Many people are asking me the same question
" Sumiko, what is your aim for this year's standard chartered 42km marathon?"

Sadly to say... I am not taking part...

My coach din really approve of me taking part because I had done 2 marathons this year...KL and Gold Coast... as well as a few half marathons... Army Half, Aviva Half Ironman,Powerman Malaysia...

Look at the report I found :

Most coaches recommend running no more than two marathons per year, simply because of the wear and tear the race puts on your body. Elite runners usually follow this advice, too, although they may enter shorter races every 1 to 4 weeks in between each marathon.

After your first marathon, don't race another for 6 months. After that, decide whether running marathons more frequently works for you. Perhaps you want to do three or four per year and are willing to make sacrifices in your personal life to do that. If you enjoy this schedule and don't get injured doing it, keep it up.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/picking-and-choosing-your-marathon.html

Thats why I am not racing 42km on 7th dec...
though I really want to go for the marathon, I am contented with doing another half marathon overseas...
It gives me an opportunity to experience a new climate, a new running route, new atmosphere, new scene of runners as well as for me to better perform in my 21km:)

Running a marathon is not only about how fast you can run, but it's also about how well you have ran as compared to what you can actually do:)

Marathon running at a high level is a no joke thing... in order to improve, you got to sacrifice things like time, weight, outside activities and to put in commitment and effort.

And also to give up small races... that is a challenge for me beginning from 1 dec 08... but I promised myself and everyone in the Athlon team that I am ready for the next phase of training...:) they know what I mean:)