(UNOFFICIAL) Quick Stats for Sundown Marathon 2014 Results (Half and Full Marathons Only)

Source : http://www.1xcess.com/result/event/SundownMarathon2014

Having tirelessly seeking data from race organisers (via emails) and receiving no response from them, I have resorted to manual computation for the HM and FM statistics this time - using their official link (trust me, manual computing is not a task for the weak heart....).  I will try to compute the pen timings as and when I am free.

I hope this piece of hard work will help runners determine their positions in the race (since the SDM organiser made no mention on the total number of participants in the various categories of the race.....leaving most of us clueless about our benchmarking).

Half Marathon - 21KM Statistics

6,566 people participated in the half marathon with a total of 6,557 participants completing the race successfully. 

Of which, there were 4,202 (64%) male runners and 2,364 (36%) female runners. 9 runners were disqualified (9 male & 0 female) in this category.

The average timings for both males and females to complete the half marathon were in the range of 3:00 - 3:29hr.

Full Marathon - 42 KM Statistics

6,114 people participated in the full marathon with a total of 6,074 participants having completed the race successfully. Of which there were 5,081(83%) male runners and 1,033 (17%) female runners. 40 runners were disqualified (33 male & 7 female) in the Full Marathon categories.

The average timings for both male and female runners to complete the full marathon remained  unchanged despite the adverse atmospheric and biology condition :

• For Male - in the range of 6:00 to 6:30hr.
• For Female - in the range of 6:30 to 7:00hr.

I hope this simple analysis gives runners a good understanding on where they stand in the race.

Inspirational Running Movie - 마라톤 Marathon 2005

Sources : www.youtube.com, www.wikipedia.com caa 11 May 14

One of the inspirational movies that features running. It touches my heart.

'A Mother's Love For Her Son, And A Son's Passion for Running'

I can empathise with this story as this is what I see my wife going through. The 1.5 year long intensive cancer treatments had surely taken a toll on her, deteriorating her fitness to a great extent. The cancer medications have made her put on substantial weight uncontrollably - a side effect that she strongly detests. 

For a simple and humble reason to just live on, she took up brisk walking and running (something she feels she can do together with me). She did her first 10 km in Great Eastern Women Run 2013 and never look back. Many times, I watch her fall, faint, tire and in pain. But this strong woman doesn't give up! And she has never wanted me to slow down for her! I was so proud of her when she finished her first half-marathon in the 2XU Compression Run 2014. 

She has been physically unwell/unfit again these few months and had stopped all physical exercises since February. If I thought she was going to stop, I was wrong! 3 weeks from now, she is challenging the Sundown Marathon (21 km) again. I am running the full marathon in this race and regret that I cannot be running by her side. With the lack of training and her frail condition, I am in the same dilemma (just like the mother in this movie). Do I challenge her to go on (like what I always did) and finish? Or do I stop her?

What about you? Why did you run?

Movie Plot (from Wikipedia)

A young man with autism, named Cho-won, finds release only in running. As a child, Cho-won regularly threw tantrums, bit himself, and refused to communicate with others—finding solace only in zebras and the Korean snack, choco pie. His mother never gave up on him and was determined to prove to the world that her child can be normal. As Cho-won gets older, he begins to find a passion for running and his mother is there to encourage and support him. Even though their family suffers from financial difficulties, they find a former marathon champion, Jung-wook — now a lethargic older man with an alcohol problem.

Jung-wook, who is serving community service hours as a physical education teacher for a DUI, grudgingly accepts the offer to train Cho-won in marathon running, but eventually becomes lazy with him. The coach often takes Cho-won's snack, and takes Cho-won to a jjimjilbang to relax. Even though Jung-wook slacks off most of the time, Cho-won's determination for running is firm (he accidentally runs 100 laps around a soccer field when the coach told him to without literally meaning it).

He takes third place in a 10 km running race, which causes his mother to set another goal for her son: to run a full marathon under three hours. This is not an easy task, however, as Cho-won wants to win but doesn’t know how to pace himself. Therefore, his mother pleads the coach to run with Cho-won in order to teach him how to pace his running. The movie shows the emotional struggles of a mother who is not sure if she is forcing her son to run or if it truly is his passion. The movie further explores and shows deep love and genuine purity through Cho-won.

May there be strength for those who believe and persevere.