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)
Cheating - It is as good as one don't need to run.
This happened in my primary school.
I remember that I lost my spot for 400m individual event when I was running the correct distance, the full 400m, at the courtyard, where we had to do some rounds.
Usually, I get selected for events like high jump, triple jump and long jump kind of events. Over time, I realised that I was good for these events which had no meaning for me. No matter how hard I tried I could not enter the sprint events. The only events that I excel were the longer distance events. In my former primary school, the 400m was the longest event at that time.
During Physical Education classes, I remember losing to many in my class for sprinting. So the only race in my primary school, for our school track and field race, was left to 400m.
The runner that I was competing with for a place, in Paul House, ended cutting corners during the run. He was first because of this action. The teacher instead of choosing me chose the boy who cheated. I thought something will be done about this but there was nothing done and I was disappointed with the teacher-in-charge for doing this. My spot for running was gone although my friends and the rest of them knew that I was the fastest. However, I did not bother about this over time. Nevertheless, I did not want to cheat in order to enter for the 400m event.
My primary school was De La Salle School. Whenever my teacher asked us to run from our courtyard to the school entrance gate, to and fro, about 400metres in total, usually, I will be the first one to be back and I used to wonder why are the rest of the students lagging far behind me. I was good with stamina.
In my early 20s, there was another incident that happened in a race, where it was my first time I did a sub-33min, doing a 32min 52sec for the 10km race.
While running that particular race, a Gurkha runner and Syed Ahmad, former top runners of Singapore, were running the correct distance, another runner, while running in the race actually cheated in the race by taking a short cut. Let us put his name as Roger, a false name, in order not to be personal, and I was about 130m away from the Gurkha runner and Syed Ahmad.
Suddenly, Roger, who was running side by side with me took a short cut. At that point in time, I was wondering what to do as the officials were not there. The runner who was cheating was cutting across a field such that he was right behind the Gurkha and Syed Ahmad. I was about 100m then.
I decided to stay on my course and ran the correct distance without taking any short cut, and started chasing Roger, who was already having an unfair advantage.
I was determined to chase Roger by hook or by crook. It was such that I nearly was coming close to beating the Gurkha and Syed Ahmad, because of my determined approach. I overtook Roger at the last 1km, finally. Roger chased for me frantically, as he had won the SAAA Cross-Country C'ships at that time.
The Gurkha was first with 32min 42sec, with Syed Ahmad 32min 43sec while I came in third with Roger coming in 4th.
From here I realised that it is important to run the correcting distance without cheating.
I felt at that moment that if one grows old there will come a point where one will be all alone. At that time, if you look at the medal that you have cheated, one will not feel the real passion and zest that he or she was the real winner.
In one of the Stanchart Marathon race, a few years ago, 6 of the runners that I was training came in top 12 position. In this race, it was found that the runner was about 1km away from the top elite runners at the 26km mark. The funny part was that this particular runner actually was walking while the elite runners were fighting their way coming towards Fort Road, which was around 30km mark of the race distance of 42.195km, at that time. A number of athletes saw this incident.
I was at the last 6km of the marathon distance at that time. This runner who was cheating ran and looked elsewhere where he was passing me and I was cheering for him.,
As the race ended, the runner was congratulated by some of the runners. It was only when one of the runners from our group, a top ten runner, confronted the runner that the cheat gave in. We felt that he did not cross the half-way mark.
Finally, he admitted that the result was wrong and he told us that he wanted to just collect t-shirt.
A few months later the cheat wanted to join us for marathon training after the cheating incident as he told us that he does not have any group to run with or train with. We wanted him to come clean on the race details. His version was different from how my friend recounted. Hence, we did not take the runner into our group.
This year the same incident of running first by one local runner took place. The reason I do not want to write the name of the runner here in this blog is not to humiliate the family. People should be compassionate and be considerate to his family.
This particular runner in this year's Stanchart Marathon has told the same reason of trying to get t-shirt as a reason. I hope this reason stops here.
I hope that these runners should consider their family before running the race before they cut short the distance to win a medal so as to disadvantage others from fair play.
The good thing that one should know of running the correct distance is that one will feel deserved if one really won the medal through fair means. If one has to win by unfair means, the best thing to search one's conscience about running a fair race, where the starting point should be the same. It is best for the cheat to throw the medal away if it does not belong to them truly.
Even the organisers should plan a fair race so that the race distance is accurate. Else there is no point in organising an unfair race where one is advantaged and the other is disadvantaged.
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.
