Sundown Marathon 2012

And so I completed the Sundown Marathon 2012 last weekend. It was my 7th full marathon, and although I only trained up to 10km due to weather and schedule constraints, I did manage to complete it within 6 hours, at 5:52. Not my personal best by far, but I'm glad I managed to do it without suffering as badly as the last one.

My previous attempt at Standard Chartered's Singapore Marathon 2011 last year was horrible. I trained up to around 16km if I could recall, not sufficient but at least there was some prep done. What made the run miserable was the weather. I couldn't stand the humidity of squeezing through tight lanes with so many other runners, and the sun was so hot I contemplated seeking shade. I ended up walking most of the time during the last few kilometers, and it was the worst personal record for me.

Likewise, the weather also proved to be a problem for this Sundown. At the halfway mark, thunder and lightning threatened to cut short the event. The rain was so heavy it hurts upon impact. I had to look down most of the time and I was really thankful I don't wear specs anymore. What motivated me was that I didn't see anyone else stopping. All of us carried on, pushing our bodies nearer to the finishing point. I had my iPhone along and I was thinking that's the end of it. It was virtually drenched in rainwater at the end point and I dreaded switching it on. I had another previous iPhone damaged by the rain in another run and it was in a zip lock bag. Amazingly, my phone survived. Yeah it was a miracle.

Overall, I hold back my complaints against the organisers of the run. There were areas which I thought could be better managed so hopefully they'll improve next time. For me, I had a great time, compared to my last marathon. In fact, I felt pretty good and perhaps I'll try to push for more than my initial target of 10 marathons before I hang up my running shoes. Just for the record, I'm a pretty lousy runner. In fact, I finish only ahead of 40% of other male runners in my category, so I'm quite slow. Nonetheless, it's not about how fast you are or how many runs you complete. It's about not giving up, and showing others and yourself that with the correct spirit and determination, you can seek out and achieve what you strive for. My next run would most probably be overseas, so I'm hoping for a good one to make it 8! :)