cHyOrK: >>

Tuesday, June 04, 2019

I did the Sundown (Half) Marathon 2019 over the weekend, so as to clock a half-marathon this year, in place of my annual AHM which is cancelled this year due to the ~~elections~~ SG Bicentennial celebrations.

I wouldn't have signed up for Sundown Marathon if not because of the cancellation of the AHM, and I still feel this way. One of my biggest gripes is the high entry cost. There had been countless complaints over this year's event, and I was already considered lucky to be the least affected, and the reason is because I was in the first wave of runners.

Why is it important to be in the first wave of runners?

You start together with the pacers.
One of the contributing factors in my new PB achievement at this run, was because I could start with the 2-hour pacers. I decided to deploy a negative splits strategy for this race, and it paid off. So in the first 11km, I was following the 5:40 pace of the pacers, and then overtook them and ran faster splits in the next 10km.

When there is a delay in flag-off, you do not wait for too long.
The flag-off was supposed to be 11:30pm, but we got a late flag-off past 11:45pm. That was a 15-min wait for even the runners in the first starting pen! And because we flagged-off in waves, there were people in the later pens who started past 12:20am. Imagine, that would be a punishing 50-min wait inside the start pens! You can't blame the runners for being very unhappy about it!

You are less affected by bottlenecks.
Yup, that's a no-brainer. Starting in the first wave meant there were fewer people along the race course. But I must say that this year's course was poor -- there were parts where the route narrowed to a single lane on the roads. We had to slow our paces while negotiating the congestion.

There is a lower possibility of you reaching a hydration station with no water.
Wait, hydration stations with no water?! Yup, that was what happened to the marathoners at some consecutive stations. Honestly, I can't imagine how this could happen at all for a well-established race in its 12th year, but well, I guess starting earlier meant that the possibility of that happening to you is lower.

No queues at the baggage collection and massage area.
By the time I had ended, the race village was relatively empty, which was a huge contrast to almost all the other races that i had taken part in. Not having to queue for my muscle rub and to collect my bag -> that's such a rare luxury!

Apart from the 15-minute delay that i encountered, the other aspects were pretty enjoyable. The cheerleaders and some ushers were in high spirits and cheered us on, and I did try to thank some of them as I passed.

Personally, I felt that I was in a good condition during the run, and was able to carry out my negative splits strategy successfully. At 11km, and having followed the pacers' 5:40 pace throughout that first hour, I felt like I still had much energy in me, and I knew I could try pulling off a negative splits strategy for the first time. It also helped that the night wasn't excessively humid, and that the race course wasn't congested at all after I had passed the 2-hour pacers group.

With each successive kilometre clocking well under 5:30, I knew that a PB is very achievable -- just how many minutes I can shave.

I picked up speed in my final 3 kilometres (around Marina Bay), and eventually shaving about 4 and a half minutes off my previous best. Now with a 1:52:34 timing, perhaps a sub-1:50 can be a reality soon!

Past Races at a glance:

My past 20 Full Marathons at a glance:

1. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 : 5:06:14

2. adidas Sundown Marathon 2008 : 5:07:58

3. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 : 5:01:04

4. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 : 5:13:35

5. Volkswagen Prague International Marathon 2012 : 4:53:22

6. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012 : 4:59:49

7. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 : 5:17:47

8. Maybank Bali Marathon 2014 : 4:48:08

9. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014 : 5:14:22

10. Maybank Bali Marathon 2015: 4:52:39

11. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015: 4:43:41

12. 2016阿猴國興盃公益路跑：4:41:13

13. Maybank Bali Marathon 2016: 5:04:35

14. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016: 4:30:15

15. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon 2017: 4:26:56
16. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2017: 4:44:06
17. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018: 4:27:36

18. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2019: 4:42:21

19. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2022: 5:06:27

20. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2023: 4:37:22

21. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024: 4:00:38

22. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2025: 3:39:28 (PB!)

My past 13 Half Marathons at a glance:

1. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2007 -- 2:14:29
2. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2008 -- 2:21:02
3. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2009 -- 2:17:38
4. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2010 -- 2:04:18
5. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2011 -- 2:07:33
6. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2012 -- 2:15:18

7. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2013 -- 2:24:41 (Huge bottleneck)

8. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2014 -- 2:14:44

9. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2016 -- 3:24:05 (With WL)

10. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017 -- 1:59:00

11. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2018 -- 1:57:01

12. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2019 -- 1:52:34 (Best!)

13. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2023 -- 1:55:45

人生是黑白的.
4:36 PM <3

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