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 Saranniya R
Coach Rameshon - What is yet to come is discussed
Today, Coach Rameshon, 48, went down to 221 Henderson Road to collect the 10th position medal from the organisers' Spectrum Worldwide (Singapore) Pte Ltd.
It is official that he came in 10th position in Masters International Open for 40 years and above section.
Having won it, I was wondering that many out there might want to follow and find out on what is next for him. I realize that there are a number of them who read his blogpost. Hence I was thinking of giving an interview so that everyone is aware of his goal and next step while coaching a big group of children and a group of serious runners who have been taking his service professionally.
An Interview With Coach Rameshon
How do you rate your performance in Stanchart Marathon 2013?
I believe that I could have done a faster time for this race, probably a sub-3hr. A day before the race, I felt that I actually need a little more rest. On Friday, when I woke up, I was feeling very tired, just two days before the race. On Saturday, I felt better, but I could still feel the fatigue of my body. On the day of the race, I somehow felt good, but it was not that great. If I had rested my body a bit more I could have done well.
Are you happy about the race?
I was very happy with my time of 3hr 10min 17sec for the race. Many congratulated me, a number of them did this verbally and a number of them used the SMS service to congratulate me. Others used social media, like Facebook, e-mail to congratulate me. To all these well wishes, I would like to thank them.
How about your runners' performance?
The weather was good, but the performance as a whole, for my running group and the general population it was found that many did not do well as expected. One of FlexiFitness athlete by the name of Moses Ng was expected to do a sub - 3hr 18min, He had to pull out when he was at the 9th km mark. Since he was carrying an injury, he stopped. Others did not do well as expected.
However, others like Jensen Toh(3hr 22min), Jennifer Quek (4hr 01min), Szer Khee (4hr 06min), Tan Eng Howe (half-marathon 1hr 54min), Jimmy (5hr 05min), Hoang (10km - 47min plus) and Benjamin (10km - 46min) and Samir Bhandari (half-marathon - 2hr 09min) did a personal best for their selected 10km/half-marathon and marathon races. Overall, we have 9 people doing personal best. The other 9 of them did not do a personal best time.
Do you have any feedback about the race?
Firstly, it is good to separate the races. Perhaps 10km and kids dash on Saturday and the half and full marathon race on Sunday.
The Sports Care runners blocked us from running and they were in front of us just before the start of the race. I believe that they should run 5 to 10min ahead of us in order for them not to block us. Before the race, the SportsCare athletes, who are not well trained as us were blocking and this led us to weave during the race.
In a number of countries, the marathon race is usually held such that the paces carrying the balloon should be standing at appropriate places. The appropriate place for them to stand is behind us. Instead, they were forming a straight line after the SportsCare runners and they were blocking us.
I believe that after the elite runners, it should be us standing. The gun time for us was taken when the elite runners were running while we were standing. About 50sec later it was my race. Finally, instead of taking the net time, we are given gun time. I feel that this is grossly unfair.
Finally, three of my friends who reported at 4 30am plus were given the slower pen to run. There should be better organisation so that the runners can finally get a good time rather than poor timing because of this.
At the start of the race, I was running hither and thither to find the entry to go into the pen in front with the front runners.
How about the SEA Games and Ashley's preparation?
Ashley has prepared well for this race. If everything goes smoothly, we are hoping to get a bronze and it is possible. That means that there is a high possibility for Ashley to go under 2hr 30min for this race in Myanmar. His personal best time is, for now, 2hr 35min 43sec.
When are you going to Myanmar?
I am going on 15th of December and reaching at 2pm at the Airport at NYT, hopefully, we reach the Games Village and visit Ashley at 3pm with SAA support and give the necessary assistance and then we will go to our hotel to rest. The next day, Dr Kelvin Ng and I are hoping to be at the start with the help of SAA officials so that he can get emotional support just before the race to do his best.
What is your next race?
I am running the Paris Marathon and I am hoping to do a sub-3hrs before going for a sub-2hr 50min in Chicago or in the Stanchart Marathon race. This time, I would want to find out how they organize the race. If they let some runners run off first, then what I will do is to avoid running the Stanchart Marathon race totally. I would also suggest many of my athletes run elsewhere as it is good to run in a race in order to get a good time where there is fairness and better-structured organization.
What is your life goal?
To encourage kids, young people and old people to run for health and fitness. When a person reaches 50, people think that they are old. I can play soccer like a 15-year-old with fitness that I have now. It is good to exercise. I will write in this blog post on the benefits of exercise so that many will exercise.
Are you intending to do anything that is impossible?
I will keep attempting to do a sub-2hr 34min if possible in future and coach others to do personal best time in the marathon as well. I believe that it is possible. The only problem I have right now is the time to do it. I don't have much time in my hand to train for a sub-2hr 34min in Singapore. I have a personal best time of 2hr 34min 02sec done in the year 1994, before doing the 2hr 24min 22sec the following year in Chiengmai SEA Games marathon in Thailand in the year 1995.
What is the hope that you have for Ashley Liew?
The good thing is that if he continues like this, training hard with dedication, in the long run, he will be able to win a gold medal in future SEA Games and go for Olympics, which I have mentioned a few years back.
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.
