Lessons I have learnt after running 20 marathons

These are things that I have learnt over the years of running marathons:

Myth No 1 - You need to be super fit to complete a marathon

In any marathon, you will see all sorts of people - fat, thin, old, young, pot bellied, male and female. With the exception of elite runners, you pretty much will not be able to estimate where a person will finish by their physical outlook. I was outrun by a beer bellied Australian in Sydney. I have accepted all this with no shame. 

The marathon is nothing but an endurance race. With a reasonable base of running, - about 26km in longest distance in training, you should be able to finish a marathon within the seven hour cut off most Marathons allow for. 

What you need is an optimistic outlook to laugh at yourself and the pain, and to know your limits. There is no glory in driving yourself past limits. Walk if you have to. Finishing is winning. 

Myth No 2 - Marathon running will cripple your knees.

I gave up running the marathon once because my knees hurt. Doses of glucosomine and chondroitin did nothing for me, and so I quit.

Knee pain is largely due to poor running form. It took me ten years to run the marathon again. On the encouragement of a friend, I learnt to run properly. Its simpler than you think. The long distance runners' posture is a forward lean - head in front of chest in front of feet. The run style is more a glide as opposed to a gazelle like bounce. Some describe the stride as a shuffle - small steps moving feet back, rather than reaching for the front. This running style is distinctly different from sprinting where high knee lifts and long back kicks are key. Focus on a midstrike on the sole instead of a heelstrike. This long distance running form can be trained. (NB: There are exceptions. I have seen elite runners, especially African, having a super long stride, with a bouncy form. But they are also 20kg lighter and their motion is very efficient. Its not for us.)

Myth No 3 - It is possible to run a perfect race from start to finish, sprinting at the end like Chariots of Fire.

For us mere mortals - and I mean those who run it more than 4 hours - which is 90% of us - we simply do not have the hours to train to do this. I know this after 20 attempts. To run a perfect marathon, with balanced or negative splits, you need to be running loads, up to 450km in ten weeks leading up to the marathon. Because we are a lot slower than the elite runners, the time sacrifice for training is impossible without social or work repercussions. 

Its not going to happen. The goal for us amateurs is to complete the marathon with as little pain and with the broadest smile as possible.  I see so many people disappointed when they are forced to walk. Don't be. 

The enemy of a good run is cramp. (Abrasion is as well, but easily solved with fitting outfits and vaseline.) Many will be pushing lampposts after 21km. Avoiding cramp has thus been my race obsession. The most important pre-race technique to avoid cramp is mileage. The more frequent and the longer you run, the lower the probability of cramp. This is pre-race Plan A. But most of us never clock enough. So in-race Plan B is important. Three things to remember are: drink, eat and recover. 

Drink : The rule of thumb is to drink about a litre of fluids every hour, with electrolytes being half of this, adjusting up or down in hotter or colder climes accordingly.  Everyone is different, so determine this during training. 

Eat : You can lose up to 3000-4000 calories during the race. This needs to be partially put back. Eat once at the 21km mark. Bananas and granola bars are great. Gels and chocolates are ok every other 10km. I have eaten burgers as well at the 30km mark, but this is not recommended.

Recover : Cramp is caused by a lack of electrolytes (solved through drinking well), muscle fatigue (solved and conditioned through training) and build up of lactic acid.  So the last is the real enemy. The build up of lactic acid can be avoided by introducing periods of walking over the 42km. How much depends on prior training. My formula: Walk for two minutes at 10km and 15 km. Then really take a break for 5 min walk at 20km or 21km, patting yourself on the back for making it half way. This is the start of the rest of your race.  Cramp starts to hit the less conditioned runners after 21km, the dreaded wall (extreme fatigue) somewhere between 26-35km. So approach this section of the race with deep respect. Adopt 100m-200m walk for every 2km from here on. Its breaks the race up to 10 digestable small sets. Be disciplined, and you will be surprised how well you do.

If cramps set in, go to Plan C.  Cramps can be walked off, but requires shorter run-walk intervals. Break a km into three parts. Run 300m, walk 50m and repeat. The cramp will  eventually disappear. I suffered a cramp in the DC Marathon at the 16km mark (lack of training). I used this and still finished respectably.

Most importantly run across the finish line with a smile on your face. The crowd will be urging you to sprint. Do not be tempted. Go easy in the last km, even walking. Then in the last 200m do your Chariots of Fire thing. The photographers will capture the moment for posterity. 

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So why have I chosen to stop? 

Well partly its because it is an extreme sport and it worries my loved ones. Partly to do with the fact that I did this to get fit, and I now realise you don't have to be that fit to complete it.

I need a new challenge. 

There are two circumstances under which I will run another marathon. The first is because one of my sons decide to do their first marathon.  The second is if I manage a drastic weight loss.  

Timothy, who ran this last race with me, believes weight is the key factor in performance in a marathon.  He has a point. Most good marathon runners have a BMI of under 20. Most mortals like us are 25 and above. If we can get the BMI down, the experience could be revolutionary. Last important lesson learnt : Marathons do not help you lose weight. The incredible energy expended during training simply makes you very hungry and you eat. It nets out. 

So weight loss must precede training.  This is a worthy goal. So we have both set a target weight for the middle of 2019. Drastic loss. If we hit it, you will see a write up for the 21st run! I hope it happens. 

My 20 Marathons

Athens Authentic Marathon 2018

Gold Coast Marathon 2017

Vancouver BMO Marathon 2016

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2015

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2014

Jakarta Mandiri Marathon 2013

Bali BII Marathon 2013

Tokyo Marathon 2013

Bali BII Marathon 2012

Washington DC Marine Corps Marathon 2011

Laguna Phuket Marathon 2010

Blackmore Sydney Marathon 2009

Taipei ING Marathon 2008

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2007

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2006

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2005

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2004

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2003

Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2002

Singapore Mobil Marathon 1992

The 36th Authentic Athens Marathon

On 11th Nov 2018, I completed my 20th marathon in Athens, my swansong. There was no better place to call it a day. The race retraced the route ran by Phiedippides in 490BC from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory at the Battle of Marathon. Athens is the hardest marathon I have run. 

The first reason is because of the long and gradual hills which seem to go on forever. The route is generally uphill all the way to the 28^th km, even if you can't see the slope. I thought that I had a very good half marathon as I felt strong.  When I checked the clock, I was shocked. I crossed the 21 km mark a good 15 minutes slower than my expected pace.  Hills also strain the quadriceps a lot more than flat ground. If I had to do this again, I would definitely train on undulating terrain. 

The second reason is because of the Mediterranean sun. It beats down on you relentlessly over the 42km. The route has no shade.  It was a cloudless, warm day (high teens low twenties) with the flag off at 9am.  This all combined to make the environment somewhat sapping. The low humidity worked both ways. It made it more comfortable to run in, but resulted in a larger loss of salts and fluids. I probably screwed up on my hydration plan as I was dehydrated.

Tim also complained about the early wake up to travel to the start line – we left Athens at 545am, and endured a long wait before the start at Marathon.  Not ideal, but not exactly sapping. I made sure I had something to eat to pass the time.

The highlights? There are three.  First, this is a large race. 35000 people ran the full marathon - first timers, high performance runners, Chinese man carrying extra loads, folks dressed up like a Greek hoplite and average people doing it for fun. Plenty of friendly faces cheer you as you past the towns with cries of "Bravo" - same meaning in Greek as it does in Italian or Spanish. I collected plenty of photographs. 

Secondly, things uniquely Greek. This is the first marathon where I had to take the Athlete's oath.  This was led by the Mayor of Marathon before the flag off. It reads:

"In the name of all the competitors I promise that I shall take part in this race, respecting and abiding by all the rules which govern the sport, in true sportmanship, for the glory of the sport and the honour of our teams and our countries."

Quite moving. Also, the 99 victims of the July Athens fire, which engulfed an area between the towns of Nea Makri and Rafina along the route, were remembered. The area is still devastated with the scars are clear to see. We all ran with green headscarfs to remember the dead.

Thirdly, there can be no better finish line in the world. The last two km take you down the wide boulevards of Athens to the grand and historic Panantheniac Stadium, the home of the first modern Olympic Games. No words can adequately describe the view turning the corner and entering the stadium for the last 125m. It was worth every penny of the price of entry. No other finish line comes close. 

I committed in my mid-thirties to run a marathon a year till I was 50. And I have done so. And so ends my adventure. Will I ever run the marathon again? Click on my next blog "What I have learnt about running marathons after 20 races." where I will consider this question.