Not been here for a long time . Since last time I have ran the Hong Kong marathon on 8th February and just returned from teh Tokyo marathon . The Hong Kong marathon is quite a tough course with several hilly parts and a final 6km which is quite undulating . It is also quite a lonely course as for most of the route there are no spectators . Only the final 2km is in the town area where people can cheer you on . I struggled through the hilly parts and finsihed just after the sun reached its zenith..... took me 5 hours....which was faster than last years but slower than I hoped . The heat took its toll as did the hills .

Tokyo is completely different . The whole city seems to turn out to cheer you along . There are music bands , dancing girls and people along the whole route cheering and shouting . There are so many helpers along the route and many food and drinks stations . Even some restaurants provide food to runners and pizza deliveries are made along the route .

At the end of the race no need to bend down to take off the chip , somone does it for you . Then you are showered with all sorts of goodies from medals , towels , food , drinks . When I collected the bag with my dry clothing all the helpers clapped all the runners and the same when we went into the changing areas all the helpers applauded us . Felt very encouraging and warmed me up after the chilly wind that picked up half way through the race .

But still no PB , still learning . Because I went to the start early and queued I was desperate for a pee by the 5th KM and had to queue at the toilet....almost 8mins then again at about 35 km cost me another 5 mins....but altogether happy as by looking at my split times for 5kms this was my fastest marathon....so if I can just avoid the toilets :-)

After the race there is plenty to eat and drink and copious amounts of sake , beers , sushi and beef takes the pains away and the hotel room had a very deep bath with very hot water which was good .

The photo is from my hotel window looking down at the start of teh Tokyo marathon taken by my wife in teh warm room :-0

Definitely will go again next year......

First real run after the marathon three weeks ago . FInished a 15k challenge race over a hilly course near a reservoir . The views are very nice and the weatehr was perfect compared to the heat and humidity of Singapore so I was quite happy with my 1hr 25 and still managed another 2k jog after the race .

Seven weeks to next marathon in Hong Kong ....

Back to Hong Kong after a short trip to Singapore and Phuket in Thailand . In SIngapore joined the Singapore marathon . Weather was very hot and humid but I enjoyed the race . Many nice people to chat with along the route . To me the Singapore race is one to enjoy not to try any PB as anything over three houtrs is very hot . My new polar running watch put the ground temperature at 37 degrees......I was dirnking at every water stop after the 30K but just could not stop the feeling of thirst....finally jogged in at 5hrs 25 mins.......

I ran a 22k race in Coloane , Macau for charity ths morning . The run is quite challengng . The first 9k is around a hill on the road with several long up hlls then the next 13k is up and down steps as we cross over the hill sveral times . The weather was very changeable , sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny . Humidity was also still quite high so my taxi driver was not too happy when he drove me back to the hotel as I was soaking wet ...so I gave him a lttle extra tip .

I fnished the 22k in 2hrs 54mins......I think it was easier to run the marathon !! the steps are a real challenge to me both up and down....