the limit.

(photo extracted from www.hkmarathon.com and modified in photoshop)

The annual Hong Kong Marathon sponsored by the Standard Chartered Bank has come and gone. This year, i didn't start prepare it till late produced a time of 55min for the 10km event, better than what i originally anticipated.

some says that long distance running is a boring thing to do, but if you look at the no. of participants this year for the event, close to 40,000, whoever said that has to think twice. one thing i learned since taking up running as a competitive sport was doing your preparation, knowing your existing limit, and pushing that limit.

from the news, there were a few thousands who got injured, suffered muscle spasm, or even more shockingly, die in the course of the event. couldn't help but to ask the question why?

before the race, overheard a conversation between 2 participants for the events on why take part in the 1/2 or full marathon instead of the 10km. "since you pay the same amount of entry fee, of course you should opt for the longer distance. plus the fact that the authority is handing out $1000 to those who can complete the race under 3 hrs..."

are you kidding? what were these people thinking? the die hard opportunitists from Hong Kong!??!

in any type of sports, there is always a risk of getting injured, no matter how much preparation you have done. and without proper preparation and planning, that chance of getting injured or fatality is almost inevitable.

for any dedicated sportsman, pushing one's limit is almost inseperable from the game itself, always improving, going for that extra step, stretching for that just a little bit more. but that can be done only if you have planned your preparation prior to the event, and understanding where your limits lie.

if you don't know your limits, have done no planning or insufficient preparation, but trying to push to the limit at the event is almost equivalent to commiting suicide.