runningcoachsg

Lake Biwa Marathon 2012 - Samuel Ndungu wins race.

2012-03-04T06:54:00.005-08:00

OTSU (Japan):

Otsu was the place that I stayed to run in the 1988 Biwako Marathon race, which was held in conjunction with 1st Asian Marathon Championships 1988. Otsu brings me very good memories. I came in 7th out of the Asian athletes at that time. It came out in the newspaper and Mr John Koh was praising me for doing well there. It was a very good experience running there as it was my first overseas experience running for Singapore. I met many runners from all over Asia and made friends with them. One such friend that I made was with Lee Kar Lun, former Hong Kong top runner and now a top runner in the veteran section. As such, I would like to feature the race for my blog.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/lake-biwa-mainichi-marathon-japan-4th.html

Lake Biwa Marathon 2012

Japanese-based Kenyan runner Samuel Ndungu won the marathon on Sunday at Lake Biwa race.

Ndungu, 23, broke away before the 32-kilometre, with 8 runners pursuing him, and never faced a serious competition afterwards, finishing the race in a sub 2hr 8min time of 2 hr 7 min 4 sec.

Second in the race was Henryk Szost, who set a new Polish national record of 2:07:39 while Abdellah Taghrafet of Morocco finished in 2:08:37 and came in third.

Ndungu, who is a member of an athletics club in Aichi, central Japan told the press that he was very happy about the race for it was his first victory in his life for an International Marathon race. He was concerned on doing his best during the race.

There were two Kenyan pace-makers during the race who ran until the 25 kilometre mark, when they were overtaken by the elite runners of the race.

Nicholas Manza of Kenya and Bekana Daba of Ethiopia suddenly picked up speed, with Daba taking a solo lead one kilometre later before seven runners caught up with him at the 28km point.

The surprise came in the race when Ryo Yamamoto overtook front-running Kentaro Nakamoto in the last 400m to secure fourth place in 2:08:44 and take a big step towards winning a ticket to London.

www.runningcoachsg.com

How to avoid Lower Back Injury?

2012-03-04T01:50:00.001-08:00

Lower back injury is separated into two - namely;

Acute: This kind of pain last from a day to less than 3 months. It depends on the nature of the injury. Usually people with this injury get better with home treatment through using the ice and heat method.
Chronic: This kind of usually last for a very long time and may last longer than 3 months. Those who get these type of injury - chronic back pain - normally recover by more intensive method of treatment.

Once we have lower back pain, from my experience, after getting better, it is known that the sensation of pain may come back. The preventive measure for this is to keep the abdominal and stomach muscles strong, sleep with proper posture, walk with good posture. One must also take note that one should also learn to carry heavy objects safely. As for sportsmen, the lower back muscle must be supple and strong in order to perform a higher task which requires more speed and strength.

Treatment for acute low back pain

1. See a doctor for advice. A physiologist may be recommended to assist in this.

2. Do yoga exercises that helps to prevent lower back injury.

3. Do strengthening exercises which is specific in avoiding injury.

Treating the injury is in this blog post, please refer to the post.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/01/cat-stretch-for-running-flexible-spine.html

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/02/downward-facing-dog-pose-good-stretch.html

Why is it not worth it to run with different number tag?

2012-02-29T04:09:00.000-08:00

Scott Downard - Run with your own number tag

Scott Downard, a 25-year-old runner won the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, last weekend. However, he was disqualified for not registering for the race.

Downard ran with a bib which was meant for his friend who signed up for the race. His friend may not have been able to run in the race. When the issue was addressed, Downward admitted the flaw. Hence, Kolin Styles, 25, became the winner. Styles finished the race in 2 hrs, 40 min, 54 sec, more than three minutes behind Downard.

The good part of it all was that Downward was able to take the disqualification gracefully and resolved that he will be back for next year's race.

Kenya's Michael Kipyego - Upsets Gebreselassie in Tokyo Marathon 2012

2012-02-27T06:47:00.002-08:00

Kenya's Michael Kipyego – 1^st in Tokyo Marathon 2012 -First Sweet Victory

Michael Kipyego of Kenya was able to win Haile Gebrselassie toward the last 4km in Tokyo Marathon 2012 in 2 hr 7 min 37 sec. Second placing went to Japan's Arata Fujiwara who completed the race in 2:07:48.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia's Atsede Habtamu won the competition by doing 2:25:28. Fellow country runner Yeshi Esayias won the race in 2hr 26min 00sec while Kenya's Helena Kirop came in third in 2:26:02.

Gebrselassie, who has been eyeing Olympics could only manage 2:08:17 in the race, although he was aiming for a 2hr 05min marathon finish.

From Jonathan Kang who did 3hr 09min, we know that the race was very well organised. From press, we also realised that Tokyo Marathon is becoming comparable to London, Berlin and Chicago Marathon.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Jonathan Kang : 3hours 09min in Tokyo Marathon 2012 (Part 2)

2012-02-26T06:59:00.002-08:00

Jonathan Kang - Aim was to complete in 3hr 15min.

Jonathan Kang told me in hospital at SGH that he was on time for a personal best time for Standard Chartered Marathon, Singapore. Nearly the last few stages of the marathon race, he caved in and stopped the race due to dehydration.

I was there in the hospital and his wife was looking after him in the hospital. Jonathan Kang was very depressed with the performance. However, I told him that, in a race, safety is utmost. We can perform again but if we become a casualty, it can be dangerous. Safety first and then comes performance. Everyone should know this.

Two weeks back, in one morning, I saw Jonathan Kang doing workout with Dr Ben Tan and Dr Benny Goh. From the workout they were doing, I found that Jonathan Kang seemed fitter as compared to his past.

Having said that I would like to share with others out there on his bold run at Tokyo by giving him an interview.

An Interview With Jonathan Kang

How many people took part in the marathon?

About 26 000 people participated in this marathon.

How was the weather out there?

It was about 5 to 6 degrees centigrade. The race was very cold to run.

How was your half-way mark time?

It was about 1hr 34min plus.

What was your target?

It was just to complete and not compete. I wanted to finish it safely.

How was the race as a whole?

The race was super and excellent. The hydration was very good. At every 2km mark, there are about 10 tables with drinks. The distance markers were prominently laid. I was able to pace myself well. The supports were very encouraging. There were a lot of support during the race.

How did your wife feel about the race?

She felt happy about the race.

Jonathan Kang - 3hr 09min, New PB in Tokyo Marathon 2012 (Part 1)

2012-02-25T21:56:00.003-08:00

Flexifitness Congratulate's Jonathan Kang for his bold 3hr 09min in Tokyo Marathon 2012

Jonathan Kang - A Story of Keeping the Faith

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/jonathan-kangs-message-run-faster-but.html

I remember sitting with Jonathan Kang in Singapore General Hospital on the night after Standard Chartered Marathon 2011 on Dec 4, Sunday. He looked very dejected when he saw himself stopping himself during the race. He recounted that he had been training very hard for the past several months. I also realised from him that Malcolm Sng Wei Ren, 22, reportedly collapsed at the finishing line at the Padang at approximately 8.30am. Jonathan told me that after attending to Malcolm, the doctors were attending to him as he was the next casuality. The doctors, having experienced the death of Malcolm, were very worried about Jonathan's state of severe dehydration. Luckily nothing happened.

Today, Jonathan did 3hr 09min and has given me an interview through phone of this new personal best achievement.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Picture 1 - (Left to Right) Jonathan Kang, Rameshon and Lim Thow Wee

Why we should not run with another number.

2012-02-23T07:16:00.002-08:00

Number tag change can lead to disqualification, please take this seriously.

I remember telling students not to run with another number. If supposing a person wins a race with another number tag, one may get disqualified and also make the school or association affected because of this. Edison Chen was so popular that people were observant about his number tag number. My suggestion to people is to not take things for granted.

Peter Chai

From Yahoo News 22/02/2012

Since the public witnessed his unforgivable actions in the 2008 sex scandal, Edison Chen has been making negative impressions in the hearts of Hong Kong citizens and recently he was disqualified from a marathon sponsored by Nike.

Chen put his effort into the marathon for four hours, in conjunction with a charity purpose. He achieved a great result after completing the 42.195km run and helped to raise HK$2 million. However, the actor was seen unhappy with his number 'A5716' as he switched it with other participant's number, 'A5654'. What he had done was confusing the organizer while tabulating the results and eventually he was being disqualified after receiving complaints from other runners.

"Because there were complaints. It's not fair to the other participants, so we disqualified him. We do not recognize his result and will not issue any certificate to him," the organizer said. Besides, the event sponsor Nike had been asking for compensation from Chen due to his misconduct. It was also reported that the company had invested lots of money and time for the actor's training for the marathon.

http://flexifitness.runningcoachsg.com/

Flexifitness Athlete Ashley Liew's Official Time for Hong Kong marathon 2012

2012-02-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

Ashley Liew - It is official that Hong Kong marathon time is 2hr 38min 11sec.

Ashley Liew's official time is out and it is 2hr 38min 11sec. The same expression that he showed at Gold Coast 2011 looks the the same as what he did here in Hong Kong 2012. Ashley told me that he was trying frantically to go for a sub 2hr 38min after knowing that he was able to do a sub 2hr 40min at the last 1km mark.

Picture 1 - Ashley's Official photo of Hong Kong Marathon 2012

Christian Stauffer's sons, Charles and Louise, 1st and 2nd in Biathlon 12/02/2012

2012-02-14T04:07:00.000-08:00

Christian Stauffer -Believes that a sport should be chosen by the child, not parent.

Picture 1 - Dan Johnson (left) and Chirstian (right) and Mika Kume (behind) raising the Singapore flag towards the finish of 250 Sahara challenge (2009)

Flexifitness athlete, Louise, came in 2nd in the Youth Aquathlon race where his brother Charles also came tops by finishing first. The father, Christian, lost to only 3 young men in the Open section, running as a veteran, competing young men. It was an achievement as a family and I was proud to hear this as Louise is under our Flexifitness programme. From his conversation, I found out that Christian has the necessary wisdom on how to develop children in sports so that it becomes a life time sports. He believes that training is not about training, training and more training. It is about how to get faster using the right methods, especially when one is young. He believes that motor skills should be developed when one is young.

I gave him an interview as I believe that more can be learnt from his wisdom as a father to 3 children.

An Interview With Chirstian Stauffer (250km Sahara Challenge participant)

What is the race about?

It was Super Sprint Series at Orchid Country Club. It was a Aquathlon race with 250m Swim / 2.5km run at Yishun. All category had to run the same distance (Youth/Women/Open) which makes it challenging for the youth. It is more challenging for the Women and Open race.

Where was it held?

The premises of Orchard Country Club was used in Yishun

When was it held?

Last Sunday morning on 12th of February.

What are the events that your family members took part in?

Eva, Louis and Charles competed in the Youth 12-16 year old race. I ran in the Open race.

Were you concerned on their ability to take part in the competition?

No. I usually make sure before entering that the distances matches their abilities and will ensure on safety first before the race.

Are you happy with the performance?

We were happy with the performance and we everyone enjoyed it and had good time. It was also a good way to spend time for the family. For the younger ones, it is not about placing or competition but it is more about giving ones’s individual best. You don't race to train yourself, but you train and do your best as you can.

Can you tell us details on the performance by you and the rest in your family who took part in this event?

Charles came 1st youth overall and had a strong swim and good run.

Louis came in 2nd youth overall with a good swim and a strong run.

Eva came in 5th or 6th overall with a good swim and ok run.

I came 4th in my wave and still do not have the final results. I came 3rd out of the water then 1st out of T1 and could not maintained that through the run as most of the good runners were probably 20 years younger ::)

What is your opinion on children and competition?

For children, until 14-15 year old should sports should focus on motorskills, movements, stability and essentially on enjoyment of the activities. We, especially, nowadays, see in front of a computer or phone and they do not have the natural ways to learn of how we learnt in the past, like how we did. When I was a kid I use to go down my building and kick the soccer ball, or ride bike or run everyday with my neighbours. So, first is about enjoying, and acquiring the necessary skills and fitness. To me it is also about learning rules, sport is an integral part of education. One should respect of teammates and opponents, coaches, referees, volunteers etc... and essentially be committed to goals in sport. I do not push my kids to do sports but when they choose an activity, their chosen sport. I only expect from them the commitment they should learn to do. On my part I am just a facilitator in the process.

How about parents who are favourable to children to get competitive?

This is a tricky question. For people in sport everyone would love to see his son/daughter running like Usain Bolt or Gebrselasie or play tennis like Federer or ride like Armstrong BUT this comes down to being realistic and putting things in perspective.

High performance athletes are gifted people and they have to put in a lot of work to achieve and only few can do it through determination and dedication. The gift without the work does not work and unfortunately work without the gift also does not work as shown in research. The new generation is sometimes reluctant to put in the work. Depending on the sport you choose it is important to work on coordination when one is young and also get a proper coach who is knowledgeable and has the ability to coach kids or teens, which is a tortally different from coaching adults. There is an age, especially when the child gets older, at least 15 years of age one should learn not to make the child competitive but train and go for competition using kids training methods of training with fun using maybe games. Once they child reach between 15 and 18, it is up to the child to compete, as this is the right age to compete. It is also to the kid to choose a sport and then further commit once reaching adulthood. Parents should encourage, and facilitate and be responsible to their needs.

What is your next goal?

We will race the metasprint series as a family in the respective categories. This will be more challenging as it is more competitive. For Louis and Eva we prefer them to just enjoy and it is not about winning. For Charles it is about enjoyment the time to train with a structured programme and race to improve and perhaps defend his last year winning. It is his last year in U16...Next year, he will race his first sprint distance (500m Swim/20km bike/5km run) in Zurich. For me it is always about getting to the finish in one peace. Luckily, this time there are different age group categories involved so I will probably try to do a respectable placing in the 45-49yo.

Why do you like sports a lot?

I like sports because it has values that has help me in all walks of life : work, friendship, family etc… I realise that we need commitment, teamwork, hard work, passion, honesty, be driven, having goals that can be transferred to our work and life. We can go far, in the long run.

What sports will you give your children?

I believe that I will give Sports that will give my children the values values plus a sport that develop fitness. If, on the top of tha,t they can do well in the sports chosen sports, whether it be triathlon, biathlon, running, ironman, etc they choose, I will be a firm supporter.

What is your advice to people who want to take part in races like the 250km Sahara Challenge?

My advice is to cherish and enjoy more on the experience and not about going through an ordeal. So, it is good to be gradual, progressive and consistent in your training and build up one’s distance, find experienced people to share with, find good teammates to train and race with, be committed in putting the time to train and to get your family behind you to support. Another advice of mine is for people to not train like an amateur and try to race like a professional. I will always remember a quote from Chris McCormack who is one of the most respected World class triathlete. He was referring to the difference between amateurs and professions who said that when he races there is no 2nd or 3rd place, he is coming for the win because it is his job. That is what makes the difference. So, Enjoy the experience !

Christian Stauffer - 15th July 2012 Ironman Challenge, in Switzerland

2012-02-10T20:08:00.000-08:00

Christian Stauffer - Super Endurance Athlete Aiming for Ironman Switzerland on July 15.

When I wrote on Johnson Jacob's and Mika Kume's accomplishment of 250km Sahara Desert Challenge in year 2009, I was frantically trying to contact Christian, another member who formed as a team-mate in this group. He was in overseas at that time. After a long time, recently, I got in touch with him and started asking him on his current big goal. He told me that his next challenge was the Ironman Challenge in Switzerland on 15th of July. I realised that it would be inspirational for the young and old to read about Christian's undying spirit in participating in super endurance sports.like 250km Sahara Challenge etc.

Picture 1 - (Left to Right) Dan Johnson, Christian Stauffer and Steven Lim

An Interview With Christian Stauffer.

What is your full name?

My name is Christian Stauffer

Can you share with us on your country of birth?

I was born and grown up in the southern eastern part of France in a small place. However, I became a Swiss citizen over time.

What is your passion?

I would say that aside from family and friends, Sport is my passion, I like all kind of sports. I found almost all sports in enabling people to keep themselves fit and is able to make people challenge mentally, while giving the opportunity to be more sociable to people of all walks of life.

What made you to participate in the 250km Sahara Desert Challenge?

As usual...it was a "crazy bet with crazy people"! It all started at Evans Road when I was with Johnson (Dan Jacob) and Steven Lim. I guess Johnson and I, ran for MR 25 for few years already and were quite "bored" by track sessions and road racing (I should not say that as it is not a good example for the young ones) while we still loved running. So around September 2007, we simply decided to give it a go at the 250km Gobi Desert race in March 2008. Steven was a track and middle distance school athlete, Johnson was a runner and long distance triathlete whereas I have mostly been doing adventure racing and running. We trained a lot, without any form of experience and raced hard and we were able to finish as a team getting good position. In 2009, to gain more experience, I ran solo the Namibian desert in South Africa. It was the hardest race that I had ever encountered. I completed and learnt from mistakes after the event. These kind of races had to be run all alone and I ended starving with too little food to eat. I lost 7kg of weight in one week. It was also freezing cold at night where I was in fact using wrong equipment to retain heat which made my legs to sore. The reason for this is in Singapore I don't get the elevation and rock terrain training to succeed in this. However, it went well over days and I came in first at the last short stage of the race. The next challenge I did was the RTP - 250km Sahara Desert Race and the reason for me to participate in this event is because Sahara is the king of sand desert races.

Who came up with the idea and how did Johnson and Mika came into the picture?

Back in Singapore, my buddy Johnson and I had earlier on decided to train hard and send a competitive team for the Sahara race the same year. Mika, a female Japanese athlete living in Singapore, had shown great interest in doing a long distance running race at that time. She was also our fellow club member and she was a good choice to join us for she had a long experience in endurance races. Our biggest challenge was the time allowance before the race. Somehow we managed to train hard and well. Our strength was as usual to take things easy, with high spirit and not to take things very seriously while keeping the fun (good teammates, beautiful scenery). On the third day of the race, we realized that our time was not too far from the first team so we started playing mind games and put pressure on them (we knew some of the guys from past races) and we kept it up until the finish. We came in first on the 4th stage and managed to secure our second position on the 5th day during the 87km long stage. Having been for long time in Singapore, we were all very proud to bring the Singapore flag to the finish line and be the first team from Singapore to came in 2nd position in a RTP race.

How did you do your training for this?

In Singapore, we are very lucky, the weather is hot for training as this acclimatises us to the weather. That is why we were able to race at Sahara. Although peak temperatures can reach over 50 deg around 11am, the lucky thing is that it is in dry condition. With regards to our training, we ran almost every day of the week but usually for a short time and we were doing easy or tempo. At the same time, we do training very long runs in early mornings or nights during the weekend by going out to the reservoir to run. The challenge for us comes when we have to carry the backpack which substantially affect our running gait to an extent. The body and joints had to adapt to both the weight and gait of the run/walk. It was known to us that even non-competitive runners will have to start with as much as a 11kg bag. We had to start with 5-6kgs on the back plus water. We also trained on the sand under the sun to acclimatise ourselves to the race condition.

Can you tell us on the ups and downs of training for the 250km Sahara Desert run?

I will probably be lying if I were to say that there were no downs at all but honestly speaking while you train with great teammates, in an environment like the natural reserves in Singapore or on the beaches around the regions there is little down that we came across. Our downs came sometimes from the load that we need to carry on our body and from seeing less of your family and friends.

How did you juggle your training with your work to train for 250km Sahara run?

It requires organization, time management and strong support from family and friends. We ran early morning to come back home as early as possible, sometimes at night to train for night vision. Perhaps a dedicated goal as well. We have always tried to use our runs to raise awareness for charities such the Singapore Children Cancer Foundation or NGO that were helping kids for education etc... so when I feel a bit down while racing I think about these kids and that makes my run quite an easy one.

What is your best time for a marathon race ever, where was it held?

This is going to be hard for me to answer. I have never prepared or run a marathon seriously....my last marathon run was the Kuala Lumpur in year 2007 which I ran with.....an 8kgs backpack as I was training for Gobi. I ran around 3h59min, I did not really time it but just remember sprinting to make sure that the clock will not go above the 4 hour time. I once trained seriously for 1/2M in Ang Kor Wat and ran in 1h35' which was way back in 2008. I admire marathoners as it a lot of time, money and effory to train and compete. You need firm discipline and dedication.

When is your next big challenge?

I am injured at the hip right right now and this forces me to reduce my mileage in running and is making me to cross train on bike/swim. I also enjoy triathlon now which I got interested in from year 2009. I will do my best to train and compete in the Ironman Switzerland in July. It will be my first time competition in my own country. I will then race at Atacama Desert with Johnson. By the way we are looking for a 3rd teammate....so you may consider :)?

Where will this be held?

It will be held in Zurich on the 15th of July.

What is your personal best time for Ironman and which year did you attain and the country that you had attained?

I finished Ironmnan France in 2010 with the intention of just completing the race. My best racing time is 5hr 45min plus for Half-Ironman race in Singapore.

What kind of time are you aiming for in the upcoming Ironman race ?

I would really like to run as close to 12 hours as possible.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Ashley Liew 's Next Target is Texas Ironman Before Gold Coast Marathon 2012

2012-02-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

Ashley Liew - Time to Focus on Texas Ironman for the time being

Picture 1 - A short gathering today.

In the Hong Kong marathon the number of registered participants have risen to 12000. Out of 9970 official finishers, Ashley's overall position for men open was 25th. http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2012/02/flexifitness-athlete-ashley-liew-does.html

It is official that Ashley's race time is 2hr 38m 11s for his net time in Hong Kong marathon 2012. His Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2011 race performance, on 3rd July 2011, was 2hr 41min 55sec. Last year's Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2011 ended in failure for Ashley as he ran a 3hr 06min.

He was ranked 11^th in Men’s Marathon Senior (MMS) category, while beating 9 overseas male invited elites (MMI category). Last year's value added runner, Shaharudin did 2hr 55min 41sec compared to his past timing of 2hr 37min. Ashley told me that Shaharudin was with him for a while in the race and both tried to help each other until Shaharudin felt tired and slowed down his pace.

In the Asian category Ashley was ranked as the 4th male. The runners who were in front of him were Ajith Mudiyanselage 2h26m40s (Sri Lanka), Kang Bom Rl 2h34m20s (N.Korea) and Johnny Lai 2h34m28s (HK).

About 200 Singaporeans took part in the race. Safra runner who did well in Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Ning Wen Long did 3h 00min 52s for the course while fellow Singaporeans Poon Zi Li did 3h13m2s with Cheong Peng Tat doing 3h15m6s for the tough course.

Picture 2 - Ashley, towards the last portion of the race.

An Interview With Ashley Liew

Having said that, since Ashley is taking part in the coming Texas Ironman 2012 before Gold Coast Marathon 2012, he has answered to my interview on his next medium term goal. Let us hear from him.

Can you tell us on your next big goal from now till May?

The Texas Full-Ironman Triathlon held on 19 May 2012 is my next key race. I will be doing several multisport races as lead-ups: e.g. Singapore Ironman 70.3 on 18 March, and defending my age-group Champion title at the Metasprint Triathlon Series.

When did you plan to do this?

It was only back in October 2011 that I committed myself to this Ironman.

Where will this be held?

The 2012 Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas will all the way over in America, as there are no Ironman distances in Asia.

Why has triathlon been part of your passion?

Triathlon is a satisfying and exciting endurance sport because of its three components that make the final outcome fairly unpredictable. It may be challenging, but is really very do-able and easy to start. Triathlon also offers cross-training so as to avoid runner-specific injuries.

What is the reason for taking part in the Ironman Triathlon race?

The trigger came while watching online the 2011 Hawaii Ironman Ironman online. I was reminded that qualifying for the exciting Hawaii Ironman World Championships was one of my two sporting dreams. This qualification opportunity slipped past me by literally a couple of minutes, despite doing a 10h48m in my first Ironman at Langkawi in 2010. So I really wanted to have another crack at the full Ironman in 2012, before I focus more on pure running. After consulting with Coach Rameshon and my bike manager Daphne, the timing of Texas Ironman 2012 was ideal.

What advice will you give to swimmers and bikers wanting to become triathletes?

Chances are you already have an athletic foundation, so you might want to consider sitting down with a coach to draft and incorporate a progressive running schedule. It is easier time-wise to fit more runs into your lifestyle compared to swims or rides, so take the opportunity to run more often. If running after two activities sounds daunting, condition your legs by doing simple weekly brick sessions (swim-run or bike-run). First-timers will find the sprint-distance (750m swim + 20k bike + 5k run) do-able if you take your own time!

Of the three sports- namely' running, swimming and cycling, which sport do you find very challenging?

The swim is always the challenge as I never had any swimming technique/background. This is the same for many others too. However, we should not let that be our mental barrier: with progressive work and awareness, runners can become better swimmers.

Will your running time (2h38+m) that you did in Hong Kong Marathon 2012 help you in any way for the upcoming triathlon race?

Definitely. My running base and speed is more than covered, and the Hong Kong performance has given me mental tenacity and confidence for another hard challenge.

What kind of training will you be doing to attain this?

I will be spending a lot more training volume on the bike (extremely important for the 180km Ironman bike leg), and a moderate increase in volume on the swim. I will still be running actively, although workouts would not be at the same pre-marathon intensity and running mileage will dip.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Ethiopians Abera (men) and Demissie (Women) Rule Hong Kong Marathon 2012

2012-02-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ethiopian Runners set new course records in Hong Kong

Ethiopian Dereje Abera (men) and fellow female runner Misiker Mekonnen Demissie (women) set new course records at the Hong Kong Marathon here yesterday. Ashley Liew from Singapore, also did well in the race by doing a very good personal best time of 2hr 38min. In last year's Singapore Standard Chartered marathon 2011, he did 3hr 06min.

Dejere Abera of Ethiopia won the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2012 by less than a second, doing a time of 2hr 11min 27sec. At the last 1km the 3 runners were bunched together, including Cosmas Kyeva. At the last 1km mark the time stood somewhere around 2hr 08min plus. The finish was reaching a climax when the race became very close and exciting with the winner pushing Eliud Cheptei to second place.

Dejere’s winning time of 2:11:27, while two more Kenyans, Cosmas Kyeva.

Dejere improved the long standing course record by one minute and 42 seconds, while fellow Ethiopian Women runner, Misiker Demissie took three and a half minutes from last year’s course record.

MEN

1. Dereje Abera, Ethiopia 2.11.27 (course record)

2. Eliud Chepti, Kenya 2.11.27

3. Cosmas Kyeva, Kenya 2.11.28

WOMEN

1. Misiker Mekonnen Demissie, Ethiopia 2.30.12 (course record)

2. Shitaye Gemechu, Ethiopia 2.31.44

3. Winfred Nyansikera, Kenya 2.31.47

Flexifitness Athlete Ashley Liew Does 2hr 38min in HK Marathon 2012

2012-02-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

Ashley Liew - Rebounds with resilience in Hong Kong Marathon 2012

Picture 1 - Ashley Liew, giving all his best in order to run a sub - 2hr 40min marathon

Earlier Ashley Liew had been training for the Hong Kong Marathon 2012. However, he could not understand why his credit card payment was not accepted by the Hong Kong Marathon organisation Secretariat side. The registration for the Hong Kong Marathon on the official website was still pending and there was no further confirmation. After probing, the marathon Secretariat told Ashley Liew through e-mail that he would need to pay the race entry by cash in order to get himself in the race.

Picture 2- Late Entry still allowed a day before the race, but not for the competitive marathon race

This made Ashley have doubts on the entry into Hong Kong Marathon on 5 February. Flexifitness decided to come forward to support this aspiring athlete to achieve his goal by sponsoring his trip to Hong Kong so that an opportunity is created to do a personal best time before he trains hard for Gold Coast Marathon 2012. This was to give him an uplift.

Picture 3 - At the start of the race which started at 6 45am.

To this, Ashley decided to go for the Hong Kong Marathon on Friday and to see the marathon Secretariat. At the enquiry desk he was told to run the non-Marathon Challenge 42.195km (a separate category and starting time from the faster runners in the Challenge category), half an hour later. Finally the Enquiry counter told Ashley to pay cash. He was given the number tag to run in the race.

In the race this morning, Ashley ran through the tough hilly course in a time of 2hr 38min. This is an improvement of more than 3mins from 2hr 41min 55sec that he did at Gold Coast Marathon 2011. He has reached another level where only few of them can do a sub - 2hr 40min. Let us listen to his story through interview on how he ran and achieve this improvement in timing.

Picture 4 - Running at the start of the race

An Exclusive Interview With Ashley Liew

How did you fare in last year's 2011 races in Singapore and overseas?

I had a very good race season in 2011. Along with my main achievements of a 2h45m PB at HK Marathon followed by a 2h41m PB at Gold Coast Marathon, came many improvements in other distances as well. This rosy picture was not to be at December's Singapore Marathon where I had a physically disastrous 3h6m, but I can definitely accept one black mark.

How did you feel when you ran badly in Singapore Standard Marathon 2011?

Of course I was disappointed because a lot of energy was put into its preparation. But I made sure not to let one bad experience overly affect me. I took it as a learning experience.

How did your friends, coach, family, and the press feel about your race?

Thankfully most were understanding and encouraging. It showed that people still believed in me. Of course there were a handful who kept asking "what happened", and those that insisted drastic changes were needed in my training matters.

What made you to take part in the Hong Kong Marathon 2012 race?

Coach Rameshon on seeing an encouraging workout time recently, encouraged me to do an an official late entry registration for HK Marathon and focus less on 5k speed. I also did not want to waste all the training done for December's Singapore Marathon, so the timing of Hong Kong presented a good opportunity.

What was your challenge in this race?

It was just to hit a PB. I came ready to do a sub-2h40m in the shape that I was in.

How do you find being sponsored by Flexifitness for this race?

I am very appreciative for this fantastic opportunity to be sponsored by Flexifitness for this, since overseas races are never a cheap affair. I am glad I did them proud.

How was the course this year?

Like last year, it was tough because of its hilly terrain. From 3-9km is an approximate 65m elevation gain, and the last 5km is as challenging as a marathon can get with its short but brutally steep inclines that can make grown men cry. But I was mentally prepared for this having ran HK last year. The weather also helped: with a range between 13-16 degrees, which was like running in air-condition compared to Singapore.

Picture 5 - Hong Kong Marathon 2012 Grand Start

Can you tell us on the splits that you have done during the race?

1k: 3m43s

5k: 18m34s

10k: 36m32s

15k: 54m25s21.1k: ~1h16m58s

25k: 1h31m5s

30k: 1h50m9s

35k: ~2h17+m

40k: ~2h29+m

42.2: ~2h38+m (ave pace ~3m45s/k)

Are you happy with the time?

At the 39k mark was when I realized that even if I were to maintain a 4+m/k pace to the end I would comfortably hit a PB: this definitely brought a slight smile to my face underneath the wincing expressions. 1+km to go I was still hopeful of a 2h37+m time but the last hill killed that hope. Still, to see a 2h38+m time on the finish-line clock was a massive relief and vindication.

Picture 6 - A smile from Ashley after knowing the 3min improvement.

What are you planning to do in the near future?

I will be focusing on my next key race: the Texas Full Ironman Triathlon on 19 May 2012. The next marathon would be at Gold Coast after that.

http://www.runningcoachsg.com/

2012-02-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

The upcoming races in Singapore

Zoo Run 2012

The Zoo Run was held today at Mandai and the MR 25 Club will be doing a trial, at 5pm, today.

The zoo run consist of 2.8km for the children under 12 and 6km fun run for all those above 12. Children between ages of 4 and 8 are to run with an adult. This is a race in itself. For adults men and women and veteran runners, there is 12km race for them.

MR 25 - 5km Time Trial

From the past, the MR 25 Club has been conducting the 5km time trial every 2months. Anyone who does 25min are allowed to join the club. The run is conducted at MacRitchie Reservoir. They follow the boys route of the former National Schools' Cross-Country Championships race, except that the run is run through the forest route rather than road and tarmac route.

Hong Kong Marathon 2012

I am relying on Shahruddin, a Malaysian runner representing Malaysia to inform me on the details of the race. The race route is 42.195km with at least 10 uphills and down hills to run and race. Flexifitness wishes Shahruddin all the best for the race in Hong Kong.

Flexifitness Coach Donald Ng Wins SAA Veteran 5km run (Sat, 21/01/2012)

2012-02-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Donald Ng - Still going strong

It was a hot day. Donald Ng had a number of people asking him a few weeks/months ago on whether he is injured or not. While recovering, Donald, 52, started training seriously and surprisingly came in first in the SAA annual Cross-Country race. I decided to interview him on his recent achievement.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-is-your-age-now-51-born-in-19th.html

What were you thinking about before the race?

I told myself to just run the race, not thinking about the result.

How was the weather?

It was a bit hot. Nevertheless, I am used to heat.

What kind of heat acclimatisation training did you do?

Nothing of that sort, but the training I did once in a while of 9am running has helped. I know that in hot weather race, we can win the race by training in the heat, even though the time will not be good.

What do you think on the distance of the race?

I think that it is accurate. It is 4.3km plus 700m, total 5km.

What were you expecting?

Don't know the field, hence I did not expect a top 3. I wished for a sub-21. I did 20min 22sec in the end.

How do you feel about the race?

Very happy

Did you race to be a champion?

No. Only during prize presentation I realised that I am the champion.

How was your family reaction to this?

Unexpected

Do you have injury now?

No and I can run faster now.

Can you tell us on your previous injury?

I had knee pain. It was very tricky and I had to be careful about it.

How was the prize giving?

I was given late. I believe that it could have been given earlier around 11 o'clock.

What is your next target?

SAA relay 4.3km.

http://flexifitness.runningcoachsg.com/

George Jacobs - On Why it is ok to be a vegetarian.

2012-01-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

George Jacobs has written on why being a vegetarian is a healthy choice after all. I believe that vegetarians are not deprived of any form of deficiency that will make them unhealthy.

Having said that I feel that vegetarian should eat a balanced diet and they will feel great. In Today's paper, George gave some salient points on how it is ok to be a vegetarian. As for me, being vegetarian has helped me in doing well in running and to the best out of me. Now, let us hear from George himself.

TODAY Paper

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2012, Page 13.

By George Jacobs - President of Vegetarian Society.

I refer to the letter “Being vegetarian might not be the healthiest choice’ (Jan 10). The American Dietetic Association took a position in 2009 that “appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequately and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases”.

It said: “Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence and for athletes.”

Our Health Promotion Board states that “a well-balanced and healthy vegetarian diet” is associated with a lower blood cholesterol levels and reduced risk of death from heart disease.

One of the oldest persons in Singapore was Ms Teresa Hsu, a lifelong vegetarian, who died last year at the age of 113.

Singapore’s record holder in the marathon, Mr M Rameshon, is a vegetarian. Another Singapore vegetarian, Mr Ang Hwee, has won medals in weight-lifting competitions overseas. One of our top blood donors, Mr Goh Joo Heng, who has donated whole blood or platelets more ahtn 100 times, is a vegetarian. Protein is probably people’s biggest concern when they begin to substitute animal food for plant food. However, many plant foods, including beans, other legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains, contain large quantities of protein.

Among plant foods, with iron are green leafy vegetables, lentils, legumes and dried fruit. There is calcium in soy products (including tempeh, tofu and soy milk), foods fortified with calcium, green leafy vegetables, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, sesame seeds and almonds. Vegetarians obtain Omega 3 from flax seeds and walnuts.

Millions of people in India have been vegetarians for generations. How can that be if we need to eat fish?

Vegetarians can take vegetarian B12 supplements, which are available at reasonable cost, and some foods are fortified with B12.

Health is complicated. Each person is different, and the same person differs at different times in their life, Consultation with a health professional is essential.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Exercise Works Out To Higher Pay :Study.

2012-01-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

I always believe that exercise always help one to do well in studies, work and sports. Tudor Bomba, The Father of Periodisation in Sports says that people with stamina training can recover much faster than those who don't, after a bout of intense training which has taken place a day before.

I also believe that VO2 max or maximum oxygen uptake will sure rise or double up with exercise as compared to the same person not doing exercise.

People's mental function will be good and moreover one will be able to achieve many things with a fit and healthy body. This all comes from exercise. People who say 'no time, no time' are going to regret over time in not getting the advantages of exercise. Certain cancers, heart problems plus high blood pressure will be prevented. Various studies have documented this.

With evidence from the The Straits Times, Thursday, January 19 2012, we can see that it is true that exercise do help one in work. I have posted the news in this blog below.

Picture 1 - Exercise 3 days per week will lead to higher pay : Study

London: Exercising not only trims the waistline but can bump up your pay packet too, scientists, said.

Workers who go for a jog, swim or lift weights in the gym three times a week could increase their income by up to 9 per cent, a study has found. Even lighter forms of exercise such as regular walking can help boost salaries the Daily Mail reported.

Bosses may regard employees who commit to regular activity as being more determined and dedicated personalities. Active and healthy staff members are also more likely to work harder because of the psychological and physical benefits of keeping fit.

The study looked at two questionanaires in the United States involving more than 12,000 people, which outlined details about salaries and the amount of exercise participants engaged in.

The results showed that people who exercised three times a week could expect a salary between 6 per cent higher than those who do not, the Daily Mail reported. Those who exercised between one and three times a month enjoyed wages that were 5 per cent higher.

"In addition to the positive impact on heart health, weight and other medical issues, studies show that exercise leads to improved mental function, psychological condition and higher energy levels.

"All three of these traits can translate into higher earnings," said the report's author, Dr Vasilios Kosteas from Cleveland State University in Ohio.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Flexifitness Wishes All A Happy Lunar New Year of the Dragon

2012-01-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

The top four stories of the blog

From the statistics the top of the list for the most popular post was on 'Man Dies in Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon'. I believe that it is important to take care of ourselves when we compete in any race. There is a fine line to compete and to go beyond our capacity. If we feel disoriented when we run a race, at any point, it is important to stop during the race.

Second position of most popular read article goes to 'How to improve Standing Broad Jump'. I think that basically people from all walks of life would like to improve in this item, especially between the age of 6 and 40 years. After 40, I would suggest one not to try Standing Broad Jump as one might injure ones menicus or tear a ligament. After 40, one goes through a geriatric stage where one's body is going through deterioration. One can retard aging process through exercise but jumping and hopping activity should be done with caution.

The third most read article is on Ashley Liew's frustration as an aspiring runner. We just hope that one will run races where the distance marker is placed properly. Till now, races like Great Eastern in Singapore has been organised properly. Race organisers should treat this with carefully or an athlete is just wasting ones money through running a not measured race and run for fun instead of progressing oneself in running performance. A runner cannot pace set oneself because of this.

The fourth most popular article was on 'How to train from scratch'. This shows that people are interested in marathon. At first this article was not top ten of the chart. Over a period, it landed in top 10 and now has attained fourth position.

I would wish all Chinese readers a Happy and prosperous Lunar New Year of the Dragon.

www.runningcoachsg.com

SAA Cross-Country 2012 :MR 25 Wins Men Open Team Championships

2012-01-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

Distance of Race

Boys and Men - 5km

Girls and Lady Open - 4.3km.

Donald Ng, a veteran runner who is 52 years of age came in 1st in masters under 40 for men completing the 5km run in a time of 20min 22sec. Machael Craig came in second with a time of 20min 26sec. Harold Oh was third with a time of 20min 30sec. JJ Shepard did a time of 19min 18sec and came in first in the race for Masters Open for women.

The first race started around 8am, it was for girls junior. At 9 10am, the boys junior race started. I was there with Ashley at the start. While the race was about to start, the junior boys have already run around the loop course in Bedok. The senior race was about to start and they were waiting for the junior boys to return. The race for men senior started such that there was confusion. The running crowd shouted to the officials that the a junior boy was just about 50 metres away. The race starter told the runners to go aside but then sound off the start of the race as well in a way that the running group complained the indecisive decision taken by SAA. We found that some runners sped at the start having a very advantageous start while others waited at the start and were still groping with the fact whether the race has started or not. Because of this I think the race could be fairer with all start together.

Ashley told me that the runners just took the chance and sped off. I believe that the race officials should make up their mind so that the race becomes a fair start. The race was run on a hot 9 : 35am time.

In the race, MR 25 came in as the champions for men open team. Last year's individual men open winner the fastest time for year 2011, Jason Lawrence did 16min 53sec and came in 3rd, a second ahead of Ashley Liew and seven seconds ahead of Birjung Budha, Gurkha Police team runner. That means, four Singaporeans were top 4 runners ahead of the Police Gurkha runners. Soh Rui Yong was 1st with a time of 16min 11sec KarthicRagupathy coming in second. At the last 700m, Karthic was quite distant away from Jason and Ashley. Both runners caught up with him but were not able to overtake. The way Ashley and Jason ran, I believe that they are not used to the terrain. Ashley was very happy as the time for the day to be achieved was sub-17min and he did 16min 54sec, faster than 22sec from last year's race.

Picture 1 - My advice to Ashley is to do a sub - 17min, that's all and the target was met. He improved his personal best time by about 22sec. The race was a good preparation before Gold Coast Marathon 2012

The men open team was won by MR 25 with 22 points. Police came in second with 25 points and Raffles came in 3rd with 32points.

In Under 20, Bryan Yong from RJC came in 1st with Jared Hui from CJC coming in 2nd. 3rd position went to Shawn Lim, from ACS (I). Chin Joo Ern, from Hwa Chong came in 4th while Aldrich from CJC came in 5th position. Raffles came in 1st with 24 points while second and third went to Hwa Chong and ACS(I). ACS (I), however, was able to match up to Hwa Chong with similar points of 28points.

Heng Yu Jie from Catholic High came in as the champion for the under 18 with distance 5km for boys. Leroi Lee from Nanhua High School came in second with a time of 17min 50sec.

Tan Chong Qi from Raffles came in first in under 15 for boys with a time of 19min 10sec. Chester Lee from Catholic High was second with a time of 19min 32sec Keith Yong from Sports School was third with a time of 19min 36sec.Hwa Chong Dylan Tan was fourth.

In Women Open Renuka was first with a time of 16min 22sec. Women Open team event was won by MR 25 Club. Belle Tan of ACJC came in first with a time of 17min 18sec. Second to fifth position was dominated by Hwa Chong Instutition. Nena Fritz, from MR 25, an individual runner, came in first in under 18 for girls race. For the under 15 girls Valarai Lai from RV came in firs.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Helen Toh Mui Chiam - Role Model captain of Dunearn Secondary School (1989-1991)

2012-01-18T05:07:00.000-08:00

Helen Toh Mui Chiam - Top Runner of Dunearn Secondary School (Early 1990s)

Picture 1 - Helen (right) standing with husband Andrew Oh (left)

From Underdogs to Champions

With former pupils like Helen Toh, Xu Pei Hua and other Dunearn Secondary School students, Dunearn Secondary, School once a upon a time came in champions in the under 17 girls division. I was there for teaching practise for 3 months. Within 3 months, I realised that there were about 30 students who joined the middle and long distance running group as a CCA. Of the lot, Helen Toh was the fastest. In one of the Swift cross-country meet, she even came in as a champion. In C Division National Schools' Cross-Country Championships under 14 race Xu Pei Hua came in third. When Helen went up from sec 3 to secondary 4 and Xu Pei Hua go from sec 2 to secondary 3, the team of Dunearn became formidable. I used to call them Dunearn Dynamites in the past. True to the words, these girls did wonders by coming in as the champion team for the under 17.

The amazing thing about Dunearn Secondary School was that it was a government school and was not really known for long distance in the past.

I also remember Anglo Chinese Junior College calling me and requesting me to give these runners to them. Both were able to go to the university and finish their degree.

The best thing about these girls plus the other Dunearn girls was that they were able to achieve excellent result when they actually entered the arena of running as the underdogs.

Having said that, I would like interview Helen as I have finished interviewing Xu Pei Hua earlier on.

This is good for mainstream schools as government schools can become champions if they put their heart mind and souls to train hard. They should not lose heart and to also go for the title if they want to work hard with discipline and determination like the girls from Dunearn. Helen’s two children are in Flexifitness Young Champions' Programme and she believes that they will excel through in the long run through this programme. Now, it is time for her to give back to her children.

An Interview With Helen Toh Mui Chiam

When did you take up running?
In Secondary One

Can you tell us on your background when you were young, your activity pattern?
I lived in the kampong, it is called village in Malay, in Chua Chu Kang Road. I had a wonderful childhood, playing most of the times, especially during school holidays. I climbed Rambutan trees, picked durians in the middle of the night, ran after chickens and ducks to scare them, played catching with my cousins, catch fishes in the river, played jumping airplanes (ie the 1 leg hop), cycled a lot and played badminton with my siblings. My dad built a badminton court in front of our house, it served as an area to sun our clothes in the morning and afternoon, and a playground in the evening. I loved to cycle. My uncle picked up an old small blue bicycle from the market and gave to me. I would push up my bike up a slope 100m long, 45 degree gradient behind my house, sat on the bike and down I went, balancing myself and fell a few times, but after a few attempt, I ride like a pro, hahaha. Later I moved to ride adult bike at age 12 onwards.

Tell us on how you joined the school cross-country?
I wanted to join computer club at first. When I stepped into the computer lab, the person in charge asked me to choose a computer and show him what computer skills I had. I chose a computer and sat down, but I did not know where the switch to power on the PC was. He looked at me, and smiled. I felt so embarrassed as I don’t even know where the switch was. I stood up, thanked him and left the room. My friend Limei, who was beside me at that time, suggested to me to try Band. We went, got in, and chose an instrument. I practiced the instrument at my house. My dad did not like it. He said it will hurt my lung and asked me to quit. As for myself, I did not really enjoy the blowing. I decided to quit. Limei, my friend, then suggested that we joined Track & Field.

How did Dunearn Secondary School win the Cross Country Championships in the past? name me the year if you can and the names of the runners as well.
We trained a lot. Macritchie Reservoir was our favorite training ground. The Track team was a big group, comprising A-Division, B-Division & C-Division boys and girls. Head Coach was Mr Lim, later came Coach Ram. Both of them trained the team. Coach Ram fine tuned a big part of the training programmes. We ran a lot in Macritchie, long distance route, followed by exercise, sprint and positive visualization. Training on a Sat would start at 8.30am, everyone was on time, and ended around noon. After the training the team would go out for meals, it was very fun. We would go for lunch at Serene Centre or Beauty World. Weekday training will either be in school field or Macritchie also. Training became a routine for the team, after school we go. The team spirit was high and positive and encouraging. As we trained and improved our timing, winning became a possibility and not just a dream. We believed we can win and indeed we did. Luck is a combination of opportunity & a lot of hardwork. I still remember the names : Limei, JieJun, Jinlian, Baojing, Peihua, Yongmei, Yongchuan, etc.

Why did you join cross-country as a cca?
In the then Dunearn Sec Sch, there was no split between Track & Field & Cross-country. I prefer Cross-country as it was an individual sport and the run allows me to have time of my own and think. Also I like to run long distance, the longer the better. I couldn’t sprint.

Can you tell us about your best achievement to date?
My best achievement in sports was I came in second in national school cross-country championships. In real life, my achievement is raising up 3 active children and being a supportive spouse to my husband.

Did you continue running?
Yes but not frequent. I stopped running for a long time when I gave birth to my 3 kids, in a span of almost 10 years. Only picked up running again 4 years ago, casual run on weekends when I bring them to the park. Now I joined my daughter running on Saturdays. .

Can you share with us on how you children are doing in sports?
My daughter Emma P6 switched from competitive swimming (Primary 4-Primary 5) to Young Champions' sports programme, training under Coach Rameshon. My son Ethan Primary 5 is currently in competitive swimming, his focus is in Backstroke. Ethan is able to run, swim and cycle. My youngest son Ewan P1 is very fortunate being able to join his sister for running on Saturdays, and learning swimming twice a week during weekdays. He is able to swim all strokes, and is now learning stroke correction with the coach.

Why are you still passionate about sports?
Helen –Sports instill discipline and self control and sport also give confidence and self worth. I experience the goodness of sports in my life and I firmly believe sports can bring out the best in a person.

What about your husband, is he passionate about sports?
My husband played water polo in his University years. He also swam for the army and University. He is as passionate about sports as I do. That is the reason we are both very supportive to our 3 kids and fetching them to training is not an issue and we love it.

Why do you think sports is good for life?
Keep you healthy and focus and is very important to be healthy at retirement age so can enjoy life and remain active. Our children will also be influenced by the good habit of keeping healthy and learning to choose healthy lifestyle.

Why did you put your child in Flexifitness Young Champions' Programme?
I had benefitted so much from Coach Ram’s coaching 20 years ago when he started coaching us in year 1988. Because of his well thought training programme, I am able to achieve timing good enough to be admitted into ACJC after my O-levels via DSA. I continued training under Coach Ram in JC1 ; 2. Because of the discipline and maturity developed through endurance running, coupled with good teachers in ACJC, I am able to do well in my A-levels and enrolled into NUS. It was a dream fulfilled for my father and I am able to make him proud. I firmly believe Emma will benefit under Coach Ram vast experience as a running coach. Coach Ram is an excellent mentor and coach, bring out the best in the kids and believing in them. That is why when Coach Ram told me about this programme he started in July 2011, I enrolled my daughter in August. Having the right coach is very important.

How do you find the program?
Focus on the kids’ motor skills and agility, develop the core skills they need to have before embarking them into specialized sports. A well thought all rounded programme.

Do you think that motor skill is important for children?
Yes very important.

http://www.runningcoachsg.com/

Lin Run'er - Hoping to do a sub-3hr 33min at Gold Coast Marathon 2012

2012-01-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

Lin Run 'er - Gold Coast Marathon 2012 is where Run'er is setting her sights on.

I met Lin Run'er when I was teaching at Hwa Chong Institution (College), a few years back, around 2006. Later on, both of us left Hwa Chong. Apparently, Lin Run'er went to RJC to teach.

I have written about Run'er in the past. Recently, Run'er is one of those who has done well in the Standard Chartered Marathon 2011. She is hoping to do a sub-3hr 33min for the coming Gold Coast Marathon 2012.

Recently, I have seen her running and sometimes doing interval sessions at the CCAB track. I decided to give her an interview so that others are motivated by her in terms of trying to achieve a personal best time. She is really working hard to achieve a good time for the marathon.

An Interview With Lin Run 'er

Picture 1 - On the extreme right of the photo is Lin Run'er

How was your preparation for this race?
I ran almost everyday, with 6 sessions of 30-35k long runs before the marathon. My training was not really structured, I just ran as I felt like it, and I ended up doing easy runs 90% of the time. For my next race, I'm intending to do more tempo runs during training.

How do you find the marathon route this year?
The route is exactly the same as last year so I kinda knew what to expect, but what I didn't expect was the massive overcrowding in the last few kms where runners of all categories merged. Also, there was a stretch at ECP which was pitch black, I had to tread gingerly for fear of stepping and tripping on something. Later on, I heard from my friend that one of the gel stations was stationed along that ECP stretch and that perhaps is why we didn't see it. The route was okay, in fact I loved running down orchard road under the christmas lightings, but I felt that organisation could be improved to ensure a smoother run for the masses like us. The congestion problem has been around since 2008 and it has continued since then despite feedback every year. I remember running the marathon in 2007 and there wasn't such a problem because the route back to padang for different categories was different.

What was your target for this year?
I wanted to do much better than last year (3:37) but didn't have a specific target. I felt that I was in shape to run at least 3:30.

Are you happy with your time?
I enjoyed the run a lot, probably because I increased my mileage this year so I didn't have to struggle at all. But I'm not really satisfied with my time (3:33:52), will aim to do better next time.

Are you happy with your position?
Yes, I'm very happy! I never aim for specific positions because I know I'm not 'elite' enough to run tactical races, so getting prizes is always a huge bonus for me. My mum was also very happy and she's gone around telling our relatives about it.

How was the weather?
I felt the weather was great by Singapore standards, cloudy and not too hot.

How was the crowd support?
The crowd support was excellent in the final 500metres, but before that, there were very few supporters along the route.

How was the distance markers, did it help you in your race?
I didn't see many of the distance markers in the first half, maybe because it was too dark in the morning, though I distinctly remember seeing distance markers for every km last year. I looked through the route and I roughly remembered the landmarks so I didn't really rely on the markers.

What is your next goal?
For now, I hope to acquire some speed for shorter distances, something I'm sorely lacking. And I'm planning to go for Gold Coast Marathon in July.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Flexifitness Athlete -Ashley Liew did a personal best time in SAA Track Series 1 on Sunday

2012-01-16T03:04:00.000-08:00

Ashley Liew - Track personal best time at the start of the season.

Ashley Liew and I had hoped that the 5000m personal best time could be bettered while training for the Gold Coast Marathon.

Picture 1 - Ashley Liew was hoping for a personal best time

Ashley's focus is now Gold Coast for the moment. At last year's preparation, Ashley did 16min 19sec. In this race Ashley did 16min 18.77sec, a time that he is doing in January rather than July season. This is a good start for Ashley Liew. His time were around 1min17min at first for several laps with some laps in 1min 20sec which slowed down the later part time. Overall, he is very happy with the race.

Ashley told me that the day was very hot and it tired him out for the last part of the race. Else, he believe that he could have done a much faster time for the race. Overall, both Ashley and I are very happy about the race.

.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Samir Bhandari - 10kg Weight loss and Personal Best in Mumbai Marathon.

2012-01-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

Samir Bandari - 10kg Weight Loss and 12 min Personal Best in Half Marathon in Mumbai.

Picture 1 - Samir, our Flexifitness member , looking more trim and slim as compared to the past, finishing the race strongly in Mumbai.

Samir Bhandari, after running the half – marathon of Singapore Standard Chartered marathon quickly made a quick decision to run in the Mumbai Marathon 2012.

His quick decision paid off as he did a 12 min improvement from the previous best time of 2hr 23min done in Singapore.

He lamented earlier that while running in Singapore, he faced obstacles like drink points. He found that after running at some points there was a merger of 10km runners and the half – marathon runners. He told that about 3-4mins were off because of this problem. Some hills during the run in Singapore made his last portion of the race to be affected. There were also distance markers that he was not able to see properly that had affected the race in Singapore. That made his pacing to be affected to a great extent.

Now, he feels a happy man after attaining this time. He was actually aiming for a 2hr 05min to 2hr 15min, after doing 55min in a 10km race 2 weeks ago in India. Not only he was able to bring his weight down from 84kg to 74kg, from Aug 9 to 4 Dec 2011, but also he feels a happier man with an improved time of 2hr 11min. It seems a double victory for him to achieve weight management feat and an improved running time feat.

Read Samir's 10kg Weight Loss Story

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/samir-bhandari-massive-weight-loss-from.html

www.runningcoachsg.com

Mumbai Marathon 2012 -Yadav and Lalita Babbar win Men open and Women Open

2012-01-15T02:51:00.000-08:00

Mumbai Marathon - How the Indians fair?

It was a happy news for India as Ram Singh Yadav, the course record holder for Indians, did 2hr 16min 59sec, fulfilling his dream of bettering his Olympics qualification timing of 2hr 18min for the London Games. Yadav did 2:18:03 in 2009. I wish Yadav all the best for the Olympics. He missed Beijing Olympics but now his dream has come true.

This reminds me of doing 2hr 24min 22sec in Chiengmai SEA Games 1995. It was very good to hear from Kerry Hill, the then Technical Director of Singapore Athletics Association, that I had qualified as the qualifying time for Olympics was at 2hr 25min, to be run at Atlanta. It was then that I realised that what I had set foot for was finally realised, although I was not selected for Olympics as SEA Games result was an important factor in being selected for the Olympics. I hope that there will be another qualifier in Olympics from Singapore in future.

Coming back to the India scene, Yadav was followed during the marathon by Elam Singh by 27 seconds (2:18:27), who narrowly missed qualification, and T A Rajesh came in third in 2:24:25..

In the Indian women's category, Lalita Babbar, who had switched to full marathon, finished first, completing the race in 2:53:35. Kiran Tiwari (2:53:56) and Preethi Rao (3:01:34) were placed second and third, respectively.

Ram Singh and Lalita won USD 7,500 each for their efforts.
Soji Matthew (1:05:29) and Priyanka Singh Patel (1:21:55) clinched the half-marathon titles in the male and female categories.

Ashish Singh (1:05:31) and Man Singh (1:06:27) were second and third in the men's category, while Vijaya Mala Patil (1:22:25) and Supriya Patil were the runners up in the women's category.

Mumbai Marathon 2012 latest : Kenya's Laban wins men's title

2012-01-14T21:41:00.000-08:00

Mumbai: The prestigious StanChart Mumbai marathon concluded with Laban Moiben of Kenya finishing the race in a time of 2:10:48., winning the men's title and Netsanet Abeyo of Ethiopia clinching the women's crown. Fatuma Sado (2:30:20) and Makda Harun (2:30:47), followed Abeyo (2;26:12) to complete an all-Ethiopian sweep in the women's category.

India's Ram Singh Yadav attained the 'B' qualifying standard for the London Olympics at the Marathon.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2012 kicked off earlier today with around 38,000 people participating.

The event, which was held in phases, saw the amateurs take off at the starting blocks ahead of the serious competitors.

Many of the participants were running to raise funds for various causes.

Despite the absence of defending champions Girma Assefa and Koren Yal, both Ethiopians, the IAAF Gold Label status event, which is offering an enhanced prize money of US $3,40,000, attracted several top athletes like ex-world champion Luke Kibet (Kenya), Ethiopia's Siraj Gena and Kenya's Laban Moiben.

The also saw its glamour quotient with Bollywood actor John Abraham and former tennis player Vijay Amritraj as the two ambassadors for the Mumbai Marathon, the organisers said.

Samir, a bank manager, working in Singapore, who ran the half - marathon of Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2011 in 2hr 23min did 2hr 11min for the Mumbai Half-marathon challenge. He improved the time from 12mins. It was his personal best time.

www.runningcoachsg.com

DSTA official dies after a run.

2012-01-13T23:46:00.000-08:00

Report by Melissa Aw

From Yahoo News

A Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) official collapsed after a run and died in his home on Wednesday night, reported The Straits Times.

Ng Tiong Lee, 47, a deputy director at DSTA, collapsed at his Sin Ming Walk condominium after his run, the same paper said.

He is remembered by his ex-colleague, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Tan Chuan Jin on his Facebook page.

“I just got back home and my heart is very heavy… my old colleague has just passed away,” said Tan on his Facebook.

Comments from the public expressing their condolences have been pouring in on Tan’s page in response to his post.

Police said they received a call for help from Ng’s wife at 8:55pm on Wednesday night, reported ST. The paper added that at 9pm, Ng’s wife followed up with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) when Ng suffered a stroke.

SCDF arrived at the scene and diagnosed that Ng had suffered a heart attack, according to Asiaone. Ng was then rushed to Tan Tock Seng hospital where he passed away later in the night.

Ng leaves behind his 46-year-old wife, Tay Chay Wah and a son, Ng Yan Ming.

His death comes after an NSman fainted and died during his individual physical proficiency test (IPPT) at Kranji Camp on Tuesday morning.

Dogs attacked jogger during a jog

2012-01-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

Dog - What to do when attacked?

My brother was bitten by a dog when he was nearby a car workshop area. The stray dog was not conditioned to meet people who are passing by.

I remember running in the England and a dog suddenly ran behind me and could have bitten and I escaped.

I believe that all these can be solved if we train the dog properly or send the dogs for some form of external training.

However, although, how much I do, I still meet stray dogs and one my friend told me to just act like I am picking up a stone. I don't know whether this works but I always keep away from the vicinity where dogs are running without being leased.

There is this report from Yahoo news on dog attack 5 days back and yesterday. I hope that this stops by the dogs being taken care of or to lease the dog. Let us read on how to avoid being attacked by stray dogs.

By FARIS MOCKTAR

A 35-year-old jogger became the latest victim of a dog attack at the new Punggol Waterway Park, five days after another jogger had been similarly attacked, according to The New Paper.

Bank executive Chow Cheok Kai told TNP he was attacked by a pack of nine stray dogs during one of his weekly jogs in the area on 19 December.

Despite trying to walk away from the pack, a few dogs bit him on the leg. He was later administered with a tetanus shot and given antibiotics, the paper reported.

Yahoo! Singapore has contacted the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for comments but has yet to receive a reply. It is understood that AVA has been carrying out control operations in the park since September.

Meanwhile, president of Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) Ricky Yeo called for balance in tackling the issue of stray dogs. He said there should not be a knee jerk reaction and that the public should not go on a “witch hunt” based on recent reports of dog attacks.

He noted that some dogs are timid and usually shy away from the public. However, if public safety is compromised, dogs seemed threatening to residents should be removed, he added.

Yeo told Yahoo! Singapore that his group has been in talks with AVA over a framework to manage the stray dog population although nothing is concrete. But the authorities, he said, have been receptive to constructive feedback.

He also said that ASD has been working with stray feeders to help sterilize the dogs, which he said is a key long-term solution to tackle the problem. Yeo highlighted that as dogs grow in size, they form packs and develop more courage to approach the public.

The latest attack came five days after a female student suffered a similar fate. Alicia Tay, 20, said she was jogging on the evening of 14 December when a pack of strays hounded her, reported Channel NewsAsia. She managed to escape after her screams scared the dogs away, leaving her with a few scratches and bites.

Should members of the public encounter stray dogs, they are advised to remain calm, slow down and walk away in a different direction.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Summary of Singapore and World Running Events.

2012-01-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

Flexifitness Website for Important Races

We have already seen the Xiamen marathon 2012 course record being broken. Some of the races to be updated are in Flexifitness Website. I hope that this will help passionate runner to keep themselves updated in Singapore and the world over for those who want to run Singapore races, especially. www.runningcoachsg.com

I realised that there are some important races for Singaporeans and around the world to consider or to be aware of. I have posted some

Figure 1- Mumbai Marathon 2012

MUMBAI: The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon to be held on Jan 15 in Mumbai, will be attracting top athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia. Top among them will be Bernard Koskei of Kenya and Siraj Gena of Ethiopia.

But the fastest among them is William Kipsang who has a 2:05 to his name. Gena, though is in top form, having clocked 2:08 in Frankfurt in October. Race starts for marathoners at 5: 40am and 7:25am for Elite runners. Samir Bhandari who has lost 10kg for this race will be running in this race.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/12/samir-bhandari-massive-weight-loss-from.html

SAA Track and Field Series

14th Saturday 2012

Please check SAA website for details.

SAA Cross-Country

21/01/2012

Please check SAA website for details.

Safari Zoo Run 2012 - 05/02/2012

Take note that Race Entry Pack will be held on 14 -15 Jan 2012 at Velocity@Novena Square. Participants are requested to bring their IC to speedy collection. Those who are not able to make are to bring a copy of ic for the person that they are collecting. We would suggest one to sign and endorse the signature before giving to those collecting on one's behalf. I am pondering whether to put Ashley in this run.

MR25 5km Time Trial - 05/02/2012

Hong Kong Marathon 2012 - 05/02/2012 Mok Ying Ren and Ang Chee Yong may be representing Singapore for this race, according to one SAA official.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2012/01/hong-kong-marathon-2012-review.html

Figure 3 - Dubai Standard Chartered Marathon

27 January 2012

Man Dies While Doing His 2.4km Test - During IPPT Test.

2012-01-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

Summary of Today On line

A man died in hospital on Tuesday morning after fainting in camp during his Physical Fitness Test (IPPT) at Kranji Camp, this was reported in the paper.

28-year-old Li Hongyang, a security trooper from the 62nd Combat Service Support Battalion, fainted after completing his 2.4km run at Kranji Camp at 8:38am. He died in hospital this morning. A statement wast released by the ministry on Tuesday afternoon.

A medic attended to him first on-site. Later on, it was reported that he was brought to the Kranji Medical Centre. That was where the Singapore Armed Forces doctor attended to him five minutes later.

Li was sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital at 9am. There were continued attempts to resuscitate him en route to the hospital. Finally, Li was pronounced dead at 9:40am.

The ministry said it is assisting Li's family, which has been notified of his death, and is currently investigating the incident.

http://flexifitness.runningcoachsg.com/

Peter Kamais Breaks Xiamen Marathon Course Record (07/01/2012, Sat)

2012-01-08T06:40:00.000-08:00

XIAMEN, Fujian province, China

With a nice weather and a beautiful day for a run Kenya's Peter Kamais broke the men's course record at the 2012 Xiamen Marathon on Saturday. Kamais, has another feather in his cap winning last year’s men's New York City Half Marathon in year 2010, clocking 2 hours, 7 minutes to finish first.

Peter Kamais told reporters,"I did good and I fell very proud about the result today.". "It rained yesterday and the temperature got low, but the weather today is in good condition, which helped me to have a better performance, especially in the first half of the race".

Saturday's temperatures were ideal, hovered between 11and 16 Centigrade, with no strong wind but a gentle breeze behind the runners.

In the women section Ethiopia's Ashu Kasim came in first with a time of 2:23:09. China’s runner, Jin Lingling, finished sixth in the women's race in 2:38:04.

Xiamen race was first held in 2003 and sanctioned in 2007 as a Gold Label Road Race by the International Association of Athletics Federations. 2012 Xiamen International Marathon marks the 10th anniversary of the event.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2012/01/xiamen-marathon-top-2-marathon-race-in.html

www.runningcoachsg.com

Gold Coast - Becoming a Hot Destination For Marathon Runners

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

Gold Coast Marathon 2012 - One will not be blocked during the race.

Picture 1 - (Left to Right) Ashley Liew, Dr Ben Tan and his wife, Lim Mui Khim, Ansley Ng and Rameshon

I remember Ng Soo Hong, who at the age of 19, doing 7min 26sec for 2.4km. I did in 7min 02sec for the NAPFA ENCOUNTER (1995). I believe that a sub - 7min was possible during the race, before going for SEA Games 1995. However, I was not able to do it because of being blocked in the early part of the race and the race route was too narrow from the 400m to the 1.2km. After the 1.2km mark, I came out of the situation of being blocked but it was already too late. The damage was already done. Nevertheless, I was happy with this time before going for SEA Games in Chiengmai, Thailand. In the meantime, I told Soo Hong to go to Gold Coast to do a personal best time. Soo Hong did 2hr 44min, while I did 2hr 24min 22sec in SEA Games 1995.

Picture 2 - Gold Coast Airport Marathon has a variety of races, including kids dash

Earlier on, all along, I have gone for London and Berlin Marathon plus other international races. However, I have been always wanting to run the Gold Coast marathon in the past to improve my timing. The opportunity did not come but instead I was able to go to Australia as a coach to Ashley Liew where he did 2hr 41min there.

After the race, we were invited for dinner by the Queensland Government Tourism Board. It was cordial and the Director who was charge of South East Asia region, by the name of Lim Mui Khim was warm to us. Dr Benedict Tan and his wife, and Ansley Ng, from the Today Paper was also there. We discussed about the race. We found that the race was generally cool. After 2hours of the run, we felt that the weather became warm.

Picture 3 (Left to Right) - Stephen Lock, Ashley Liew and Lim Mui Khim

Overall the weather was good. The best thing about the race was the route. It is a very flat and fast course. A day before the race, the 10km race was held so that the race focuses on half-marathon and the marathon race. The race started such that people can see the start of the race. It was organised very well.

Lim Mui Khim told me that it was a 2 day event of 10km on the first day 31/06/2012, on a Saturday and the half - marathon and marathon on the second day 01/07/2012. She told me that this was just implemented and it has been a success so far. We thought that this was good in term of logistic in order to provide proper support for the race.

Lim Mui Khim told me that Singaporeans coming for this race have increased over the years. She told me that in 2007, about 24 people from Singapore went down to Australia to run in the Gold Coast Marathon. Over time, the figure went up to 36. Lim Mui Khim also told me that gradually the figure went from 62 in 1009 to 99 in year 2010. Last year estimate shows that Singaporeans going for the Gold Coast Marathon had risen to 210. This shows that Gold Coast marathon has become one of the most popular destination to Singaporeans to run a marathon.

Lim Mui Khim revealed to me that Japan brings in the highest number of runners for this race followed by New Zealand. Singapore is now in third position and then followed by Malaysia. She told me that the weather has always been an advantage for the runners. I was told that the people here do cheer the runners from start, middle and at the end. The residents here are very supportive to cheer all or any runners to do their personal best time. She finds that the flat course provides one and opportunity to run a fast time. She cited a runner who kept improving 3 times until over time he chose to run in the triathlon events. All the way there was personal best. In comparison, in Hong Kong, the marathon race is run in near perfect condition but the terrain is hilly for one to do a personal best time.

Lim Mui Khim also told me that there are various attractions at Gold Coast where one can go, for example, Whale Watching. They could also go to the Theme Park. She told me that from Gold Coast one could drop by at Brisbane. There is also Sunshine Coast in Gold Coast. Besides Marathon race, in Gold Coast, one could register in the triathlon race. Right now, there is NOOSA triathlon which is popular in Gold Coast for triathletes. There is also the Challenge Cairns package for those who want to go for the Full Ironman race which is similar to an Ironman International race.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Hong Kong Marathon 2012 Review

2012-01-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

I remember being selected for the Hong Kong Marathon in year 2008. I represented Singapore in the Asian Marathon Championships. It was my third representation of Asian Marathon Championships - the first was in Japan in the Biwako Marathon Race in 1988 and the other was in 1992 in Indonesia.

Before the race, I started asking people on the route. I was told that the route is flat by one former coach-official. The reason I was asking around was for preparing for the terrain specific. Only one guy told me that there is one or 2 hills. I was thankful to the person.

However, things did not go well when I was there in Hong Kong for the route orientation. I realised that I was in for a rude shock. True enough, I ran the race which had about more than 9 highways with long uphills and downhills. Even at the last few kilometres, there is about 2 steep uphills to overcome. Because of the lack of the knowledge of the terrain, I did not do well. In fact, even though I completed in 3hr 01min there, there were a number of runners who did not finish the race. My half-way mark was 1hr 22min. I think that the hills over time killed my pace. I was getting slower and slower and in fact stopped during the race.

However, a thought came to me to just finish the race as I was representing the race. It was my normal practice to pull out of the race if the half-way mark time or the 3/4 way mark time is not that good. This would save me a race as I believe that a marathon runner should only do one or two marathon/s per year to give optimum result.

The only thing that I would caution runners running in this race is to be ready with the terrain for their own safety and for performance enhancement. The advantage that Hong Kong Marathon have is that people from temperate climate have a better chance to improve their timing for the race.

http://flexifitness.runningcoachsg.com/

Ever Running Paul Thompson (Part 3)- Once the fastest in Singapore.

2012-01-02T07:18:00.000-08:00

Paul Thompson - Sharing session on running during our 10km run at MacRitchie.

http://rameshon-m.blogspot.com/2011/04/ever-running-paul-thompson-having.html

Today, I met Paul at MacRitchie Cafe at about 7am plus. I realised that Paul was still trim and slim. He is still fit as ever and he is still running with his running club in USA called Warren Street.

For those who do not know Paul, I would like to introduce him to you here. He took up running when I retired from competitive running. At 30 plus, Paul took up this passion and was able to come in tops in Singapore. He has been living for about 5 years here, in the past. He is an English Citizen. Now, he is based in USA and he is here on a holiday.

Our conversation, from A to Z, when we went for our 10km run, was all on running and nothing else.

He told me that in the past Warren Street was able to do well in the veteran team race and has recently slipped to 3rd. The good news is that they are still in the top 3 bracket at the moment.

Slowly, our topic went to motor skills development which helps running. Paul was also sharing his point of view on how he developed his co-ordination from doing sports and games. Looking back, he felt fortunate on the way he developed his motor skills.

We also believed that intelligence actually comes from having good co-ordination, through playing games when we are young.

I shared my experience on 2 children in preschool where I did voluntary enrichment programme on motor skills. They 2 children were slow to learn. When they were asked to play games, I found that the two children mentioned did not have the motor skill to properly kick the ball, even though they were told to just kick the ball, even without accuracy it was alright, but they were not able to kick well. One of the child, a boy, was just stepping onto the ball and was not able to balance well to kick the ball.

Our discussion was indepth when we were discussing on children. We felt that life long exercise comes from developing the young where children will get the habit to exercising for life, so that they do not incur medical cost in the long run and stay healthy throughout their life.

We ended our run with a light breakfast of a cup of coffee and a banana. After that we had to part our ways from MacRitchie Cafe. It was a beneficial and constructive day, today.

http://flexifitness.runningcoachsg.com/

Xiamen International Marathon - Top 2 in China (7/01/2012, Sat)

2012-01-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

Xiamen Marathon - A race that those who want to do good time

Picture 1 - Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba

Just like Tokyo and Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon in Japan, In China, there are Beijing and Xiamen marathon where people of the world may consider if they want to do well doing a reasonable time. Running in a temperate climate is not a wise option, from my years of experience. It is also safer to run in a cooler environment. Even for those who want to do a sub - 3hr, they should strongly consider this marathon.

Let us see how the marathon would help. It would be good to see the results of the race.

http://www.xmim.org/en/result_1.asp

The General information in the website states that since 2003, Xiamen International Marathon will be held for the 10th time this year, 2012. It is IAAF Gold Label Road Race for consecutively four years. There is a very high chance that the first medal of the world for marathon race will be given at Xiamen

The event has Marathon (42.195km), Half Marathon (21.0975km), 10KM Run and 5KM Run. There are :Cross- Strait Invitational Marathon Tournament, Wheelchair Half Marathon, and also Roller Skating12KM Race.Registration is done by online, or by travel agencies or services. The entry fees are 50RMB for Domestic runners , including Hong Kong, Macau inhabitants. Overseas participants pay 20USD or 135RMB, Students pay 20 RMB. Please go to the website for more info in you are interested. Judging from the result, people who want to have a good chance of doing well should strongly consider this race.

Picture 1 - In the women's section Zhang Ying Ying of China still has the course record contained with a time of 2hr 22min 38sec (2008)

Course: Xiamen International Marathon course is rewarded as one of the most beautiful courses in the world.

Marathon:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center (The Strat) →Huandao Road → Minzu Road → Lujiang Road → South Hubin Road → Mid Hubin Road → North Hubin Road → Dongdu Road → West Hubin Road → Lujiang Road → Yanwu Bridge → Huandao Road → Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center(The Finish)
Half Marathon:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center(The Strat)→ Huandao Road → Minzu Road → Lujiang Road → South Hubin Road → Mid Hubin Road → East section of North Hubin Road£¨Qixing Road) (The Finish)
Wheelchair Half marathon:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center(The Start)→ Huandao Road → Yanwu Bridge → Lujiang Road → South Hubin Road →Mid Hubin Road → North Hubin Road → East section of North Hubin Road£¨Qixing Road) (The Finish)
Roller skating 12km:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center(The Start)→ Huandao Road → Bus stop of Xia Da Bai Cheng (The Finish)
10km Run:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center(The Strat) → Huandao Road → West Zengcuoan Road (Intersection of Xiamen Software District) (The Finish)
5km Run:
Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center (The Strat) → Huandao Road → South Yunding Road£¨Entrance to Yunding Tunnel) (The Finish). Picture 2 - In the women's section Zhang Ying Ying of China still has the course record contained with a time of 2hr 22min 38sec (2008)

Last year, in China, Jan. 2, Kenya's Robert Kipkorir Kipchumba won the 9th Xiamen Marathon with a new course record. Robert did 1hr 04min 01sec for the first half-marathon and at the 23 km mark, he did 1hr 11min 24sec.T he 26-year-old, clocked two hours, eight minutes and seven seconds for his first career title, breaking the course record of 2:08:47. Ethiopia's Mesfin Hailu Lemma finished second in 2:09:50 and his compatriot Alemayehu Shumye was third in 2:09:58.

Flexifitness Wishes One and All a Happy New Year.

2011-12-31T09:09:00.000-08:00

Picture 1 - Ashley Liew - Ends the year with a track personal best time of 4min 21 sec, running solo during the trial.

Summary of Singapore Events

Most probably Mok Ying Ren and Ang Chee Yong will be selected in the Hong Kong Marathon 2012 since they came in first and second in the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2011. This was told by an official of SAA.

Jonathan Kang would like to do that Tokyo Marathon 2012 on 28 of February and this race is closed for registration for others.

The SAA cross-country race 2012 is on 21st of Jan and this will be held at Bedok Reservoir in the morning. The Safari Zoo Run 2012 will be held on 5th of February 2012 at Mandai in the morning. Kids between the age of 4 and 8 has to run with an adult, 9 to 12 years will run a 2.8km time-trial. There is a 6km time trial for 12 years and above. Lastly, there is a 12km race for the competitive adults. I hope that people take it as a fun outing and also to support the zoo animals in terms of fund raising.

Picture 2 - Ashley's only target is to go for it at Gold Coast Marathon 2012

Gold Coast Marathon 2012 would allow a more friendlier spectatorship during the race.

Ashley Liew - Hoping to get much faster time for 1500m over time

Ashley Liew and the rest of the Flexifitness sports children ran a 1500m test and did some games on that day. Ashley ran the first 300m in 49sec and kept sustaining the pace and finally did 4min 21sec running a solo run on the CCAB Track at Bukit Timah. It was 17sec faster than the 1500m test did last week, which was a 4min 38sec. With competition, I believe that Ashley would have done a sub - 4min 20sec definitely, from today's performance.

Ashley has an earlier personal best time of 4min 27sec in the past. This was a big boost for Ashley Liew as he is coming out of the earlier performance which was not that good and it was a bad experience to swallow. His resilience has made him to do this time today. I hope that many don't give up and keep at your goal and over time get your goal.

I told Ashley that when I did 4min 20sec, in the past, around 22 years of age, I did 2hr 40min in the 1987 Singapore Mobil Marathon coming in first in the men open at that time. The next race I went to was at Japan, Biwako Marathon or further known as Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon 2012. I hope that many people will see this as an indication and know your standard.

Wishing all the readers all the best in their endeavours. - 14589 page views as at 12 o'clock mid-night 31/12/2011. Overall pageviews goes to 162969

Flexifitness ended the day with souvenir giving to its members and then we ended with a dinner.

Picture 3 - A surprise birthday celebration (Photo - Courtesy of Ashley Liew)

I would like to thank the members and wish them all the best and at the same time wish the readers all success in your endeavours.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Picture 3 - Flexifitness Wishes All readers All the Best for the year 2012

Ning Wen Long - SAFRA Running Club Chairman Cum Avid Runner

2011-12-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Ning Wen Long - SAFRA Running Club Chairman and a passionate runner himself.

Picture 1 - (Left to Right) Melvin Lee, Ong Lay Cheng, Rameshon, Ning Wen Long and Jimmy Chow.

Ning Wen Long has a personal best time of 2hr 57min done last year in Korea. He is currently the SAFRA Running Club Chairman. He is hoping to rub on the running interest to the rest of the fellow Singaporeans.

Actually, I met Wen Long at Gold Coast Marathon. He told me that he has done 2hr 59min, another feather in his cap as it was his another sub - 3 hour feat. In Singapore, he ran in the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon and did 2hr 59min but slightly slower than Gold Coast Marathon 2011 by a few seconds.

I met Wen Long at SAFRA, Mount Faber and decided to write on him as he is not just a committee member but also a runner himself. This is what I call lead by example. Hence, I told myself to write a special edition on him as he is contributing to the Singapore running scene.

1. What are your functions as a chairman of SAFRA Running Club?
In general, my role is to serve and contribute to Mount Faber Safra Running Club (MF Safra RC) running community, in term of our runners training needs, welfare and social aspects. In fact, our objective is "To be THE Cohesive and Inclusive Running Club that runners love to associate with". Hence, it also my role to take the lead and work towards our objective.

2. How many years you been a chairman and what are the challenges that you have faced?
I took over the Chairmanship of MF Safra RC in July 2011, so it's just barely 6 mths. The challenge is to form a team of committee members that willing to contribute and serve our running community with their time, effort, experiences or even monetary. Luckily for me, we did manage to form a dedicated group of volunteer committee which always willing to step forward to serve our runners.

3. How many took part in SCMS from MF Safra RC?
Approximately 20+ of us took part in SCMS with distances range from 10km to full marathon.

4. Did you take part in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2011?
Yes, I took part in SCSM 2011 and this was my 8th editions of Singapore Marathon ever since Standard Chartered Bank came onboard as the main title sponsor.

5. How was your race, your time of the race? Can you share this in detail?
The weather for this year was one of the better one out of all the previous years of Singapore Marathon that I joined before. This year, the Organizer also made an effort to start off the the marathon race slightly earlier than before in order for runners to avoid the heat under the sun. However, there are some parts of the run route along East Coast Park (after Playground @ Big Splash and towards McDonald, 300m - 500m stretch) where there isn't any street lamp and we were running in almost pitch darkness which I thought it was pretty dangerous as runners might just step on some uneven grounds. There was a stretch of the run route after East Coast Park and lead to the Garden By the Bay East where I thought there should be more signage, marshals and water points as most, if not, all runners were not that familiar along these stretch of route. Also, at the last few km of the route after runners descended from the Sheares Bridge and the run route start to merge with 10km and 21km runners which made the route pretty packed and congested. Even worse when the full marathon runners still need to garner all their energy to complete their run while wriggling through the mass crowd of runners which certainly not helpful for them to achieve their personal best time. Sincerely, I hope the Organizer can look into the above issues and improve on it in the future. I just managed to complete 5 secs under 180 mins for my marathon run.

Any problems that you faced through during the run?
I did experience a bit of calf cramp at around 40km mark and top it off with extra challenge while running through the crowd of runners which spread from left to right of the entire width of running route. Ideally, all runners should observe running etiquette whereby keeping to the left which allow overtake on the right.

How was the route and water points during the race?

The running route was fairly scenic with some stretch that runners still could see and cheer for each other at the opposite side of the route. As for the water points, will certainly hope there are 2-3 more spread out and well stock (water and isotonic drinks) water points after 30km mark.

Are you happy with your time?

It was satisfactory for me though I do hope it could have be better.

How about your family members?

My wife is pretty supportive over my pursue of interest in marathon running although I do know she would prefer I spend more time with her. Hence, I love to thank her for being such a kind and understanding soulmate that I can't ask for more.

What is your advice to young people in order to take up running?

Running is one of the simplest form of exercise for anyone to be involved. It's also a rather direct sport whereby how much effort you put in your preparation / training runs will most likely (most of the time but not all the time) equate to a realistic end state or goal you wish for. However, it's not an activity to be taken lightly cos' when one can't run or even walk, it can be quite devastating while trying to move around by own self. Thus, optimize and enjoy it while you can.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon (Japan) - 4th March 2012

2011-12-28T23:36:00.000-08:00

Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon

Next Post - The Gold Coast Marathon 2012 route and weather report.

Picture 1 - Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, One of world's flattest marathon routes and has a very enthusiastic crowd , all the way throughout the race.

The first overseas international race that I ran representing Singapore was Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon 1988. It was a big race and the organisers used that as a platform to choose two or three Japanese runners for Asian Marathon Championships. In this marathon, the former marathon record holder Zeko from Japan also ran in this race. A lot of photographers were following this Japanese runner by the name of Zeko where ever he was going before the start of the race. He was the idol of many runners at that time.

From the race, as for me, out of 10 Asian country runners I came in 7th with a time of 2hr 46min.

My half-way timing during 1hr 17min 07sec. I was elated to see my time. Most importantly, the most impressive race in terms of friendship and warmth, I would say that it is actually Lake Biwa race. The organisers were very friendly during our stay and made sure that we got first class treatment at the hotel, although I was not impressed with the 'alien go that side' sign at airport. The airport authorities asked me and my manager some questions which was not that welcoming. Apart from that, the for the rest of the arrangements made by the Japanese side for officials waiting to look after us was excellent. I would say that the Lake Biwa experience was very good for cold weather running.

Picture 2 - Map of the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon running route

During the race, the Japanese crowd in fact, cheered for me. They even knew my name and called out to me,"Rameshon, fight, fight,fight....". Good sportsmanship shown by the Japanese crowd. Later, after the race, we found out that the crowd know about us through the media. All the way, till the end, the crowd was there to support.

My only bad experience running the race was running the last 10km where the temperature lowered from 17 degrees Centigrade to 10 degrees. I was literally shivering during the last 10km and I was running much slower because of the weather and completed the race in 2hr 46min.

I was told to become a non-vegetarian by Mrs Maurice Nicholas in order to run much faster. I stayed as vegetarian all the way even after hearing that. I remember reading, " Meat is for the body and vegetables is for the mind." In fact, I found that in life my mind got stronger through becoming a vegetarian and also eat healthier diet.

The good part of the race is that the race was near all flat. The organisers in fact roll out the course of the run and the elevation so that we are aware of the height of the terrain.

As running the Lake Biwa Mainichi brings memories of the past, like the serene lake and friendly people out there, I decided to write something on it.

Picture 3- Height elevation of the marathon route

Contact e-mail for the race.
mailto:jigyoubu@pearl.ocn.ne.jp?subject=Lake%20Biwa%20Marathon%202012

The Lake Biwa Marathon first fired its starting pistol in 1946 in Osaka and is considered to be the oldest marathon held in Japan. In 1962, the marathon moved to Otsu city which is home to Japan's oldest and largest lake, Lake Biwa. Since this move the race has been renamed the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon. The course is comparatively flat and considered to be "a fast-speed-course". Many of the world's foremost athletes have taken part in this race and establishing great records. The Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon is held on the first Sunday of March every year. In 2012, the race will be held on March 4.

http://www.lakebiwa-marathon.com/raceinfo_e.html

http://www.runningcoachsg.com/