Marathon Benchmark

Pic courtesy of iaaf.org

Yesterday I bumped into one of my many bosses on the way to the pantry, he stopped and said to me that he heard I took part in Newton. (He himself used to be an avid runer) He says not many people can even do a 10km run, after I told him I was very slow in the 12km event. Our small talk went on and he learnt that I also do the triathlon and half and full marathon. As he was telling me about the full marathon in Hong Kong in 2005, I realized that ok, we’re almost on par (our speed lah I mean) seeing that the HK Mara is also running across the bridge, similar to Pg Bridge mara, which I did in 2006. I’ve never done the KL mara. It always clashes with something I have.

And then he was surprised to learn that I too have done the 42km. He then said that there’s only 4 of us in the office now who has done the full mara, and went on to list the 4 down, including me. He seemed impressed.

So, does running the marathon become a benchmark?

It is impressive that one person can run the marathon, esp to those who don’t run. But after completing one, especially without any stoppage, in my opinion, it doesn’t seem to be good enough. Hehe I have the urge to go again and improve my time or to run a longer distance.

But my current condition tells me to sit back, take it easy and stick to shorter runs. My knees are not in their best condition now and I would still need their services for perhaps at least another 30 years or more. Though am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that perhaps Sundown will be my next challenge.

To all TNF runners, be it solo or duo, all the best!