Jennifer Quek - New Personal Best of 3hr 45min 27sec, and an Interview

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 Rajendran

In Paris Marathon 2014, Mr Lim Thow Wee did 2hr 48min while running with a belt that had 5 gel on it. It was Mr Thow Wee's personal best time. As for this year, he is ranked 4th so far in Singapore for the year 2014, as at date 27th Oct 2014. Jennifer Quek, on the other hand, was not able to do any personal best in Paris.

However, she did it in Osaka Marathon 2014. Her time was 3hr 45min 27sec. I found out from Coach Rameshon, who just came back from Osaka today at 7pm. He told me that, right from the start, the sun was blazing on the face of the runners. The expected weather of between 8 degrees and 20 degrees centigrade ended with a 25 degrees centigrade finally. Even Eliz, Mr Lim Thow Wee's wife, who came to support and cheer, found the weather hot. Coach Rameshon was perspiring and had to go to the shade and return back to support later on.

We are pleased to hear that at least one of our runners had done it. In Paris, it was Mr Lim Thow Wee who rose to occasion for Flexifitness. Here in Osaka, it was Jennifer's turn. Despite all difficulties that she had to go through in the weather, with iron determination she was confident of doing her personal best in this race. Well Done, Jennifer!

An Interview With Jennifer Quek

Why did you choose Osaka Marathon 2014?
I was not able to do a personal best time in this year's Paris Marathon. So, I decided to run here to do it. I wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon 2015/2016.

What kind of time was expecting for this race?
I badly wanted to do a time 3hr 30min and 3hr 34min.

Are you happy with your time?
Definitely, with all the problems that we had to go through braving the hot sun. Our Flexifitness fellow runners were severely affected by the weather. After the run, traces of salts was found all over my face.

I was really happy that I have finally done a personal best this year. When Coach Rameshon told me that I was the only one who has done a personal best time, I was praised for achieving my personal best times despite the odds out there.

Can you share with us on the race time as a whole?
In short, I was following the 5min per kilometre pace all the way until the 25km mark, where I started to slow down a bit. At the 30km, I realised that it was getting more difficult to get the 3hr 35min time.
However, all the way throughout, I was confident of doing a sub-3hr 48min. At the end of the race, I realised that I did a 3min personal best time.

How was the organisation of the race?
The organisation of the race was very good. The water point and isotonic point was done well.  The crowd was great. Many people were cheering for us. The runners were of good quality and I had people who were able to run my pace. I don't have any negative thing to say about this race.

How was the hydration strategy?
I was able to follow Coach Rameshon's advice of the hydration strategy and not to miss any of my drink at any point. I was very careful with the amount of the drink that I have to drink during the race. The drink strategy has helped me a lot in the race?

How was the route?
People say that the route is flat. For me, it was flat but there were some gradual upslope and gradual down slopes that we had to negotiate. There were some U-turn that we had to negotiate. Around 2 to 3 parts we had to face uphills and downhills. However, overall, I am very happy with this route.

What is the next race that you will like to participate in?
I am thinking of going to the Tokyo Marathon. Nothing is confirmed yet.




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.

Team Flexifitness, in Osaka for Osaka Marathon 2014

Osaka Marathon - United as a team

Left to Right - Lim Thow Wee, Dr Benny Goh, Coach Rameshon, Desmond Soh, Kenneth Lai, Jennifer Quek, Eliz 

I flew here on the 24th of Oct 2014 and reached Osaka/Kansai Airport at 9 10pm. Lim Thow Wee helped me in getting the airline tickets. He was supposed to meet at 9 30pm, as his flight was a different one on Friday itself. Somehow, we met at a meeting point, at McDonald's at about 10 pm, which was a second floor, after our customs clearance. Lim Thow Wee was accompanied by his wife, Eliz, who came here to support him and Team Flexfitness athletes in the marathon race.

Lim Thow Wee had dinner yesterday

Today, we had our breakfast at one of the restaurants near our hotel, Hotel Hearton, which is nearly 3km away from the start point of the Osaka Marathon 2014. We met Dr Benny Goh, Kenneth Lai, Jennifer Quek and Desmond Soh. We were, however, not able to meet Mabel Low, during the meeting, as it was a bit late to meet her in Japan. Yesterday, we reached the hotel at nearly 11pm, in fact. There was not much time to communicate and we were feeling sleepy also. Thow Wee was hungry and I told him to eat as carboloading is very important for his race.  He was told not to miss the food, even though it was late at night. He did not get enough food. We took our breakfast in a Japanese restaurant and discussed on hydration strategies, the route, the problems, the goals etc.

Banner to state that we will be CHEERING ALL THE WAY!

Basically, the runners told me that they just want to improve their time, just like how Ashley Liew did in Chicago Marathon 2014, 2hr 35min 39sec> Hence the aim was to at least do a personal best time. Kenneth Lai, as he just came out of injury, has planned to do a 6min per km run for the whole marathon here. He is doing this as a training run, I guess, more to condition himself for his future race.

Photo was taken to show that road signs on Osaka Marathon are up

As Dr Benny Goh, Kenneth Lai, Jennifer Quek and Desmond Soh have collected, Lim Thow Wee and his wife decided to go to the fair to collect the number tag for Thow Wee.

Osaka Marathon - After running the Paris Marathon, Thow Wee has chosen this marathon carefully.

We collected our number tag of Thow Wee and bought some running products as well. After that, we proceeded for lunch. After lunch, we proceeded to our hotel to take a nap.

Photo was taken near our hotel

We are taking our dinner and we are about to sleep at about 10pm, I guess. Tomorrow, we will be writing a blog post on the race.

We wish all the runners running tomorrow and to our Flexifitness runners all the best in this race. Let us hope that they do their personal best times tomorrow.

30000 runners will be running in this race. The weather is expected to be 12 to 20 degrees centigrade. The course is generally flat as seen in the video during the fair.



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.

Flexifitness Wishes Osaka Marathon Athletes All The Best

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)

Osaka Marathon  2014 - Five Flexifitness Athletes Participating in the event

There are five runners from Flexifitness who will be taking part in the Osaka Marathon 2014, on 26th of October. I have heard that the 42.195km marathon road running event will be held in the city of Japan. The first edition took place on October 30, 2011.
 
The men's best time is still 2hr 11min 54sec (2012) and the athlete who did it was Ser-Od Bad-Ochir from Mongolia,  while the women best time was 2hr 32min 48sec (2011), Lidia Simon, from Romania.

Last year's winners, in the men's and women's race were both Kenyans by the name of Jackson Limo and Monica Jepkoech who won the race in 2hr 12min 06sec and 2hr 39min 33sec, respectively.

The weather, according to Lim Thow Wee, is predicted to be between 9 degrees and 18 degrees centigrade, with an average temperature of 15 degrees.



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.

Meeting Pramod Kukanur - Passion from IT is moving to Sports.

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)

Pramod Kukanur - 11kg down through an exercise programme and hoping to head Flexifitness in India in future

Pramod Kukanur - Suggesting me to bring Flexifitness to India, run by dedicated coaches there

My wife and I invited Pramod to our house today to commemorate Deepavali, a celebration of good over evil.  We took some photos and decided to work on some projects.

I met Pramod Kukanur, 31, from Bangalore, about 4 years back. He was all along looking for a weight management programme. When he asked me, "Is there a swimming pool nearby?'. I told him that there was. That only told me that this guy is looking for a way to exercise. 

Within some months of training, Pramod finally lost about 11kg of weight. He was very happy about that. With enthusiasm, he told me to write my ideas on a blog. I told him that I do not know how to go about in setting up. Since he was an IT expert, he started a blog for me, almost immediately, and told me to keep writing. Hence,  the advent of this blog became a reality. You can read this story of Pramod in this blog post.http://rameshon-m.blogspot.sg/2011/05/pramod-kukanur-person-initiating-this.html

After so long, Pramod finally met me in Singapore, today. One of his topics was to bring Flexifitness to India. As I have seen the success, he is now inviting me to go to India and start there and set the programme there, but run by other people. I was excited to hear this. I am confident on this as he is an IT expert and he has been on very high profile projects in the IT service. 

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.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Rita Jeptoo win the 2014 Chicago Men's and Women's Marathon, respectively

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)

Eliud Kipchoge and Rita Jeptoo - Kenyan Double in The Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2014

Next Issue - Ashley Liew's Interview on his success in doing a personal best time in the Chicago Marathon 2014

Photo: By Samuel Tan

Kenenisa Bekele (front, centre), winner of Paris Marathon 2014, leading the pack at the 8th mile in Chicago Marathon 2014

2014 Paris Marathon winner Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, was fourth in 2:05:51 in his second marathon in The Bank of America Chicago Marathon race while Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, a two-time Olympic 5000m medalist, won the men's marathon by clocking 2 hours, 4 minutes, 11 seconds for the course. Experience of running, marathons must have given Kipchoge the advantage of winning Bekele in the race.

 

Kenenisa Bekele (front, centre), winner of Paris Marathon 2014, leading the pack at the 8th mile in Chicago Marathon 2014 (another angle shot by Samuel Tan)

Kipchoge missed the course record by 26 sec, set by non-other than the current world record holder by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, who set the time in 2014 Berlin Marathon two weeks ago. It was a 1-2-3 finish for his fellow countrymen Kipchoge as Sammy Kitwara and Dickson Chumba as they did 2hr 04min 28sec and 2hr 04min 32sec to win second and third, respectively. Kipchoge pulled away over the last two miles for his first major marathon victory, finishing strongly in the race.

In the women's race, Kenyan Rita Jeptoo won her second straight Chicago Marathon in an unofficial 2:24:35. She has won the  2006, 2013 and 2014 Boston Marathon titles, in the past. Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia (2:25:37) was second and Florence Kiplagat of Kenya (2:25:57) was third.

The temperature was great today, between 9 to 13 degrees centigrade, as I myself ran during the race. The climate did not change except for some parts of the race where it was a little windy. I experienced the weather becoming slightly warmer at times. It was fluctuating slightly up and down for some parts of the run. However, the fluctuation was not too great. I call it the perfect weather. 

In the past, some of ours Flexifitness runners have run here and have seen extreme weather between 0 and 4 degrees centigrade. We were blessed to run the weather yesterday. The crowd was great. I will share this experience in another blog about this race in detail, as I like the race a lot. I like the Chicago people as well. They are very friendly people as well.

The men's race was competitive and fast times were seen. However, the winning time for the men open and women open was slightly slower as compared to many Major marathons.

 

Samuel Tan taking photos of the marathon while his wife Suren Wong (Ashley's cousin) supporting us in the Chicago marathon. So sweet of them to support

Ashley Liew, one of our national top marathon (Singapore), and I were happy as we had only two targets. I told Ashley that I came to Chicago to ensure that he gets his personal best time. He was very confident of 2hr 30min. However, we felt getting a personal best time was more imperative than anything. Ashley was running a 1hr 14min 43sec. It was at the 23km mark that he started incurring a blister. It was getting worse and he had to slow down. Fortunately, he gave off his best to do what he can to get at least a personal best. He finally got it  - the 2hr 35min 39sec time.

 

Ashley Liew - a photograph shot of running with the elite pack

As for me, the race was like a training run for me for my future marathon. It was more of conditioning to run in the future races. At the same time, I knew that it will be hard to see Ashley's race in the series. As such, I told myself to run in the race itself. I was very happy with my 1hr 37min 46sec half-way time on my way to the finish of the marathon. I ran all the way and did not stop, although I was slowing down a lot. The only thing that I was looking for ways to complete the marathon safely in the race, without any problem. Nothing happened but it was a race of joy. Nobody blocked me during the race and the race was a perfect race, throughout. I finally, using this as a conditioning race did 3hr 30min 33sec. This marathon has given me the confidence to a sub- 3hrs for my next marathon.

Ashley Liew - running with good technique

Ashley and I were just lucky that everything turned out well. The race organisation was one of the best in the world, if not the best! A salute to Chicago Marathon organisers!

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.

Runningcoachsg.com - Blog Post Readership Worldwide Nearing 500,000 pageviews

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)

Pramod, standing on the right with his wife on the left-hand side

Pramod Kukanur, an Indian IT expert, was here around the year 2008 and 2009. He suggested to me to come up with a blog post to help people to cut down their weight as he has cut down his.

I told him that it was difficult to do as I have no idea of how to set up a blog. He told me not to worry and he do up a blog for me and told me to have my own password.

He told me that since he has gone down by 11kg in weight by my training, others out there in the world could also benefit from here as well. I consented to do this and I just wanted to have a pageview of 100000, in the long run as part of getting good karma.

Since the inception from 2009, the page views have risen and it is reaching 500,000. We from Flexifitness are very proud of this achievement as it is good karma that people benefit from this blog.

Tracking from the past, many readers came from Singapore first and then Malaysia and then it was the UK. The USA was about the fourth position.

Over a period of time, for daily readership, most of my readers come from the USA and then Singapore for the 'Now Readers',  ' Daily Readers'  and for 'Weekly Readers'. As for monthly readers, USA readers are about to be number one in the reading list. As for monthly and yearly readership, Singapore is maintaining the first position followed by the USA. I will post out the result of the blog post for the reader's benefit.

The readership per month is 17,000 pageview. In the past, the average was between 8000 to 12,000 pageviews.

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.

More Active Play Equals Better Thinking Skills For Kids

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)

More Active Play Equals Better Thinking Skills For Kids

Dr Ansgar, 48, a dentist by profession, had sent me a very interesting article which is good for the parents to be aware so that they give their child the best. It is on allowing children to be active. The article states that kids who are active have better-thinking skills. Both Dr Ansgar and I knew this truth, a long time ago, using our own experience. It affirms only what both of us think. We have a firm conviction and both of us have been active throughout our lives as well.

In fact, it is sad to say, that many parents are very nervous about allowing their kids to be active. They make them desk-bound instead. My relation, Raj, who was doing his PSLE and he was not that active, at first. Through my wife's influence, he became active. The mother of the boy was worried whether he could do well in PSLE by being more active. I told the mother that at least once a week of a long activity would definitely help the child to do better in studies.

The mother was convinced and she allowed the son to come for our Young Champions' Programme once a week. Instead of scoring a range of 210 to 230, the boy scored 245, instead and the mother could not believe this. The boy is now in an independent school and from an inactive person, he, in fact, qualified himself to be in the National Schools' Cross Country Team, where only 8 runners only could enter the race per school. 

Raj told me that he felt more alert in class and was able to pay attention to. In the past, he told me that he felt tired all the time. 

Having said that, I hope that you will enjoy reading this article being written by Alison Bruzek and hope that many families would be not nervous enough to allow their children to actively participate in an activity which their body is longing for.

by Alison Bruzek

September 29, 2014 2:12 PM ET

Good for bodies and good for brains, the scientists say.

iStockphoto 
 

As schools cut down on physical education and recess, kids are spending more time than ever on a desk. And while nerdy second-graders like I didn't ever consider arguing for more gym, there's increasing evidence that being active helps not just children's waistlines but their brains.

Shots - Health News

To Get Kids Exercising, Schools Are Becoming Creative

"If you consider the anthropology of humankind, we were designed to move," Charles Hillman, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tells Shots.

Shots - Health News

Why Exercise May Do A Teenage Mind Good

Hillman and colleagues have added more evidence as to how activity helps kids. His study, published Monday in Pediatrics, shows 7- to 9-year-old children who run around and play like, well, children, for at least 70 minutes a day show improved thinking skills, particularly in multitasking, compared to children who aren't as active.

The researchers looked at a nine-month after-school program, called Fitness Improves Thinking in Kids (FITKids) at the University of Illinois. The 109 students met after school nearly every day for a snack and a quick lesson on fitness and nutrition. Most importantly, the children spent 70 minutes running around and playing tag, soccer, jump rope and other games. The focus was not on competition, but playing like kids normally do.

i

Brain activity during the multitasking test for active kids (left) and non-active kids (right). Red indicates more activity, blue indicates less.

Courtesy of Charles Hillman 

 

"Kids tend to move and get their exercise intermittently," says Hillman. "They don't go out and run four miles" like an adult might."

In one multitasking test, children were shown a character on the screen and indicated with a thumb press whether the character was a certain colour and a certain shape. The kids who had participated in FITKids were significantly faster and more accurate at identifying the colour and shape than children who weren't exercising.

Scans of the FITKids children's brains showed increased brain activity during the task, in a network known to correspond to paying attention. Interestingly, the changes in brain activity correlated with the amount of time kids spent in FITKids. The more times they attended, the greater the change.

The researchers also looked at the children's ability to selectively focus attention and resist distraction, but did not find as strong an association with physical activity.

Shots - Health News

To Make Children Healthier, A Doctor Prescribes A Trip To The Park

Hillman says the significant effects resulted from only small changes to the kids' activity. "We're not taking them from low-fit to high-fit," he says. "We're taking them from low-fit to slightly-less low-fit." In fact, the overall change in fitness was only about 6 percent.
Other scientists say this is yet more evidence that physical activity improves school performance. "It might actually help," says Catherine Davis, a professor of pediatrics at Georgia Regents University. "I think that parents need to go to the educators and say, 'Why is my child sitting down for six hours a day when he's a 7-year-old boy and he needs to move?'




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.

An Interview With Jonathan Kang - Berlin International Marathon 2014 in 3hr 02min 56sec

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)

Jonathan Kang - Lim Thow Wee feels that Jonathan is a marathon away from breaking the sub- 3hr barrier.

In the Facebook, today, I saw Lim Thow Wee, (2hr 48min in Paris Marathon 2014), who is preparing for Osaka Marathon 2014 on 26 of Oct 2014, giving his encouraging thoughts that Jonathan is another 1 marathon away for a sub-3hours. I support this statement as Jonathan has gone to Berlin International Marathon without the best preparation. However, he has done his homework of training very hard. He usually comes for some sessions even when he is very busy.

In Berlin, he was all mental, mental and more mental!. There is no answer to this. He must have wanted the sub-3hours so badly that he rose above expectation. We expected a 3hr 02min and 3hr 20min range for the marathon, as his POSB Race time in 10km was 43min 06sec. Hence, Jonathan had to seek ways to capitalise his energy in an economical way of running. We had to put him in Team B of Flexifitness running group, which consisted of 8 per team, for the Corporate Team Challenge, where both Team came in first and second in the race for a team event.

Jonathan was a bit chubby runner at first before he brought his figure to a more athletic form, as the Berlin Marathon was approaching.

Let us look for his answers in this blog post as he has finally answered the interview questions. I realised that by reading, many will benefit his wisdom on pacing. 

Jonathan drive to do a sub- 3h time, ended bim in a personal best in Berlin International Marathon Race

What did you pace yourself in the Berlin International Marathon 2014 race?

I had set out to do an even paced run for this marathon. in most of my previous runs this year, I always started out too fast and ended up drastically slowing down in the second half. So I'm happy I managed a pretty consistent pace this time.

What was your goal and what is your official time for this race?

The Official time was 3:02.56, an improvement compared to previous 3:04. I had entered the race hoping for an outside chance of doing a sub-3, but nonetheless, I'm still glad this is a Personal Best time for me.

Are you confident of doing a sub-3hour in the next marathon?

Having known the WR being smashed at Berlin 2014, just goes to show that All things are indeed possible! for all we know, a new WR might well be set very soon within the next couple of years.

Can you share with us your splits for the marathon?

My even pace running can be seen in the figures that I have submitted to you.

My splits for this race:
5km- 21:56
10km- 43:40
15km- 1:05.12
20km- 1:26.40
Half- 1:31.23
25km- 1:48.09
30km- 2:09.46
35km- 2:31.20
40km- 2:53.30
Finish- 3:02.56

 

Can you share with us on your upcoming marathon race?

I have not planned for any other marathons for this year. But a Sub-3 is definitely my next target at the next marathon, probably New York and Tokyo!



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.

Berlin International Marathon 2014 - Jonathan Kang 3hr 02min 56sec

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)

Jonathan Kang - Is getting very close to a sub- 3hr for the marathon
 

Jonathan has all along run a number of marathons and has been doing what he can to go under 3hr for the marathon race. He has done whatever he could to do a sub-3hr but all his efforts have gone in vain, despite many attempts. 

Recently, he has told me that he wants to do a sub-3hr soon. That was when he was about to go for Berlin Marathon 2014. 

When he was training with us, he was found struggling in tempo runs. Rather than improving, his time trials timing were more of a stagnant one. 

In POSB Run 2014, he took part in 10km run and did a mere 43min plus for the run. The run time worried me. I had to do something about it and told him to do his best and the only thing that I could do was to request to use a technique as part of mental training so that he could at least do a 3hr 02min to a 3hr 15min. 

When Lim Thow Wee messaged me using his handphone, I was very happy that somehow Jonathan has done a 3hr 02min and has qualified for Boston Marathon 2014. 

I felt that the race in Berlin marathon was all mental, I guess. Many in our group were inspired by Jonathan's time. 

It looks like he is going to be the 12th person to go under 3hrs for the marathon race. 

Having told this Jonathan Kang has told me that he will answer our interview questions soon.  It is good to look out for it. 

Jonathan Kang - In POSB RUN 2014

The splits for the Berlin International Marathon race was:


5km - 21:56
10km - 43:40
15km - 1:05.12
20km - 1:26.40
Half - 1:31.23
25km - 1:48.09
30km - 2:09.46
35km - 2:31.20
40km - 2:53.30
Finish - 3:02.56






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.

Sunu Lazar's Travel - 30km pilgrimage walk for 20 days.

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

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

My days in St Joseph's Institution - By spiritual discussion, we became very good friends

Sunu Lazar has not walked like this in life before

One of the best principal that I have ever come across in life was Bro Kevin Bryne. He not only asks us to study but also told us to to be good at sports using his own example of playing squash, after work. He also instilled in us some moral values. 

While he was the principal, at that time, I befriended Sunu Lazar. The latter was quiet most of the time. I tried making him take up running but he did not budge. When it comes to running, he leaves me alone. He doesn't support or dissuade me when it comes to running. Most of the time, our topics centres on boxing and martial arts. 

There was a time, we ran on the railway track, at Tiong Bahru, where the railway track was functional at that time. Trains used to pass by. We ran together with another of our school - mate by the name of Selva Ganapathy. 

Sunu and I used to discuss on-topic on religions of the world at a young age. We were in fact in a discussion on 'End of the World' plus other moral and ethics stories. 

However, much I tried to make him run, even now, he does not run but he likes to keep himself active by doing some weight lifting etc. 

Lately, since he is now 49 year of age, I found out that he went for a pilgrimage which consists of walking 30km per day for 20 days. I told him that these are the runs he owes me, for not doing in the past. He has to pay the karma for not running with me.....ha ha ha.

Anyway, he would like to share with us his journey called 30days walk for 20days in my next blog post. I hope that you will enjoy reading.

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.