If you were out in the streets of Singapore running this morning, congratulations! We hope you had a great experience and SCMS2015 brought out the best in you. Here at JustRunLah! we ran our own marathon: For the first time in Singapore, we hosted a LIVE stream of media updates via our site and app. In case you missed it, check it out here.

Now, as the last runners have crossed the finisher line, it is time for a recap!

Videos

Full Marathon

Half Marathon

Wheelchair 10KM & 10KM

Kid’s Dash

Photos

Results

Full Marathon, All Countries, Male

Full Marathon, All Countries, Female

Full Marathon, Singapore, Male

Full Marathon, Singapore, Female

NOTE: Those results are still temporary as our team is currently going through all results individually to make sure they are correct. Final results will be published within 24 hours and the race certificates will be available for download at that time. Source & more results @ http://marathonsingapore.com/2015-results

The next day

We wish you a fast and successful recovery! Don’t forget to use JustRaceLah! – Singapore’s Running App to log your SCMS2015 results, notes and photos. Get it for free for iOS / Android at www.justracelah.com. See you next year!

The exhilaration comes when you approach the finishing line, with the huge SEIKO timer set up at its side. The seconds tick by – you distract yourself from the pain a little by recalling the time you had started and count the number of minutes and seconds you had taken to finish this course. Not bad, you think. The crowd flanking the sides are chorusing. Their reverberating energy recharges you. You push a little harder for just a bit more.

As you come closer, photographers kneel down close by you. They direct the lens in your face. You don’t know whether to smile, or to look serious. You try to rearrange your face into some semblance of a winning runner. You think about the people who would be celebrating this success with you. Further ahead, some of your fellow runners have finished. They’re waiting around for friends to join them and might already be wearing their finisher’s tee.

Thud, thud, thud. Your feet is heavy and you can feel the exhaustion sinking in. But you know it’s just another 30 seconds, 20 seconds, and 10 seconds before you yourself become one of the finishers. You stride another foot ahead of the other. The final distance closing in. As you push through the last time pad installed on the ground, you feel a rush of joy. Pride, then excitement.

You’ve finished your race.

You’re a winner.

The last glorious lap is going to be one you relish for a while. At least for the few hours you spend massaging your sore feet and downing 100PLUS like you hadn’t had some on the course. None of these can describe the emotions you are feeling. Later, you’d be busy taking Instagram shots, and walking around the carnival in search of freebies. But for now, you collapse at the nearest empty spot, bathing in the pleasures of your own dream come true.

It’s always the hardest during the run itself. For some of us, it might be the nerve-wrecking and discouraging self talk before the race itself. Make it easier with yourself and do the necessary preparation the night before. You can:

a) Set your running outfit ready beforehand and pin your race bib on

b) Put your coffeemaker into automatic so you can wake up with a hot brew

c) Assemble a running playlist the night before

During the run itself, envision how you’d feel and what you’d see when you race across the finishing line. Would your parents be there? Would you be going for breakfast at your favorite Old Changi Airport Rd Hawker Centre after that? These create positive self talk that can give you strength during the race. Don’t be afraid to dream about success and about achievement.

You’ve got your race bib, checked. And didn’t prick yourself while trying to put it on. You’ve also got your shoes laced up tight, maybe too tight but it should be fine.

The first-time for anything is nerve wrecking. A lot can go wrong, some of them you could never have fathomed. But a whole lot you imagined stays just as a flicker of thought. In helping first-time racers out there, here are 5 essentials that can make the difference that matters.

#1 Remember your pre-race fuel

Many of us choose to skip on the meal before a run. After all, it’s not always feasible to wake up at 3am to prepare for your 5am run. Neither does running with undigested food jostling about in your stomach sound appealing. For easy pace runs below 60 minutes, it shouldn’t do much harm to run on an empty stomach. Anything more intense than that can quickly deplete your energy stores and leave you too tired to maintain your pace. Instead of skipping a meal altogether, consider simpler snacks such as a peanut butter sandwich and a piping hot cup of Milo.

#2 Do a couple of deep squats

Squats provide huge benefits to runners, so much so that it’s a wonder we don’t do more. It’s a full body warm up and because you’ve moving up and down, it gets your circulation going. It also targets the muscles around your knee, which are also the muscles that propel you forward AND stabilise your knee. Working in some deep squats would wake up the quads and hamstrings needed for your race later.

#3 Dress comfortably

There are some outfits that we know would not cause our thighs to itch, or expose our unhappy belly. We won’t end up feeling irritated, jittery or distracted. We are more confident about covering that race distance in them because they’re so broken in that we feel entirely comfortable in them. On race days, wear those. Especially when the race singlets always come out too short, wearing running outfits that you’re familiar with would help you through the crawling distances.

#4 Pack light

Races these days are outshining each other with their logistics management. You aren’t trapped in a queue for a good few hours and you don’t wring with fear about losing personal valuables. Still, if you’re the kind who get nervous before a race or just aren’t the kind fully functioning at 5am in the morning, you won’t want to have anything else to think about. So, pack light. Dean Karnazes, the remarkable man who completed 50 marathons in 50 days, carries only his handphone, a couple of important cards and some cash every time he goes out for training runs. You can even ditch the extra change of clothes and get into your finisher’s tee instead!

#5 Make ‘Having Fun’ a goal

It’s easy to forget having fun, and even if you do, it’s probably a good to have. Especially if your friends would ask you at the end of the race, “So how long did you take?” You must know though, that you’re running for yourself. And in the last leg-breaking few kilometers of the race, it’s the reliable beat of your heart and the familiar rush of lactic acid to your legs that keep you going. It’s going to end up as an experience quite unparalleled what you’d have expected, and having fun is going to jack up the value of that experience. Savor it. For yourself and those hours of training, have fun.

Ever heard of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”? We put our money on that you have.

It’s the same for running. You don’t get a BQ by saying that ‘you don’t have time,’ ‘running is too boring,’ or ‘it might injure my knee.’ Success is molded from good attitude. Instead of putting things off for tomorrow, start making these 7 habits to become a better runner. A new run series has hit the market – you can always gear yourself towards that!

Habit 1: Become a morning runner

Honestly, the best time to run is probably in the morning. Most races are scheduled then and it’d do you good to train your body for that kind of condition. In addition, getting your run done in the morning leaves less excuses available for you. Morning runners also get hooked onto the idea of having gotten so much done before others have woken up.

Habit 2: Eat more vegetables

Your parents must have already told you that. Consuming fresh produce gives you ‘phytonutrients’ – the good stuff you get from plants and plant-based food including whole grains. They are high-quality carbs that fuel you during your workout and provide antioxidants to help you recover.

Habit 3: Warm up and cool down

Devote 10 to 15-minutes before and after the run to taking care of your muscles. Dynamic stretches before prep your muscles for more intense workouts later. Stretching after the run then allows them to return to pre-run length. Scrimp on them and you end up with knots in your muscles.

Habit 4: Unplug at least one run per week

We listen to music, or while away time gazing at the scenery. Once in awhile, practice focusing on your body. Listen to what your feet is trying to tell you, or how your heart is responding to the workout. Competitive runners associate. It gives them better form, maintain consistent pacing, and overall, perform better.

Habit 5: Get enough sleep

When you get some shut-eye, your body releases growth hormones to rebuild muscles and strengthen connections between muscles and nerves. It means your muscles can respond faster and you become much stronger. Having a good night’s sleep also prepares you better for morning runs.

Habit 6: Strength-train occasionally

It increases bone mineral density and reduces risk of stress fracture. Strengthening the other muscle groups also mean that your joints remain stable. You get injured less and can maintain your trainings more consistently.

Habit 7: Eat breakfast everyday

Part of becoming a better runner is becoming a stronger, healthier person. You can’t get away with poor diet. By the time you wake up, you’d have starved for 7-8 hours. Breakfast would help replenish the glycogen in your muscles. Apart from needing a lot of carbohydrates to power your workout, having a hearty breakfast also kickstarts your metabolism.

Even if you don’t run a new PR now, or in your next 10 marathons, attitude is going to be the reason you eventually do. So get yourself in the right frame of mind today!

For those running SCMS 42km, kudos to you! The courage and dedication you’ve invested throughout your training is already impressive enough. Regardless the results.

All runners are different.

We have our own motivations, our own strengths and we face different challenges. At every km, how do you motivate yourself to go further? There are 5 quick mind games elite runners play to grit through the tough distances!

#1 Count the number of Nike running shoes

Nike shoes are such a rave, especially with their free running flyknit series. They’re used as lifestyle shoes and for casual wear as well. It’s a wonder how many local runners pick Nike flyknits over ASICS, or Saucony, or Mizuno to cover 10km, and a curious thought is whether they’re good for marathon runs. Keep count for your race category!

#2 Reframe the distances left

There’s a road march distance. For army boys and alumni out there, if you can march through 24km with a field pack and minimal bathing, you can run this distance. At 21km, you’re already halfway through. Then, you’re going to be down to a regular 10km run. Then onward, it’s just a single digit countdown. Finally, there’s a remaining 2.4km NAPFA distance away. You’ve been at it since primary school days. Once you’re there, the final few metres are easy to keep count.

#3 Imagine a familiar running route

Instead of taking 5km as a numerical distance, it can instead be one lap around the park connector by your house. For 7km, it’s one complete round about NTU. Rethink the distances as a familiar route you might have trained at. This makes the distance seem a lot more manageable.

#4 Count to the highest prime number

It’s a little game you can play with yourself. It also keeps you slightly distracted. Not too bad. When the run gets monotonous and you’ve captured a certain comfortable pace, start doing some math. When you’ve lost count, you can then focus on your form, breathing technique and the aches in your body. To this back and forth, you’d be surprised how fast the distances close in. Otherwise, there’s always 7-up to play.

#5 See if there are more males or females around

According to Running USA, there were more male marathon finishers (57%) compared to female finishers (43%). Instead, half-marathons are way more popular with females. What better way to test that than at the races themselves?

Pressing on through sheer grit and determination can be tough when you’re actually running. Running itself is tough, and a lot of sweat and breathlessness. Being determined towards finishing your goals doesn’t mean you can’t have simple ideas tucked in your back pocket. These fun games are just some simple ideas for the race this Sunday!

Believing in yourself is necessary. Believing in your training is even more important.

You might want to run faster during a long run, but it’s important to keep at a pace almost 1-2 mins slower than race pace. Especially so if you’re training for a marathon. Now with SCMS coming close, it’s crucial that you runners out there are starting to taper and pay more attention to feeding yourself well.

We are all guilty of cheating a little bit during training and race day itself. Here are the 3 most common cheats we make. See if you identify with one of them!

#1 Not working on pacing techniques

How good are you at gauging how fast or slow you’re running? Research indicates that runners misjudge their pace by 32 to 40 seconds per mile. Consider Haile Gebrselassie, who ran the Berlin Marathon in 2008 and became the first person to finish a marathon under 2:04. He attempted another world record in Dubai in 2009, but finished more than 90 seconds slower. All because he was a mere 23 seconds faster in pace. The next time you work on your training, remember to include pace training!

#2 Not increasing calorie intake for recovery

You’ve probably heard of obtaining a racing weight – to be light yet strong enough to propel yourself forward. In the later part of your training as you’re increasing your mileage, you’d be burning a lot more calories. It’s common that runners neglect to track their calorie intake. It’s also not commonly known that optimum recovery starts with proper nutrition before you go out for a run. To avoid making such a mistake, add an extra 300-500 calories, and make sure that those calories are coming from fresh produce and lean proteins.

#3 Panicking after a bad workout

A bad workout is definitely going to come up during your training. You could be running slower than before, or your legs feel sore and achy after just 1 km. The mistake here is when you decide that you should try harder the next day. When your body is complaining, it’s usually going to about giving it enough rest more often than not. Proper stretching, light Yoga, or just walking would do. Apart from that, it’s time for you to analyze why that’s the case. Was it a bad sleep? Was it not having enough food before? Those provide key learning points for future training.

We’re all in it for the long run. So don’t let short term slip ups or hasty pursuits get in your way of that.

It’s more a verb than a virtue.

We don’t sign up for a race to outrun the 5,000 (and definitely more) runners ahead of us. Neither would we train for 20 weeks (or more) to compete with another runner going faster than our race pace and then, we end up crashing before the 35km mark.

Every race we sign up for, we sign up to compete with ourselves.

So it’s not about coming in first and waving your bragging rights in front of others. It’s about having an outstanding race experience by helping others get the same kind of experience. Just think about what you’d like others to do for you.

#1 Encourage the person beside you

Somewhere between the halfway mark and the finishing line, you’d have found a constant pace. Your legs would have fallen into a predictable pattern and your breath a constant rhythm. If you’re lucky, you’d have found fellow runners running at your flanks. It’s the same familiar face from the 3km mark, and at the 8km one. Shoot them a smile, it’d definitely spur them on.

#2 Thank the volunteers

They probably reached a good 4-5 hours ahead before the first flag-off time to move the bottles of water and set up tables at the hydration stations. You might be tired from pounding your feet a thousand times on the ground, but they’d be exhausted and feeling sticky and clammy from their own share of work. To those volunteers still picking up the energy to cheer you on, thank them. They deserve it.

#3 Walk if you must, run once you can

Nothing is more inspiring than a runner who is committed. The stories you hear about ultramarathoner who is also supermom or about the Singapore Blade Runner, are inspiring because they stay tougher when the going gets tough. So part of inspiring others (and yourself) is to allow yourself to walk if you really must but also to be the strong voice that pushes yourself to run once you can.

Try it this SCMS!

When you walk into a gym and see someone squatting with 150kg on their shoulders, you’d think about how much they’ve trained to get there. You’d consider the sheer impossibility of you ever attempting that, and instead, you lace up your shoes and head out for a run. After all, finishing a 5-K is considerably easier.

True.

Running is a sport for anyone – to keep fit, to challenge yourself, or just to catch up with friends. But to do it well, hours and hours of running, and dedication to proper nutrition is needed. Competitive running is life changing in the sense that it comes with a lifestyle change.

Last Saturday, we talked about challenging yourself. You’ve got to set a specific goal (one that is really going to get you up and moving) and sticking to it in order to start seeing improvements. That is going to require perseverance. In the race itself, when you are starting to feel dehydrated and sore, it’s also perseverance that’s going to keep you going.

Yet, it’s difficult to teach perseverance. Let alone give you a list of 5 tips for better perseverance. Instead, we’d introduce the concept of a ‘heart goal.’ Unlike a ‘hard goal,’ where it’s all about numbers, a ‘heart goal’ is the personal reason you have for achieving a better PR, or a longer distance.

When you think: I want to get fit.

What your heart goal might be: You really want to get yourself out of the rut of a sedentary office lifestyle, and stop feeling so sluggish and exhausted from climbing out of bed. At age 37, confronted with the debilitating first signs of aging, getting fit means staying healthy and maintaining heart, body and mind strength for the later part of your life. Hal Higdon says that to become a successful marathoner, you need to: a) follow a proper diet, b) eliminate extra body fat, c) exercise regularly, d) get adequate sleep and e) avoid alcohol and smoking. So a 42.195km might be a ‘hard goal,’ but wanting to better your living habits (which setting yourself up for a marathon can) to see your kids get married might be a ‘heart goal.’

Whether it’s pride, or wanting to prove to yourself that you’re better than what you think, or to become a hero for your children, find your ‘heart goal.’ With it, you can push yourself to persevere.