1) There Were Runners Carrying National Flags While Running (I Definitely Saw A China Flag).
2) There Was A Runner Asking Me If He Could Flag A Cab Nearby.
3) I Saw A Runner Actually Dressed In Pajamas. Like Seriously?
4) There Were Runners Who Were Giving Motivation To The Other Runners Around Them. Definitely The Ones I Respect Most. They Aren't Taking It Any Easier Than The Rest And Yet They Are Shouting To All The Runners Not To Give Up.
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Back Then..
And Now..
So.. If Anyone Were To Ask Me This:
Is The Feeling Of Running and Finishing A 42.195Km Full Marathon Better, Or Is The Experience Of Being A Volunteer Better?
You Would Be Surprised By My Answer.
Finishing A Full Marathon Felt Great. I Was Above The Skies Flying Really High And What's More, Most People Felt My Timing Was Decent. Gun Timing Of 4 Hrs 34 Mins. I Had Every Right To Be Proud Of Myself. Sure I Was. It Wasn't An Ordinary Feat And Considering That Was My Very First Marathon.
But TRUST ME When I Say This.
It No Longer Matters When You Are Done Being A Crew. A Volunteer. A Part Of The Race. I Can Assure You Most Volunteers Wouldn't Experience And Encounter Some Of The Amazing Things Which I Have Came Across. And I Would Say I Didn't Even Feel Half As Much Fulfilling For Completing The 42Km, Getting A Finisher Tee And Medal, Compared To Being A Road Marshal. Someone Who Is There To Contribute In Anyway Possible. To Motivate. To Inspire.
All It Takes Is Initiative. Being Pro-Active. Being Enthusiastic And Going That Extra Mile.
To Me, None Of These Proved To Be A Challenge. I Was Running The Same Race One Year Ago And Here I Am, Looking At All The Painful And Struggling Looks On Their Face. I Once Felt The Pain They Were Going Through Right Now. It Was A Mental Torture, Especially When You're Running Alone. No One Was There To Motivate You. The Thought Of 'Giving Up' Suffocates Your Mind, Tearing You Apart With Every Step Taken. You Are Literally Dragging Your Feet To The Finishing Line. It Was Hell.
I Had Prepared My Finisher Tee For Last Year's Sundown. Cheering Them On Wouldn't Have Worked As Well If They Didn't Know The One Who Was Cheering Them On Wasn't Just All Talk. Even If It Was, Try Doing It For 7 Hours And Tell Me This Is An Easy Feat. The One Who Had Cheered Them On Was Someone Who Has Experienced All The Hell They Have Gone Through. And Here I Am, Showing Them That The Pain Is Endurable. You Can Do This.
I Totally Lost Count As To How Many Times I've Said 'Come On', 'Don't Give Up', 'All The Way' Etc. I Was Screaming My Lungs Every 10 Secs So You Could Imagine How Many Times I've Said Them. When I See A Runner Responding To My Words Of Encouragement By Continuing To Run Instead Of Walking.. It Felt Priceless. And Of Course The Countless Thanks I Had In Return. I Never Had That Many People Thank Me In A Single Day Before And This Was Not My First Time Volunteering For A Running Event.
I Was Stationed Along Ford Road At The 9Km (For Half Marathon) And 30Km (For Full Marathon) Mark And Most People Who Came Across This Route Were Drained Out. It's Really Pathetic That All Road Marshals Weren't Given At Least One Bottle Of Pain Relief Spray Or Muscle Rub. At Least We Could Have Attended Directly To Those Who Needed Them Along The Way Rather Than Have Them Drag Their Feet To The Next Hydration Point Which Could Be Far Ahead.
Nevertheless I Still Tried My Best, Offering To Help Those Who Stopped Along The Way To Do Some Basic Stretching. And Most Of Them Were Really Thankful And Grateful. Even Though I Don't Have The Supplies To Attend Directly To Their Needs, At Least I Still Had A Pair Of Hands Which Could Still Be Useful.
~~~
Anyway, Who Would've Expected A Crew Like Me To Run Over 20Km At The End Of The Day?
I Actually Encountered Some Runners Who Took The Wrong Route And Ended Up Far Ahead. Somehow The Road Marshals At Other Points Of The Route Weren't Doing Their Job. If I Was One Of The Runners Who Was Misguided, I Would Definitely Be Really Pissed. The Whole Race Experience Is Ruined. But These People Said It's Okay. They're Here To Have Fun And They Really Wanted To Be Brought Back To Somewhere Near The Place They Left Off. It's More Of An Integrity Issue. They Could've Just Continued From The 30Km Mark, Finished And Still Gotten The Medal And Tee. Respect.
I Ran Together With Some Of The Last Few Runners Of The Half Marathon Along The Stretch. Had A Nice Chat With This Veteran Who Started The Race Late Because He Overslept. He Was Really Nice And What He Said Was Really True. 'Running Isn't About Competing. You Run Your Own Race And What's More Important Is That You Enjoy It'.
The Most Priceless Moment Of The Day Was When I Was Given A Bro Fist By One Runner Who Experienced Overheating. I Had A Nice Chat With Him And Told Him That He Should Really Take It Easy Since There Is No Way He Could Beat His Previous Year's Timing. Brought Him Two Cups Of 100 Plus At A Nearby Hydration Point And Bammmmm! The Next Moment You Know, I Was Offered A Bro Fist. (:
At The End Of Everything, All I Had Was An Aching Body And A Really Swollen Toe (It Was Swollen Before But Got Worse). Lost My Voice Too. The Fact That I Made Some People's Day Better. It Was Worth It. Totally Worth It.
All These Experiences I Had Were Simply Amazing. Something That I Wouldn't Have Felt While Running The Race. It Wasn't About Me This Time.
It Was About The Impact I've Made On The These Runners. The Lives I Had Changed.
