Race Expo & Sundown Marathon

The annual Singapore Stanchart Marathon race pack collection and expo is here again. I could not believe myself, but I went down on all 3 days! On Friday afternoon, I went to collect my pack, thinking that it would be less crowded at an off-peak hour. But hundreds of other equally kiasu runners thought likewise, so I had to queue over an hour to get to the collection booth. The exit funnelled us to the sports and fitness expo, right smack into the PowerBar/ Athelete's Circle (AC) mega booth. I met many friends and fellow runners/ triathletes, either helping out at the booths or collecting their packs, it was like a huge gathering at a carnival. We bantered around, joked and checked out the discounts and gear. A group of us excitedly swarmed around AC's upcoming events next year - Dirty Weekend, Sundown Marathon and Aviva 70.3. A day before, the AC newsletter had gone out announcing those events (http://www.athletescircle.com/newsletter/newsletter_211107.html). We inundated poor Ben with repeat questions at the registration booth, and he good-naturedy answered all of us.

I was already set on joining the Sundown Ultra 84km Marathon the minute I saw the news, so I was pleasantly surprised that we could register on the spot. Without hesitation, I keyed in my details and made the payment. On learning that there could be a 100-pax limitation for the ultra race, we started roping in more runners, and those in turned called their friends upon signing up. Ah, the power of peer-pressure. Or could it be peer-pleasure in running together? :) In the end, Ricci, Alvin (tri), DO, Anthony, Jancy, Ronnie, Freddy Yeoh and many others registered. I think we easily "sold" 20 slots for the organizers, and counting. I spotted Mika too, and told her about the race.

Set! I'm very much looking forward to the event. I have no doubt that I could complete the distance. What piqued my intellectual and physical curiousity was how such a long run (I reckon it should take about 10hrs +/-) would differ from my recent Mustagh Ata expedition where we climbed an average of 9hr each day at high altitude. I am not new to long durations of demanding physical activities at unspeakable hours. Almost every summit attempt of major mountains sets off around 2-3am, and easily takes 13 - 18hr to summit and descend to a safe campsite. However, running and climbing are different sports, and I wonder what the demands of such an ultra distance would be on the body and legs.

Adrian (Mok) shared with me that long-dist running in the night enhances all sensories and makes us more aware of ourselves and the surroundings. The silence and still of the night brings out the sense of solitude, and forces us to reach far deeper within ourselves to find the strength and motivation to carry on. I believe. Climbing is often a very solitary sports too, just you, yourself and the mountain all around. I'm full of admiration for Adrian. He's my age, yet has achieved so much. In between keeping up with the growing joys of his young son, and building an expanding business based on his sporting passions, he remains one of the top endurance athletes in the nation. Over the years, I have benefitted from his friendship, advice and business services. It is always a joy to chat with him, the impossibly-busy and ever-positive guy finds time to indulge in leisure gossip and generously shares tips with everyone.

I spent some time at the Addidas booth and was very pleased to find the new white-purple running jersey that I had been eyeing for some time. Seduced by the 20% discount, I happily bought 2 pieces. Over at the Keypoint International booth, Sam, Eddie (Chang) and Sandy were busy with the retail crowd. Helen was gushing praises about a pair of 2XU running tights that I was looking at. Just my type of gear - simple, short, functional, yet good-looking. I bought a piece, tested it during Sunday's morning run at Safra, loved it, and went back to buy another piece!

My sense of retail restraint and reasoning goes into cardiac arrest when I'm in a crowd of sports junkies and race gear, and the expo organizers appeared to milk that vulnerability very well. Oops, I guess it's cheapo veg-rice for lunch in the coming weeks. :)