong Kong Marathon.

Note:

By Rameshon

Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Nelson Rotich and Janet Rono - Winners of Hong Kong Marathon

Picture 1 - Nelson Rotich winning the race with Julius, fellow Kenyan getting the second placing.

Janet Rono, 22, the Kenyan woman runner, ran the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and broke the course record by a second (the former record was 2hr 33min 43sec). She was also not one of the invited international runners to run the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday morning. However, she wise and fortunate decision to spend a thousand dollars on an air ticket, and win the first prize of US$34000. Rono is deserving only of praise for her initiative in clocking 2.33.42, beating the mark set by Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgyzstan in 2001. The second was the veteran Moroccan Samira Raif, in 2.33.51, and third was Bifa Yeshinabet Tadesse of Ethiopia, in 2.34.14.

Janet Rono’s previous best was 2.37.08. Hence, she found it hard to get an invitation to run overseas races. That shouldn’t be a problem for Rono from now on.

In the men's open marathon race, her colleague Julius Maisei took a similar chance. He was catching up with the race leader Nelson Rotich in the final two kilometres, and eventually caved in to give his compatriot’s 2.16.00 victory. While I was waiting for Ashley Liew and Lim Thow Wee and Anne Date, I saw the gap between Nelson Rotich and Julius Maisei at first to be more convincing. However, as the finish was nearing, I heard a gentleman telling me that Julius was quickly catching up. While Nelson was running towards the finish, he knew that the race was his and not Julius's. Around the last 800m, Nelson did not show any form of panicking and still showed sign that he was in control and was confident in winning. That was evident at the last 50 metres when Nelson was running in a cool, calm and contented way. It was inspirational for me to see especially his composure in believing in himself and in not getting distracted by the opponent fast approaching towards the finish. If I was in his position, I may have panicked. It was that close to losing the first position to Julius. Julius was just 6 seconds away to snap Nelson's US $34000 reward by winning the race. Anyway, Maisei was able to net $15000 for the second placing, in 2.16.06. In third place was Tesfaye Girma Bekele of Ethiopia, in 2.16.31. The race was a very close one for any prediction to take place.

The weather was perfect and cool, except for the high humidity (80% to 90%) on that day and the rain showers made the road slick in places. At the start, the temperature was recorded to be around 13 - 16 degrees Centigrade. Rotich concurred, “ But this course is very hard, it’s the hardest marathon course I’ve run (out of 14 races), and today was slippery. Everyone was playing it safe, because of the road conditions. The field was still together at 37k (of 42), but I had made a couple of attempts to get away, and I could see no one was going to follow me, so I had a good idea I could win”. Rotich was kind enough and said some of it would go to the less fortunate runners in his training group, “so they can rent houses when they come to train with us, and buy food”.

Most of Rotich’s marathons have been in the Far East. For example, he has won marathons in Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, India and Thailand. He is now aiming for Kuala Lumpur and Taipei for marathon races.

Note: The international prize is until 12 prizes for male and 5 prizes for female in terms of cash incentives. The officials cited that not much competition in the women open has made them to decide on this. However, there was equality shown as the prizes for men and women open for individual placing was the same for the top 1 to 5.

RESULTS

MEN

1 Nelson Kirwa ROTICH KEN 2.16.00 34,000 (US$)

2 Julius Kiplimo MAISEI KEN 2.16.06 15,000

3 Tesfaye Girma BEKELE ETH 2.16.31 6,500

4 Robert Kiplagat KOSEKEI KEN 2.16.53 3,600

5 Hammou MOUDOUJI MAR 2.16.55 1,800

6 Julius Kiprono MUTAI KEN 2.17.04 1,600

WOMEN

1 Janet Jelegat RONO KEN 2.33.42 34,000

2 Samira RAIF MAR 2.33.51 15,000

3 Bifa Yeshimabet TADESSE ETH 2.34.14 6,500

4 Negash Hadush LETAY ETH 2.35.35 3,600

5 CHENG Wenrong CHI 2.35.49 1,800

6 Rose CHESHIRE KEN 2.38.06 Nil

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Asian Cross-Country C'ships 2011 Postponed

Note:

By Rameshon

Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Asian Cross-County C'ships 2011 (Race Date: 20/02/2011 - Postponed)

The Asian Cross Country Championships is held once in every two years and it is a regional running competition for athletes from Asia. The race is organised by the Asian Athletics Association. The first Asian Cross Country Championships was first held in 1991 in Fukuoka, Japan where Shozo Shimoju and Mun Gyong-Ae came in champions for male and female race respectively. The competition has been held every two years since then, although the 2003 edition was postponed due to political conflicts within the region.

In the year 2009, Ahmed Hassan Abdullah and MaryamYusuf Jamal came in the first individual for the Asian Cross Country Championships for men open and women open for Qatar and Bahrain, respectively.

The championships comprises of four races: separate senior races for men and for women, and two corresponding junior races for the sexes. Furthermore, in each of the four races athletes compete simultaneously for both individual medals and team medals. For the team competitions, the final positions of the best finishing runners from each country are combined and the team with the lowest points total wins.

Athletes and teams of Japan, China and Iran have historically been the most successful of the championships. However, Qatar and Bahrain have become increasingly dominant since 2005, led by a number of East African-born athletes who have transferred allegiance to the small Middle-Eastern states.

Latest news - the 2011 edition of Asian Cross Country Championships, set for February in Kathmandu, has been postponed after the Nepalese government did not provide the requisite funds needed to host the event.

Individual Champions - For Senior Men and Women's race and Team Champion

1991
Men Open
Shozo Shimoju (JPN), Men Team Japan (JPN)

Women Open
Mun Gyong-Ae, Team (PRK), Women Team North Korea (PRK)

1993
Men Open
Hamid Sajjadi (IRI). Men Team India (IND)
Women Open
Minori Hayakari (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

1995
Men Open
Seiichi Miyajima (JPN), Men Team Japan (JPN)
Women Open
Atsumi Yashima (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

1997
Men Open
Saad Shaddad Al-Asmari (KSA), Men Team Saudi Arabia (KSA)
Women Open
Chiemi Takahashi (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

1999
Men Open
Ahmad Zarekar (IRI), Men Team Japan (JPN)
Women Open
Mizuki Noguchi (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

2001
Men Open
Jafar Babakhani (IRI), Men Team Sri Lanka (SRI)
Women Open
Yasuyo Iwamoto (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

2004
Men Open
Han Gang (CHN), Men Team China (CHN)
Women Open
Yumi Sato (JPN), Women Team Japan (JPN)

2005
Men Open
Han Gang (CHN), Men Team Qatar (QAT)
Women
Li Helan (CHN), Women Team China (CHN)

2007
Men Open
Ahmed Hassan Abdullah (QAT), Men Team Qatar (QAT)
Women Open
Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR), Women Team Bahrain (BHR)

2009
Men Open
Ahmed Hassan Abdullah (QAT), Men Team Qatar (QAT)
Women Open
Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BHR) , Women Team Japan (JPN)

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

HK is Asia's toughest marathon - Analysis of Men Race

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)

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011 - Asia's toughest.

A COMPARISON
List of invited runners - INTERNATIONAL MEN

2009/2010 20/02/2011
(PERSONAL BEST) (CHIP TIME)
2hr 14min 46sec .........2hr 20min 53sec KEN Cyprian Mwobi
2hr 10min 13sec......... 2hr 16min 00sec KEN Nelson Kirwa Rotich
2hr 10min 17sec .........2hr 16min 24sec ETH Tesfaye Girma B
2hr 10min 58sec .........2hr 20min 30sec KEN Philemon Kemboi
2hr 28min 50sec ........2hr 31min 33sec MON Batbayar D
2hr 15min 00sec .........2hr 17min 29sec KEN John Tubei
2hr 20min 17sec .........2hr 21min 14sec CHN Yuxue Gao
2hr 21min 49sec .........2hr 16min 55sec MOR Hammou Moudouji
2hr 30min 00sec .........2hr 34min 37sec CHT Wang Chui Chun
2hr 46min 23sec .........2hr 47min 11sec CHT Lok Wai Kin
2hr 47min 00sec .........2hr 37min 40sec MAL Shaharuddin H
2hr 47min 16sec .........2hr 49min 17sec MAC Chan Chong Ip
2hr 51min 22sec .........2hr 45min 34sec SIN Ashley Liew
.........2hr 28min 12sec PHI Elmer Sabal
.........2hr 50min 00sec INDO Albinus Sila
2hr 24min 50sec .........2hr 30min 31sec NEP Arjun Prasad
2hr 13min 00sec .........2hr 17min 55sec ETH Towfik Ailshikur

Hong Kong Marathon is the toughest marathon in Asia and the news is out. In the year 2008, I found that all the people whom I had spoken to told me that Hong Kong Marathon has one or two hills.

To my amazement, the route was filled with highways of up slopes and down slopes.

For the sake of Ashley, I had to ask the officials on the bus to bring us around to support our runners. The officials told us that as soon as the race starts, we will go to the finish point to wait for our runners to come in. Lim Thow Wee was also running in this but we were not able to meet as we got tired from the route orientation and we were told to submit the drinks to the officials before a certain time. Hence, Lim Thow Wee, Ashley and I were not able to meet on that day.

Very important for one to do in this marathon is to prepare properly for the marathon. Ashley Liew, the Malaysian Shaharuddin Hashim, Morocco male and female athletes were some of those who did personal best time. The rest of them plus even Lim Thow Wee had to go through the agonising terrain and came with 3hr 09min. Let us look at the summary of the report on why it is Asia's toughest marathon.

Picture 1 - Samira Raif (2hr 33min 50sec) and Hammou Moudouji (not in the picture) (2hr 16min) are those who told me immediately that they are intending not to improve the time but go for their same existing personal best time. They ended up do a very good personal best time.

Picture 2 - Arjun Prasad, predicted a 2hr 30min after seeing the route. His personal best time was 2hr 24min.

Picture 3 - Ashley and Shaharuddin, from Singapore and Malaysia respectively were sharing ideas on marathon running. Both posted good personal best time.

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Summary of Hong Kong Marathon 2011

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

A memorable day in Hong Kong in the Standard Chartered Marathon race.

The Hong Kong officials were very hospital to the athletes, coaches and managers. Hong Kong officials are one of the best in attending to the needs of the runners and they were very professional in ensuring the smooth flow of the race. I realised that it would be good to write in in pictorial form so that what happened in Hong Kong will be known to the public.

Official Results - Please read this for the detailed result of invited runners.
Women's Result
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6373683750179624936&postID=1049580446350893282
Men's Result.
http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/02/hong-kong-marathon-2011-men-open.html

Picture 1 - The first thing that happened was Ashley Liew was waiting for me at the hotel lobby.

Picture 2 - Meeting Arjun Prasad from Nepal, a 2hr 24min runner who predicted that his time that he is going for was 2hr 30min. On the day of the race, he got it.

Picture 3 - Lunchtime, Shaharuddin had to find for halal food while I had to hunt for vegetarian food. David Chao volunteered to help us in this. One of the best results of the day was from Shaharuddin Hashim from Malaysia, from 2hr 47min in Penang Marathon 2010, he brought the time down to 2hr 37min in this race, which consisted of numerous upslopes and down slopes. I also noticed that he is an experienced runner who knows how to avoid mistakes in running a race.

Picture 4 - I had to take this photo before Ashley goes out for the race. Memorable moments where we sometimes forget to take.

Picture 5 - Right timing for the warm-up in the morning helped Ashley to get his target time. Earlier, he wanted to warm up, but I had to tell him that those who were warming up at that time were the half-marathoners. Shaharuddin was also waiting for the right time to warm up. Shaharuddin was very patient in warming up.

Picture 6 - The runners are about to start the race.

Picture 7 - Nelson Kirwa Rotich was running the last kilometre in a relaxed fashion and did not feel intimidated until the finish. He showed great confidence during the race. He emerged as the champion 2hr 15min 58sec).

Picture 8 - Samira Raif, one of the top Moroccon runner, who came in second for women overall, was given an interview. She is a coach and a Physical Education teacher as well as a person. Her timing was 8 sec away from the course record. I saw her giving everything that she had and only started walking 1 metre after the finish point.

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Shaharuddin 2hr 37min 40sec in HK Marathon 2011

Note:

By Rameshon

Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Shaharuddin Hashim (on the right) - The police inspector who likes running as a passion.

Shaharuddin Hashim from Malaysia has a personal best time of 2hr 33 sec for the marathon race. However, last year, in the Penang Bridge Marathon, he came in first with 2hr 47min for the race and was very disappointed. " It was humid and hot in the morning and the race start time was way too early that I did not have enough sleep", he recounted.

Shaharuddin is being trained by Chidabaram, Malaysia's steeplechase former great runner. Shaharuddin right now needs a lot of support from the relevant sports association if he wants to do well in running. I can see real talent as his time was one of the best value-added time of the day.

I told him to give us the insights on the Hong Kong Marathon and he was more than willing to give it to me.

An Interview With Shaharuddin Hashim

How do you find this course?

Very tough course, indeed! A lot of up slopes and down slopes.

Can you tell us on the detail of your race?

In short, I did the half-way mark in 1hr 17min, at the finish I did 2hr 37min. Even at the last 5km, we had to encounter about 6 hills.

Are you happy with your time?

Considering the improvement from my season-best time of 2hr 47min to 2hr 37min, I feel that I am on track in my marathon goal.

Do you know that you have one of the most improved time?

Is it? Thanks for informing about this. I know that many did not do well. Only a handful few, and it was rare, did a personal best time. Few did a season-best time only.

How do you find the weather?

Good. I find the weather ok.

How does your wife feel about your run?

She will be very happy about this as she fully supports my passion for running.

What are your wishes?

To have altitude training so that I can go further in running.

How did you find the organisers?

Good. They really did a wonderful job in organising the race well.

Note:

By Narayanan

Invited International Hong Kong Marathon Results (Women).

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

NOTE - THIS IS THE OFFICIAL RESULT OF INVITED INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES IN THE HONG KONG MARATHON 2011

WOMAN OPEN
NOTE - THIS IS NOT THE OVERALL RESULT.

SAMIRA RAIF FROM MOROCCO FASTEST IN THE INVITED LIST.

2:33:46 Mor SAMIRA RAIF
2:35:32 Eth LETAY NEGASH HADEUSH
2:35;47 Chn ZHENG WENRONG
2:38:03 Ken ROSE CHESIRE
2:44:31 Ken MARGARET WANGU UJUGUNA
2:45:23 NZ VICTORIA BECK
2:55:24 JPN YOSHIKAWA TOSHIKO
2:56:25 SIN ANNE DATE
2:58:36 NZ SHIREEN CHUMPTON
3:20:58 MONG BATTSETSEG

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Hong Kong Marathon 2011 MEN OPEN INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY RESULTS.

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Invited Runners Results.

INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY - Official Results.
WOLASHE, BELAY (ETH) RECORD 2HR 13MIN 09SEC SET ON 22/2/1998

Picture 1 - Nelson Kirwa Rotich - Coming in first with a time of 2hr 15min 58sec (Chip Time)

Invited runners Results.
MEN OPEN RESULT

2:15:58 KEN NELSON KIRWA ROTICH
2:16:24 ETH TESFAYE GIRMA BEKELE
2:16:52 MOR HAMMOU MOUDOUJI
2:17:29 KEN JOHN TUBEI
2:17:55 ETH TOWFIK ABILSHIKUR HEIL
2:20:30 KEN PHILEMON KEMBOI
2:20:51 KEN CYPRIAN MWOBI
2:21:14 CHN YUXUE GAO
2:27:32 PHI ERIC PANIQUI
2:28:12 PHI ELMERSOBAL
2:30:31 NPL ARJUN PRASAD
2:31:33 MON BATBAYAR KORJPALAM
2:34:37 CHT WANG CHUI CHUN
2:37:40 MAL SHAHRUDDIN HASHIM
2:45:34 SIN ASHLEY LIEW
2:47:13 MAC LOKWAI LIN
2:49:17MAC CHUN CHONG IP
2:50:52 INDO NICHOLAS

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Lee Kar Lun - 1hr 20min 20sec (Champion) HK Half-Marathon 2011

Note:

By Rameshon

Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Lee Kar Lun - Still going strong at 52 years of age

I remember Lee Kar Lun when he was in Phuket, a long time ago, and in Japan where he ran the Biwako Marathon 1988 and gave up. Later on, He ran the Macau Marathon and did 2hr 27min and he still has this time as the personal best until now.

In the recent Hong Kong Marathon 2011, Lee Kar Lun did well by coming in first in the Men Masters 2, for 50 years and above.

I had an interview with Lee Kar Lun, after his victory in the Half - Marathon 2011.

How was the race?

A lot of hills. It was a tough course. I also do not want to aim very high because of this.

How about your competitors?

I had competitors who overtook me earlier. Later on, they were overtaken by me.

How is the weather?

The weather was good.

(From Author. Note the weather was 13-16 degrees centigrade and Humidity about 80 to 90%.)

How is your wife's response to this?

She is very happy.

What are you doing now?

Professional training and looking after the runners from one high school and a college.

What is your plan?

Compete like this and be healthy. I should know that I don't have to train how I used to train when I was young. Fitness matters in life.

Are you happy with this time?

Of course, I am very happy with the time.

Note:

By Narayanan

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Thomas Kiprotich - 2011 HK Half-Marathon Champion

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Thomas Kiprotich - Hong Kong Marathon 2011 (Half-marathon Champion)

I saw Thomas Kiprotich after the Hong Kong Marathon 2011. He ran and finished the half-marathon race. He was being interviewed by papers and he looked very fresh still.

He told me that he had to see his wife soon and told me to ask the questions. I decided to ask for one.

An Interview With Thomas Kiprotich

What was your position for the race?
I was first in the half-marathon race.

How was the route?
It was a tough route. There were a lot of uphills and downhills.

How were your competitors, did you have any?
I ran a solo race all the way without any competitors.

How about running the marathon the next time?
I just want to run in the half-marathon and not a marathon.

How did your training go?
I train for all year round. I was doing 3 workouts per week and the rest of the 3 days, I did easy intensity long runs.

Were you prepared for the hills?
Yes, I did some hill workouts once per week.

How about commenting on your training partners?
My training partner came in second.

Will you be having goals in the long run?
No, I just want to keep fit and keep my competitive edge to keep racing for some years.

Are you married?
Yes.

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 do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the 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.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Jelagat (1st), Samira Raif (2nd) Hong Kong Marathon 2011

Note:

By Rameshon

Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011 (Women's Race)

Samira Raif - From Morocco, does a personal best time 2hr 33min 50sec

Samira Raif, who had an earlier personal best time of 2hr 36min 46sec smashed her personal best time to 2hr 33min 50sec, considering the torturous highway of upslopes and downslopes. Yesterday, she told me she was taking 2hr 36min as a target. Samira is also a very friendly athlete who conversed with me and Ashley. Their team manager's name was Rashid who looked after Moudouji Hammou, the male runner from Morocco. Moudouji came in 5th position while Nelson Kirwa Rotich (from Kenya) finished with a time of 2hr 16min 00sec to claim the first position for men. Nelson missed the course record which was 2hr 13min 09sec. In the women's race, Rono Janey Jelagat (from Kenya) won the race doing a time of 2hr 33min 42sec. Samira just lost to Jelagat by 8secs.

Picture 1 - Kenya's Janey Jelagat pipping Morocco's Samira Raif for women's first place.

Anne Date of Singapore came in with a commendable time of 2hr 56min, far better than her previous run a few years back which was 3hr 01min done in Hong Kong.

Picture 2 - This is an inspirational photo of Samira giving everything she had got for the race.

Samira Raif of Morocco outsprinted the third runner Legesse Meseret from Ethiopia, who was one of the favourites to win the race, towards the end of the race with limited training. She gave her 100% and only started walking after finishing the race, limping seriously until I had to shout for the first-aid to help.

With that let us hear from the Samira Raif on the performance which saw her coming in second for Morocco and doing a personal best time.

An Interview With Samira Raif

Can you tell me your personal best timing for the long-distance events?

I was all the time running middle distance events before moving up to long-distance events like the marathon.

These are my middle distance timing.

800m - 2m 04s

1500m - 4min 10s

3000m - 9min 16s

Then what happened?

I took up marathon and started to race in 10km and half-marathon races.

The marathon races are given below.

2008 - Casablanca Marathon - 2hr 38min 18sec, Korea Marathon - 2hr 39min 01sec

2009 - Casablanca Marathon - 2hr 41sec (very hot),

2010 - Ottawa Marathon - 3rd position 2hr 36min

What about your personal best time for the 10km and Half - marathon?

10km - 32min 36sec

half - 1hr 11min 10sec

marathon - 2hr 36min 47sec (Ottawa Marathon, 2010)

What is your age now?

I am 37 years old

Are you married?

No.

What is your profession?

I am working as a High school teacher, teaching 15 years to 19-year-old children. I teach Physical Education.

How was the competition during the race?

There were 5 other female elite athletes until we reached 32km. It was competitive, changing gears and positions throughout for us 6 top runners. At 36km mark, the Ethiopian athletes pushed the pace. Until 39km, we were left with a Kenyan, an Ethiopian, and myself. I was third then. At 40km, Ethiopian runner Legesse Meseret suddenly opened up to go for it. The Kenyan was first, followed by Meseret and myself then. At the last kilometre, I started to make my move by giving out my strength and energy for this and overtook the Ethiopian runner. The Kenyan runner Rono Janey Jelagat came in 1st, and I came in 2nd, with the Ethiopian runner coming in third.

Picture 3 - Ethiopian runner Legesse Meseret eventually finished slightly behind Samira for the second runner-up position.

Tell us something about your daily training.

I don't really have the time to train much. I train once per day. It is good to train more but there is not enough time for me to do it.

How do you find the Hong Kong marathon route?

I find the route very challenging, consisting of a lot of highway with up slopes and down slopes. I am very surprised that I can do a personal best time. After the route orientation, I was telling myself to aim for a 2hr 36min in order to get a realistic timing considering the torturous uphills and downhills.

How do you find the weather conditions?

Very windy and rainy.

What is your long term goal?

I would like to go for a 2hr 27min which is my dream time.

Note:

By Narayanan