Sundown Ultramarathon 84km 2010: Sub 10

Before the run...

Passing Teh poh chye...

Sitting down at east coast park during the 2nd loop.





Finally finishing the race...

This year, the starting venue shifted from Changi Village to a bigger location. I was having trouble understanding the map until we actually reached there. Many of us were running. Choi, Kash, Haza, Richard Tang, Frank, Tey and I choosed the 84km while the others, marathon and half.

I had done the first sundown, which wasn't a pleasant experience. I'd just hope that this time I could run faster and having less cramps.

The race for ultras started at 6pm. All I was carrying is a powerbar and money. I think that would suffice. Was surprised to see Freddy and Melvin Lee (whom I met at RRS 2010). And seems like Adrian Mok was also running.

The horn blew, and we were all sent running. Drums were beating making us feeling good about it. But I knew it's going to be a long long time before coming back here. Managed to passed by Teh Poh Chye after 2km. But the fast ones were already far far ahead. I was just trying to get a good pace. Not too fast, and not too slow.

The distance is so far, you can't possibly risked it by pushing above what you're comfortable with. The cramps in my first sundown thought me that.

We ran along the changi airport for around 8k before hitting East Coast Park, which I admit was better that the boring and straight road. I managed to reached the u-turn after 21km in a time of 1:56. Then it was heading back from where we ran from. Didn't really like the path here because of the concrete pavement. So I tried to run on grass and on the other side instead. After 33km, I made a rough calculation, and looks like I could reach the marathon mark in less than 4 hours. So it was running a tad faster until the end of the first loop. Did the marathon in 3:59.

As I went into the transition tent, I noticed many had actually completed the first loop as well. Shows that these folks are pretty strong runners. Then went on to have a bread with honey, some raisins, went to the loo, and then was out in 8 minutes. As I exited the marshall asked "Are you ready for the next loop?".. That sounds odd,...it's not like I have a choice :)

So, on and on I ran on the same route again. By this time, it's the fatigue that's kicking in. The drink stations only provided water and 100plus, which was not pretty digestible. So, my motivation was, reaching East coast park and gulping some iced milo. But this time, I ran slower. Rather than killing myself pushing, I would just take this easy.

Glad to meet some volunteers at the park. One gave an iced coffee, which was fantastic. Lynette was there as well and had brought a milo. Managed to bump into Henry Yong, whom I met during MR25 and RRS.

Now, problems starting to crop up. There was chaffing in between the legs, so that was painful, but one that I could tolerate. Then there was the gut problem, which probably came after I had an ice cream at 34km mark. Didn't run too well for the last few k. With 2km to go, Alaw Law passed me. I tried to to run...but was on the verge of puking. So I walk the remainder until the last few hundred meters. Finished it with the time of 9:50.

Well, it wasn't good feeling afterwards either. I found myself puking a few times. Reminded of my Ironman this year.

The good thing was I had no blisters, no cramps, and didn't really felt sleepy.

My split:

Chip Time

0KM - 10KM 00:51:25

10KM - 20KM 01:56:36

20KM - 30KM 02:46:20

30KM - 42KM 04:07:23 (plus 8min transition)

42KM - 52KM 05:13:27

52KM - 62KM 06:51:17

62KM - 72KM 08:03:24

09:50:04

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Kash and Haza did well by finishing the 84km within cut off time. My hats off to them. I also qualified for TNF100km solo, but still am not sure if it's in the todo list.