How to Master a Marathon

A special Endurance Asia Podcast collab with Singapore Falcons RC on how to PB a marathon—from building a club-wide marathon block to nailing the taper, pacing, fueling, and race-day mindset. Falcons committee members Chris and Andy are share what worked in a high-PB-rate Seoul/Tokyo season, plus rapid-fire wisdom from guest contributors Alice, Andreas, Darren, Harry, Ben and D’Arcy — covering everything from “don’t cook the first 5K” to “get to 30–32K, then race.”What we coverWhy marathon training makes you a better runner (even for trail/ultra)How Singapore Falcons structure a 4-month marathon block with flexibilityThe “core sessions” approach (and why Tuesday sessions matter so much)Pacing strategy: first 5K calm → settle → commit from 30–32KFueling strategy: individual needs, carb timing, and avoiding GI surprisesMindset: gratitude, calm under stress, and reframing late-race sufferingRace execution: groups/packs, course knowledge, water stations, problem-solvingA simple recap list of the biggest “do’s” (and “don’ts”) in the final weekKey takeaways (quick hits)The hay is in the barn: don’t chase fitness in the last week—protect freshness.Don’t win the first 5K and lose the last 10K.Fuel early and consistently—don’t wait until you feel it.Know the course and remove preventable stress (travel/steps/logistics).Use the pack when it matters, but don’t get dragged into the wrong pace early.Timestamps (key sections)Note: these are based on the transcript order—adjust times to match your final edit/audio.00:00 Intro: Endurance Asia x Singapore Falcons — PB’ing the marathon02:00 Andy & Chris backgrounds + why marathons are “honest”05:10 Falcons marathon block: how to coach many abilities at once10:00 Community + pack mentality: why clubs beat generic training plans14:30 Andy’s Tokyo execution: patience, pacing by feel, and staying calm20:30 Fueling + carb strategy (pre-race + in-race)26:30 Guest tip 1: Alice Brabham — mindset, course knowledge, “run the mile you’re in”35:30 Guest tip 2: Andreas Wengner — expect the unexpected + don’t rush the first 5K40:00 Guest tip 3: Darren Southcott — taper, carbs, pacing discipline, don’t chase groups45:00 Guest tip 4: Coach Harry — 30K discipline, simple fueling, caffeine timing49:30 Guest tip 5: Ben Khoo — common pre-race mistakes to avoid55:00 Guest tip 6: Darcy — “sit on the couch for 30K,” run by feel, enjoy the day60:00 Wrap: the shared themes + final mindset for race day01:10:00 Recap from Chris on top 15 tipsExternal linksSingapore FalconsSingapore Falcons RC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgfalconsrc/Contributors (Instagram)Alice Brabham: https://www.instagram.com/fit_as_training/Andreas Vagner: https://www.instagram.com/icyandiBuffalo Running Co (Coach Harry / BuffCo): https://www.instagram.com/buffco.hk/Endurance Asia (all socials)Website: https://www.enduranceasia.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHv2YWma06vKwlzs53WZ5gInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/enduranceasiaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/enduranceasiapodX (Twitter): https://twitter.com/enduranceasia_LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/endurance-asia/

Dening Lo is the best Singaporean ultra runner. She has won 8 out of the past 10 races she has competed in. She has just finished 3 at the Asia Trail Master Finals, series that culminates in a final of the best runners in Asia and she took a podium in a hard fought battle with runners from across the region. We cover:- Her back ground and how you got into ultra running. - What is it that makes her a great ultra runner?- Inspiring women. Mum with 3 kids, how do she juggle training and family- In the past 2 years, she's won 8 of your last 10 races. Incredible record. What have been some of her highlights- How has being part of a running club has impacted her performances- Low lights. What have been some of the hardest or most challenging and why- Why she loves racing in Indonesia.- ATM finals: - Expectation going in- How the race went- Feeling to win- What’s next?Follow Dening on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/godeninglo/?hl=enEndurance Asia soacialsWebsite: https://www.enduranceasia.com/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHv2YWma06vKwlzs53WZ5gInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/enduranceasiaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/enduranceasiapodX (Twitter): https://twitter.com/enduranceasia_LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/endurance-asia/

Following a 7.5 year journey of failures, injuries and upsets, podcast host Scott Pugh goes from interviewer to interviewee to share his story in finishing the Hong Kong Four Trails Ultra Challenge with co host and ultra runner Chris Timms. HK4TUC is one of the most brutal endurance tests on the planet – 298km across four iconic trails, with 14,500m+ of elevation, a 60-hour cut off, no poles, no music, no GPS watch no support on the trails. Scott shares the the full journey from DNFs to what he changed to how he evolved as a runner and human to finally get the job done in 58 hours 43 mins.We cover:How he’s feeling immediately after the event 02:45The backstory that got him to the 2025 edition of Four Trails 07:35What he changed coming into the 2026 edition 21:18Preparation for the 2026 edition and pregame nerves 28:10Game time! How did it play at the event 32:27   Motivational voice notes from crew 50:30Reaching the point of 200 DNF on HK Trail 01:01:23Clip of meeting Tomo on HK trail 01:03:23Clip of running to Ferry Piers 01:08:06Clip of starting Lantau Trail 01:11:15Crew messages before taking on Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak 01:23:50The Finish 01:27:15What it felt like to touch kiss the green post box 01:29:15 How the Four Trails has changed him 01:31:00 Whats next 01:35:30  To relive the Dot Watching click here.Scott’s splits were as follows:Maclehose Trail - 13hrs 55mTransition - 1hr 30mWilson Trail - 15hr 23mTransition - 35mHk Trail - 9hrsTransition - 2hrs 30mLantau trail - 15hrs 35mYou can listen to the audio podacst on Apple and Spotify.Follow Endurance Asia on Instagram and Facebook.

We are joined by the amazing Tommy Lewis @tommyrunpt off the back of running the @vietnamtrailmarathon in Moc Chau. Tommy is a personal trainer and coach that has been producing amazing running based content for the past few years. He has a deep level of experience coaching ultra athletes with a focus on strength and conditioning as a core part of an overall training plan, something runners are typically very bad at doing.We cover:Background how Tommy and Scott know each otherHow he has turned his passion into his careerHis impressions of Vietnam so farImportance of strength and conditioning for runnersTommy’s beliefs around nutrition and veganism for athletes. How to maintain macros inc proteinSupplementation, Creatine “every man and his grandma should be taking it”Injury prevention through S&CRacing - how often and how to prioritiseCheck out Tommy on Instagram and his podcast and coaching That’s Runnable and on all podcast channels.

It’s that time of year ago before the adventure season kicks off where we are joined by Chris Timms to recap the highlights of 2025. In this special awards episode, we discuss the stories that moved us and the people who mattered. Here are the categories and nominees:Male Athlete of the YearHisashi Kitamura, with his win at TMBTLodowijk Vriens, wins in HK and Bali and top 10 in Cape TownJohn Stingray Onifa, with multiple wins across AsiaGuangfu Meng, 2nd win at HK100 and win at Chiang Mai by UTMBFemale Athlete of the YearSunmaya Budha, 2nd in WMTRC and an miraculous win in Cape TownHau Ha, another amazing year with wins in Tsiagu and Chiang Mai by UTMBFuzhao Xiang, 2nd place at Western States and wins across many shorter distances across AsiaVeronika Leng, 2nd place at HK100 on her comeback and 5th at CCCRace / Challenge of the YearWorld Trail MajorsHong Kong 100Vietnam Mountain MarathonAsia Trail MastersPenang SkyraceIzu Trail Journey JapanUTMBTransLantau Chiang MaiOthersTsaigu Trail GodzoneEndurance Feat of the YearStone Tsang solo traverse across TaiwanGrant “Axe” Rawlinson and Luke Richmond Row across “The Ditch”Fundraising of the YearNatalie Dau’s 2nd Project1000 across Philippines, fundraising for female charities across AsiaJo Lodder and John Fan, 3100km UNBOUND ultra run from Beijing to China raising money for disabled charitiesListen to the episode to find out who the winners are..We loved watching these people reset the limits of what’s possible in 2025 and would love to hear from you about who we missed. Here’s to even more amazing achievements in 2026!

We joined the 2025 edition of TransLantau by UTMB, a stalwart race in the Hong Kong trail running calendar that was included in the UTMB series from 2023. Following a few logistically challenges in 2024 edition we were keen to experience the race and see what adjustments they had made and take on the 120k distance, one of the toughest ultra courses in Hong Kong.We are joined by:Salomon Wettstein pre race to discuss his preparation and plans 2:15Steven Carr, social media manager for TransLantau by UTMB and Race Director of 9Dragons, host of the 10t edition of Asia Trail Master in February 2026 10:50Salomon Wettstein rejoins to discuss how his race went 18:30Host Scott Pugh comes back to talk about how his race went and his overall experience of TransLantau by UTMB 36:45To listen to Salomon’s first time on Endurance Asia after Four Trails 2021 you can listen here..

This week we cover one of the longest standing races in Asia, TMBT and interview the eventual winner Hisashi Kitamura prior to the race as well as Race Director Claus Pedersen at the 50k finish line. Chris Timms and Scott Pugh catch up to discuss the results of the race and Scott’s experience as well as what Happened at UTMB:Hisashi Kitamura - 01:55Where Hisashi is from and lack of athletics growing upHis time in Malaysia getting into Ultra Running?His start with Asia Trail Master Races and 9 DragonsBeing the first ATM Golden Grandmaster to get to 20 ultra >70k.Vice champion year in 2019. In that year the format was just most points from 4 races and happened to end with a final race of the season where you and John Ellis battled it out. He talks about that season and what happened in the final race?Training on treadmill. How he does 95% of his training on TreadmillHow he has competed in TMBT 4 times coming 2nd every time what this race mean to himLast year you came 2nd to Jeff in the ATm final talk to me about that race..His plan for ATM final in Oct.Race strategy for tomorrow? Pacing, nutrition, how to beat Milton Amat and Daved SimpatHis preparation day beforeClaus Peteresen TMBT Race Director - 49:30History of Borneo Ultra and their racesThe community and villagers getting involvedHow the race 2025 race is progressingFuture races and planScott Pugh and Chris Timms - 1:00Hisashi’s training on the treadmillRecap if TMBT 100kRecap of TMBT 50kRecap of UTMB

Chris Timms and Scott Pugh catch up to discuss what’s been happening in the South East Asia Trail Season and some of the races they’ve been running around the regionRaces we cover:Silabur cave trailPenang 50k ATM and 30k Skyrace Bali Trail running UltraRinjani Checkout https://www.asiatrailmaster.com/ for upcoming races in SEA..Other discussionsDavid Roche 140g per houQuicksilver Endurance RunGoal setting for racesNatalie Dau Project1000, Russ Cook, William Goodge 

This week Chris Timms joins off the back of Seoul marathon to discuss how to set a personal best in a road marathon.We discuss:Marathon block and training fundamentalsHow to get the most out of a taperWhat to do the week and night before a raceHow to get ready in the morningPacing strategyShoes choicesFor training plans and to join track sessions with Singapore Falcons, check out https://www.singaporefalcons.com/ or on socials Instagram Facebook

Endurance Asia Awards Male athlete of the year for 2024, Jeff Campbell joins the latest episode.Jeff talks about:His background and how he managed to fall in to ultra running in Asia after a chance dinner with John Ellis.How he came to realise his talent? Being part of the Join Dynamics team and realising he had a V02 max of high 70s.The impact of being part of the Gone Running, Joint Dynamics team and T8 team and how being part of a squad improved his running.We talk about Oxfam Trailwalker, his 4 consecutive wins and what the race mean to means to him.We discuss the 2023 edition where he ran with Fuzhou the female winner of the 2024 Endurance Asia awards and Eszter Csillag and recent GPT 100 mile winner Ryan Whelan.We talk about his preferred distances and training for a marathon Blok.What his plans for the rest of 2025..Chris and Scott catch up at 01:03:00 to discuss marathon training for Seoul and up and coming Asia trail master races..