Thursday, February 26, 2015

Sub - 3hour runners that Coach Rameshon has trained (New Series)

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 Marcel Sng

Coach Rameshon - The coach who developed more than 10 athletes to realise the dream of a sub-3hrs in marathon races. 

First, let me tell my Story (By Marcel)

The are many reasons for me to post this blog spot. I feel special knowing Coach Rameshon from young. I have seen Coach Rameshon when I was just 15 years of age and was recommended by my sister Marissa Sng. He has trained me individually, from the past. He has enabled me to do a quick 8min 22sec within a span of 3 months. I don't know how I did it but it was an amazing journey of fun and hard work during training. 

While I was training with him, my school, Saint Andrews School athletes also took part in National Track and Field Championships. The school allowed me to train specifically with Coach Rameshon after knowing his credentials. While I was conditioning myself in running, Coach Rameshon told me to take up 2000m steeplechase. I was taken aback when I come to know about this and I asked for the reason to do it. He told me that I have a speed that is about 11.5sec for 100m and a jumping ability which was good. I told him that it will be difficult for me to train as after National Cross-Country Championships, as I had only one and a half weeks left to train, on the steeple itself. 

Just before that he modified the training for me and I was enjoying every minute of it. Coach told me that I have courage as well as the jumping ability in hurdling a steeple. I told him that I don't think that I can enter the finals of the 2000m race for Under 17 boys. However, after his persuasion, I decided to go for it. The most surprising thing happened was when I found out that none of my school athletes entered finals of the different races that had run in. As there was nothing to lose, as the school did not expect anything from me, I plucked up my courage and went for it. 

In the heats, Coach Rameshon gave me a different strategy. I was running slower from the start. Then, I was going at a moderate pace from 2 laps. From the 3rd lap, I was speeding up and ended 6th position towards the finish. I did not know whether I was in the finals but Coach told me that I was in the fastest heats. I was jubilant to know that I was in. The Saint Andrews School athletes were feeling happy for me that I had entered and told me all the best. I consoled them not to feel sad on their being out of the finals. 

In the finals of the 2000m, Coach Rameshon told me to take lead earlier on first water jump and than to take it easy at the next stage of the race and allow runners to overtake me. I was going the first three rounds at a moderate pace. I realised that I was actually the last runner of the race at that point. It was really very depressing to see that but I stuck to my coach's advice, word for word. The race was not over. It was at this point that I remember Coach shift to a higher gear after running the 3 1/2 rounds. 

At the 3 1/2th laps, I was closing up some runners. It was at the last two laps where I found out that the other runners were tired out. I saw some jumping in the water of the water jump. I was not as tired as them. Easily, I could overtake the runners of the tail end. It was surprising for me to see some good runners being overtaken by me. I was 14th when I had the last lap to go. Gradually, I was moving up in speed and sprinted at the last 300m and overtook another two runners. Eventually, I ended the 12th position. This was something that surprised me in my life and it was an achievement. All those athletes, I thought that cannot be beaten were overtaken by me, especially the independent and autonomous schools, such that I developed self-belief in myself. I thank Coach for this. I believe that I could have come in top 3 if I had come at least a year back. 

After that, I studied for my GCE 'O' Levels and did my diploma in Law. Coach Rameshon suggested me to do NCAP Level 1 conducted by Singapore Sports Council. I completed and understood the principles of training better.  

As I have spoken about myself. I will now touch on Coach Rameshon's development of runners to do sub-hours in a marathon race. The fact and figures are given below. Recently. Coach Rameshon went personally to the USA to Spartanburg to support Ashley Liew to run in the New Orleans Marathon 2015. That was his third travel to the USA to support Ashley Liew. Ashley surprised everyone by doing a time of 2hr 32min 12sec and also came in second in the New Orleans Marathon 2015. Ashley Liew posted the fastest marathon time for the year 2015. He is now second to Soh Rui Yong for the upcoming SEA Games. Other than that none of the runners are ahead of him. 

I asked Coach on Ashley's potential. He told me that Ashley, in the long run, will be able to do a sub-2hr 20min. This is his belief over Ashley!

Just last weekend in Japan, our Flexifitness athletes delivered great results when they ran in Tokyo Marathon 2015 on the 22nd of February. The following athletes did exceptionally well. They are Andreas Wenger (2hr 51min 38sec), Desmond Soh (3hr 36min 30sec), Jennifer Quek (3hr 42min 19sec) and Kenneth Lim (4hr 11min 20sec).

Having said that, I would like to say that there are altogether 11 athletes who have done sub-3hours in a marathon. My only advice to runners is if you are finding to improve your running, a person that I would suggest for one to train under is Coach Rameshon. His training is very structured and the training done is to quickly evolve in running. People have spoken to me that I, in actual fact have a good running style of running. I shall list down the runners who have done sub-3hr for marathon below and am going to come out in parts to write a story on these below-mentioned athletes' achievement. I hope to be one of the sub-3hour runners in a marathon one day. 

I shall write the 11 part series finding things on how these below-mentioned athletes achieved their goals in running. I believe that it will inspire one to go for it. You can see that with just 5 months training, as a 3hr 07min runner in a marathon, Andreas Wenger, a Swiss national, living in Singapore, trained with Flexifitness and did 2hr 51min 38sec). All Andreas wanted to do was to do a time of sub-3hour in life. It seems Andreas has the potential to do a sub-2hr 50min in a race soon, according to Coach Rameshon. 

Runners Under Coach Rameshon who have done  sub–3hrs
1. 2hr 56min – Dr Ben Tan (3rd in Stanchart Marathon 2008)
2. 2hr 50min – Dr Benny Goh (for a marathon). Sundown Ultramarathon 84km record holder, Dr Benny has 4 sub – 2hr 55min marathon timing from the year 2009. 
3. 2hr 46min – N. Ganesan (former national record holder, 14min 57sec for 5000m)
4. 2hrs 37min – Ernest Wong (Hong Kong Marathon, 1998)
5. 2hr 35min – Balasubramaniam (Singapore International Marathon 1991)
6. 2hr 46min – Daniel Ling ( Stanchart champion, 2007)
7. 2hr 39min – Khoo Chin Poo (2003, Vietnam SEA Games)
8. 2hr 44min – Ernest Ng Soo Hong (Gold Coast Marathon, 1995)
9. 2hr 48min 49sec- Lim Thow Wee (Paris Marathon 2014)
10. 2hr 32min 12sec- Ashley Liew (New Orleans Marathon 2015, 25th January)
11. 2hr 51min 38sec - Andreas Wenger (Tokyo Marathon 2015, 22nd February)

Note: If you in search to improve in running as an elite runner, to do a sub-3hrs for men and sub-3hr 30min for women, or to train progressively and do a better marathon time, for example, 6 to 7 hours marathon to a sub-5hr marathon etc. Feel free to contact Coach Rameshon through the contact info given below.


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 23, 2015

Jennifer Quek - Journey from 4hr 18min to 3hr 42min 19sec (Tokyo Marathon 2015)

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

Picture 1 - Introducing Flexifitness Dragon Lady, Jennifer Quek

In the past, 3 months before Berlin Marathon 2013, Jennifer Quek has been improving in her marathon time, with her own training. Over a period of time, she found herself stagnating and not being able to cross the barrier of 4hr 18min and did not know what to do but was facing a series of disappointment. She needed assistance.



It was then that Jennifer Quek was introduced to Coach Rameshon by Dr Benny Goh. Dr Benny Goh suggested to her to try for a more structured training program and recommended FlexiFitness. That's why she gave it a shot. These were the information that we gather from her earlier interview answers given to me by Jennifer. We also call her 'The Dragon Lady' of Flexifitness', due to her fearless way of running. It inspires us to see her run along when we train with her at night.

She started with the group Jun 2013 and ran Berlin Marathon in September, that year itself, and did It was only 3 months of training completed. In last year's Osaka Marathon 2014, Jennifer did a 3hr 45min 47sec for the race. I was really amazed by her mental strength to follow the program in a consistent way. As an aspiring female athlete, I myself admire her courage and tenacity to train hard during our training and follow the program religiously.   

With a workload in her workplace, which makes her work until 3am, she still comes for our training consistently and does not allow any form of slackening in attendance.

It would be good to compare her past timing with her present timing. One can see how she has been improving in her run timing -  5km to the marathon. 

Coach Rameshon says that it is just a matter of time for her to do the 3hr 30min time. In this Tokyo Marathon, the 3hr 30min target was prevented when Jennifer had a bad fall at the 21km mark. Fortunately, with her resilient way of running, she continued her way to a 3min plus personal best time. 

Picture 2 - Aftermath of the Tokyo Marathon 2015


Before joining  Flexifitness

When 1st joined, my PB for  

5km -                     35min  
10km -                    59min 05sec  
Half Marathon –    1hr 59min 55sec  
Marathon -            4hr 18min




After Joining Flexifitness

Now, my PB for
5km –                    25min 20sec
10km –                  50min 48sec
Half Marathon –   1h 51min 31sec
Marathon 
-           3h 42min 19sec (Tokyo Marathon, 22nd February 2015)



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.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Jennifer Quek Does 3hr 42min 19sec - A Personal Best Time in Tokyo Marathon 2015 today.

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

Jennifer Quek - Woman with Iron Determination

Picture 1 - Jennifer Quek (left) did a 3hr 45min time in Osaka Marathon 2014

Except for Mr Kenneth Lai, who told us that he is recovering from an injury, the rest of our athletes wanted to go and do their personal best time at Tokyo Marathon 2015. Mr Kenneth just wanted to go for an easy run during the marathon  and he also wanted to support his fellow runners. 


Picture 2 - Jennifer, overcame her plight of falling down to a personal best time.


The rest of the runners - Andreas Wenger, Jennifer Quek, Mr Desmond Soh and Mr Kenneth Lim - all did personal best times there. Jennifer informed Coach Rameshon that she was aiming for 3hr 30min, but at the halfway mark of the marathon race a tragedy took place where she fell to the floor and was having bruises on both knee area. With iron determination, she did not pull out of the race but continued on and did the best out of the worse situation. She ran with resilience and came with a personal best again.

She did a time of 3hr 42min and 19sec. If she did not fall at the half-marathon mark, she would have done a much faster time, this is my strong feeling. She has sent Coach Rameshon both knees plastered with first-aid and the breakdown timing, and I shall share this all in my next blog post where I will put up her interview answers. 

Mr Desmond Soh, a pilot, has communicated with Coach Rameshon on his 3hr 36min new personal best time. After knowing all the timing, we were still wondering about what time did Mr Kenneth Lim do. I was told that he has done an unofficial time of around 4hr 11min 20sec, which is still a personal best time for him. After so long, finally, he has done a personal best time. 


The most fortunate news came to us is when Andreas Wenger, a Swiss national who is right now training with us consistently, shared with us on his 2hr 51min 3 9sec new personal best time. Earlier on, all Andreas wanted to do was to do a sub-3hr and it was his dream in life to do it. It is miraculous to see him do in 5-6months of training with us. There was a fear, earlier on, that he may not do it. However, his recent tempo times and race times showed that he was ready to do wonders. 

His timing is in the undermentioned link.

 Picture 32 - A 17min 58sec 5km time in SAA Cross Country in Men Open Race.


Hence, I will like to say, "Well done to all our Flexifitness group of runners!." My suggestion to athletes is to look out for their interview answers that I will be posting it out and I hope that you can read their answers and be motivated in running. 



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 7, 2015

Zoo Run 2015

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

Zoo Run 2015



Around 20 athletes of Flexifitness will be taking part in the Zoo Run 2015. The race will be held in outside Zoo itself, just beside the car park. One will run into the Zoo but in a very safe manner, running mostly in the tarmac track there.

Last year,  the men and women open races were held in conjunction with kids run between age 6 to 12. For this year, on Sunday, the race will be solely for age between 6 and 12. The distance to cover for kids tomorrow will be 2.8km. 

It is a known fact that kids have the natural instinct to run too fast at the start and fade off overtime during the race. I have seen this last year. 

I hope that our kids in the programme will pace themselves such that they do a reasonable time where they do a personal best time. 

It is good to be there at 7am or latest 7 15am. Last year, in the Zoo Run, our runner Selvan came in 2nd in his category for under 14.

I would like to wish the Flexifitness athletes all the best in this race. All the best!



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.