For the second year in a row, the “Singapore Express” team won the Ekiden category at the 2014 Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS). They defended their 2013 title at the SCMS race yesterday.

Marcus Ong and his triumphant Ekiden team.

Six runners complete the Full Marathon in a relay format

A big part of the running scene in countries such as Japan, the United States and Australia, the Ekiden comprises of six team members who complete the Full Marathon in a relay-style format.

Won SGD$2,500 in prize money for their efforts

The “Singapore Express” runners had finished their run to victory, in a cumulative time of 2 hours 33 minutes and 20 seconds. This was two minutes ahead of the second-placed team. And for their efforts, the “Singapore Express” won a total of SGD$2,500 in prize money, which they will be splitting amongst their teammates.

One of the “Singapore Express” runners, Fang Jian Yong, said, “Winning in the second consecutive year with these buddies just makes the victory even sweeter.”

Team member Marcus Ong with the winning cheque.

Team Strategy

What was the team’s winning strategy?

Said fellow team member, Mohd Shah Feroz, “We had no strategy as a team, but for some of us, including myself, we were aiming to stay close to the Gurkhas and minimize the gap, or pull a big gap if we are stronger than them.”

Another team member, Mohd Iskandar, also had a similar strategy to achieve victory – that is, to not leave any gap between him and the Gurkhas.

For Chua Chin Yang, he simply aimed to stick as close as he could with the Gurkhas, and hope that they did not suddenly pick up speed.

Added Marcus Ong, another team member, “Being a stronger runner, I had planned to take down the Kenyans in front of me and leave my legacy behind – and leave a big gap between them and me.”

Executed their strategy very well

And they definitely executed their plan very well, indeed. As the team captain, Philip Williams, said, “We were motivated to defend the turf that we had won last year and that kept us pushing till the very end.”

CLICK HERE to read about my 42km race experience @ SCMS 2014.

CLICK HERE for some of the other SCMS 2014 race results.

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