As we all mourn the passing of the man who built the Singapore that we know and love today, the endless tributes flow in from all around the world, paying homage and sharing memories of our late first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
But how can we properly thank someone who has dedicated his whole life to creating a country?
How can we express gratitude to someone who has led us from poverty to prosperity, from yet another post-war-torn, post-colonial island with slim chance of survival, to a country of international renown, from its education quality to its cuisine and gastronomy to its high standards of governance?
How can we pay due respects to someone who, when the rest of the world had given up on us, took on the challenge to unite a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural mixed bag and forged a single national identity?
Sometimes, we can’t.
When words can only go so far, runners like ourselves find solace in running. We run to escape our grief, but we run also to express our grief. Sometimes, we run to share our grief, and it is in this spirit of bonding in our nation’s dark hour that a running club in Singapore has organized the Run for LKY.
Run for LKY, 28 March 2015
Dear fellow runners,We are extremely touched by the immense support shown by fellow runners for “Run for LKY” this coming Saturday. The strong support we have received shows that there are many Singaporeans who are extremely grateful to what our founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew has done for the nation. The overwhelming response (as of now, the number of runners is almost 500) is not something that we have anticipated. Due to the large number of turn-ups for this run plus saftey concerns from fellow runners, we have decided to change our plans for the run.For safety and security reasons, we will no longer be meeting at 7.15am and running together as a group. Runners are free to do your own runs between 7.15am to 8.15am from Esplanade towards Parliament House (Route to be confirmed tomorrow) on Saturday morning. You can run/walk in small groups, either with your friends, family members or with your running club. You can observe 91 seconds of silence before the run and bow 3 times near Parliament House (we will no longer run pass Parliament House as that area is cordoned) and u-turn back towards Esplanade. Runners are encouraged to dress in black as a form of mourning and respect for Mr Lee. Please maintain low noise and decorum and respect when you are near the Parliament House.We are doing this purely to remember Mr Lee’s contribution to the nation and out of our deep love for him. We hope all runners feel the same and do the same too. We apologise for the changes and we hope for your understanding in this. It’s the thought that counts.
Best Regards
Gei Gei Running Club.
Let’s come together as ONE running community, regardless of race, language or religion and pay our respect to OUR Mr Lee Kuan Yew. You are invited to join in the tribute run this Saturday – organised by Gei Gei Running Club – with fellow runners who wish to keep Mr Lee Kuan Yew in memoriam. The details are as follows:
Estimated distance: 3.18 km
Meeting Place: Esplanade Outdoor Theatre
Time: 7.15 am
Dress Code: Black
Bib: You can download your bib at this link: http://www.gei-gei-running-club.com/bib/lky/bib-lky.pdf
We will run from Esplanade Outdoor Theatre to Parliament House. We will observe 1 min of silence there and bow 3 times to pay our respect. We will then continue towards Clarke Quay and U-Turn back upon seeing the first bridge. There will not be any refreshments for this run. We are also not sure if the security will allow us to pass through Parliament. If not, we will just play by ear on the actual day. Runners who wish to run longer can continue their run on their own.
Running at this point may seem completely trite. Running will certainly not bring back this great man, but neither will words, nor tears. We run instead, to celebrate the life and the achievements of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and we run to honour the lessons and wisdom he has instilled and imparted to us.
Thank you, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, for all you have given us. You live on in the hearts of Singaporeans, who will strive to continue your life’s work in creating and maintaining the Singapore of your – and our – dreams.
Hi, it’s a great idea. However, if there is a big group, wouldn’t you need to apply for a permit or something ?
Hi Steve, the run is not organised by us. You can contact the organising running club for any concerns via http://www.gei-gei-running-club.com
Dear Steve,
due to the overwhelming response, we will no longer be running as a group. All runners will run on their own. Kindly refer to our FaceBook page for more information.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1561046587485440/
Guys, it’s a great gesture to organise this run for our late Mr Lee. However…..the bib design, particularly the image of Mr Lee, is absolutely terrible. It looks like a joke. If you need someone to give it a proper treatment, just let me know, I’ll help out.
Hi James, the run is not organised by us. You can contact the organising running club via http://www.gei-gei-running-club.com
For what it’s worth, we believe that good graphic design in times like this isn’t the thing to focus on.
Oh dear, you brought it to my attention. The image is terrible indeed and it’s not very respectful. I hope the running club manages to fix it soon.
Hi fellow runners. Allow us to explain. This bib was hand drawn by a fellow runner out of his love for Mr Lee. It was also his way of wishing Mr Lee a speedy recovery. Just as he posted it online, news of Mr Lee’s departure broke. Hence the bib was of much significance to us. Yes we may not be good artist (we are just ordinary runners), but we certainly hold high esteem and respect for our Mr Lee. We thank you for offering your help to design the bib. Your kind thought is deeply appreciated. Perhaps you can help us to design our future event bib? We would be more than grateful.
李光耀先生，你是獨一無二的世界公認領導，RIP !
But should run 3.23km… instead of 3.18km..
It’s 3.18km to commemorate the time of death (ie. 3:18am on 23 March 2015), you f***.
Thank you.