To Stanchart or Not to Stanchart

The Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon 2008 is open for registration once more. Friend A has been bugging me to enter with him. Apparently his kaki for last year decided the marathon was too short a distance for him. Thus he decided to go two further by adding two events on top of the gruelling 42.195km. He's taking part in an Ironman, which unfortunately for Friend A, happens to be on the same day as Standard Chartered Marathon (SCM) 2008. As of this moment, I believe I am the one of the few friends who is capable of keeping up with Friend A for a portion of the distance. Therefore he has approached me to participate once more in the event.

But to Stanchart or not to Stanchart? That is the question. It would be nice to try and complete one more marathon, and hopefully with a better timing. The temptation is there. Furthermore, for my last marathon at Gold Coast, the perennial question of "Why am I doing this again?" did not once pop into my head during that 4 hours 43 minutes. Perhaps it is the appeal of being in a foreign place running a marathon. Or perhaps I am simply looking forward to the fun things I would be doing after the suffering. I'm not sure. But that question did not pop up. So I ask myself, do I really want to continue to run marathons for a lifetime? To this question, the answer for now is I don't know.

Another interesting thought just pop into my head. Why the hell did I participate in such events anyway? The first marathon I believe I took part was in SCM 2003. That marathon, I had the company of 3 friends from Army. I guess the reason I took part in that was to achieve something. I've been pretty slack in much of my life in the 6 years or so preceding my National Service. Perhaps it is a way of redeeming myself or a proof to myself that I can complete something daunting. Nowadays, I join marathons as a means to keeping fit. I believe that if you have a target, such as running that dreaded 42.195km, you will have more reason to train and you would have to find the time to train.

So whilst there seems be a lot of compelling reasons to participate once more in a marathon, the opinion of my better half still matters and I do take her opinion into serious consideration. It was due to her opinion that I should stop running marathon, at least for a year, that is why I did not run the SCM 2007. I can understand her fears and concerns. She's worried about the impact the constant pounding of my feet would have on my feet, joints and other stuff. I know where she is coming from particularly as I have had problems with my knees and ankles before my National Service. But thus far, she has been very supportive of the two marathons that I have participated this year. Will she be supportive of SCM 2008? The answer is still an unknown.

Again, to stanchart or not to stanchart? As of now, it seems more likely than not that I will join SCM 2008 with Friend A. I would say 70% likely. But it's not a confirmation yet! :P

Endurance Events - Fad?

I remembered my first marathon. That was Standard Chartered Marathon 2002. During that event, it was crowded but not as it is these days. Apparently, endurance events such as marathons, biathlons and marathons are getting very popular. It has come to a point where organizers seem to need to close application deadlines early. So what's this recent appeal of endurance events? Is it a fad or is it for the long run?

One reason for the recent popularity is due to more people becoming more health conscious. There are so many posters, newspaper articles and magazines constantly bombarding people on the importance of health. Also, there are so many gyms out there advertising aggressively it seems impossible to ignore this craze.

Another reason is the increasing number of such events available to the masses. OSIM Triathlon only started like 4 years or so back. Standard Chartered Marathon started in 2001 I believe. Before that, there were running events and stuff but not so much as that of today. With so many events available for participants, and the pretty aggressive marketing, there are more chance to participate in such events.

So are endurance events a fad? In my humble opinion, I don't think so. I think for every endurance event, there are plenty of first-timers. For instance, for Sundown Marathon, on the bus ride to the starting line, I was in a bus full of young guys. They all seemed like army boys. Very peculiar in the sense that they all have short haircuts, the Sundown Marathon singlet and black shorts. Sort of like a uniform. Haha. Well, it seems to me that many of them are first time participants. Out of so many first timers, there are bound to be repeat runners. So with more repeat runners every year, there will always be an increasing number of participants.

Also, as locals become more affluent, there is a shift of focus on their needs. In this Organizational Behaviour course I took some time back, there is this term called Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The gist of it is once you have satisfied with your basic needs such as housing, food and other stuff, you focus more on your social needs and your need to feel good about yourself. Completing endurance events and training and participating are means of doing that.

All in all, I think endurance events are not a fad. As our society progresses, more people will become interested in such events. So my advice, sign up early for the events!