Remembering the Greats and Honoring the Best

Yesterday eveninhg, I ran an unusually challenging 23K. I was recovering from a week-long head cold, and my planned 32K @ 5-minute pace disintegrated as I felt flat as a pancake. My Garmin Forerunner 310XT reminded me at 1K intervals my erratic pace. I made a decision to apply dyslexia to my session, and switched the ambitious 32K for a conservative 23K. I experienced fatigued despite following my nutritional plan intimately. I could attribute it to Sunday’s 4-hour bike ride, which was executed at moderate pace.

I spent the remainder of the evening reading the May edition of Runner’s World. This issue was a compelling one, for it featured Boston Qualifiers (BQ) and the immense difficulty of getting a slot in the 115-year-old race that takes place every April. Although I finally qualified for my age group in February at the Hong Kong Marathon, I think I would stand a better chance for a roll-down if I qualified again at the Gold Coast Marathon in July. This year’s entries sold out within 8 hours and 3 minutes! It left many upset BQs in the lurch. Come October, I will certainly be up with my partner on two terminals to ensure a better chance of securing one of the 25,000 slots. Fingers crossed!

Congratulations to Uncle HF Kor! Uncle Kor (Edward Kor’s Dad) ran 5:13:02 in the Boston Marathon yesterday and placed 11^th in the 75-79 year old category. It was unfortunate he narrowly missed a top-10 placing (the 10th place gentleman was only one minute ahead) as this fairly fast runner was slowed down by a cramp; he could have placed much higher. I suspect that the cramp was due to the average temperature of 11 degrees Celcius. [Note: It is raining now with expectations of high winds with gusts.]

Also, congratulations to Ben Swee for his second Boston Marathon finish (3:59:59)! Apparently, he would be snapping photographs instead of pursuing a PB.

Olympic legend Joan Benoit Samuelson ran the Boston Marathon today in 2:51:29. That's a 6:33 pace for the 53-year-old.

Marathon great Grete Waitz dies at 57. May this multiple-NYC Marathon champion rest in peace.