Note:
If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)
By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)
Nelson Rotich and Janet Rono - Winners of Hong Kong Marathon
Picture 1 - Nelson Rotich winning the race with Julius, fellow Kenyan getting the second placing.
Janet Rono, 22, the Kenyan woman runner, ran the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and broke the course record by a second (the former record was 2hr 33min 43sec). She was also not one of the invited international runners to run the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on Sunday morning. However, she wise and fortunate decision to spend a thousand dollars on an air ticket, and win the first prize of US$34000. Rono is deserving only of praise for her initiative in clocking 2.33.42, beating the mark set by Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgyzstan in 2001. The second was the veteran Moroccan Samira Raif, in 2.33.51, and third was Bifa Yeshinabet Tadesse of Ethiopia, in 2.34.14.
Janet Rono’s previous best was 2.37.08. Hence, she found it hard to get an invitation to run overseas races. That shouldn’t be a problem for Rono from now on.
In the men's open marathon race, her colleague Julius Maisei took a similar chance. He was catching up with the race leader Nelson Rotich in the final two kilometres, and eventually caved in to give his compatriot’s 2.16.00 victory. While I was waiting for Ashley Liew and Lim Thow Wee and Anne Date, I saw the gap between Nelson Rotich and Julius Maisei at first to be more convincing. However, as the finish was nearing, I heard a gentleman telling me that Julius was quickly catching up. While Nelson was running towards the finish, he knew that the race was his and not Julius's. Around the last 800m, Nelson did not show any form of panicking and still showed sign that he was in control and was confident in winning. That was evident at the last 50 metres when Nelson was running in a cool, calm and contented way. It was inspirational for me to see especially his composure in believing in himself and in not getting distracted by the opponent fast approaching towards the finish. If I was in his position, I may have panicked. It was that close to losing the first position to Julius. Julius was just 6 seconds away to snap Nelson's US $34000 reward by winning the race. Anyway, Maisei was able to net $15000 for the second placing, in 2.16.06. In third place was Tesfaye Girma Bekele of Ethiopia, in 2.16.31. The race was a very close one for any prediction to take place.
The weather was perfect and cool, except for the high humidity (80% to 90%) on that day and the rain showers made the road slick in places. At the start, the temperature was recorded to be around 13 - 16 degrees Centigrade. Rotich concurred, “ But this course is very hard, it’s the hardest marathon course I’ve run (out of 14 races), and today was slippery. Everyone was playing it safe, because of the road conditions. The field was still together at 37k (of 42), but I had made a couple of attempts to get away, and I could see no one was going to follow me, so I had a good idea I could win”. Rotich was kind enough and said some of it would go to the less fortunate runners in his training group, “so they can rent houses when they come to train with us, and buy food”.
Most of Rotich’s marathons have been in the Far East. For example, he has won marathons in Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, India and Thailand. He is now aiming for Kuala Lumpur and Taipei for marathon races.
Note: The international prize is until 12 prizes for male and 5 prizes for female in terms of cash incentives. The officials cited that not much competition in the women open has made them to decide on this. However, there was equality shown as the prizes for men and women open for individual placing was the same for the top 1 to 5.
RESULTS
MEN
1 Nelson Kirwa ROTICH KEN 2.16.00 34,000 (US$)
2 Julius Kiplimo MAISEI KEN 2.16.06 15,000
3 Tesfaye Girma BEKELE ETH 2.16.31 6,500
4 Robert Kiplagat KOSEKEI KEN 2.16.53 3,600
5 Hammou MOUDOUJI MAR 2.16.55 1,800
6 Julius Kiprono MUTAI KEN 2.17.04 1,600
WOMEN
1 Janet Jelegat RONO KEN 2.33.42 34,000
2 Samira RAIF MAR 2.33.51 15,000
3 Bifa Yeshimabet TADESSE ETH 2.34.14 6,500
4 Negash Hadush LETAY ETH 2.35.35 3,600
5 CHENG Wenrong CHI 2.35.49 1,800
6 Rose CHESHIRE KEN 2.38.06 Nil
By Narayanan
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
Note:
By Narayanan
Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’ by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
