An Interview With Rameshon On Ashley Liew's Win

Note:

If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)

By Marcel Sng

Picture 1 - Divya, Vijayraj, Ashley Liew, Saranniya and me (Marcel Sng)

 

An Interview With Coach Rameshon - Story of Teamwork

Many have read of Ashley Liew. You may have seen him running in the Standard Chartered Marathon itself. As we have already read my interview with Ashley, I was thinking that it would be a good idea to have an interview with his coach as well.

He is none other than Murugiah Rameshon, whose Marathon record set 17 years ago, 13 December 1995 at the Chiang Mai SEA games still stands to this day. 

This article will be about how Ashley Liew and Coach Rameshon on how the worked together up till the Standard Chartered Marathon 2012.

An Interview with Coach Rameshon

How did you first start training Ashley?

I first met him when I started training the Singapore Management University(SMU) team back in  Dec '08. SMU wanted me to bring the team from 7-8 position to Top 4 for the Intervarsity Track and Field Championships. While bringing the team to the top 4, I was focused on individual events as well.

At that time, Ashley was doing somewhere around, as I can remember, 39minute plus for 10k in the Inter-varsity track and field race, and he was also doing triathlon and ironman as well. I realised that this guy was a multi-talented personality. Above all, he showed great respect  during all training sessions which made me to treasure him more. I realised that he will do wonders in the long run. A raw diamond, indeed!

When I was training Singapore Management University, I felt that he had a good running style, fluid, but I saw the room for improvement. I knew then that It would take at least 3 years to improve his running style. In the long run, he was proving himself to be a force to be reckon with. I was excited about this challenge to bring the best in him. With the type of champion values that he had, most importantly, humility, I felt that to be a champion is somewhere in the near future.

Recently, it has been found that in most races, especially, the 10km runs, he ran and finished with a good running style.

I feel that he has this running style and running technique has got something to do with his early youth involvement in sports which has given good coordination. Previously he did - canoeing, tennis, cycling and swimming. 

How did you turn Ashley's 2011 SCMS's defeat to victory this year?

We were flexible in our strategy. Ashley wanted to go for a 2hr.34min, which I had set. However, this time around we decided that it would be a good thing to hold back from the start. (From his 8km new personal best time of 26min 34sec, from his past personal best time of 26min 57sec, I felt that his chance of winning is 95% and I was confident in saying this. There were other indicators to show that he has a great chance of winning. I assured him a day before that he is in top form for the race) We finally decided to go for a win rather than doing a very good time. We actually came up with that strategy, in fact, a day before the race. Hence, I realised that the strategy I have discussed with him for nearly all the races are very different from this year's strategy.

What happened during the race?

The first part was to take it easy. Then, later on, at the 9km mark, I saw Ashley deciding to stay with the Elite women, which I felt that he was making a fast break at that point, which was, in fact, the best strategy to break away from all local competitors. Even I would have done that in that situation. The good news was that the group he was running in a group of more than 20 runners in it. Some male runners plus many top female runners were in it. I saw Mok Ying Ren, 3 times winner of Stanchart Marathon for 2009, 2010 and 2011, about 3 min to 4min away from Ashley at that point. 

When I saw that situation, somehow I felt that Ashley had won the race there itself. This came to my mind at that time, and I did not know why it came. Maybe the strategy that he did was a very convincing one, making me think that the race was Ashley's as he had grasped the opportunity at the right time.

The group that Ashley followed had many quality elite female world top marathon runners in it. Even if this group of 20 people break up, I realised that he will still have some runners in front to pursue, unlike what was going on with other local top runners. They had one or two people to run with. Although it was advantageous for our local competitors and Ashley, it seemed more advantageous for Ashley.

At the 29km mark, Ashley's gap away from Mok was huge but as I coach, I felt like sending a telepathic message to Ashley to tell him that the most important part of the race was the last 10km. My heart was for Ashley to win because of his effort during training. He looked stronger at the 29km mark when he passed me.

Over time, the time came when Ashley was finally coming to the last 80metres of the race, and he did 2hr 45min for the marathon race. I knew that Ashley was going to be finally a champion for the race. Ashley did 2hr 45min 08sec. I was glad for Ashley as I felt that all the faith, hard work and teamwork had paid off, eventually. 

Picture 2 (left to right) Ashley Liew and Coach Rameshon

What are your future plans for Ashley?

For the near term, we are sure of taking part in the Gold Coast Marathon 2013 somewhere in July. Gold Coast Marathon 2013 is at the top of our agenda and we are going to keep working as a team. We will be going together to the Gold Coast. I am hoping that he will be able to do a sub- 2hr 30min and one day do a sub- 2hr 20min. 

After that, the next goal for Ashley is to go to the Olympics. My firm belief is that Ashley WILL go to the Olympics if he continues to train and have consistency. Now, why I say this. If I can qualify for the Olympics with my SEA Games 2hr 24min 22sec performance, I believe that Ashley can too. I have unshakeable believe that he can do it.

Any advice for aspiring sportsmen?

Young people should start to play sports when they are young, for example, as low as 6 to perfect skills needed to excel in sports like coordination, quickness and agility

If people want to wait for someone to help and wait, I believe that what can be achieved in 20-20 years can be achieved in 1 to 3 years time, if they are given the proper guidance. Ashley improvements are given below. 

2010 - 2hr 52min Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon

2011 - 2hr 45min Hong Kong Marathon 2011 (Feb)

2011 - 2hr 41min Gold Coast Marathon 2011 (July)

2012 - 2hr 38min Hong Kong Marathon 2012 (Feb)

2012 - 2hr 35min Gold Coast Marathon 2012 (July)

2012 Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon  - 2hr 45min 08sec (Champion)

If anybody needs any help, you can call me, my number is 91004369. Call me when you are ready for the marathon challenge

In closing, I would like to thank the Singapore Sports Council and the Singapore Athletics Association for their valued support in providing Ashley Liew elite status for the Stanchart 2012 as a carded athlete.

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.

Carbo-loading for Marathon - A Mistaken Notion

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

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

Carbo-loading - using Sports Science Knowledge to improve performance
 

This knowledge is intended to those who are in quest of knowledge on carbo-loading. Usually, marathoners are the ones who will benefit from this knowledge. I wrote this for people so that their efforts after training do not go in vain and they, in turn, do a good time for their race. The mistaken notion for a number of runners is that during the last 3 days they carbo-load in a way that they eat a lot of food. By eating too much food for the last 3 days, in fact,  increases one's weight. Take note that the weight should not increase. One of the reasons to train is to lose weight. We know from studies done recently that elite athletes are 10% away from their ideal weight. This is a fact if one wants to improve in running. The last few days training should focus on increasing stores of glycogen and at the same time NOT INCREASING Weight. All your training goes in vain if you gain weight. It is good to take note of this fact. This is Sports Science. Physiology speaks of this through research. For every gram that you have increased, your body has to use extra oxygen. Oxygen cost should go primarily to running performance. THIS IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE THAT MANY HAVE BEEN DOING TIME AND AGAIN. The reason for this is ignorance of physiology knowledge.

First Objective - Deprive your body of carbo the 3 days for the first 3 days.

The glycogen stores in the body will drop in the muscle and kidney. Your objective is to deprive the body of carbo.

Monday to Wednesday - fats and protein uptake to be increased besides your usual food intake. Do not be too strict with your diet and take only fats and protein only. Limit your carbo, that is all.  Use 3 meals a day method and do not go for the second round.

One can eat roti-prata, nasi-lemak, egg white, beans, soya beans, baked beans, milk, carrot cake. These are examples of fats of protein food. You may feel very tired for these three days. One should remember that this is normal and one should not panic. The reason for this is one should know that fats and protein, when used as fuel, are not as efficient as carbohydrate. The energy that makes you run very fast is actually carbohydrate.

Second Objective - Increase carbo In the muscles and kidneys by taking low glycemia complex carbo food to increase glycogen stores

Thursday to Saturday - Switch your diet to low Glycemic Index food, for example, food like fruits (try to eat less sweet fruits, like berries, etc), vegetables, salad, corn-flakes (original ones), wheetabix, pasta, brown rice, foods that are called complex carbo food.

Reduce your mileage from, for example, 120km to 70km on the last week of the race. By observing the food intake summarised above you can, in fact, increase your stores of glycogen from 100 % to 300 percent through this method. 

Note: Usually when a person runs a steady run, at about 1hr of running, they will feel tired after the one hour run as the glycogen stores from muscle and kidney are usually all used up, fats comes next as the fuel to be burned and this is not a good source of energy to run faster. The 6 days carbo-loading method shown above will help one to go longer to at least 30 to 32km of running faster before muscle fatigue takes its effect to slow you down.

www.runningcoachsg.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.

Dr Benny Goh: Interview of his 2hr 51min Chicago Marathon 2012

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)

Benny Goh - From 3hr 15min (Berlin, 2008) to Four sub-2hr 55min for marathon races

Dr Benny Goh, 37, is the training buddy of Dr Ben Tan. We use to call him as Benny. The first time I saw him was in Berlin as we were about to run in the Berlin Marathon in 2008. In that race, I did 3hr 31min while Dr Ben Tan did 3hr 01min. Benny Goh did 3hr 15min. The mileage that he did at that time was only 50km per week. 

After the race, the meeting ended with Dr Ben Tan, Benny, myself and Daniel Ling training together to run in the Stanchart Marathon 2008. While Dr Ben Tan, Daniel Ling and I came in third, second and first respectively, in the race, Benny ran with a balloon to help people to pace their race well. After the race, he told us that he was envious and he joined us later on for training. 

In the year, 2009, while Daniel and I got ourselves injured, Benny did well in the race by coming in 3rd in the race. It was a podium finish. 

He also has the best time taken by a Singaporean for 84km performance in Sundown Marathon by a local. 

Recently, training with Dr Ben Tan, he did well in the Chicago Marathon 2012 which took place in the US. He braved the cold weather and achieved 2hr 51min for the marathon race. I salute this gentleman as he is one of the rare ones who have done sub-2hr 55min four times within a span of 4 years. As such, I thought that it would be a good idea to feature his interview in this blogpost so that many can benefit from it in their aspiration to run faster in the marathon.

An Interview With Chicago Marathon 2012

What was your marathon time in the year 2008 and before?

I started doing marathons by running with pacer groups. Prior to taking part in the World Major Marathons, my timings ranged from 3:45 hr to 4:00 hr. Berlin 2008 was my first major. I ran a 3:17:36 for my first overseas and solo race.

 
Which was the first marathon that you did a sub-3 hr?

The 2009 Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon was my first Sub 3 hr marathon.

Can you tell us on where you did your first sub-2hr 55min? 

The 2009 Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon was also my first Sub 2hr 55min marathon

How many sub 2hr 55min marathon time have you done?

I have done 4 Sub 2hr 55mins..Namely Nagano, Boston, New York and Chicago.

Which was the most recent one that you did 2hr 55min?

The most recent one being the Chicago Marathon. 

Are you happy with the time?

I cannot have asked for more considering the amount of training that I put in.

 
How was the organisation of the race?

There is no complaint with regards to the race organization. Both the start and end points were at Grant Park which was in the city. It was very accessible and convenient from most of the hotels. However, the crowd support paled that of New York and Boston because the running route went through industrial and university areas of the Chicago.

How was the terrain during the run?

Chicago is a relatively flat course compared to New York. But the last kilometre was the killer. It was an up slope End Point and was certainly a big DAMPENER!

Any goal that you have in the long run?

Of course, will still continue to do marathons and try to maintain Sub 3 hrs if possible
 
How was the weather during the run?

The weather was kind to us on the race day considering it was Chicago. The morning temperature at the starting time (7.30am) was about 6 degrees celsius. The temperature was about 11 degrees Celsius during the race. It was warm enough for me to run in my usual singlet and shorts.

www.runningcoachsg.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.

Shireena Woon - 1hr 41m 34s in Newton 18km Race 2012

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)

Shireena Woon - Great improvement with least training

I met Shireena about 3-4 months ago where she was discussing with me on running. After a long conversation I had with her, I told myself that it would be good to invite her to join our group of runners to do a once a week training so that she can run faster over time. 

It was found that she was only doing low mileage training. The training entails 10km runs 2-3 times per week. Hence, the mileage was really low. With this quantity of mileage, recently, she joined us for a once a week session training and took part in 18km Newton Race for the Women Open category. Surprisingly, she came in 15th. She was happy to inform me and I realised that it was her first time getting such a good position in a race. 

I told myself that if she had run 5 to 6 times she would have done a much better time. We wish that her lifetime target of sub-4hours will be met in the coming months, next year February. 

In order to inspire others, I decided to ask her permission on being interviewed by us. She kindly consented upon hearing our purpose, which was to motivate others to work hard for the upcoming races and stay fit throughout life. 
 
1. What was the race called that you ran most recently?

I ran the Newton Challenge Run (18km Women's category) last Sun 28 Oct 2012 recently. There are 2 distance categories - Men's/Women's 18km, and the Men's/Women's 30km.

2. How was your preparation for the race? 

Shireena: No special training above my usual weekly runs, but in the few weeks before the race, I ran on average about 2-3 times a week, each session about 10-12km, including a long run on Saturdays (16-20km), plus some strength and speed sessions with Coach Rameshon, once a week.

3. What was your time? 

18km in 1h 41min 34s.

4. What was your position for the race? 

15th of 367 runners (in the 18km Women's category)

5. Are you happy with the position and time that you have got?

Yes, I was happy as I have been busy with work, family and other commitments, and not running regularly and yet improved on my pace for races generally (ave. 5:37min/km, compared to a near 6-6:30min/km last year with similar level of regular runs). This is the highest ranking position I have obtained so far.

6. Any plans of running a marathon in the near future? 

Yes, I will be running the Tokyo Marathon in Feb 2013.

7. Why did you choose this race? 

I am a long-distance runner and try to do a marathon a year, (other commitments permitting!) especially overseas where the cool dry weather and race conditions (eg. crowd support and organization) are better and more enjoyable for running.

I am running the Tokyo Marathon as Tokyo is fairly nearby so it is easy to take a short break from work/home for the race, scenic (the race route will take the runners around all the scenic spots within the City) and cool.  Moreover, there are many marathon runners in Tokyo and the race is well-organised with accurate distance markers placed, at the same time attracting serious runners here, and providing good water support etc.. For me, by the organisers bringing good runners means I have the ability to know my own running standard.  It is easy to get a place in the race through ballot as a foreigner compared to other popular races, no pre-qualification timings are required. Also, it gives me a chance to see Tokyo and eat good Japanese food and go shopping :)!

I ran the Newton run to incentivise me to maintain my regular runs and to gauge my current running standards before I start training for the Tokyo Marathon (42.195km).  The Newton run is one of the few local runs which cater to longer distances that I run as a long-distance runner.  Also, as it is organised by Newton (which specialises in running shoes) it is well-organised with the runners' welfare in mind. The route was flat and scenic as we ran along the east coast park in the cool morning hours.

8. What kind of time are you going for?

I hope to do a personal best and do a sub-4 hour timing.

9. What is your long term goal? 

I have been running marathons for some years now, picking up running initially to lose weight after my second child and to keep fit and healthy, and to relieve stress. My long term goal is to improve on my timings and complete a world-class marathon below 4 hours, compete in top marathons worldwide, and hopefully be good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which is the pinnacle of marathons for me.  This will be a personal achievement given that I am a late starter in sports generally.

www.runningcoachsg.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.