By Alan Chiang/Red Sports

Changi Point, Sunday, May 31, 2009 - As the saying goes, "Slow and steady wins the race."

This quote is particularly apt for a grueling marathon, especially one run at night when most people are sleeping soundly and in dreamland.

I did not hesitate to take part in the Sundown Marathon as the early-bird special was too hard to resist. It cost $60, cheaper for past participants, compared to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last year.

What was even better was the chance to run the race in Singapore after midnight.

The training before the night race was tedious. In order to get familiar with night running, I to train late at night for at least thrice a week, for as many as three to four months.

That lifestyle did not go too well with my school schedule of early morning classes.

As part of the the Sundown Marathon route, there are four overhead bridges to conquer, with one of the the bridges without a ramp, leaving runners to trudge up on stairs.

Climbing an overhead bridge in the middle of the race can lead to muscle cramps because of the sudden change from a horizontal to a vertical movement, but I made it through alright.

I thought that running a marathon in the cool of the night would be easier to achieve, but I was absolutely wrong.

Running during the day allows the sun to burn off the sweat clinging to my skin but running at night, my sweat just clung to me like a blanket.

The adequate aid stations which provided isotonic drinks and mineral water kept me going and helped me to forget the oppressive humidity.

I noticed that volunteers were also on hand to hand out muscle rub cream during the second half of the race for runners. That was a relief for those coming down with experience cramps or muscle aches along the "never-ending" route.

All credit to the volunteers who took time off to lend a helping hand to the runners.

I managed to clock within 5 hours 30 minutes for the race even though I haven't had enough training for the 42km distance. The constant pace I had started with earlier helped me to finish the race steadily and escape major injuries.

Wondering if running at night or the morning run is better? Do try it out yourself.