- Stupid. Crazy. Awesome. : A rare race review by Sasha Farina -

• Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) - Probably the craziest thing I have ever done so far. 
• I mean, who decides to join a race, on a Saturday afternoon, after driving home from JB in the morning and just reorganized and refolded the entire wardrobe and changed the sheets, and oh, folded the the couch-full of laundry?
• Me, apparently. 
• And all this happened while Sam was mid-air. Making his way home from Brisbane. 
• And I have zero training - ha! The furthest I've walked before Saturday was 12.31km. You read right. I walked. I'm so not a runner!
• And on Saturday, I decided to grab the extra bib that was available from one of the Freedom Freaks brothers. This was at 4.30pm. Asree was so kind to help me liase with them. He did everything, I only had to pack my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and get myself to the starting point. He even offered me some energy gels which I declined because I never in my life, have taken them before and I didn't want to start on race day. :D
• Left the house at 5.30pm, and texted Sam in the cab. I remember thinking to myself- he will get the shock of his life when he lands in Singapore and gets this text. *I was right, btw. He was shocked beyond words! Ha!* Texted Asree as well to tell him I'm on my way. His reply was 'This is crazy, you know!' :D 

• I reached the main event site and went to look for Ben Swee to let him know that I will be walking his event using somebody else's bib. He was fine with it and reminded me to listen to my body. Yes sir! :) Mohan and Asree helped me 'change' the name on the bib using some masking tape and markers - so now I'm Sasha instead of Moktar. Perfect. LOL.
• Waited for the rest of the Freaks, and what else? :) Time for some photos before the flag off.

• Spot my mistake number one. Okay, that is wrong. Even thinking of joining TUC at the last last last minute was my mistake number one - then comes texting Asree to enquire about the bib - then confirming and packing for the run etc etc etc - so, spot my mistake number *I-really-can't-count-anymore*. Got it? 
• Yes - black top. While I don't think any other color would make a difference because the heat was almost unbearable for me. Despite running by the beach, there was no sweet, calming sea-breeze. You get bbq and cigarette smoke blown in your face instead. I don't think any other color will make noticeable difference anyway - except if I have a blue/white/red/yellow top with a built-in cool mist sprayer that sprays you maybe every 5 minutes. And oh, ice cubes in my sports bra. LOL.
• We were flagged off at 7.00pm. Merely 2.5hours after I decided I was gonna run this race. I surprised myself when I jogged *super slowly* for the first 15k or so. While I can't say the same for the public who walked 3/4 abreast and blocked the pathway or those who let their 3/4yr olds go zig and zag on bikes with training wheels/skateboards without supervision - I must admit the runners were AWESOME. Everyone was so encouraging and kind. 
• The best thing about being painfully slow at the back of the pack is that almost everyone is rooting for you. The faster runners u-turned and then they see me struggling and without fail, I will hear some 'feel good' words. That helps A LOT! Trust me, when you hear your friends shout "Go Sasha! Good pace, good pace, keep it up. Come on Sasha you can do this!" or as Mohan would say "Pinky shoes are cominnnnnggg!!" - you actually believe that you will not die on the pavement. LOL. Runners - sincerely, thank you for the high-fives and shouts and some of that 'never say die' spirit. 

• Photo above was taken during my break after 20k. If I look a little pale - that must be because I had to stop and pee at 18k. Peeing was okay - the public toilet was not. The smell hit me like a punch to the face, 30m before I reached the main door to the ladies. *shivers* I must admit, I gagged and peed at the same time because I have no other choice (didn't know that the organizers had porta potties available for runners - didn't look hard enough I guess). I got goosebumps even, because I really can't stand the awful smell.
• But look at those guys I call brothers. They were at their 25k break and still looking mighty fresh! I'm envious! :) Ashley gave me some chia-seed drink - you're too kind Ashley, thank you! This was where I had one banana, one slice of watermelon and half a piece of a granola bar. Was that enough? I have no idea. I was hungry but I can't bring myself to eat anything else. 
• Hunger and heat aside - blisters on the edges of my sports bra, waist band and anti-slip hems on the pants were really painful. Another mistake - maybe if I'd have taken the time to get the vaseline from my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and apply some on them I could have prevented them from getting worse.

• Then I walked another painful 5k and met up with the guys again at the rest area. By then, my back felt like I was about to give birth and my right knee felt like it was about to fall off. Ha! I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating but hey, my body is not used to this kind of torture! :D
• Sam + my girls came while I was resting at 25k. He asked if I was okay, I told him let me try walk for another 5k and I will let him know. So I went on what felt like the longest 5k in my life. I passed by friends who said "Come on Sasha, Sam and your girls are waiting for you!" but I just can't go any faster. If I thought rolling on the pavement was possible and will lessen the pain, I would have rolled my way to the pit stop.

• After what seemed like forever, I'm back at the tent again. Checked in with the volunteers for the last time and did the 'throat slashing' sign to Yee Hua to let her know I'm done. Done done done.

10k - 1hr 31mins

20k - 3hr 15mins

30k - 5hr 30mins 

• Could have better timing if my big butt didn't want to sit at every rest area. LOL. In my heart of hearts, I believe this was meant to be. You see, in my family, we consider 23 to be 'our number' for so many reasons (a whole new blog post that I won't bore you with). I said yes to the bib, without knowing that I will have 'our number' with me all through the race. When I collected the bib and saw 23 - that was when my heart said "Let's do this!"
• My heartfelt thanks to my Freedom Freaks family, every single one of the runners at TUC, Ben Swee, Yee Hua and every single one of the volunteers. You guys rock my world. I love you :)
• Thank you to my darling Sam who practically had to carry me home at 1.10am, even when he had to wake up at 4am for his 2XU 21k this morning, and of course my sweet girls who came to the beach with daddy in the middle of the night to support the insane mommy.
• I went with zero training, zero mileage. It was stupid. It was crazy. It was definitely awesome. Will I do this again? Perhaps. I've learnt to never say never.

                                                                                                   Photo credits : Alexander Asree and Yee Hua.

- An action packed weekend for the Freaks -

It was quite an action-packed weekend with 2 running events happening back to back on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

As usual, we had our carbo-loading session the day before the race. It was also a time to chit-chat with other Freaks on the plans for the race the next day.

On the day of event for Twilight Ultra Challenge, there was a suprise runner that joined the event at the last minute.
Started at 7pm, runners have to run in loops till as long as they want.

Please refer to the lady in bib number 23 !! Her name is Sasha and she shocked most of us in this group. Maybe we'll wait for her race review over the next few days.
Hope she's well rested. Hahaha .....

It has been humid for the past few days and I believed it was tough for them to run through the night in this kind of weather.

The next day, a number of us joined the 2XU Compression Run 2013. Most of us joined the 21km category.
Once again, the humidity and the hot sun were a killer. But thank God, the 21km run was flagged-off at 5.30am.

It was a success for all the runners that joined in both events.

More reviews on the events coming up soon.

- 2013 Seoul International Marathon : The Freaks raided Seoul !!! -

Seoul International Marathon. We came, we ran and we completed it. And for some, they ran with a Personal Best timing.
It was to be the coldest ever marathon for all of us here.

The temperature during the marathon week was super cold ranging from -2 to 10 degC. Even during our weather familiarization run leading to the event, all of us can't really endure the cold !!

 

Anyway, it was more like a cam-whoring session than a training run. We just wanna have fun in the super duper cold weather.

The race-pack collection is also a very hush-hush affair. The address of the organizer's office was given to us and we just need to collect it from the person-in-charge. 

Went to the office, met the PIC, took few pics in the room and off we go ...... 

Race day !! 

- The route map - 

 

The temperature on the race day read 3.7 degC !!! That was what being shown on the screen near the start line. Most of us wore a minimum of 2 layers of clothes for the run, and we are still shivering. As stated earlier in the post, Seoul Marathon was the coldest marathon we've ever joined.

Did some warm-up exercises to make ourselves feel warm but to no avail.

More cam-whoring sessions before we proceed to the start line. More and more people proceeded to respective starting pens. But all 7 of us sneaked to the 1st pen even though we are not in it.

Waited patiently for the 8am flag-off. The MC was setting up the mood for everyone. Even though we didn't understand what the hoo-ha was all about, we still cheered along and made some noises. And at the same time, we forget about the cold weather too ..... 

The race flagged-off exactly at 8am, 5 minutes after the elite runners race started.

Most of the runners started fast and furious. Overtook one another even though it was just less than 1km after the start point.

This has to be one of the well supported race not only by the organizer but also by the public. The 1st water point was at the 5km mark and at every 5km thereafter. 

Ample supplies of plain water and Pocari Sweat drinks for the runners. Each water point also stretched up to about 100 meters. Ice cold water sponges were provided to the runners as well. Not sure how it helped during the cold weather though ..... 

Members of the public were also there not just to give the runners morale support, but also to provide the runners with foods and drinks.

The race end point was at Jamsil Olympic Main Stadium. The same venue that hosted 1988 Olympics. The venue can only be seen at the 35km mark and from afar, it already looked majestic.

It was quite a great experience to complete a marathon in an historical venue. But too bad, the stadium seats were not full. 

The 1st Freaks to reach the finish line was 'KING' Sam E with a timing of 3hrs 27.38mins. That was his PB for a full marathon beating his previous best by 7 minutes that he achieved in SCMS 2010.

Next up is Izhar Pony. The one and only Ponytail runner in Singapore. He also ran back with a PB timing of 3hrs 58.54mins. It seemed easy for him in the cold weather.

Next on the list is Alexander Asree. He may not have a good race but his timing of 4hrs and 32mins is the envy of many other runners who can't achieve a sub-5 hours timing. 

Minutes later, Yao Ming and Norbain both crossed the finish line together with a timing of 4hrs 35.58mins. They sticked to their plan to support one another throughout the race. Great teamwork !! 

Less than 10 minutes later, our own full marathon virgin but an experience Ultramarathon runner, Solomon Kang completed his run in 4hrs and 44mins.

His PB timing nonetheless. He's not a virgin anymore ..... 

Last but not the least, the last Freaks to reach the finish line was Absoluthal. Another PB timing for him in 3 weeks after his 1st sub 5-hours run in Hong Kong. He completed the run in 4hrs 53.18mins.

Overall, this event was a success for all the Freaks that had traveled so far a distance to compete in the race.

Group photo is a must whenever we went for our overseas runs.

The medal looks normal but it is a very hard earned one for all of us.It's not easy to run a full marathon without proper training and preparations.

Lastly, let's not forget our ardent supporters who were there with the runners as early as 7am and stayed all the way till we left the venue.

This event has to be an event to look forward to if you have the budget and plans for a winter holiday.

Seriously well-organized, good logistics and crew support and also wonderful reception from the public. 

Well recommended for other runners to join !! 

Seoul, hope to see you again next year ..... Thanks for the sweet memories.

The next major overseas event will have to be Gold Coast Marathon 2013 and also SCKLM 2013. 

Hope more of our Freaks members will be able to join either events.

*All pics credit to Asree, Yaoming, Norbain , Sasha Farina, Izhar Pony, Andy Ng and Runningguide.net.