Time that Singapore have coaches like George Gandy in Singapore

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)

Time that Singapore have coaches like George Gandy in Singapore

Going to Loughborough University was one of the best decision in life.

When I was about to go and study at Loughborough University of Technology, England, between 1992 to 1994, specialising on Physical Education and Sports Science, there were some lecturers who were encouraging me to go and study there. Out of the lecturers in the former College of Physical Education (CPE), only one lecturer suggested strongly that I should not go to Loughborough University to study and he told me to go to an American university like Oregon instead. I respected the lecturer’s advice, but eventually, I felt that Mr John Sproule’s suggestion was better, and he was our Physiology lecturer and our soccer instructor in the then CPE. I went ahead to study at Loughborough University. My decision went unhampered although some friends also discouraged me.

Looking back, at my running career, even before going to Loughborough, I did 15min 31sec for 5km race in Singapore Open 1992, and 2hr 30min for California Marathon 1990, which was famous for all the way gradual downhill course, from start to finish. (My sincere advice to runners is to go to this marathon and you will have a great chance of getting a very good personal best time as the terrain is excellent for getting a fast time, as it is all downhill). At that time, my 10km time was 32min 42sec done in the year 1992.

Within 7 months of my arrival in England, I took part in three league One National Cross Country Championships, representing Loughborough University. There were other cross country leagues going on in other parts of England as well. In league Two race of National Cross Country Championships, the best runner was, in fact, able to do a 2hr 12min timing for the marathon race. The runners were amazing and impressive. There was crowd support as well, unlike what we see here. I hope that in Singapore we can have these kinds of leagues. Many clubs were taking part. The races there were transparent and fair. 

In fact, in the first race of the league One, I was 66th position and I underestimated the runners. My time was very good, but I did not like the position, although, in Singapore, I was the fastest runner for 5km to the marathon race. Later on, I realised that in one of the 10km cross-country run, nearly all runners, about 90 in total, were able to do a sub-33min. It was hard to see a 34min and above runner there. I had to really work very hard from start to finish throughout the race.

In our university, by training under the wings of George Gandy, who was later ordained by the Queen of England and is now called Sir George Gandy, at Loughborough University, I was also training with my own personal coach, Alan Guilder, on days where the University does not have any training. Earlier, Alan was taken as a training partner by me at first. Over time, knowing that he has done a 13min 32min for 5km, I decided to take him as a coach, after listening to my friend called Tim Dickenson, who was our cross county captain at that time.

My university study was actually fully funded by my own savings and from my parents’ savings. Within 7 months, I did 31min 46sec for 10km. During the week before doing 31min 46sec personal best time, I had to sit for 5 tests and the test were all not that easy and I had to study extra hard and tone down the mileage a lot. In the third cross country league race, which was the final one, I found myself about 100m away from Gorden Reid, a Scottish runner, who had a time of 14m 47sec for 5km. He was also Scotland's best junior runner for long-distance running, at that time. Most of the junior topmost runner from Ireland, Wales and England were in Loughborough University. 

My two-year study at Loughborough was quick and was also filled with test and assignments, projects and research work. (I took up research on heart rate as my supervisor found that there were no research been written much about heart rate in running, at that time). When it comes to running, one day, I was at the Loughborough Athletics Club to look at George Gandy’s training schedule for the university athletes. Talking to him, I found that he was a very knowledgeable person who does altitude training projects and it has benefitted athletes in England. The handwriting of George Gandy’s training programme was not neat but it was all done with excellent planning, which had technology behind it and it was supported by research.

Many runners excelled in running in Loughborough University because of George Gandy. Lord Sebastian Coe, the president of IAAF have praised George Gandy’s Loughborough Circuit in his book for assisting him to break 4 world records in 41 days (800m, 1000m, 1500m 1600m).

Sir George Gandy was also the Head Coach of England's middle and long-distance team when I was studying there.

One day, when I was at the Loughborough Athletics Club room, I happened to see the running times of runners aiming to qualify in races between 1500m and 5km races. I realised that in order for one to go for World Student (University) Games they must qualify for the time for 1500m and they got to do 3min 46sec to qualify. For 5km the time was about sub-14min. Immediately, something made me write back to Ms Rina Loh, a former admin manager for the then Singapore Amateur Athletics Association on the dismal state of Singapore Athletics. I did not get any reply.

I wrote that there were a lot of middle distance runners in Loughborough University. That was year 1992. I found that the slowest middle runner for 1500m was doing 3min 53sec. At that time, the fastest runners in Singapore were M. Maran and Saravanan and their times were 3min 53sec. I wrote to Ms Rina that Loughborough University athletes were giggling about the Singapore’s best time, at that time, and I told her that athletes there asked me why the times were very slow. They were my good friends and showed a lot of respect towards fellow runners and they were very curious about Singapore’s slow time. Some of the Loughborough Athletics middle and long distance runners became subjects in my research studies, for my degree course.

Over time, I realised that most of the coaches in England were well versed in Sports Science. In Singapore, many of the coaches only have basic sports science and they do not upgrade themselves to a degree. When I did IAAF level one course, I realised that many have not done the basic sports science course yet. After the theory test, a number of them told the lecturers that the test was difficult. The lecturers told that it is getting harder over time. I felt that the test was quite easy, as one can open the book to answer. Throughout, I did not lay a finger to open the book to answer. I feel that it is important to have not just basic sports science, but a degree in sports science at least, before doing the IAAF coaching course.

In Loughborough, I also saw Paula Radcliffe, current world record holder doing her workouts. The training programme which were scientific.

Hence, I feel that it is important that coaches like George Gandy presence in Singapore, would, may be, be an asset to Singapore. Loughborough is known as the Mecca or running in England. Using George Gandy’s training principles and technology, I was able to assist, over time, in Singapore, 22 athletes to obtain sub-3 hours time for the marathon, in my own life, so far. Looking at our 1500m to 10km race time that is going on in the university, I feel that the timings for Singapore’s long distance races have not improved much and it is time that we need a knowledgeable coach to assist runners in Singapore. It is time that Singapore look for coaches with excellent Sports Science background, and to develop the runners in Singapore. It cannot be left to chances. George Gandy was also good in Physiology, as he has Masters in it, and he was my athletics lecturer as well for Sports Technology module. It was through him that we learnt the blue print on how top Olympians train for middle and long distance races. There are plenty of coaches with very good knowledge in coaching in England, USA, Europe, Kenya, etc that we can consider.

Edited By a Flexifitness staff!

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 to do marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners to do sub-4 hours for 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.

What happens when people get lost in a race?

Note: Our blog has topped the top 40 Blog 'As One Of The Best Blog To Read In the Year 2018' by Bestsportshub.com. Source http://flexifitness.com.sg/flexifitness-blog-runningcoachsg-ranked-top-40/

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)


WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE GET LOST IN RACE

Picture 1 - A few years back, I ran in Olive Run, the marshallers were there,  all was good but some did not know the finish point. 

I am writing some things that will assist organisers to focus on organising a good race. I will write part by part, for example, water points, the direction of run, route etc.

Picture 2 -  Organiser's Focus - The first and foremost thing to plan is to run the correct route

In CSC Run, a number of things went right - immediate timing was printed out from the computer by individuals themselves, who have finished the race, water points were adequate and well covered etc. Only some things could improve in the race, for example, like briefing before the race, on the route etc. Here, I will discuss slowly. 

Picture 3 - I remember that some race, the race is organised very well, clever planning. 

Firstly, I was amazed that Metasports has put up the CSC Race reviews on Facebook, which I believe is a positive step. If one wants to excel, reflections will help one to do things better the next time, regardless it is a businessman, sportsman, or a runner, or even an organiser.  Good organisers, I should say, have reflections and feedback, so that they can work on the shortfalls to work on, so that their organisation stands as excellent, for other race organisers to follow.

I read each and every feedback and in the Facebook on CSC Run. I feel that sometimes a summary of a few races where I took the wrong route may help one to understand how fed up the public can be. Some, I have brought it up to the organisers themselves and they have made some changes to improve the race. 

In one Army Half-Marathon race, in the past, I remember missing a turn, and the marshaller was there, but there was no shouting of him to go the right direction. As he kept quiet, we ran the wrong direction. Only when we were about 100m away, he called us back and screamed on top of his voice. One of the runners, in the pack actually shouted some vulgarities. A positive event had gone negative. The pack was the front pack and the runners had to turn and run back 100m extra, again, and go back to the correct route. The outcome was, some good runners were distracted with this and they fell back. Overall, we ran 200m extra because of the marshaller's mistake. At that time, I had the tank for the 21.1km only, not more, as I came back from my further studies, and I was prepared to run precisely 21.1km. 

The organisers must tell the marshallers to communicate loudly which route we should take and be proactive rather than stand or sit passively. In CSC Run, two cyclists told us," The park connector is that side." That is not marshalling. The cyclist should say, "Wrong route! Please run that side, park connector is that side, " and to keep repeating, and it must be much louder in the outside environment, not the marshaller talking to himself. 

Once a front person runs correctly, the rest will follow and all will run correctly. However, there will be breaks, and marshaller must be there to show the direction, actively, using gestures like hands. If there are no marshallers at crucial points, the race will see a big screw up. In CSC Run, some runners ran on a wrong route and by doing this they could have ended up somewhere else and not at the finish point. In this race, towards the last 4-5km, the runners ran extra, but it was a parallel route, so the people ran a few hundred metres extra. 

If they had the money, they could take a taxi to go back, provided the belonging is not with the organiser's locker service. If not, they may resort to run additional 5-7km extra and curse at the organiser before they go back home for making them go through the ordeal of limping to the finish. I have seen severe limping when this takes place. 

Picture 4 - In Gold Coast 10km and Hong Kong 10km, it is hard to go the wrong route due to clever planning by the organisers

In another race, a distant past, as I know, my friend and I were the favourites to win. The top Gurkha runners were behind us. There was no marshaller and this happened at Sentosa, and we ran somewhere where it was a dead-end and the top runner suddenly shouted," Wrong route! wrong route!" and he alerted all not to waste extra energy. What happened was the organiser was told to apologise by the top runner. Finally, the organiser relented and apologised for making the top runner lose the race. Also, the winner of the race was not really the real winner but was lucky person who went the wrong route and by chance, the winner won. This is absurd and it is happening in Singapore time and again, non stop. I believe that someone needs to come in to ensure a good race. 

As for the public, once a few of us went to see a group of organisers and it was on the marathon. We spoke up on some public who were runners and they took a wrong turn and ran about 4km short. However, they were given the medals. The runners complained to me that they trained so hard for the race. In order to enable the people not to finish very late,  the organiser just simply gave a short cut for them so that one can finish earlier. Many runners who were braving the heat and humidity to complete the race were deprived of doing the exact distance and were diverted to make things easy. Hence they were upset with the organisation of the race, as some were first-timers and they did not feel actualising the race. It means that they did not feel the 'finisher' feeling, as they want to be honest to their friends on telling them that they completed their first marathon and to tell the time taken to complete. 

Edited by a Flexifitness staff

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.

Anwar Ibrahim : Jogging for Health

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)

Donning a black sunglass and wearing a cap, Prime Minister-in-waiting, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, went for 30min jog, barefoot, at Teluk Kemang on Wed, October 3. He has put it up on his Instagram.

It was reported in Malaysia Star Online that although he had a busy campaign schedule, he found time for a little exercise on the beach. Anwar said, “Despite a packed campaign schedule, health and stamina cannot be neglected. This is a refreshing start to the day,” he added.

As Malaysia, is well known for the most obese nation in South East Asian, he wants to serve himself as a role model for people not to neglect health, no matter how busy we are.

After being elected as winning Port Dickson election, he said, “A healthy morning routine. Even though busy with work, being healthy is not something to be underestimated. It should be a priority to ensure a healthy and happy lifestyle,” he wrote in the caption. After reading, I feel that it is good for one to take up jogging and do it for our own sake. 

Edited by a Flexifitness staff

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.

New study says not exercising is pretty much the worst thing you can possibly do

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)

Yahoo : BGR News, Mike Wehner

Link https://sg.news.yahoo.com/study-says-not-exercising-pretty-much-worst-thing-0103240

Let me summarise this news. One can refer to the link for one to read in detail

Here, it is stated that our health is affected by the lifestyle we lead, from the eating food to the habits we adopt or phase out, focusing on our quality sleep etc. The new studies by cardiologist found that leading a sedentary lifestyle is the most deadly of them all. 

The research, which was published in JAMA Network Open, surveyed 122,007 patients between early 1991 and late 2014. The doctors recorded fitness levels of the individuals and then followed up to track mortality rates. The numbers were, as one of the authors of the paper put it, “extremely surprising.” In the study, actually, it was found that being inactive can be a worse situation than being a current smoker. Moreover, the research showed that sedentary lifestyle actually can be seen as a disease itself and the solution for this is to just do exercise. For mortality, it was found that too much exercise is not a real concern as compared to getting some only. 

The study sums up that it is easier to get too little exercise than to get too much exercise.

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.

Vincent Caldeira’s Half – Marathon Experience in CSC RUN 2018

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 Tan Mariviv



Picture 1 – Vincent (left), Mariviv (right) and I were super relaxed before the start of the race

Vincent Caldeira just joined in our programme recently. He trains hard with determination. For 400m x 20 repeats, from a time of 1min 45min, per round, with a min rest, he improved his time to  1min 30sec per round. Recently, he did 400m time trial in 1min 04sec and his 800m is now 2min 29sec and the progress is on the uptrend since he joined us in the running programme.

As he was doing some distance runs recently, Coach Rameshon told him that although his stamina is not enough, the former has very good fitness and mindset as well. Hence, he was invited to do the first Half-Marathon in CSC Run, after 5 years. Vincent did 1hr 49min just now in the evening today, and he was happy with the time, as he found the weather was very hot today and he was pleased with the thought of just finishing and for his category, as he came in 19th position in veteran men between the age 40 to 49. After seeing his result, Vincent has started looking forward to another race to run in the future and he is yearning to train hard to do a 1hr 30min soon for planned half-marathon, using Flexifitness training method.

Since it is a new personal best time for him, I have interviewed Vincent of his run today, and he has agreed to answer all the questions.

An Interview With Vincent Caldeira

How do you find the organisation of the race?

The race was well organised. The route was pretty good and easy to run. I think the biggest was the starting time at 5.15pm. It was a bit difficult for me for the first 45-50mins to get into the right pace due to the heat. I was aiming for sub-1hr 40min and then I realised in the first 1hr that I had to reduce the pace accordingly so that I can at least finish the race.

Are you happy with your timing and position?

I am not necessarily happy with the timing but I am happy that I finished the race, especially after really thinking of stopping the whole race around kilometre 5. I then told myself that even though I won’t be able to get the time that I wanted, there is value in pushing through, trying to keep a consistent pace and finishing the race, in terms of working on my mental toughness. For a race in this heat, it is probably the best time at the moment with the training I have.

How were the water points?

The water points were pretty efficient, water points every 2.5km, always quite well stocked, so I was able to get water and isotonic easily so I think that was pretty good.

What is the good thing about this race?

The good thing about this race is at the end, you can use your race number to type into the computer system and straight away get your gun time and net time which is pretty useful.

What is your opinion on other organisers following such method in checking the results immediately after the race?

The system is definitely good, as after crossing the finish line, you can straight away go to the station and type your number, and within 3 seconds, you get a slip with your time. Nobody is there telling you wrong time or position, so I think it is pretty good.

Is it worth it to run the race today?

Well, let’s say the race happens again next year, and it starts at 5pm, I probably will not do it. But if they move the starting time, maybe at 7pm, then I may consider running.

How do you find the marshallers?

For me, I do not have any issues, for a few of the parts, the route was a bit open and there is public and you are not too sure, there were actually people waving to guide the way. Overall, it was fine.

What is your future race or target?

I am still going to try to achieve 1hr 30min-1hr 35min for 21.1km by the end of the year. I did 1hr 35min before in my 30s with a mileage of 70-80km per week. If I can get a better timing at my age, which is now, and with consistent training, I believe it will be a good outcome for me.

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.

Sanctioned Races – There is Accountability

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)

20 Oct 2019 Report

By Rameshon

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

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

In the past, I was not sure of the difference between a sanctioned and an unsanctioned race. International races are usually sanctioned by the international governing body like International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) etc. The moment, for example, IAAF sanctions a race, it is given permission to an entity to organise the race, as IAAF has seen the safety procedures and the orderly manner the race before saying a yes. When something happens, one can write to IAAF and complain, and IAAF takes accountability.

My former fellow competitor and a former Singapore Athletics official have elaborated to me on the difference between a sanctioned and an unsanctioned race, and I will share in this post so that people will have a basic understanding before one decides to run in a race. Moreover, one will know whose responsibility is it if a race goes wrong.

Also, before I write about how to carry out simple time trials for competitive and non-competitive athletes, in the coming Part 3, of the ‘Time Trial versus Race’ edition, it will be good for the public to know the difference between sanctioned races and unsanctioned races.

A sanctioned race are races that have been given the blessing of Singapore Athletics, as it has a group of committee members, gathered to discuss the item of the race, and decide whether to give the go-ahead sign. If anything goes wrong, the Singapore Athletics is ready to be held accountable, in a way. Before this can happen, there are protocols, steps and procedures, in place, so that the races are carried out successfully. For that, the race organiser has to pay a certain sum of money for the race to be sanctioned. We are not sure as to why organisers shy away from being sanctioned. Whether it is costly or not. Nevertheless, one should know that there is a cost involved and it is not cheap. So, after a race, there is profit-making and also some payment made to Singapore Athletics, where the money will go to the bank vault of Singapore Athletics.

Currently, from what we have heard is that Singapore Athletics do not have enough money for now in its own bank. Funding can increase if event management companies pay to Singapore Athletics, and the athletes and coaches may benefit from this.

A race is unsanctioned when it is not given the blessing of Singapore Athletics. So there is no need to pay any sum to Singapore Athletics. There are the so-called ‘race ambassadors’ in a race, that are chosen, by their own standard, but it does not in any way mean or say it is sanctioned.

Some feel that massive sum of profits is going to the people organising it. Every week, you can see a race taking place. This weekend 20 Oct and 21 October, we will see CSC Run, Asics City Race, and Real Run.

As I have organised race in the past for Swift Athletics Association, it is known that a number of times sponsors would come forward to get the goodie bags and prizes and sometimes the cost of organising the race itself. As such, it is a known fact that there is a big profit margin when a huge number of them participate in races.

In a race, which has 40000 people, registered. From the registration fee, for example., it will generate a sum of

$50 x $40000 gives you $2,000,000. It is $2,000,000.

The sad part of it is that, in a number of races, I have seen competitors get a mere sum, only discounts, tryouts of Yoga Center and complimentary facial etc, as compared to a big sum generated by the race.  A female runner who came in Champion did not get any cash prize that will help her boost her future training expenses.

A number of races have only top 3 winners, instead of top 10 winners. It is hard to find women veteran and men veteran athletes winning prizes, as they have no categories in current years. In races I have run, I am now 53 years old, and it is a top 3 for my age category for 50 – 54, but there is absolutely no prize at all. Nothing to motivate. They take me as a Men Open runner.

As for the public, Health Care is a concern for Singaporeans, as the race organisers should actually support junior and senior veteran men and women category so that one can age gracefully. Many races only focus a lot of attention on women open and men open in an unending manner, and this is not a good thing, as older people may give up as they have to compete with younger runners. There must be a proper age category.

The truth is the government cannot foot all bills of Health Care. So, organising proper events for the young and old is a must. The health cost for Singapore in a decade will actually balloon to $10 billion and above, using my research done for my Masters in Education (UWA, 2005-2008). Hence, Singaporeans must work as a team in this.

Nonetheless, it is important to look into these factors before one can organise. In Men Open category I have seen a Kenyan winning first and the Gurkha winning the second position. A Singaporean won third. Only one Singaporean got a prize for Men Open and it is very sad for the top 4 to the top 10 not to get a prize. Hence, I feel that the time, money and effort to train by these people should be recognised and encouraged.

This was in POSB race 2018, for women and men open, only three individuals got the prizes and the veterans were not given any kind of prize, to show support to healthy living. Instead, there were team runners who were slower runners, as compared to those who came in individual top 4th-10th for men open were given prizes, instead. The eight-team individuals got $100 each, which the 4th to 10th individual position men open did not get anything. 

A few years back, we won first and second for the team event in POSB Run, as we were invited to take part. After our win, we were told that we are too competitive and to give others a chance to win thus they put us in the individual category with no category. However, this year, there was Corporate Challenge, a school took part and won the competition. All 8 people in the team, from good to above average runners benefitted, but how about the 4th to 10th individual position Men Open runners who were much faster than most of the team event athletes? The organisers must consider all these outcomes and should not neglect them.

So, after a poorly organised race, when a person messaged me to ask on how to redress the current situation, like who to write the e-mail to when things go wrong, I feel that there must be the involvement of Singapore Athletics in sanctioning so that the organiser of the race and Singapore Athletics ensures a fair and transparent race. The Event management must make an effort to pay Singapore Athletics so that the upcoming developmental athletes can benefit from it. Any complaints, by anyone, it has to be taken in and the matter should focus on redressing issues brought up to Singapore Athletics.

To sum up, it is known that if one runs a non-sanctioned race, the public in a way takes the responsibility to ensure they are entering a properly organised race. Rarely, we see the event management company taking accountability.

That is why 90% of my training has time trials, and it can be done in running track, MacRitchie Reservoir, and Bedok Reservoir etc. The majority have benefitted from my planning for this. Running a race is secondary to doing a time trial, as time trials are preparatory to a race, regardless it is competitive or not.

One must choose a proper race if one wants to run in a non-sanctioned race. It is wise to see whether the route is detailed, prizes are there for the top ten winners etc, and the lucky draw prizes must be really very good, to attract many people. All tiny and small words having conditions etc must be read. When one runs non-sanctioned races, it is like putting one’s leg in a pool of water where one does not know the depth of the pool.

Edited By a Flexifitness staff!

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.