渣打終於設傷殘賽 X Food for Run and Thought 46

《蘋果日報》記者下午來電訪問，得知道原來渣打馬拉松大會終於刪除「不夠十人報名取消比賽」的條款，明年將舉辦首屆42.195公里的輪椅組賽事。過去半年的爭取和寫作沒有白費，大會終於正問題，不再設門檻歧視傷殘人士，讓他們都有機會參與。

人數少從來不是不舉辦的理由，第一屆馬拉松也只有幾百人參加，難道說不值得為幾百人封路便取消比賽嗎？若你有心推動賽事，怎樣也要辦第一次，大家看到有得玩，自然會吸引更多人留意和參加。

全世界大部份馬拉松早已設輪椅賽，但香港要到明年才舉辦第一屆，比很多第三世界國家的馬拉松還要落後。遲到總好過無到，只希望不會出現魔鬼在細節之中，輪椅賽可以如期舉辦，讓傷殘人士都可以得到完成馬拉松的喜悅和滿足感。

‘When I had cancer and was going through chemo, running was the one thing that gave me confidence. ‘ Ethan Zohn, Survivor winner and charity founder

‘At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine, a fine marriage, or air. It is also a free pass to friendship.’ Benjamin Cheever, Strides

‘I ran to be free; I ran to avoid pain; I ran to feel pain; I ran out of love and hate and anger and joy.’ Dagny Scott, Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running

‘I don't worry about what I've run. I worry about what I'm going to run. To be successful, you've got to keep moving.’ Rae Baymiller

‘It's my own space, my own time, when I'm just out there letting my thoughts go. It's a part of my day like eating, and it's one of my favorite parts.’ Louise Kent, runner

第二屆泰國蘇梅馬拉松

泰國天氣熱，馬拉松都要早上五時前出發。這次差點睡過頭趕不及起步，因為抵達泰國、換ｓｉｍ卡後沒有調電話時間，到賽前一晚較鬧鐘，晚上九時應該調作２１：００，但我調了９：００。

賽前一晚十時上床睡覺，這一覺出奇地睡得舒服，原本三時半要上車離開酒店，負責接送的大會公關人員在酒店大堂找不到人，便打電話到房間，吵醒在睡夢中的我。最後我四時才離開酒店，距離起步時間只有半小時。

酒店距離起點也有二、三十公里，途中更遇到警方封路，幸好車子是大會的，可以駛過去，要不然我應該不用參加，折返回酒店睡覺好了。

最終成功趕及在賽前五分鐘進入起跑區。全馬跑手只有220個，很快碰到新加坡友好Mohan（左）和Tan Kim Lai。我認識Mohan是2010年5月的布拉格馬拉松，那是他第9X個馬拉松，布拉格後我只跑了四個比賽，但這一段時間Mohan跑了2X個比賽，蘇梅已是他第13X個比賽！

官員講話是蘇梅馬拉松的「特色」，若有看我以前寫的，都會知道我對官員主持馬拉松的態度。去年來主持的是副首相，但今年主禮官員的級數下降三格，只是副Surat Thani省長，大概因為泰國換政府，由民主黨的阿披實換上他信的妹妹英祿。

主辦馬拉松的是Bangkok Airways，商界當然與黃衫關係好，今年請不到極高層官員來撐場了。

拍了這張照片，只是十多秒的時間，起跑區的跑手已全部散水。印象中好像比去年更少人參與，雖然我不敢肯定，因為我沒有去年的數字。由頭到尾絕大部分時間，我都是一個人跑，像山長水遠來又濕又熱的蘇梅島練長課，完全沒有參賽的感覺。

前面的全馬跑手，一個也追不到，但我已被半小時後出發的半馬精英跑手趕上。由天黑至日出，全馬跑手一個都碰不到，和尚反而碰到一個。

折返點前數公里又碰到Mohan。下次見面大概會是東南亞某個比賽？

折返點。成班人在等我，忽然有些罪疚，我跑得太慢，好像「阻住大家收工」。幸好我不是包艇，原來還有幾個跑手在我後面，我明明是最後一個離開起點，他們應該是起步遲到。

蘇梅清晨的海灘。大家不要被我誤導，其實99%的賽道是看不到無敵海景，我要離開賽道往海邊，才拍到這張照片。

蘇梅的小童以為藍髮人是怪物，我仍未跑近他，仍未「搣」佢塊面，他已呱呱大哭。

還記得去年的水站只有水，最後我要問小販取香蕉頂肚。蘇梅的水站沒有食物，我之前兩日每天食五餐儲備。今年水站多了黑加侖子的Gatorade，總算沿途可以補充能量，不用問小販取食物了。

沿途聽到的鼓掌聲的不超過七個人，這幾個警察是其中三個。

這位蘇梅大嬸是沿途唯一一個，派免費水給跑手的居民。

賽道的標距牌既疏落又隨意，有時是兩公里一塊，但28公里至最後五公里，竟然一塊牌也看不到。不知道我是否忽然盲了看不到、還是牌被路人甲乙丙丁偷走。

最後700米，終點就在盡頭右轉的大直路之後，也只有最後這一段路讓你接近大海。

由傷癒到比賽，只預備了兩星期，無穿無爛以5h14m完成，中間還肚痛爆了一次石，已算達成任務，對得住江東父老了。

紀念衣，去年是白色Tee，今年是藍色背心，但獎牌設計跟去年大同小異。蘇梅馬拉松也是唯一一個，會透露你年齡的比賽，怪不得沒有多少女跑手參加囉。

若有興趣了解更多，請留意下月及11月的《SportSoho》雜誌。

Food for Run and Thought 45

'Running improves my relationships with my family, my friends, everyone around me. And while my running is personal, it's also something I give. Running can be given.' Tony Sandoval, M.D., winner of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

'You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. ' Steve Prefontaine

'I can't imagine living and not running. ' Paula Radcliffe

'For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I'm more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics. ' Lorraine Moller, Olympic marathoner

'Every day is a good day when you run. ' Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

Food for Run and Thought 44

'There are few instincts more natural than the body in full motion as it races across a field or through the trees.' Neal Bascomb, The Perfect Mile

'Training is principally an act of faith. The athlete must believe in its efficacy; he must believe that through training he will become fitter and stronger; that by constant repetition of the same movements he will become more skillful and his muscles more relaxed.' Franz Stampfl, On Running

'For me, like so many others, running is the answer. Out on the road it is just you, the pavement, and your will. ' John Bingham, The Courage to Start

'There will never be a day when we won't need dedication, discipline, energy, and the feeling that we can change things for the better. ' George Sheehan

'It's not about how fast you go. It's not about how far you go. It's a process. ' Amby Burfoot, The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

Food for Run and Thought 43

"Of course, I know all the gear in the world won't make me a better runner. Only time and effort do that. But all the gadgets over the years have sure made my training a lot more interesting—and fun." John Bingham, "Ready for Takeoff," Runner's World

"Nonrunners cannot see how they can afford the time to run every day. But runners cannot imagine getting through a single day without it." Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

"In running it is man against himself, the cruelest of opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions." Glenn Cunningham, American runner in the 1930s

"I look at victory as milestones on a very long highway." Joan Benoit Samuelson

"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself." John Bingham, "Tools and Rules," Runner's World

Food for Run and Thought 42

“Saying you don't have enough time is a bad reason to not run. There's always time for a run.” Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary

“It's a long, hard road and it's going to have its bumps; there are going to be times when you fall and times when you don't feel like going on anymore, times when you're just crazy tired but it takes focusing on that one step you're taking. That's what I'm trying to do with the marathon; I don't think about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment.” Ryan Hall on running a marathon

“Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies and minds and souls in the present.” Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

“Every day, I stop halfway through my run for five minutes, look around, and enjoy the surroundings. I'm reminded of why I do this and why I love it so much.” Anita Ortiz

"What the years have shown me is that running clarifies the thinking process as well as purifies the body. I think best - most broadly and fully - when I am running." Amby Burfoot, The runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life

Food for Run and Thought 41

"It doesn't matter what your age is, if you put the time in, you're going to get out what you put into it. I strongly believe that. I feel that good things will happen if you work hard."

Sheri Piers, who set her marathon best of 2:37:04 at age 37

"After the race, I mused on marathon running...and how it provides males with insight into another exception, the experience of childbirth. In both cases, marked agony and exhaustion are subsumed by such lasting gratification that you are moved to repeat the process."

Jerome Groopman in The Boston Marathon, by Joe Falls

"Marathoning. The triumph of desire over reason. "

One of New Balance's Top 10 Reasons to Run a Marathon

"There's no magic to running far or climbing Everest. Endurance is mental strength. It's all about heart. "

Bear Grylls, Host of Man vs. Wild

"Wrapped in our silver capes and adorned with medals and salt streaked caps as our crowns, we were princesses of pain, loving every minute of it. Isn't it the weirdest thing?something so damn hard, so humbling, so fickle, so painful, is also the thing we seek on purpose? Sitting there, surrounded by my friends and cracking up, I had a flash of myself at age 70. "

Kristin Armstrong, after running the 2011 Boston Marathon

Food for Run and Thought 40

"When you have the running spirit, you look forward to life. I firmly believe that I wouldn't have lived as long or as happily as I have without running." Max Popper in The Essential Runner

"The marathon. How an average runner becomes more than average. " One of New Balance's Top 10 Reasons to Run a Marathon

"When I finish a run, every part of me is smiling. " Jeff Galloway, Jeff Galloway's Training Journal

"The marathon never ceases to be a race of joy, a race of wonder. " Hal Higdon, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide

"Man is so made, that whenever anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. " La Fontaine

Food for Run and Thought 39

"Humans were made to run. " Alberto Salazar, Alberto Salazar's Guide to Running

"We have been told time and again we were born to success, but a truly run marathon convinces us of that truth." George Sheehan in Personal Best

"Being an athlete is a state of mind which is not bound by age, performance or place in the running pack. " Jeff Galloway, Galloway's Book on Running

"The marathon lifestyle promotes doing rather than watching...by adopting the marathon lifestyle you can confront your own lions, be your own hero, fight your own battles, challenge yourself. " Richard Benyo, Making the Marathon Your Event

"The American marathon footrace has evolved into a cultural performance, a chance for people to tell a story about themselves...that story is about community. " Pamela Cooper, The American Marathon

十二天時間練一個馬拉松

今天收到《Sport Soho》老細徵召，採訪兼參與918的第二屆泰國蘇梅島（Koh Samui）馬拉松！

蘇梅島去年辦第一屆馬拉松，替《Sport Soho》寫了個四版的故仔，可以重返蘇梅島、看看比賽安排有沒有進步是意外收獲。

在泰國這些酷熱的地方跑步其實是自我折磨，但只有泰國的馬拉松才可以讓你一日內體驗地獄與天獄，早上跑至虛脫變人乾，下午回酒店的King Size Bed的小睡、按摩、SPA及游泳鬆弛，這種經驗也是很爽。若在歐洲跑步要住五星級酒店兼賽後做SPA，恐怕只有贏了獎金的冠軍才可負擔得起！

但興奮過後要面對現實的問題：距離918只有兩周時間，撇除賽前兩天要休息，如何在十二日時間，由傷患初癒（五個前扭傷左腳姆指關節，到八月底才可以跑三至五公里）提升至完成42公里？任務之艱鉅，不下於JFK上任時說，一定要在1970年前登陸月球。

當然，我是可以選擇跑十公里或半馬，但山長水遠去跑半馬又好似「唔多抵」，而只有完成最困難的42.195KM，才可以讓你在躺下來喝汽水，也有置身天堂的感覺。當這是挑戰又好、實驗又好、不知好歹、不自量力也好、訓練mind over body也好，嘗試以十二天時間操練，在大會時限內完成一個馬拉松比賽。

訓練進展：
Day -1(昨天)：100M斜波，5KM，30mins
Day 1(今天)：100M斜波，6.75KM，35mins

錄《左右紅藍綠》．連讀講四分鐘沒有讀錯走音係好難！

前兩日第一次上港台客串兩集《左右紅藍綠》講利比亞前景。《左右紅藍綠》的前身是《五稜鏡》，前前身在港英年代叫《奉告》。我忘記了甚麼時候由《五稜鏡》變做《左右紅藍綠》，多得青年民建聯主席張國鈞的北極有企鵝論，令更多人認識這個節目。

一集《左右紅藍錄》要講三分半鐘，導演會叫講者前一晚交一篇850字的講稿，若果講稿太長，讀快一點也讀不完，便要臨時刪減；若講稿太短，拖慢一點也有剩時間，便要臨時增加內容。這850字會分開四至五段錄，每段都要流暢地讀出，遇到食螺絲、走音、讀錯字、讀漏字都要重新再錄。

現在有兩部攝影機，每讀完一段便要由眼望A攝影機，轉至眼望B攝影機，但又不能轉得太快，一定要讀完那段的所有字，頭部才可以轉動，轉得太快都要NG再錄。還有要配合講稿的節奏擺手勢，若不自然、手勢奇怪、移動太多、長時間沒有動作，又要由頭再錄。

加上節目是提早錄映，但利比亞局勢不斷變化中，為了確保節目內容準確，其中一節要錄四個版本：卡達菲被捕、卡達菲被殺、卡達菲流亡海外、卡達菲去向不明，以符合節目出街日的形勢。

即使有字幕機協助，但第一次實在生硬兼生疏，結果三分半鐘的節目，錄了一小時！明天（周五）會播第二集，利比亞後的中東。