This was a race of significance. To my wife, it was going to be her first 10km run. To me, this was the place I got my very first race medal. Just looking this place brings back memories of grit, endurance and how far my fitness journey has brought me. This also happens to be the earliest run we have ever taken part at 6.30am in the morning. So many firsts.
Whenever you have races that early, logistics is always an issue. With the exception of those staying near the city centre with direct mrt access, the rest of us would either have to drive or take a taxi down. In terms of carbon footprint, there’s a paradox. I drove because I needed to go to a place to run. Would it be possible for LTA to coordinate MRT timings when it comes to race events like these? Or maybe the organisers can decide on a slightly later timing like 6.45am? But if the start time was delayed, what’s going to happen with the road closures? I don’t have all the answers but I do know we will be driving down to park at The Concourse. Why? We found this on the internet from a popular website.
The Concourse
SAT
$2.14 for 1st hr, $1.07 for next subsequent 30min from 7am to 12pm, $1.07/entry from 12pm to 7am the following day
SUN / PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
$1.07/entry from 7am to 7am the following day
Unfortunately, what greeted us at the entrance of The Concourse was a huge disappointment. There was no way to go inside the carpark. Thankfully, we didn’t go down the sloping entrance to where the gantry was. I really pitied the poor chap who was right up front, he had to reverse all the way back upslope and watch for cars behind him. Moral of the story? Don’t believe everything on the internet. It might be correct yesterday but not today.
When the organisers said that the event is going to take place at Nicoll highway, I didn’t expect the run to be on the actual Nicoll highway itself. That’s another first for us. We managed to reach the start point at exactly 6.30am despite the parking hiccup.
Since we were right at the rear, I couldn’t exactly hear what the MC was talking about. But we were definitely the last batch to go. I always love running in the city. Everywhere you turned the scenery was just beautiful. Yet again, this presents another paradox. I mean I am supposed to be running my fastest in a race right? But yet at the same time, I would also like to appreciate the scenery. So do you go fast or take it slow? For me it was a series of stop, appreciate, take photo and run fast. Something like shuttle run but on a longer distance.
This has got to be one of the most scenic race routes I have ever taken. Everywhere you go, you are always beside a waterway. I’m beginning to understand why nobody really runs around the National Stadium despite the nice track they have.
Somewhere along the 2km route, I left my wife behind. Yes, as a Spartan, I am not supposed to leave any man behind. But she’s not exactly a man right? Otherwise, how did I manage to take the nice photos below?
It was somewhere towards Marina Barrage that I spotted Spiderman. I also managed to take a photo of him! I wonder how much The Daily Bugle will pay for this photo?
Although this Spiderman wasn’t able to leap from building to building, he was really fast. I wondered why he came from the rear. Problems with parking the car? Or problems with Mary Jane again?
After the Marina Barrage, it was a right turn back into the heart of the city. This time going past Gardens by the bay(South). The last time I went past this Garden by the bay(East) to Gardens by the bay(South) route was during the Osim Sundown. I must say the scenery looks so much nicer during the day.
After going through a couple of races, I realised that the runners for this particular 10km are of a different breed. Most of these runners were really fast or at a similar pace as myself. I rarely saw anyone walking. In fact, quite a number of them had all that fancy smancy running gear as well. This is a group that takes running very seriously. In fact, I met one of them while waiting for my wife at a hut about 500 meters near the end point. Of course, I had to wait for her. Leave no man, er… nobody behind remember? Mostly importantly, I intend to sleep on the bed tonight, not the couch.
Similarly as me, this slightly older gentleman was waiting for someone. In his case, it was his daughter. Since we had plenty of time, he shared with me that he runs almost everyday. Even at the age of 62 years old, he was able to maintain an overall pace of 5 minutes per km. Marathons are no big deal. Looking at him reminded me of my sergeant during my army days. When my sergeant shouted “My Grandfather(mostly Grandmother) can run faster than you!”, he could be right. I had nothing but respect for this senior citizen. #respect #whatareyoudoingat62? #mygrandfatherrunsfasterthanu
Since I had waited for my wife, we finished the race about 8am. Not a bad timing for her first 10km. As for me, my cool running app was able to do a pause and resume. But at a pace of 7 minutes per km, it tells me that there is a huge room for improvement. Will I be able to reach 5 minutes per km in my lifetime? We’ll see. Otherwise, this was a very enjoyable race. Nice cooling weather, very little congestion, beautiful scenery and very good race pack entitlements. The only mood dampener was the shocking $12 parking fee at Park Royal Hotel. No wonder there were empty lots….
I managed to park at Concourse, which is the office tower. Only paid 2.14 dollars. A lot of other runners also park their cars there.