Mind Over Marathon - Singapore

THE BEGINNING - APRIL 2018

In 2017, the BBC followed a group of 10 people who all suffered with mental health issues as they trained for the London Marathon.

This was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, and as someone suffering from depression, it was incredible to see a program on a main television channel showing that we are normal people who just struggle sometimes, alongside how much physical activity and social interaction can benefit us so much.

Last year I had the pleasure of joining Chevy and his running crew whilst I was in London, as well as connecting with Jake via social media to see how his journey and path has developed since the show. So I thought to myself, why not create the same kind of safe space myself here in Singapore?


I had a bit of a mad moment and posted the above message onto a Facebook page in Singapore. Yes, I work a full time job and travel a fair bit - but I want to do the Singapore Marathon in December so why not see if some people want to train with me and we do it together? It might be fun, I could make some friends, maybe raise some money for charity and maybe help some people get fitter/healthier/offer a support team in the process - so why not!

Over 100 messages to my inbox later - I knew there was a problem. There should not be over 100 people reaching out for help in aid of a better mental health or wanting to spend the next 7 months focusing on raising awareness on mental health and challenging themselves to run a full marathon - surely?!

I realised there would be no way I could train over 100 people, for free, four times a week as well as work full time. I told people that they had to commit and only once I saw they're registration to the Singapore Marathon would they be on the team. This got the numbers down to 64 runners - not as low as I'd hoped but I'm willing to guess 10% will make it to the start line; due possibly to a few injuries or relocations.

Whatsapp group set up. Hashtag ready. Training plan and schedule worked out for the next 7 months (with 4 weeks of buffer to allow for any injuries or if a lot of people were really struggling). I was ready to kick start MindOverMarathonSG. 


MEET & GREET - MAY 2018

First things first - let's meet everyone for a juice and a Q&A before we start.

We have rape victims, girls with depression, anxiety, body dis-morphia.. There are people with parents with schizophrenia, men who have lost friends to suicide, women heartbroken from bad break ups.. And they're all here. They're all looking at me, looking for something..

Their questions were simple enough to start: 'How many runs a week? What distance do we go up to? Do we have to count our calories etc etc' - then the real question came out that everyone was wanting to ask..

'Why are you doing this and what do you get out of it?'

'Nothing - I'm training anyways, so thought it would be cool to run with some people who may also be struggling. And I’ve done the process of training for a marathon before so I can help give advice and tips; I have a training program that works. Main priority is to get you guys through the marathon, then if we can raise some money and awareness for mental health charities then that’s a plus!'

They seemed a bit happier after that and they didn’t look quite as petrified as when they first walked into that juice bar..


MEET SOME OF OUR RUNNERS


SEVEN MONTHS OF TRAINING - JUNE 2018

From pre-training week 0 which started with four 30 minute walks a week… LFG


JUNE

After walking four times a week for half an hour, we started our pre-training with a 5 minute interval training. This slowly increased up to 20 minutes. Focus for the month was increasing water intake, nutrition and running form.

Longest run: 20 minutes


JULY

The group was now starting to get more comfortable with each other which is great to see. They started exchanging inspirational books and quotes. People getting more confident exchanging their personal stats of their runs. Lots of memes being sent round and a sense of running community being built. Hydration tips and rehab tips for those experiencing initial niggles and twinges now they’ve started exercising.

Longest run: 30 minutes


AUGUST

Group runs continuing - pre-training is officially over so now the runs are distance based starting with the first long run of 5 miles. People dealing with boredom in runs is a popular subject so lots of sharing podcasts, music and audio books. Have spent time this month looking at cadence and running with metronomes.

Longest run: 8 miles


SEPTEMBER

First trail run completed.

Longest run: 12 miles


OCTOBER

Lots of the group wanted to do a race pre-marathon day so they felt more comfortable with the process. All the success for everyone who ran the Great Eastern 10k and half marathons. People getting better at dedicating time to running even whilst travelling. Richard Branson also spotted on one of our Joe & The Juice runs!

Longest run: 16 miles


NOVEMBER

Final long runs pre-tapering here. Focus more on hydration, nutrition and plan for race day. Ensuring everyone is rehabbing properly whilst still doing their strengthening exercises.

Longest run: 18 miles


DECEMBER

Thought it would be a nice treat to do an early, pre-marathon Christmas get together for everyone. It’s been a long, hard 6 months for them and now they’re tapering and getting ready for D-Day. Words cannot express how excited I am for them or how proud I am for these guys sticking with it till the end.


THE RACE

At the start line I had 10 runners for the FULL, 13 runners for the HALF, 2 runners for the 10km and 3 runners pulled out this week. So 25 of us, 7 months later, from over 100 applicants. This was it.

These girls and boys were ready - they knew how to handle their long runs, they knew our game plan for the run (to start slower than they think they should, and to stay as part of the group for as long as possible). We knew the smaller pacer groups within our squad so everyone had a few buddies to run with - my hope was that everyone passed the finish line with at least one other person within our support team. A 4.30am start means very little spectators, and we knew as soon as that sun came up at 7am it would be a different game. We were ready. Just one foot in front of the other.

As soon as that gun went off - it had started, the thing we'd be training for for seven months was on. As predicted with the adrenaline and thousands of people around us, the girls burst out and divided face palm - how many times did I say it! But it was fine, in our respective groups just as planned, into the night we went.

Longest run: 26.4 miles


2018 SINGAPORE MARATHON


LOOKING BACK

So why did I post that first ever Facebook post?! For three reasons:

  1. To try and offer support to people to those who need it

  2. To raise some money for charity and awareness of mental health

  3. To make some friends

And here we are seven months on, post race..

  1. I believe I, and the rest of the team helped each other. I learned a lot about people and myself in this process. I learned that no matter how ‘busy’ you are, you can always find the time to help people and give back, or on the other side, find time to prioritize yourself and exercise. Those girls and boys who did that made it to the end of this challenge.

  2. We raised over $3630 for Samaritans of Singapore which is an amazing accomplishment. Not only that but by speaking up consistently about mental health during this journey I feel like, as least for this group of people (and hopefully those who have followed us online) that it’s ok not to be ok, that you do need a support system and that being outdoors/being active/living healthy does help your mental well being.

  3. Not only have I made friends and family for life, they showed me support and compassion when I - even as their trainer - needed it. They taught me that I am still beautiful even without makeup on and they have no judgement on others who like themselves were exposing the very raw parts of themselves.


FEEDBACK FROM SOME OF OUR MOM RUNNERS


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