The Teh Tarik Run, I believe is the first of its kind in the world and I was part of it today. The run took place at East Coast Park (near the seafood center). My boyfriend and I arrived at the race venue at 6.45 am as instructed in the race guide and we took a few photos while waiting for the flag-off.

How this run was conducted was that we would all fill up our tik-gongs (metal cans) with teh tarik first before running a 1 km lap. This process will be repeated 4 times as we finish 4 laps of 1 km. It sounded pretty rough at first… because I mean who would like running with liquid sloshing inside their stomach? But still, I thought the concept was really cool and wanted to give it a try. Plus they promised a buffet at the end of it… so all the more I should go right? 🙂

We filled up our tik-gongs with teh tarik and drank after we shouted ‘yum seng’ (cheers) together with the rest of the runners at the event and we also sang the national anthem. We were flagged-off at 7.30 am sharp. The distance felt rather short actually because we had to U-turn back to where we filled up our tik-gongs and then start another lap again. So it was basically round and round. It was a relaxing run on a Sunday morning. There was minimal uphills and downhills. There were a few occasions when we had to stop for passing cyclists but that was okay since we were sharing the park with them anyways~ Everyone was cooperative and friendly towards each other.

My run was however disrupted on a few occasions due to participants who walked on the path. As this is a fun run, there will be some who would walk throughout the whole course and it’s okay. But what they shouldn’t do was to walk side-by-side of each other and block up the entire path. The path was rather wide and they still managed to block it. People had to try to squeeze in between them to get through. But they still didn’t move to the side and continued, which I felt was very inconsiderate. It’s time that the organizers of runs remind people of the running etiquette that walkers should keep left. We have to make people aware of such running etiquette so as to make these runs more pleasant for everyone as this is not an isolated case. Hence I fell that the organizers of races can help by reminding everyone by either mentioning it in their race guides or on the day itself before flag-off. It will definitely help a lot.

Anyways, my boyfriend and I ended the run with a sprint towards the finishing line. We just did it for fun actually since the path was rather empty. We then went to collect our finisher tik gongs.

We waited for awhile to cool ourselves down before heading to the photo booth for some fun shots and then off we went for the buffet! We were so excited about the buffet. He was excited for prata and I was excited about potong! The queue for the food was rather fast although with limited choices like dried noodles, bee hoon and porridge. There were more teh for us but I had enough of teh so I bought bottled water at $1.50. Imagine our disappointment when we saw the food choices because there was no prata and potong in sight 🙁 The organizer did explain to us that they did not have enough pratas to go around and there was something wrong with the potong delivery (?) I couldn’t hear clearly because it was too noisy. But in short, we are not having pratas and potongs. The crews were really apologetic about it and so yeah… we didn’t blame them.

Overall, the run was really enjoyable. The organizers and volunteers were really friendly people and that made the experience 10 times better. There were lots of photographers at the event too! Which was really cool! We kept smiling for the camera 🙂 And needless to say, there were more than enough hydration points. Although I wonder how much can teh help in hydration…

Because this has been such an enjoyable run with really friendly and fun volunteers, I will definitely keep a look out for other events that they will be organizing. Good job guys 🙂

PS. Just in case you all are curious how the race pack looked like, here’s a photo!

I know most people write race reviews based on paid events, but why not choose one of the many varied, free to enter races that happen in Singapore? That’s because there aren’t many… but wait, what’s this, a running event that’s free? Yes, West Coast Parkrun.

Parkrun started in 2004 when 13 friends decided to hold a timed 5km race in Bushy park near London. In the proceeding 13 years it has spread to 14 countries, from the USA to Singapore. Once just 13 runners, there are now over 2.1million runners in the movement and over 23 million Parkruns have taken place globally with 112 million kilometres being run, pretty impressive eh?

What is surprising, however, is the event is totally free. No registration fee and no 2 hour long queues to collect your race pack. – WHAT LAH??? you ask, no goody bag?

Absolutely, there is no free running vest, no medal, no finishers-T and no hydration stops (not that you need them… it’s only 5km for heavens sake….man up!) Actually, if I am honest, there is a free T shirt… once you have completed 50 races. The hydration stop is the McDonalds, where everybody meets afterwards to chat and replenish the calories with greasy cardboard disguised as food.

The event, held in both the East Coast park and the West Coast park every Saturday morning at 7:30am, is 100% run by willing unpaid volunteers and it is the West Coast park that we focus on here.

Each week a volunteer will be the race director, organising marshals, timekeepers, photographers and token distribution (the way you get your time). They meet in the middle of West Coast park, close to the McDonalds and after a short briefing at 7:30am, the group head off to the start line for the 5 km figure of eight course. As most of the attendees are keen runners, the group naturally organises themselves into fastest at the front (a welcome diversion from the usual chaos that is the start of runs like the Sundown). The timekeeper shouts go and… off they race.

Speed is the order of the day, every week some runners may finish under 20min for 5km, this week 6 runners finished under the magical 20min mark. This week, the crowd numbered 90 runners but can vary from 60 to well over 100. There is no maximum time for the event and there is always a tail runner to make sure they leave no-one behind. Some weekends people walk the course (just like most half marathons in Singapore then eh?). The organisation welcomes anybody and no age limit applies, juniors are welcome, although under 11 year olds must run with a parent.

The course is more challenging than the East Coast Parkrun with more elevation and twists and turns. This is borne out by my PB for West Coast being 30 seconds slower than the East Coast. The figure of eight course is enjoyable and at that time in the morning, the paths have yet to fill up with wobbly cyclists and unruly dog walkers, which easies the route somewhat. At the finish line your time is recorded and you receive a tag, which you scan, along with your personal barcode (which you receive online when you register). Within a short time, you receive an email with your position, time, age related statistics and whether you managed a PB. As I write, my wife is dancing around pleased with her new PB this morning (I put it down to the $200 new runners I bought her last week).

One fantastic feature of the global phenomenon is, it doesn’t matter which park run you are at, your barcode is valid. Every week West Coast Parkrun plays host to so-called “Parkrun tourists” (yes, it really is a thing) that travel the world seeking out the local Parkruns to add to their online stats. I have made many friends through the organisation and even taken Singapore tourists around the city sightseeing after the run (once I’ve had a shower of course).

If you want an excuse not to get drunk on Friday night, or you want a hangover cure on Saturday morning, go down to West Coast Parkrun and join the fun.

Oh, I forgot the runner’s entitlements:

• Friendship
• Fun
• A sense of achievement
• A reason to get out of bed
• A chance to be a member of the largest running family in the world

… medal and finsher-T collectors, need not apply.

> Official website

This year is the first time that I join the 2XU (think is read as two times you instead of 2.X.U(?)) compression run. A very mainstream popular run, and definitely a very crowded one.  Almost everyone should have heard of this run before.

This time round, paid S$63 for the registration of the 21km (half marathon), which was the early bird price. For that, I got 3 different types of wearable and a finisher medal. A singlet (which normally all runs will provide), a finisher tee (which was specifically for 21km runners who finish the race) and a polo tee, which was something new, at least to me. So technically I am paying S$63 for 3 wearables, a finisher medal, some vouchers (which usually I dont really use it) and an experience to run around the CBD and Gardens by the Bay area, which I myself never tried doing (I always see people running/training around those areas during weekdays evening time) as I do not have a place to store my personal belongings. If there ever was a way, I would always like to try. Do let me know if how you guys store your belongings while you run around CBD/MBS/Gardens by the Bay area! Back from the side track, for that price it was a quite worth it! Initially I thought the polo tee would be made of cotton but when I got it, I am totally in love with it because I personally love dri-fit material which they use it for running shirts and the polo tee is made from that! Which makes this S$63 even more worth it! Materials for all 3 wearables looks and feel good, doesnt feel cheap! On top of that, 2XU actually open up some of their older models sports wear and selling it at a discount and if you have not know already, 2XU is a company that design, development and sell sports apparel. So if you are talking about the worthyness of the price paid for this run, I can say its really worth it.

Lots of people complain about the queue for the collections of the race entry pack. But it is because lots of people is collecting their race entry pack on the first day of collection due to lots of them are joining the Sundown Marathon, which happens on the 2nd day of collection. As you can see, the 2nd and 3rd day of collection has almost no queue, which I personally do not understand what is the complain about. But what i was really impressed is that 2XU actually organised a second race entry pack collection! I would say not many organiser would make such an effort. Thumbs up!

Next, about the run. Insanely CROWDED! I was quite surprise when I saw how many people is running for the 21km run. My impression would be that more will be going for the 10km, but I guess lots of people go for the 21km is for the finisher tee, which is only entitled to 21km runners. They release the runners wave by wave, which is good… but could be better I feel. Example like the Sundown Marathon, runners are categorise in 3 types of waves. The fastest runner, the faster runner and finally the fast runner. To my personal preference I prefer that way so everyone can enjoy the run at their own comfort pace. Oh well, in the end I waited for my wave to be release, which I think I waited for a good half an hour (?). I do understand that it is to prevent the route to be too crowded and for a better experience for everyone so not really complaining, just saying.

So off I go.. until the 1km or 2km mark (?) when everyone just started to slow down and walk due to narrow road and overcrowding. I encounter this “slow down and walk due to narrow road and overcrowding” issue a few times during the run, which I am kind of disappointed. I did not have this issue during Sundown Marathon (which I too join the 21km run). Not really sure what really was the issue (road is too narrow or overcrowding), but hopefully it could be better. The route was a good experience except that I hate running along the Marina East Drive, which was a long stretch road that feels never ending. Sundown Marathon had this route too. Personally I love to look around my environment when I run so to enjoy the view, but Marina East Drive has nothing… like really nothing to see. To make things worst, 2XU route have you run that road to East Coast Park, and back again! So two times boredom. Oh well, just my personal feel, no offence!

At the end of the race, collections of the medal and the finisher tee was fast, which usually is from my experience. There was a race village but it was usually really crowded (for all races), so I would personally skip it.

The whole running experience was good overall. There is so many water points (Think was every 1.5km there is a water point (?)) which I feel very impressed. Everything is well managed and organised (From race entry pack collections to organising transport)! All in all, this was a good run and experience for me. Racing off to the next run!

Running marathons and 1/2 marathons in Singapore is a love/hate relationship. On the positive side: they attract a huge amount of attendees which makes the event huge. On the negative side: they attract a huge amount of attendees, which makes the event huge!

I love running in large events, I like the atmosphere. In Europe there are thousands of spectators, which makes it extra special. In Singapore due to the ungodly hour, the flag off occurs, any sane person is in bed, not supporting me sweat around 21km of compressed bodies. Therefore spectators are limited, so much so, that they often don’t even allow you near the finish line to watch! (Sundown take note).

But who needs spectators when you have over 21,000 other runners to cheer you on, or play terrible music on Bluetooth speakers or entertain you with their inappropriate sudden stops to take yet another selfie of a km marker. This event was big, really big, which is not a problem normally, but the rather unusual first-come first-served method of start pen allocation at the 2XU meant that you had to be there 1.5 hours before flag off, for any chance of getting a PB. I’m not particularly fast and despite being at the start of pen three, I still had to overtake over 500 people to get to an area of free running.

The positives. The bag collection was not as traumatic as many runs in Singapore, I personally don’t think anybody should queue to pick up a bib, T shirt and a pile of waste paper for a longer time period than it takes to run 42km! With only a 15 min queue for the race pack, I was pleasantly surprised.

The course was very pretty, especially the run around the bay at the end, I thought they tried their best to come up with a good course considering they didn’t really close any major roads. The hydration stops were plentiful and the water was sometimes cold! Although I would question the sense in putting hydration point with 2km from the start – come on people, your muscles haven’t even warmed up by then!

The points for improvement. The bottlenecks! Oh the bottlenecks. Come on 2XU, you make enough money from these events, close a couple of roads at least to stop crazy bottlenecks. On several occasions I had to slow down and even had to walk on two occasions to get through a narrow gap. Nobody should be forced to walk on a 1/2 marathon, that’s why we pay an entrance fee! Also don’t choose to put a hydration point at a narrow point in the course – that’s just asking for trouble!

I appreciate that many Singaporeans take part in these events for the bling, we all love a medal or two and a 42Km or 21km finishers T is always useful for bragging without actually bragging (although that’s what you are doing). But can we please get the organisers of these events to stop loading the runner’s entitlements to such crazy proportions. This event bagged you a vest, a polo shirt and a finishers T, all of which were not normal 2XU compression quality and I will probably never wear again. My wife and I probably do over 18 x half and full marathons a year between us, my wardrobe can’t take any more running gear! A runner’s entitlement should be hydration, a closed road or two, quality timing chip and maybe a medal. Stop telling us the vest you give us is worth $49, it’s not, it’s mass produced and not to your normal brand quality! Rant over.

Finally a plea to fellow runners. I am a big believer in taking part. Every top marathon runner started off with a 5km jog. It’s the taking part that means something, you will never be the fastest (Mo Farrah this was not aimed at you). However, PLEASE, if you are going to walk, or stop for selfies, move to the left, before you slow down. It will stop a little bald 49 year old man piling into the back of you at speed! If you are doing the run with a group of friends and are going to walk any of the route. DON’T walk in a line across the route, unless you don’t mind runners smashing into you and knocking your phone out of your hand mid-selfie. These are simple request that reduce congestion and make everyone enjoy the event that little bit more.

Don’t be KIASU in the 2XU.

Overall, one of the better runs in Singapore. We rarely do the same runs twice in Singapore, preferring to travel to Europe or elsewhere in Asia (too many wonderful runs in too many wonderful places to do the same one twice) but I would consider the 2XU again next year, sort out the start pens, widen the course and reduce the T shirt allocation and you have a deal, Mister 2XU.

“Let Your Heart Set the Pace” is this year 2XU Compression Run tagline and I did just that! I was determined to get a good timing and achieved my personal best at this year 2XU Compression Run! This is one of my favourite runs and I have been joining it almost every year (2013,2014 & 2016) and this is my 4th one to date. I participated in the 5km category this year.

What I love about this run event are the following:

• Nice Event Tee – Over the years, 2XU had some of the nicest event tees. I love the flattering cut of their tees and the colour combination is just sooo pretty! For 2017, the combination was black & rose gold trimmings! I love rose gold or anything pink so it’s two thumbs up on the event tee.
• Reasonable pricing – Because I have previously participated in past year events, I was entitled to loyalty rates for 2017. For that price of $45, 2017 loyal participants received both an event tee and a special polo tee.

[2017 Race Pack Contents]

• Well organised – Every year, 2XU Compression run events are really well organised but this year, they did have a few minor hiccups which I will touch on later.
• Competitive 5km – Not many runs have a competitive 5km category. Though I’m not competing for any podium wins, I still like to have a timing chip to record my timing and see how I’m progressing. Also, 5kms are fast and you get to finish a workout and enjoy the rest of the race festivities.
• Well-Crafted Medal – The 2XU Compression Run medals are always cool and sleek and 2017 5km medal lifts up to it’s standard of being beautiful designed!

Race Entry Pack Collection (REPC)

This year REPC was held at Marina Square over the weekend of 24 to 26 March 2017. My friend, Pearleen, collected the race entry kit on my behalf. Thank you Pearleen! Pictures of the REPC were by snapped by her too. Her feedback on the REPC was that it was well-organised though the queues were long. From what I gathered it was definitely MUCH better than the Sundown Marathon REPC! There was NO 2.5hrs wait and queues did move fast. She collected the race packs on the first day of the REPC and queue times did not exceed more than 1/2 an hour. Fast and efficient were definitely the words to describe the REPC according to her! Everything went smoothly and there was no chaos at all.

There were lots of good deals at the REPC according to Pearleen and some of my colleagues who went to the REPC during the first day of collection. There was a sale for previous race tees and they were being sold like hot cakes! Other merchandise like running gears and accessories had really good discounts!

For participants that could not make the first REPC, the organiser had a 2nd REPC at Velocity on a smaller scale but that allow flexibility on collection.

[Pictures of the 2XU REPC at Marina Square]

Race Day

[Start Line photos]

My friends and I arrived at the race site around 07:30hrs since our flag-off was at 08:00hrs. The race site was easily accessible as the area was not fenced-up, unlike Sundown Marathon. Cheng Yee and I headed straight for the bag deposit area. Normally, I would not bring a bag to a race but there were forecasts of rain and I thought I better bring a change of clothes just in case I got drenched if it did pour. Bag deposit was fast and efficient and we headed to meet our other friends before heading into the START pen.

With 10 mins to spare, we made our way leisurely into the START pen. The atmosphere was relaxed and we were able to find a spot near the front as it was not crowded at all. We did some light stretches for warm-up before we were promptly flagged off at 08:00hrs.

Race Route

[Race route from 2XU’s Race Guide]

Let your heart set the pace – I love this slogan. This is my third time running 2XU half marathon and also the most crowded one. Just for 21.1KM category alone, there were 6042 women and 12357 men. So that add up to a total of 18399 runners! There were also 5KM men and women and 10KM men and women categories too. Imagine!

The main reason could be the additional Polo T-shirt that they were giving as part of joining the race in addition to the usual race singlet. So people who signed up for any category will get 2 shirts and half marathon finishers will get the 3rd one.

REPC

Race pack collection venue was at Marina Square Central Atrium from 24 – 26 March 2017. I went on Friday late afternoon and was shocked to see the extreme long queue. I was told by one of the staff to come another time instead if I don’t want to queue. There were another collection the following week too at Novena Square. But I decided to just join the queue since I made special arrangement to come and didn’t want to waste my trip. Though the queue was long but it was moving at a reasonable speed. I was able to collect my race pack in exactly one hour.

Some friends who came after work had to queue for 2.5 hours. This was the first time I experienced such a long queue for a REPC. It obviously was due to the tremendous increase in the number of runners this year especially for the half marathon category. However, people who went on Saturday and Sunday experienced a breeze collection because most have already collected on Friday. There was a T-shirt exchange bulletin board near the collection counter for runners to exchange their shirt size with each other if the size doesn’t fit. People could just write down their messages on the post-it notes provided and paste it on the board and whoever could find an exact match would contact the person to do the exchange. It seemed that many people needed an exchange because the sizing was slightly bigger than previous years. However for myself, the size was right, I didn’t need to change.

Race Day

Woke up at 2:30AM and ate some light breakfast before heading to take the shuttle bus at Ang Mo Kio MRT pick up point. Reached there at around 3:12AM and saw 2 buses had left. So boarded the 3rd bus and there were still buses behind. I reached F1 pit at about 3:40AM and there were already many people doing warm up and waiting for friends. The portaloos were also having long queues. Avoid drinking too much water in the morning before a race but drink lots of water few days before a race to hydrate your body first. I couldn’t comment on the bag deposit as I didn’t make use of it but there were queues. 

Flag off time was 4:30AM for half marathon which was very early but the good thing is, even slow runners can complete the race before the sun gets hotter ☺. I walked to the start pen holding area and managed to position myself at wave 1. I heard from my friends that wave 2 and 3 were horribly crowded and they had a hard time squeezing through. There were 8 waves needed to separate the runners to avoid serious congestion.  I think if you take part in this kind of popular races, you have to expect this kind of masses. But it makes the event engaging and creates an upbeat atmosphere of running as a big community.

Flag off happened at around 4:30AM for wave 1 and we were off running our half marathons and hoping to beat our own Personal Bests (PBs). The running route was good with not much bottleneck issues. The run from Marina East Dr through ECP Park Connector, U-turn at PA Water Venture and back was cooling with little drizzles. Lightning flashes in the sky felt like it was taking our running shots. Saw many fast runners were already running back before I even reached the U-turn point.

Hydration along the route was plentiful. Runners could grab cups after cups of Pocari Sweat or water. However, throwing so many of these cups on the floor became a hazard for many. I noticed a lot of people just threw the cups (even bottles) anywhere they like and not be very considerate to throw into the rubbish bags provided. So we had to be careful and not step onto any of the rubbish.

I passed the 2:30 hour pacers at first and was running at a steady pace. At around 5 or 6 KM, I still didn’t see the pacers around and was wondering if they have passed me without me noticing? How could I miss them carrying so many purple balloons? Until at about 8 KM, I felt balloons were touching my head from behind and finally saw the pacers catching up and running by my side. So I knew I was running too fast and eventually I couldn’t sustain my pace anymore and had to watch the pacers running off far ahead of me and I couldn’t catch up. Took my energy gel at 12KM mark and continued running non stop. Many runners were strong and fit and did not take walk breaks at all. Though I was having plantar fasciitis on my right foot (pain on the heel bone and area around it), but with the support from my running shoe, I was still able to run without much of a problem.

Though this was my 7th half marathon thus far, seeing the finish line was still the best feeling ever. Crossed the line at 2 hour 41 minutes and it was a humble PB ☺. Congratulations to my brother who had achieved his PB too at 2 hour 21 minutes! Well done!

This race has been one of the most famous running events in Singapore and many avid runners would join without question. One of my favourites too because it is well organised and hydration provided is Pocari Sweat instead of some other types of isotonic drinks! Organiser would make prompt announcement in regards to waiting time to collect your race pack and weather condition prior to race day. Well done and can’t wait for next year!

Oh yes, forgot to mention that the medal this year is stunning. Love it! ❤