whether I run, walk or have to crawl…
I’ll set my goals and achieve them all.
Spacious, clean airport. Quiet, easy people. Luggage. Customs. Hotel transport.
Welcome to Singapore – the hottest, most humid place I’ve ever run 🔥
Hotel lobby 4am, short walk to our Day 3 Marathon. 5am pre-dawn Start on East Coast Beach. Registration, bib pick-up, meet n greet with couple local runners. Tunes readied. Bottle of water & 2 bags of salt-n-vinegar chips (purchased nite prior in Perth). Dragging, notta lotta sleep. Legs tight but body still strong. Singapore & tomorrow’s 26.2 in Egypt been in my head for a year. One foot in front of the other. Even if I have to walk, today’s the day. No more planning, no more self-doubt. Quick glance at my watch. 82 degrees.
6 out-n-back on a lit, pristine path ‘longside ocean. Could hear waves; warm breeze. At daybreak, I’d see folks practicing Tai Chi. Massive barges/cargo ships just off the shore.
Initial focus: not getting lost… and logging miles. Dropped off path a tenth-mile before seeing another runner. Quickly right’d my course. No sun for 2 hours. One foot in front of the other. Lap. two laps. Water. banana. Out-n-back thrice. High SUN ☀️
Path full of morning joggers. Push, push. More water. End of lap 4. Steamy.
Stopped. Handfuls of chips. Needed salt. Vinegar settled my stomach. Change of shirt & socks. Tossed both, soaked, purpose over. Walk/jog/slog. Video to document my Pacific surroundings. One bite at a time. How do you eat an elephant? Thanks Sis.
SUPER appreciative of Sis’ daily videos. Dangerous spiders to avoid. Ways to sabotage my mates (after finishing LAST every race). Coach. Sis marathons. She heat-suffers. She’s one I can talk freely – no judgment. Everyone should have a Sister. Complete trust.
WhatsApp messages updating the Group. Halfers complete – and crazy fast Brendan. Just me & Mika left from Triple 8. Dude focused. Eyes forward. No more high 5’s as he passed. And soaked. Biggest difference? 5 hours & Thor’s still running. Great job man.
One lap to go – pushed. Everything to the turnaround. Puke fest & dizziness last 2 miles but… last 2 miles. Finish temp 96 degrees. More sun than shade. Sidewalk vacant-free of exercisers. 3rd medal in 3 days – on 3 continents. Asia!
Common room shower. Fresh clothes, repack. No eats, nothing staying down. Water and half a can of Coke.
Airport dash to our first flight. Even closer in Dubai. LAST CALL, plane DEPARTING – CAIRO 🇪🇬🐪
4th Annual Singapore Beach Marathon & 1/2 Marathon
Singapore — January 23, 2020
Keenan Haga Louisville, CO U.S.A. Marathon 6:00:16
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- Welcome Singapore 🌴
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- Village Hotel Katong
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- SUNRISE 🔥
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- 90° & STEAMY
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- East Coast Park
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- barges & cargo ships
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- Triple 8 BESTIES ❤️
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- Day 3: Asia
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- 6 laps out-n-back
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- thanks Sarah 🇨🇦
Singapore Beach Marathon
Early to bed, 7am marathon start. Sleep does a body good.
Mentally loose, bit nervous. Hadn’t marathon doubled since 2016. Breathe. One day at a time. Today – this day – is marathon day. Friday, Cook Park Oregon.
30 minutes to Tigard, another run-perfect day. Overcast, cool – and FOREST. 180 turn from yesterday’s waterfront views. 6 laps on trail, surrounded by Pacific Northwest hardwoods. Reverent, stunning, hushed. Like entering an Old-World cathedral.
What are you gonna run? Shooting for 4:45. That’s how it began. Maniac Gregg. Local who’s also finished 100+ races, more halves than FULLS – a Maniac celebrity. HUGE personality, ends every race same UPBEAT attitude. AND he’s pace consistent. Whereas I’m all-over-the-place, Maniac Gregg steady/constant. Mile 4, mile 24. My lucky day.
Group PIC-a-palooza: Quadzilla alum, Maniacs, 50 Staters. Last minute instructions from our RD – another Maniac celeb, Steve Walters. Goal to stay strong; 4 loops with run company, walk the last two – but ultimately, get it done, ice the legs, rest & relax for Day 3.
Group start. Two laps easy with Triple G (dude’s reusable cup moniker).
Added Heather, Lap 2 & now we were 3. Mom from Vancouver. Also Sauvie Island ran. Also Quadzilla entered.
Listened to the two trade stories. Both with weekly run groups, opposite sides of the Columbia – Gregg in Oregon; Heather, Washington. Positive, upbeat individuals. Was upfront & honest. Most likely going dark after 4 laps. But for 4 laps, love your company 😊
Maniac Race Director = great trail snacks. Feasted on Bugles, Cola & orange slices, while saying my goodbyes. Come on, we’ll start slow. One more lap. Never say never.
Flat lower half, hilly second half. Lagged couple yards back. Another mile. Another Garmin buzz. Lap 5 done. Swig of Coke, more Bugles. Fueled & ready. 22 miles in.
Lower half steady, struggled on the back end – not breaking our trio. Super strong Heather; she’d never stop. Push, push, push. Focused, mute quiet – but no negativity, no tunes either. With Triple G on board, who needs headphones? LOL>
Two-tenths to go. Tapped ‘em on the back, gonna sprint this out. Got caught up in the moment. Race placed 9th 10th 11th. Quadzilla Day 2 done. High 5; see ya tomorrow.
Shower, couple Ziplocs of ice. On the legs…in the car. GPS set: Seaside, Oregon.
Chowder, salmon & an hour ‘long Oregon’s Pacific Coast. Notta lotta leg rest but whatta life memory. Post-race road trip!
Day 3 destination: Vancouver, Washington.
K R HAGA has completed the 2019 Cook Park Marathon in 04:48:59!
Lap Lap Time Lap Pace Chip Elapsed Time
1 00:43:14 00:09:54 00:43:14
2 00:44:29 00:10:11 01:27:43
3 00:47:15 00:10:49 02:14:59
4 00:52:57 00:12:07 03:07:56
5 00:51:36 00:11:49 03:59:33
6 00:49:25 00:11:19 04:48:59
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- marathon START
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- Tigard Oregon
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- Pacific Northwest green
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- Quadzilla Day 2
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- Triple G & me
Oregon’s Pacific ‘Seaside’
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- post-race road trip
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- ‘End of the Trail’
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- Mo’s Restaurant
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- seafood CHOWDER
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- Lewis & Clark Monument
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- Seaside Promenade
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- Oregon Pacific Coast
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- ocean REFRESH
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- sea to shining sea
Happy SUNSHINY day, our last on Antarctica.
Day START? a LOVE of LIFE Antarctic dip. Just the feet – but yikes! Let’s ya know you’re ALIVE! Gotta/hafta/MUST DO. Icy, FRIGID, C-O-L-D!
Plenty o’ time for a grounds walk of both Chilean & Russian Research Stations.
Chilean Station: Chapel visit (Santa María Reina de la Paz), asked/learned ‘bout Brown Skuas (dirty-brown sea gull cousin/feed on penguin chicks/bunch during my run).
Russian Station: Eyed the Island’s beautiful Orthodox Church from afar. Some got an inside tour, some not – hurry, hurry up, wait. My circle stayed trapped at a makeshift Russian gift store (room inside a modular container). Handful of maps & bobbles, cash only – I bought a $20 lid. On vacation/no regret. Antarctica purchase.
Day Highlight: walkabout at a nearby penguin colony. Russian air boat, Russian driver. Life jacket readied. Greeted by a resident chinstrap when boarding. Bird swam up, waddled inland amongst us (as if on queue), value add/all part of the show. HA!
So much LIFE, too little TIME. Day ago I ran 30+ miles.
Legs remembered 🙂 Gracefully fell in & later back outta our rubber raft. No skillz, no moves. Up, over, THUD, REPEAT. LOL> Balance nada. Good laughs.
Boat ride – AWESOME. Penguin walkabout – AMAZING.
Gentoo Penguins: Beaks brightly colored, bigger than either Magellanic or chinstrap varieties. LOVE LOVED. Luckily, arrived day after the BIG MASSACRE. Leopard SEAL NatGeo style kill. Penguin flippers still littered the beach. Surviving adults collectively tended a nest of 7 adolescents (assume, most newly orphaned). Circle of life.
Boat return, another graceless plop on shore, hurry up & wait.
Da plane, da plane.
62 runners now FAMILY. Jokes, stories – GREAT ENERGY. ANTARCTICA LOVE PARADE continued Chilean late nite. Dinner, more laughs. Nearby bar. Some really poor life choices, whole lotta memories.
Goodbye White Continent. 2019, I was there.
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- LOVE of LIFE dip
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- icy Arctic CELEBRATION
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- Russian Orthodox
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- Población: 29
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- Antarctic SUNSHINE 🌞
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- PENGUIN excursion
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- curious Chinstrap
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- Gentoo penguins
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- adolescent NEST
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- colony SURVIVOR
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- 🐧❤️
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- da Plane, da Plane
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- White Continent goodbye
Antarctica CAMP (Day 2)
