Marathon 6 - Singapore
It almost didn’t happen.
Our flight form Cairo was delayed, which meant that our already tight changeover in Dubai closed even tighter (and when I say tight, I’m talking using a vice and a wrench to get the lid off the jam jar kind of tight!). There was talk amongst the ranks of doing our Asian marathon there and then in Dubai - It would have been our 3rd in 36 hours! Thankfully we’re fairly accustomed to running this week, so we all dropped the hammer to traverse the airport in time. We’d post the Arrival Gate to Departure Gate results but we didn’t even have enough leeway to start the GPS watches. That said, Ben Goodburn took Gold and gallantly pleaded with the ground crew to hold the gate a few more minutes until we could all make it.
Phew!
Not really sure what time our bodies thought it was, we arrived in Singapore around lunchtime. Stepping out of the air conditioned airport confirmed the fears that had been accumulating in our minds for the last few months. Singapore is hot and steamy.
Before long, we were huddled together on the start line for the 6th time this week - with Singapore’s unmistakeable skyline behind us. As we set off, the pain and stiffness in our joints, muscles and tendons were eased by the companionship of the guest runners who’d come from far and wide. That and some industrial pain killers we’d popped after breakfast on the plane. Our Asian marathon was under way. And so was the process of managing fluid loss.
The humidity here is incredible. It feels like there’s a treacle-like presence continuously ahead that you have to wade your way through to move forwards. We knew this was going to be hard though. Taking on more fluids than the Titanic, we kept moving forwards one step at a time; moving from the city backdrop to the tranquil setting of the East Coast Park and its beachy waterfront.
Repeating the shorter out-and-back course numerous times provided plenty of opportunity to see each other for high fives and encouraging words. And as we edged ever closer to the 42.2km mark here, through the sweat, the pain and the exhaustion, you could see the realisation on each others’ faces that soon; oh so soon, we’d only have one more marathon to run. And what a feeling that is…!
Results:
Dan Honour: 3hr36
Rob Bell: 3hr37
Ben Goodburn: 4hr21
Steve Vials (Road Captain): 4hr29
Gareth Williams: 4hr30
Pete Bocquet: 6hr05
