The Marathon

As much as the distance provides the allure to the masses, the appeal of the marathon, at least to me, lies in something more intrinsic. I'm lousy with words, so let's take the story of Tsegaye Kebede as an illustration. If you follow the sport, Kebede, 21, was the 3rd placed finisher of the Beijing Olympic Marathon. Just last Sunday he demolished the course record of the prestigious, elite-only Fukuoka Marathon with a 2:06.10 finish, wiping off Sammy Wanjiru's 2:06.39 no less. If you don't know who Wanjiru is by now, you must've been living under a rock - the man, just a year older than Kebede, is now hotter than The Great Man himself! Read here.


Kebede's background as mentioned in the World Marathon Majors website states that he:



"was born in Gerar Ber, 42 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the fifth of 13 children. His family was exceedingly poor and Kebede struggled to get by, earning less than US $1 a day by gathering firewood and later working as a herder. Just before his first marathon in Addis Ababa a bus he was riding on went off the road, severely injuring several passengers, but Kebede escaped with just a small leg wound and he went on to win the race.



"I am living in a dream," Kebede said when he learned he would run for Ethiopia in Beijing. "This is so big and so important for me. I did not obsess about it all my life, although I wanted to run for my country in the Olympics. I am just surprised that it has come early."


There are many stories like Kebede's. Much like our journey through life, the marathon is fraught with challenges, setbacks and struggles. From commoners to the elites, many marathoners see the race as a way to prove that they can still succeed after all the struggles that they've gone through. The marathon is a paradox and because of this, it's intriguing. But the marathon brings about dangers as much as the hope it offers. If you underestimate it. The marathon teaches you the value of patience and hard work better than your high school teacher.


While many run it to prove that they can succeed in something they do, equally many run the race to celebrate something - remission from cancer for example - or to dedicate the race to a love one (insert Marci's post). I ran one of the KL Marathons to celebrate the birth of my son. People run the marathon for a reason, much unlike the "Since I've nothing to do that weekend, I might as well run the 10K" mindset.


I forgot who first said it but this quote is very appropriate - "The marathon is so much more than 42K. It is the sum of who we are in one challenge". Not only does the quote captures the essence of the marathon but it is also a statement of challenge - dare you find out who you are, and what you're capable of achieving? What will you find out about yourself?

A Typical Marathon Cycle

The start of Marathon training - typical enthusiasm




The drudge of training and waking up early on weekends




Hitting The Wall




The triumphant crossing of the finish line, hopefully with a PR




Post-Marathon Blues & Recovery. Whole body soreness, general sense of lethargy, etc...

The Loneliness of a Marathoner's Wife

I was pointed to this article by a forumite. It's a great read and since marathoning is not gender bias, just substitute the male references with female ones where applicable.



The Loneliness of a Marathoner's Wife

I could take the training and travelling and the ice-cold baths. It was the inspirational aphorisms that did me in..

VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN, September 25, 2007



I'm thinking of starting a support group for partners of runners called Coping with Your Loved One's Benign Addiction (The Endless Marathon).



We would meet monthly - perhaps biweekly during race season - to share our creeping losses: stimulating conversation giving way to mind-numbing race stories ("and then I put the other foot in front"); old friends losing ground to new running buddies; sleepy morning sex replaced by vigorous interval training.



My partner began his running career five years ago. It started innocently enough: Seeking a distraction from cigarettes, Roger volunteered to help out with the cross-country team at our son's elementary school.



A few mornings a week, the two of them would strap on their battered runners, jog down to the school and spend an hour with the other early risers. At the school bell, Roger would wave to his Grade 2 charges and run around the block a few times to get his heart and lungs pumping before work.



Then, on a day like any other, the M-word slipped from his tongue.



"I want to run a marathon before I turn 40."



Just one. To prove he could do it. I was all for it. I was his most enthusiastic supporter. I even bragged about him at the dog park.



"Did you know that Roger is in training for a marathon?" I asked one of the dog walkers who, judging by his lanky frame, might be a runner himself. Just uttering the M-word made me feel important, part of an elite club.



His answer took me by surprise.



"Oooooh, watch out," he said, wincing. "A friend's wife ran her first marathon a few years ago and now she's never around. She runs several a year - Boston, Chicago, New York, London. She spends all her free time either racing, training for a race, or travelling to or from a race. It's a dangerous sport that way."



"I'm not too worried about that," I replied confidently. "Roger's not the obsessive type."
Fast-forward five years. Roger trains six days a week and is in the top 2 per cent of Canadian marathoners. Last year, he placed 23rd in the masters division (over 40) of the Canada Running Series. He runs two sub-three-hour marathons per year and has a schedule of shorter races - 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, relays - that would put most of us in a wheelchair.



Sometimes, when it's very hot, he runs so fast he loses consciousness.



Other times, I've caught him - a shower man by nature - lazily soaking in a tub of ice cubes to sooth the inflammation in his legs.



He has gone the distance in Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Chicago, and along Cape Breton's Cabot Trail. Bibs from every race he ever ran are pinned to his office wall like tails on a donkey. Tacky wooden plaques line his bookshelf, reminiscent of the bedroom scene from one of those movies where the favourite son, the athlete, has met some tragic end.



His bedside table is a leaning tower of running how-to volumes, including the weighty Lore of Running, a 930-page tome that makes me laugh whenever Roger tries to balance it on his knees. That table was once stacked with his favourite literature: Barnes, Coetzee, Lessing, McEwan.



Among these bedside gospels is Personal Best by the late George Sheehan, who is described on the book jacket as the "foremost philosopher of fitness." Sheehan drew parallels between runners and alcoholics who overcome the drinking demon in four major ways: modifying behaviour, substituting dependencies, increasing religious involvement, and forming new relationships.



"The running body modifies its own behaviour," according to Sheehan. "Running then becomes a substitute dependency, an addiction that has positive rather than negative effects. It becomes a religious experience that gives renewed hope and self-esteem. And it bestows on each runner a new circle of similarly minded, non-judgmental friends."



Give me a break (the non-runner says, rather judgmentally). I liked Roger just the way he was and so, I thought, did he.



But it was the inspirational quotes that finally broke me. One afternoon, I wandered into Roger's office with his mail and there, flashing across his screensaver like urgent dispatches from heaven, were candy-coated mantras right out of a high-school year book: "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."



"Dedication and commitment are what transfer dreams into reality."



Not quite the same as finding a note from a lover, but almost as devastating for someone wary of pat answers to life's complexities. My husband had become a running fanatic. And there was nothing I could do about it.



We'd come a long way from that day in the dog park.



But take heart: There is a flip side.



Running has given Roger a new clarity of thought and purpose that has served him well in both his personal and professional life. Maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to trick genetics and outlive his father, who died of a heart attack at 50. And if his new-found passion represents a mid-life crisis, it sure beats buying a motorcycle and/or chasing younger women.



Not to mention the rock-hard body.



So, to anyone whose partner is discovering running religion, let me say this: Eventually - because there's no other choice if you want your relationship to survive - you'll learn to draw the ice baths, launder the sweaty socks and swallow the mantras. You may need therapy to get there but, one (training rest) day, you'll wake up, wrap your arms around your brand new man or woman and say to yourself: "My runner is fit, happy, passionate, fulfilled, loving, and still here.



What more, really, could anyone ask for?"



Virginia Heffernan lives in Toronto.

NYC Marathon Course Video

NYC Marathon Bib Collection

I've been trawling the web for anything and everything to do with the NYC Marathon. Chanced upon this shaky video following a Japanese entrant's bib collection at the Jacob Javits Center. From the visuals, these are the sequence of events:
1. Get an entry coupon

2. Proceed to the international runners table just by the entrance

3. Race number confirmation counter

4. Proceed to collect bib

5. Be sure to do a chip check to ensure correct ID

6. Proceed to goodie bag collection

7. Optional: Change into their souvenier tshirt on the spot

8. Don your Spongebob cap

9. Proceed to the Health & Fitness Expo and collect tons of freebies (postcard stacks, autographs, product sampling), check out new products, and make new friends. I'd suggest bringing along a stack of name cards to exchange!

What I noticed are the presence of very very polite volunteers at every stage. They take pride in their City and main event. The Jacob Javits Convention Center is super huge - larger than the Suntec City Convention Center (although the roofing looks similar)

It's a good idea to have a videocam handy! On to the video!

NYC Marathon - Wanna Run?

Some Thoughts On Crowd Control

There have been lots of debate (see here) regarding the crowd issue in the recent Penang Bridge Marathon. These exchanges are healthy and should be encouraged, provided they take a proactive stance and no personal jabs. I'd like to add my personal take.

Established marathons employ different ways to counter crowd. They can be:
1) limiting the number of entries
2) stagger start
3) different start/end points
4) enforcement

In the context of the recent PBM, from what I can see, there wasn't any complains pertaining to the actual start, except the long-standing issue of entry to the USM gate, which is a classic case of the organizers unwilling to sit down and reengineer the registration process. As for runners being caught by the road closures, I think this is not the case of the organizers erring but the lack of preps on the part the runners in finding out about the road closures and getting there earlier.

So let's take a look at the above 4 crowd countermeasures.

1) Limiting the number of entries
This should be considered by the PBM organizers. Major marathons have this restriction enforced. NYC Marathon cap their entries at around 40,000, Boston via stringent qualifying times and 31,000 or so, Singapore at 22,000... Those that have qualifying times are more elite in nature and these are steeped in history and tradition and nearly as glamorous as the Olympics Marathon. So this is a viable option for Penang as well - the capping part, and not the qualifying part.

2) Stagger Start
I don't think this is an issue since the marathoners set off at an insane 3am, half at 4:30am, followed by the rest. Having said that, the organizers need to rethink the gate entry.

3) Different start/end points
NYC marathon with 40,000 participants, have runners segregated not only by Pace Groups but also starting locations. How many start points? Not 2 but 3! The runners are differentiated by bib colours. They're only merged at around the 10K mark. The logistics and thought-process that went into the planning are stupendous and can only mean that these guys are passionate and take pride in what they do. For PBM, there wasn't any starting problems, nor will it ever reach the numbers of the Big 5 Marathons (NYC, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, London) so let's look at the finishing problems.

What they could've have done would be to let the marathoners continue along the coastal road past the marine police building. Then they can take the same loop around RECSAM back to the starting line. To reduce the distance to compensate the extra run, they don't have to run until Seagate but instead U-turn around the Queensbay Mall area (either just cut across the divider or use a ramp). Since the main road is already closed both ways, they should make use of it. The marathon finish will be the same spot as the start. The rest can finish on the other side of the road but not on the field. The field is strictly for crowd holding and relaxing. Erect 1 gantry for marathon finish and 1 for 21K and below. No budget for gantries? Use banners then.

In the case if NYC marathon, Central Park is definitely more than adequate to handle the crowd. For a fantastic NYC Marathon photo report see here http://www.uli-sauer.de/laufen/stories/2005newyork/2005newyork-marathon_e.htm

Which brings me to the last point below.

4) Enforcement
This is where all the volunteer and uniform bodies come into play, ensuring the runners are channeled into the correct lanes, don't cut queue at the finish gantry, don't block the gates, continue walking towards the field. Take the crowd and channel them quickly to the field. The uniform persons should also enforce queues at the refreshment stations (which should have been more strategically placed). I don't see any semblence of crowd control in Penang. Neither were there barricades, A-boards, etc...

There are many ways to make a runner feel welcomed at a roadrace. While PBM was tied in with the VMY2007, there was hardly anything that linked it to the tourism extravaganza. In fact I heard news that the local residents there were not very supportive and because of that the marathon category will be scrapped next year. In NYC, over 2 million supporters, majority of them residents, line up the route to cheer the runners. Many run NYC not to do their best times but to EXPERIENCE the city. That single race day was also regarded as the best way to see NYC on foot. Regardless of the multi-ethnicity and notoriety of NYC, that few days in November are when everyone comes together (talk about running bringing people together!). NYC need not channel advertising money into tourism to bring people in. The marathon can do the job.

Penang has so much more potential to draw loyal runners but their repeated mistakes combined with the evident lack of experience (at least they should seek experience voices out there) make KLIM look like a 6-star event. Which is really a shame. Before you say that if I'm complaining so much, I might as well don't run PBM and just travel to overseas races. But that would be missing the point. Not everyone can afford to participate in overseas races. The point I'm trying to make here is not to ridicule the organizers and most certainly not trumpeting the notion that West is best. We can certainly do as well, if not better. We live here and if we don't seek to improve - in the case of this article, to generate awareness and offer suggestions - then what's the point of just complaining?

We really need to compile these valuable feedback and send to the organizers be they in Penang, KL or Ipoh, copy The Sun, Footloose and high traffic web community like
Kennysia.com. Do what we can to better things because like it or not, we live here in this country and if the organizers are not willing to change, we runners have to take up the role as agents of change. If you think this article serves a purpose, please feel free to also post it on your blogs.

Some other articles on the NYC marathon: Chip timing A runner's experience Spectator's Guide NYC Marathon Official Site

Thanks Deena!

"Great preparation gave me my worst finishing time. I will always respect the marathon for the punishment and pride it continues to offer."
Deena Kastor



Thanks for the wise words, Deena. If a superb athlete like you are still subjected to such setbacks, who am I, a mere mortal, to complain? You're still my hero. Let's rock our next marathons!

Read more about Deena's recent Boston Marathon experience here.

Where To Go From Here?

Following the failure in Penang last Sunday, my next marathon will only be next March's KL Marathon. Going with a 4-month training program will mean starting my training in November. Between now and then - 4 months - what am I to do? Needing to keep up the motivation, I've registered for the August 12th PJ Half Marathon. I'm not a fan of this race since it's run on less than conducive route where the road works never seem to end. That means we runners will have to contend with traffic and dust throughout the race. But having come very close, to close to a medalling position last year, I thought it's good to just run this for some speedwork. I'm certainly not concerned whether I improve 1 position to a medal (yes I was that close!) or not. The other speedwork would be Der_Pacemakers Anniversary Run and the Worldwide Half Marathon. All that should hopefully provide me with some diversions during these 4 months.