Today was the dreaded Army Half Marathon. I was participating the 6km run because I knew that I didn't have enough time to train and my body probably could not endure the staggering distance of 21km. Just before I left for the start point around 730am, I saw a medic perform chest pumps on someone. From my distance I could only tell there was a body lying in the military ambulance, I couldn't even be sure if that body was a real one. There was a crowd forming around the ambulance and I saw how tired the medic looked from just doing the chest pumps alone. At that point, I wonder what had happened. I really hoped that if that body was a real person, that he will regain conscious again. Just a brief glimpse and a brief thought. I didn't think about the incident until after my run.

I came back from the run and sat at the floating platform seats waiting for dismissal. I was rubbing my aching feet and lamenting on how out of shape I am. For some reason, the thought about the CPR in the ambulance came back to me again. I told my colleagues about it but no one really knew what had happened. So I didn't think about it again until my father-in-law told me the Army lost a captain this morning from the run. Then it struck me. The body I saw was the captain, he had collapsed immediately after completing his 21km.

Looking back, it was a real possibility that anyone of us could have died out there. Most of us did not get any real training prior to this. True, there was progressive training twice a week but is it really enough? Even if it was, how many of us have really attended every single training session? It was either the weather or our workload that prevents us from 100% attendance. Plus, we start training from 0730am while the run was at 0545am. The oxygen levels in the air is significantly different and the body will react differently.

Sleep was another matter altogether. The flag off for the 21km run was at 0545hr but a number of us were told to be present by latest 0430! That's 1 whole hour before the run starts. So in order to reach the floating platform by 430am, the runner would have to wake up around 330am latest. That would mean to be sound asleep by 8pm. Let's face it, how many of us can fall asleep at that time? Moreover, it is common for participants to lose sleep the night before because of the excitement or being nervous.

There are a lot more reasons to list out but already these two are a fatal combination. A body that is not fully trained and accustomed to running the distance and climate plus a significant lack of sleep. I only hope that the captain did not go through pain during his death.