You Have to Be Super to Earn a Superlative

I just completed 5 laps of the MacRitchie Runners (MR25) annual ultra-marathon. As posted earlier, I expected to do run 6 loops instead, however I bowed to the stifling heat and humidity of the morning. I actually enjoyed a very good marathon time, for 4 loops of 10.5km each. However, I had to do damage control or else my body would have over-heated.

I was ready to throw in the towel after the marathon distance, however my training buddy Don Ng insisted that we do one more loop. It was just as well we did, as I would not have earned my finisher t-shirt, which is awarded only to those who completed 5 loops, and more. Thanks, Don for kicking me forward!

It is so easy to just call it a day, yet to do so I would have deprived myself of the pride and memory of accomplishing a longer distance. As a shocking consolation, many runners did only the perfunctory five loops instead of the 6, 7, 8, and 9 loops we witnessed last year. Even my friend Tobias Frenz completed five loops only, although in a blistering time. I completed my last loop by a combination of running and fast walking with my mates, Don and Wilson Tan. Wilson expressed that the terrain was hard for him, despite his extensive experience in racing X-Terra (cross-terrain) races. The undulating, muddy, rocky and slippery profile of the run track did pose challenges to the runners in subsequent laps. When I left the venue, I knew only one runner who ran 6 laps; I hope somebody goes beyond that.

I had a great crew of supporters who manned a drink station: we had Gatorade, food and beer. It was nice to crack open a cold one after the race, and share a few cans more with friends.

What did I learn from this event today? Well, if you want something badly you will commit to it. My mental fitness was called to task today. My motivation was the t-shirt; my bragging rights. Jim Collins, founder of Ironman triathlon did say: 'If you quit, you will live with it!' Wilson shared that once your body suffers from neural fatigue, your body quits on you - not much you can do about it, except stick for as long as you can. Walk if you must, just get the legs moving!

It was good day of racing hard, and catching up with old friends. I am glad I still have the legs to run a full marathon after my last one on 6 December.