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)
Jonathan Rourke - Fastest progress by any Flexifitness Athlete within 4 months
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)
Jonathan Rourke - Fastest progress by any Flexifitness Athlete within 4 months
Jonathan Rourke, in short, we call Jon, joined us for our group training session about 4 months back. Jon told me that he just would like to do a sub - 40min in life before the end of November 2012. He had a personal best time of 42 min plus for the 10km race in Singapore.
When he trained with us, I realised that he was very talented. He was improving very rapidly with improvement in gait over a period of time. He was facing some potential injuries to his leg. Over time, this problem vanished. In Civil Service race, he ran the in the 10km and did a big personal best time of 38min 50sec. It was a massive improvement from 42min to 38min 50sec.
Over a period of time, with structured training, Jon did 37min 50sec in the New Balance Real Run 2012 race, which was held at Changi Exhibition Center a week back. Jon did an impressive time trial with Flexifitness a week back before the race. This is a good personal best time from the past 42min season-best. As such, I found it prudent to interview Jon to spur many to improve in running.
An Interview With Jonathan Rourke.
What was your 10km time in the past before you joined our Flexifitness running group?
In
the UK, my personal best was around 40 minutes and 20 seconds, around 6
years ago. In Singapore, my personal best was 42 minutes 30 seconds,
achieved shortly before I was introduced to the Flexifitness team
Can you share with us how you felt about your personal best time of the past?
I
felt I should be able to run faster, certainly sub-40 minutes, but I
never seemed to quite have the speed or stamina to break through the
barrier, despite being fairly close many times.
What was your goal in the past, about 1 year back?
I
was still hoping to be able to break 40 minutes, but was hesitant given the heat in Singapore and the fact I am not getting any younger...
How was your improvement in 10km race currently?
I
have been fortunate to have improved my time very rapidly since joining
Flexifitness. I ran 38 minutes 50 seconds in the Civil Service Run By
The Bay and completed the Real Run in 37 minutes 50 seconds a couple of weeks ago. The latter was particularly pleasing as it included long beach and trail sections, which were tough as there had been a lot of rain.
Can you share with us on the improvement that you have been having recently?
I
have been able to consistently train for the first time in quite a
while, which I think has been the main driver of my improvements. I set a
personal best for 5km time trial in the Flexifitness sessions of 18
minutes 50 seconds, but improved that by over a minute in little over a
week, which was pleasing. Similarly, I managed 8km in 30 minutes and 30
seconds 3 weeks ago and last night improved that to 29 minutes 50
seconds. I think the key to this has been my ability to stay injury-free
and consistently put in some good mileage.
Will you taking part in any recent race?
I am hoping to run in the Run For Hope in the middle of November, provided my imminent new baby holds off until after the run.
Are you hoping for another personal best time?
I hope
to be able to run a PB as it should be a fairly fast course compared to the Real Run. I believe I may be able to run sub-37 minutes 30 seconds if I can keep training hard for the next few weeks, we will see!
What is your long term goal?
I
want to run a sub 37 minute 10km when I go back to the UK in the summer. Beyond that, I would like to eventually run a sub 3 hr marathon,
but given I have never run further than a half marathon before and have not broken 1 hr 30 minutes yet for a half, I still have a lot of work to do!
By Narayanan
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.
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.
