The 2009 event is the 1st time a full marathon distance has been included and thus an ever increasing number of participants this year at ~38,000+. Besides 42.195km, there is a choice of the half marathon(HM), 12km run, 12km walk, 11km wheelchair and 4km run/walk.

The course starts from the Perth CBD and the HM runners will run up Kings Park overlooking the city while FM runners will run along Swan River before looping back towards Kings Park then to the beach. The shorter distances will go straight from CBD to City Beach.

On 9 Apr 1942, Mariveles, located at the southern tip of Bataan, Philippines, was the setting for the beginning of the Death March lasting for 6 days and covering 90 miles. The Japanese had forced American troops to surrender and made some 10,000 US soldiers and 50,000 of their Filipino allies march through oppressive heat to prison camps. Along the way, the men – many of whom had tropical diseases – were denied food; some were shot for lagging behind. To honor the heroic deeds of those who defended The Philippines during World War II, who sacrificed their freedom, health & lives, borne the first ever Bataan102: Ultramarathon, 1st Bataan Death March Tribute. One of our SGRunners, baldchoy, challenged himself to this ultramarathon and came back 3rd in his age group in a very good time of 14 hours 45 minutes and 24 seconds. So how tough is this race? Let’s hear from baldchoy to recount his journey here.

Triathlon has seen exponential growth in interest in the last few years and having the world champion competing this weekend on local shores adds to the excitement so I took the opportunity this morning to head over KPI which is hosting Criag Alexander for an interview.

SGRunners.COM organised a contest for Bloggers. These are the selected bloggers who stand a chance to get an ID Band to do a review. More information about ID Band, please click here.

Entry 1

Makes me realize how important for a lone runner to have a ID with him if anything do happen during the run. I myself is a “lone wolf”, a person who like to run alone, lonely biker along Mandai or LCK would probably be me… I don’t carry my wallet, nor my IC or even my driving licence :-/ call it stupid or stubborn, thinking that it always happens to others instead of myself. more… – zainal63

Entry 2

I totally lost control of my bike while cruising down a slope and bake too late to avoid a sharp bend. I was flung off my road bike and luckily I was wearing my helmet (which has a slight crack). I think I was unconscious for almost 30 to 45 seconds due to the strong impact. I couldn’t speak then. more… – oal

Entry 3

“Miss! Miss! Are you alright?” the voice aroused me from my semi-consciousness. My ankle was fractured, making me lie in an extremely uncomfortable position. The ID Band replayed this re-enactment as a reminder every time I looked at it. more… – nicoletan

Entry 4

Which are what goes on an ID band, so if the extreme ever happens to me when I’m running (like collapse from, I don’t know, too much of the good music coursing through my veins), at least I won’t be just another statistic, or one of those Jane Does lying unconscious in the hospital. more… – hecatemel

Entry 5

i guess the ID band culture isn’t really strong in Singapore at the moment. but i guess it will soon catch on with avid runners who may go for long-distance runs on their own! more… – eline

Entry 6

Marv opens his eyes too fast, too wide, allowing light to hurt his eyes. He feels the bed under him and a hand on his head. He finds his mother standing beside him. His mother opens her mouth “You fainted in the park, someone found you on the ground and brought you here and you never bring your IC with you. It will take me hours to know you’re in trouble.” more… – enzo1103

Entry 7

I was just paranoid. After 200m, it was clear that he just wanted company. So we jogged on for the next two km. At times he went ahead but mostly we jogged side by side. Every now and then, he would do his business by a tree or a bush. In the early hours of this Thu morning along the remote PCN, it felt like Will Smith and his dog in “I am Legend”. more… – seong350

Entry 8

“Breathe – breathe – breathe” his usual calm mantra to keep him steady…This time though something was wrong – his heart, normally the strongest part of his endurance anatomy, was pounding harder than usual and throbbing with pain. In this lapse in concentration he overlooked the pothole in the road and in one explosive second was sent careening off his bike into the ditch on the side. more… – triflash84

Entry 9

I banned the band (pardon the pun) a couple of years ago when the whole Make Poverty History Campaign was out in full force. Donations, money, charity and above all, a silly white band were not going to cure the world of ugliness, sickness, war but most of all greed. So when I saw people brandishing the silly white or yellow or blue or band of choice, i secretly sniggered and walked away very quickly. more… – jessintha

Entry 10

In the past few years there have been cases of hit and run in which runners and cyclists have been run down by a vehicle while crossing the road, even when following the laws of the road. more… – minicoopers51

Entry 11

The ID band also takes the tedium of filling out the same information behind the bib at every race and should you succumb to say heat exhaustion, all the useful information to the medical team is available on the band around your wrist or ankle. more… – bakhwee

Entry 12

Of course, you could carry a card with all these information. A laminated one too, perhaps. But those who perspire a whole lot like me will know that sweat pervades in mysterious ways – sooner or later your card will look like the remnants of the powergel you just took, and surely that’s not the point. Something then, for you to consider: ID Band. more… – Cokiee

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The Pikes Peak Ascent® and Pikes Peak Marathon® will redefine what you call running. They started out just like most races on any street in USA. But your first left turn will have you turning in the direction of up! During the next 10 miles, as you gain almost 6,000 vertical feet, your legs, lungs, heart and mind will be worn to a ragged nothingness. But it won’t be until your last three miles, with still over 2,000′ of vertical to go, that you will realize where the Marathon got its moniker—America’s Ultimate Challenge. To find out more about 2008 Pikes Peak Marathon, click here to read Ripley’s review of this lung-bursting race!

Colorado is a beautiful state in the United States of America. It is where you can find the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful scenery awaits those who have the courage and sanity to sign up and run any race in Colorado, and especially in Leadville where the elevation is 10,152 ft above sea-level. So what was it like running in Leadville? Hard? Heaven? Horrendous? Well, it was all three words and more! To find out the details, click here to read Ripley’s relived the running of this breathtaking marathon!

Haikou – Ironman China, presented by K-SWISS, proved to be a race to leave behind expectations of personal bests and record times. Conditions were unexpectedly harsh with the temperature already at 30 degrees by the time the majority of racers were exiting the swim. Despite a typhoon moving through the South China Sea in the days leading up to the race, Ironman China went ahead exactly as planned as calm seas and a cloudless blue sky overhead formed the scene early on race day morning.

Olaf Sabatschus and Belinda Granger were crowned champions of the inaugural Ironman China. Both well clear of the competition in their respective fields, the experienced racers crossed the finish line in Haikou’s East West Park where an enthusiastic and curious crowd of locals cheered on.

Experienced triathletes hailed Ironman China tougher than Hawaii, and possibly the toughest in the Ironman series. Sabatschus, who finished in 8:52:14 was the only athlete to complete the race in under 9 hours, which indicates the tough conditions that the athletes faced on Sunday. His marathon time of 3:14 was a good half hour slower than his normal times. Belinda Granger, winner of the women’s race said Ironman China was the most challenging in her 10 years of professional racing. Granger’s finish time of 10:08:37 was almost 30 minutes slower than her recent win at Ironman Malaysia, yet still a half hour ahead of her nearest rival.

The two lap swim saw Canadian Mat O’Halloran first out of the water, with Mathew Clarke of Australia just seconds behind. The two Mats were minutes ahead of the second pack, though the opening stages of the bike established a core group of the day’s players with the addition of Marr, Sabatschus and Chris McDonald. McDonald seemed strong and a possible contender for the title but a flat tyre earlier on in the day caused him to lose almost 18 minutes, which proved impossible to reclaim. Towards the end of the bike some sizeable gaps has formed which looked difficult to close. Clark, McDonald and O Halloran just didn’t have the power to push forward in the run which enabled Korean’s Park Byung Hoon to come into his own in the steaming conditions and upset the field.

Sabatschus, a two times Ironman Brazil champ has had a tough couple of years after his battle with cancer. His win at Ironman China shows that the 36 year old is in fine form with a sterling performance on the run course where many faded. Taking the lead from Hawaii’s Tim Marr 8km into the run Sabatchus appeared unfazed by the heat, maintaining a steady pace and by the 16km marker had created an 8 minute advantage that he only extended as the race went on. Park Byung Hoon pulled off an incredible final push, when after cruising at approximately 7 minutes behind Tim Marr in the early 30km stages Byung Hoon picked up the pace to steal second place with less than 500m to the finish line.

In the women’s race Germany’s Ute Mueckel was the dominant face in the first phase of the race, with the strongest swim and a good lead on the bike leg for the majority of the first loop. Granger held tight in a comfortable second spot before upping her gear and by the end of the bike had taken the lead, and given her recent performances it seemed that it would take some force majeur to take her away from pole position in the race. Jo King, Donna Phelan and Abi Bailey had strong bike legs but final positions boiled down to being able to handle the heat on the run. Abi Bailey’s recent successes in Australia seemed to give her the confidence needed to push forwards as King and Mueckel dropped back, and Donna Phelan worked hard for the second spot, finishing just one minute ahead of Bailey.

The bike loop was definitely a big hit with all racers and the highlight of the day. The huge support from the 3,000 strong local police in managing the roads enabled a safe traffic free bike course for the entire 90km loop. The fast riding of wide open riding on freshly laid tarmac highways contrasted sharply with a couple of narrow short climbs through traditional market villages, where the road was just a couple of metres wide in some short sections. The atmosphere along sections of the course was uniquely China: along the rice field lined highways clusters of families sat under the shade of umbrellas to cheer on the athletes as the temperature climbed into the mid 30s. Hundreds of locals lined the streets in Shi Shan village with flags and signs welcoming the athletes, with three generations gathering on stools and window ledges outside to watch and participate in the day’s entertainment. Several athletes took the time to wave back to the cheering crowds, which elicited a strong wave of further applause from the curious onlookers.

The run course was the settler for many with just patches of shade as the afternoon wore on and the temperature continued to climb. The design of the run course made for an interesting spectator experience with several out and back sections and the overlap of the CLSA Ironman 70.3 China runners hitting the course at the same time as the front pack of the Ironman race ensuring that there was always someone to cheer for in both directions.

In an historic first, the second of the double-billed Ironman China races kicked off just two hours after the full Ironman. The non-pro 70.3 race was led by Australia’s Steven Waite and hussled by Shanghai based Swede Fredrik Cronenberg whose fastest run split of the day at 1:29 was ten minutes quicker than Waite’s. Waite clung onto his lead having set up a good break on the bike and was crowned champion of the men’s CLSA Ironman 70.3 China, presented by K-Swiss, in 4:29:06 just one minute before Cronenberg crossed the line.

Announcer Whit Raymond kept the finish area lively through the afternoon and evening, with regular park goers intrigued by the action in the city’s downtown park and the finish line closed at midnight to the bang of a gong and the area came to life with a traditional Chinese lion dance.

With many of the strong international contingent hungry for a Kona slot the finish line was an emotional area and the 50 slots for the Ford Ironman World Championships, and the 25 for Clearwater will possibly be the hardest earned this season. Hopes and expectations were turned on their heads as participants in both races reported much slower times than they had anticipated as a result of the brutally hot conditions.

Ironman China was not about time, but survival, and finishing what many are calling the toughest in the Ironman race series.

Ironman China Results
Men
1. Olaf Sabatschus (GER) 8:52:14
2. Byung Hoon Park (KOR) 9:13:15
3. Timothy K. Marr (USA) 9:14:17

Women
1. Belinda Granger (AUS) 10:08:37
2. Donna Phelan (CAN) 10:37:11
3. Abigail Bayley (GBR) 10:43:11

CLSA Ironman 70.3 China Results
Men
1. Steven Waite M 30-34 AUS 4:29:06
2. Fredrik Nils Croneborg M 25-29 SWE 4:30:18
3. Colin Curtis Hill M 35-39 GBR 4:40:38

Women
1. Renee Tanya Lane F 30-34 AUS 5:02:24
2. Hiromi Toda F 25-29 JPN 5:15:50
3. Claire Murray F 30-34 GRB 5:24:07

Haikou, 5 April 2008 – As registration for Ironman China comes to a close, the newest addition to the Ironman calendar is emerging as one of the most international races in the Ironman world. We have great representation from across the globe,” reports Tinny Tung, Ironman China’s Race Director, “of the 800 athletes registered so far we have a truly global mix of Asian, European, Australian and North American athletes. We are really thrilled to have such a diverse group of racers.”

A range of triathlon clubs from both within and beyond Asia are bringing groups to Haikou to seek out that uniquely special experience Ironman China has to offer.

The diversity and international flavour of the inaugural Ironman China, presented by K-SWISS, will be strongly evident in the race village where The Bike Boutique, Asia’s fastest growing bike franchise, will be on hand with its international team of mechanics. Across the village, a

team of 50 international massage therapists will work under the auspices of The Hawaiian Islands School of Massage, which has been providing race site massage at the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, for the past 18 years.

Australian Belinda Granger remains a clear favourite in the women’s pro race and an interesting pro men’s field is emerging, which could be anyone’s race. Second placed at February’s Ironman Malaysia Czech Petr Vabruosek, Ironman Louisville 2007 Champion Chris McDonald and Park Byung Hoon, of Korea, join the 30 plus pro athletes in the line up. Park was runner up on his home turf at Ironman Korea in 2007, where he was chased by Olaf Sebatschus, Tim Marr, and Hubert Hammerl – all of whom will be racing in China.

Ironman China is on 20 April 2008, the same day as the CLSA Ironman 70.3 China – the first time in the history of Ironman that two Ironman events will be hosted at the same site on the same day.

Everest Marathon – 2007 on Tuesday

The Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon-2007 is set to be organised on Tuesday from the 5356m Everest Base Camp in Solukhumbu.
Mt Everest as seen from Khumjung, Solukhumbu, on Monday, May 28, 07.

Altogether 130 runners from 14 countries are participating in the Marathon, which covers a distance of 42.195 kms, passing through the Everest Base Camp crisscrossing village trails to the Sherpa town of Namche (3446m). Among the participants, 26 are from Netherlands, six from the USA, five from the United Kingdom, three each from Japan and Germany, two each from Switzerland, Ireland and France and one each from Australia, Austria, Finland, Chez Republic and Thailand. Continue Reading