Harjit's Story

During the summer of 2008, I was fortunate enough to run for Frishta in the British 10k. This having been the first time I have ever ran a 10k and in public, I was hooked. The atmosphere magic just propelled me to do this again.

Hence, when the opportunity came to run for the Hong Kong equivalent (The Standard Chartered 10k Run), I was eager to be accepted. Unfortunately, I had missed the entry deadline. After much communication with the Marathon Secretariat, my entry was approved by the HKAA (HK Athletics Association) and I was over the moon to say the least.

Thus began my training for the big event scheduled for the 8th March 2008. I bought myself a top-end treadmill (an early Christmas present) in order to prepare myself for the race. For the first few days, I kept training to a simple 3 mile run on a flat gradient. Gradually, I started to increase this to a 3% incline and ran more and further.

I would run every other evening and in some cases, twice a day - getting up at 5.30am and running for 3 miles, then again in the evening, doing a further 4 miles. I managed to shed 5 kilos during a period of three weeks before the run.

Even when I was in Thailand, I managed to squeeze in 4 miles everyday in the hotel gym. All I remembered was this is for the orphans - don't give up. Stick to the plan.

The night before the 10k, I didn't sleep too well. A combination of a heavy pasta meal eaten at 9pm to slowly release the carbs plus pre-race anxiety, resulted in a 2am wake-up. The race was held on Sunday, 8th February, timed for a 5.35am start, so I prepared myself with a warm-up and made my way to Victoria Park by reserving energy and taking a taxi to the venue. Well it is a good three mile trip to the venue, so didn't wish to waste the energy walking.

Arriving at Victoria Park, it was amazing. There were 33,000 runners all getting ready for their individual 10k runs. In total, four 10k events were taking place - mine being the second race. The walk to the starting line was a unique experience - some runners getting psyched up by doing a slow jog, others in teams chatting away and some even dressed up for the occasion in costume (there were prizes being awarded for the best costume). I kept it simple - all in black Adidas attire with an Evian bottle at hand and completely engrossed into my music and the task that lay ahead.

The race began promptly - cheers galore. The fore-runners setting a fast pace whilst others banging into one other. I turned up the volume to max on my IPOD and focused on the training on the treadmill I had done. Having only run once on the roads, this was going to be a big challenge. Unlike the British 10k, which was primarily a 95% flat route, the HK 10k comprised of many up and down slogs on the highways of HK Central. Coupled with an early run in the dark (the only time to hold this event due to the extreme hot weather and traffic pollution), I ran at a steady pace increasing this after the 4km mark.

I can only recall two sets of cheering crowds - numbering no more than 30. There were only two water stations - one at the 6km mark and another at the 8km. Having my own bottle of water, I found no need to stop whatsoever on the whole 10k but did have to avoid the plastic cups littered in the way.

All-in-all, I overtook many runners from my own and the previous race. I had one "running" partner, a local girl whom decided to pace with me from the 7km mark. Pride within me meant I had to finish the race before her. I picked up my pace after the 7km mark and after this, it was all mental. The slog between the 6km and 8km mark was all up hill. My legs were strong, my breathing perfect, but mentally, my mind just wanted to give up. I looked towards the heavens and prayed to God to help me complete this slog. Remember it's for kids I kept telling myself. With this and God's divine intervention, I came to the 9km mark and the girl whom had been pacing with me went into overdrive.

At the last turning of the last flyover, I caught up with her. All I wished to see was the finishing line but couldn't. I turned to look to my left and saw Victoria Park. I saw the girl 10 yards ahead of me and focused. Put all the energy that remained for the final push and stepped up my running to a sprint - 400 metres to go and I overtook the runners who had less energy than me.

I can clearly recall the finish - the crowds were cheering, there were lights, the press, cameras flashing and the big finishing sign. The girl was right behind me and catching up fast but I crossed the line 5 seconds before she did - Whoa-hay! What a relief it was when I crossed this in 55 minutes and 36 seconds - what a relief.

The anti-climax to the race came to quickly as we were ushered to collect our things to make way for the main event, the Marathon itself. Looking back, I didn't have much time to reflect on what I had just achieved as I only found out my race time a few days later and beamed with pride.

I have to say there are many things I would have changed to improve my performance, but let us say, certain Frishta sponsors know what they are. Having bananas is a must - pasta definitely (high in carbohydrates). Exercise was not a problem - the route was. I learnt a few days later that the HKAA had only introduced the 10k route I ran last year, hence explaining why so many of the runners whom I overtook struggled.

But there it is - another 10k under the belt and a much faster time - 4 minutes faster than the British 10k and on a much more demanding route. Just glad I bought the treadmill and kept it at a 3% incline.

As for Frishta and the reason why I embarked on the HK 10k run in the first place, I managed to raise a total sum of 1,122 pounds - Would I do it again - without a shadow of doubt. I just now need to find the next event in another country - Delhi in India will be nice. How about it Nigel? Fancy giving me a race?

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