Sunbirds Soar @ Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS) 2013

Photo Contributions from CK Chin, Ivan Lau, Anthony

It was the finals for the Sunbirds who have dedicated themselves to 12 weeks of training just to be prepared for this important race of their lives, the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS).  

In the run up to this morning's marathon, nerves were wracking and emotions were high, but at the end of the finish line, there were rainbows of glory for many of the Sunbird & FatBird marathoners who came through with flying colours, registering Personal Bests (PB) and outstanding performances. 

The morning got off to a great start with cool, immaculate weather to support the PB intentions of our marathoners.  

Pace plans and strategies were executed well, namely starting conservatively, maintaining a sustainable goal pace, picking up when the weather turns favorable, hydrating and refueling according to plan, pushing back the marathon wall, and finishing strong like a Cheetah.

The routes and support points were pretty unchanged, with Heartbreak Bridge posing a challenge to the tired runners at about 36km mark - however most of the Sunbirds with their hills training segments went through this segment well, overtaking many of those slowing or walking.

The Half Marathon Sunbirds also had little problems tackling the hilly menu of rolling hills, and with the help of our own Sunbird Pacers, did very well to complete in PB timing, with fuel reserves left over in the tank to share their battle victories.

The Post-Race meet-up was filled with exciting chatter and group photo-taking as the Sunbirds & FatBirds bask in the glory of their outstanding performances, taking heart that they have reaped the just rewards from all the dedication and commitment to training, and taking away valuable lessons on how to execute a race strategy for optimum marathon performance.

As we were resting and recounting the SCMS journey, many of the Sunbirds were already looking ahead to more marathon training in 2014 to prepare for some of the exciting marathon races in the first half of 2014 - 2XU Compression Marathon, Sundown Marathon, and the Japan Marathons in February and of course the PB-friendly Gold Coast Marathon.

Congratulations to all the Sunbirds for their sterling SCMS results, with special mention to the Sunbird Trainers & Pacers who helped many of our trainees fulfill their marathon goals and dreams at SCMS.  

A shout out to Sunbird Colin Chua who claimed 8th position (revised) in the Men's Open (Local) with a 3:09h FM time. Also a note of encouragement to Sunbird Ullas for a 3:12h maiden marathon effort.  Well Done!

Sunbirds - You Followed Our Pace, You Won Your Race!  

More Race Day Photos HERE>