The J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge (JPMCC) is one of the races that I look forward to signing up for every year with my company. It is 5.6 km race that has it START point at the Esplanade Bridge and ends at the F1 Pit Building at Marina Bay.

Every year the slots for this race always fill up really quickly as soon as the registration email goes out. This is the 13th edition of the the JPMCC Singapore.  It was launched to encourage a culture of work-life balance in a fast paced working environment.

Race day 

Managed to clear whatever I was working on by 16:45hrs to go and change into our company event tee and running gear. There were a handful of us from the Support Department that were taking part in the event and all of us were super psyched for the event! As normal, we always take some wefies before we headed for the race site.

Walking to the START point, we noticed the sky was getting dark but it didn’t seem threatening for it to start pouring. There were lots of participants already at the holding pan. One of the things that I noticed was that the security were trying their best to filter the walkers and runners into the right line but not all of them knew which one was the correct one. Luckily my colleagues and I managed to get into the right lane and managed to head all the way to the front. Though we were a few meters away from the START line, it was nice to know that we would be flagged off in the first wave.

Just 15 minutes before the actual flag-off timing, it started drizzling. There were really huge drops of raindrops falling. All of us were super worried that this would get heavier and we would not be able to race. Luckily the organiser decided to flag us off early by 5 mins instead of letting us get drenched by the heavy drizzle. Thankfully, it was just a passing shower.  The race was flagged off by The race the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu and Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng.

Race Route

The race was generally smooth flowing  but there were some bottlenecks along the way. The bottlenecks areas were within the first kilometer when turning right to the Floating Platform and when going under the Double Helix Bridge en-route to the Singapore Flyer but luckily it wasn’t so bad till it jammed and come to a complete stop.  The race route was mostly flat but the challenging part came at Crawford Street Tunnel which was slightly before the 4km mark. The up slope, down slop terrain will drain you of your energy but I still pushed. What I thought was good planning by the organizers was that they had placed a hydration point just after that challenging spot. That I think would be appreciated by lots of the participants after a conquering 2 slopes.

[Route Map courtesy of JP Morgan Website]

Collection of Finisher Entitlements and Official Race Results 

I finished the race in 40 mins. Not a personal best but I’m glad I got a good workout and maintained pace throughout the race. One of the things that I like about JPMCC was that you need not wait long to get your official race timing. I received an email which was sent about 5 minutes after I crossed the Finish line that listed my average pace and Nett timing. Now that is what I call efficient.

Collection of Finisher entitlements were done in a smooth and efficient manner. Every lane was well labelled and clear queues for participants to join.

Finisher Entitlements

Bananas, a can of 100 Plus and a bottle was handed out to all participants upon completion. We were also given a Finisher Tee, a small sports bag with all the sponsor items which included vouchers from Acuvue and Watsons, Berocca sampler, Listerine mouth wash, Neutrogena SPF 50 cream and Bengay Pain Reliving Cream. All very practical products and one of the better race packs that I’ve seen this year.

Race Village

The race village always comes to live after JPMCC. There was a live band playing before the emcess came up on stage to announce the winners for the event. There were lots of stalls selling food and drinks which included ice cold beer! Who can resist?!

Lots of company had their own tents but for those who don’t, there were lots of sitting areas for  runners to mingle and network with other participants,further encouraging camaraderie among companies and colleagues.

Conclusion

Overall, I did enjoy JPMCC. Everything was well organised and not forgetting the route took place in our very scenic CBD area. Definitely looking forward to the 2017 installment!

This race report is way overdue. I decided to sit on it until now hoping that it will somehow motivate me for this Sunday’s Garang Warrior Ultra !

This 6th Edition was only my 2nd time doing it. Last year i did 95k in 15 Hrs 19 Mins – ranked 24th Overall, and 18th in the Men’s category

This year i was out running just as long; 15 Hrs 16 Mins but covering further distance, 15km more. I completed 110km, and enjoyed my first podium ever ! Men’s 3rd – Overall 5th !

New Venue :

Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) 2016 was the 6th Edition since it’s inception back in 2011, but was also the first time it’s being held in a new location – Sengkang Riverside Park, opposite Blk 335C Anchorvale Crescent. The previous had all been at Casuarina Grove, ECP. This new venue was deemed more challenging mentally. Where as the one at ECP was 10k per loop; 5k on either side of the main admin / start point, this SengKang one was a 5k loop as described above.

Do as many 5km laps as possible within 16 hours ! Participants head out 2.5km from the start point, before u-turning and running back 2.5km back to where they started from. This would be the equivalent of 1 lap or 1 loop of this year’s Twilight Ultra Challenge.

PROs of New Venue (vs Old ECP one)

• More motivations / cheers from fellow participants ! you see them more often than you would at the old venue bcos of the 5k loops (as opposed to the 10k loop)
• Better quality of the track – Park Connector standards, unlike ECP uneven, loose gravel, sandy tracks, and even potholes !
• No (ECP) BBQ and ciggies fumes to contend with
• No need to keep dodging the large crowds awaiting their tables at the Seafood restaurants, and especially errant parents not keeping an eye on their little ones
• No food centre to distract runners like me
• No dimly lit dark stretches

CONs of New vs Old Venue

• Bikes, more as the night went on
• No separate lanes for bikes
• that said, thankfully there was no accidents nor any close-calls between bikers and runners

PRE-RACE :

I decided i was going to put my Coleman cooler box to use for this loop ultra again, just as i’d done so for GRUC. I packed it with several beverages of my choice, amongst which was Nescafe milk coffee drink. I’d tried this only once before on a run, and did not suffer any GI issues then. I’m banking on the caffeine to keep me awake thru the night. Coke, Coconut drinks, coconut juice, Lucozade, and water made up the rest of my personal hydration

I made the mistake of leaving home a little later than i’d hoped for. I decided to book a cab instead of flagging one down. I would face lesser problems with the cabbie not allowing my cooler box into his cab.

The Cabbie – at first he was a typical laojiao (old hand) cabbie. Didn’t wanna listen. When told to make a left to get out of my car park, he turned right. When told we’d have to go round and round and be back where we were, he suddenly had a change of heart and started to reverse. We nearly got hit on the back by a car coming perpendicularly at us (blind spot). Then when i asked him to take the SLE via Woodlands, he decided to go via Mandai Rd (to Lentor) instead. Many traffic lights, further delays, which stressed me even more as having departed later than i’d planned … i now found myself wondering how i was going to get dinner before the flag-off. We finally arrived and credit to him for helping me remove my cooler box from the boot. We’d done so, when suddenly he handed me a wheel. It had come off from the axle. Together we searched the boot for the nut in a patient manner but to no avail. He also waited a while (a few minutes) before he drove off

Upon crossing the road to the event site, i came across Jeeb Akid and family. He was headed for the event site too. I showed him the wheel in my hand as I continued to struggle with the cooler box. Next thing I knew, he’d returned with a trolley he’d borrowed. I loaded my stuff onto it and got to the site much earlier than if i not had his help. Thanks bro 🙂

Bib settled, photos and wefies taken, there was still a matter of dinner to worry about. Last year I’d overlooked dinner. Ended up wasting an hour to consume it afterwards sometime after the race was underway. I prayed it would not end in the same fashion this. Just then with slightly over 30 mins before flag-off Lily asked if i needed anything as she was on her way to get Chicken Rice for her boss Esmond. With about 15 mins left, we both got into our dinner ! Fishball Noodle ! A first for me, eating so soon just before the flag-off. It was actually quite exciting ! Lily was also to help me in other aspects throughout the night and into the morning. Really appreciated the Coke with salt, as well as keeping us runners company by staying up all night. This personal milestone would not have been possible if not for her help. Lily, you were instrumental ! Huge Thanks !

The Race :

I came for this race with the sole target of completing 100k ! The rest was experimental, a works in progress. The cooler box was part of the experiment. I didn’t wanna waste time queuing waiting for drinks especially Coke from the volunteers. Every second wasted is a second lost especially in the early stages when one is still fresh. Having my own cold beverages cut down on the time lost.

My original goal was to break down the loops completed into quarters, as in 5 loops per quarter. So my goal was to complete 4 quarters.

I started the race slow and easy. Logical since i’d just consumed my dinner only minutes ago. My buddy was Esmond for the first few KMs before i lost him to Daniel Ong, his go-to running partner for races. This new route was preferred since it allowed me to keep track of who’s ahead and where i stood in the ranks.

The first 8 loops came and went. I remembered glancing at my watch and noticed it was in good pace too. 42.5k in 4 Hrs 30 Mins ! Would have been my SCMS PB had this been in the daytime … 4 Hrs 30 Mins inclusive of breaks taken after each loop. The last 2 or 3 of these loops were with Jeremy Lee ! I lost his company on his final 2 loops to Guru Sng Boon Heng whom he was pacing

10 loops completed, 50k done ! Soon the pair of Esmond & Daniel, along with Joshua Lin Lu caught up to me when i was refuelling and recharging myself. Had wanted to start the next loop with them, but when they elected to spend a few minutes to nap and rest i decided to go solo. I came across them again closer to the completion of my 11th loop. They looked as fresh as when they started the first few loops.

New Objective :

11 loops completed, and bro Jian Hong who had decided to stop after completion of 50k (he was faster than i to 50K) came over to tell me something that was to change the whole complexion of my Twilight race. He updated me on the rankings ! From 6th placed in the Male category after 10 loops, i now found myself in 3rd after 55K. 3 faster runners had decided to call it a night. I was pumped but knew the night was still young. There was still many KMs to go. From being casual, i was now focused and purposeful. And soon i became so engrossed that i forgot all about completing the loops in quarters. Every loop completed was +1 over the previous. I started paying more attention as to who the 2 male runners who were ahead of me; Bibs 150 & 58. Both Caucasians. Optimism was raised when i was told these guys might be targeting 100K only. And suddenly, i was strategizing and planning as i was looping the circuit like a hamster. My breaks after each 5k completed were also kept to a minimal.

As the night went on, I started becoming more and more apprehensive of who’s ahead and who’s just behind within striking distance to capitalize on any time wasting or slow down on my part. It was quite exciting really, and i think the adrenaline kept me wide awake, as do too the many friends i kept coming up along during the loops, and also maybe the caffeine from the Nescafe canned drinks i had in my cooler box.

70k in or so, and someone told me that i might have been overtaken by Joshua & Szeto. They also told me about the Indian runner whom i had no idea who he was. The name Thomas did not ring a bell to me at all. Just then i spotted Szeto coming in and almost immediately heading back out without even stopping for a sip. That was like a wake-up call to me. I playfully called out : Run Szeto, run ! I am coming for you ! and hurriedly left in pursuit. I only managed to catch up to him at the u-turn point near Gerald Drive. A quick chat and my fears were unfounded. I was still holding down the Men’s 3rd placing since the 11th loop. We run-walk together till the CP. The pool of runners was considerably much smaller since 7pm, and Szeto tells me he’s going off in the morning. I was in no doubts that he be a formidable rival in my quest for podium had he had the time to run till the cut-off time at 1:00 PM. Szeto eventually completed 85k in 12 hours ! I also had the opportunity to run with my buddy from my Monster Ultra 200k attempt Jason Cheong. The Monster (Finisher) would go on to complete 80k in 11 hours 34 mins, and this was his Lantau recovery run !!! And what of Thomas the Indian ? Well, it finally dawned on me, after 5km it was my friend Tejo, or more affectionately referred to as TT or TJ

My standings in the Male Category remained unchanged since loop 11 until the start of the 17th loop. The runner just ahead of me had decided to stop after 80k. I suddenly found myself in 2nd place, 3rd place Overall, with Faith Tan who was leading the Ladies’ category just ahead of me, and the lead runner #150 at least 1.5 loops ahead of me then. There was no way i could over haul his position in a straight race if we both kept going the manner in which we were doing till the end of the event. I could only hope he really does stop after 100k.

I was still feeling good about myself and my body. I was still going strong despite not having eaten anything solid except for the Fishball Noodle dinner that i had earlier prior to flag-off. I did not want to waste any time so i politely declined any offers by friends to prep cuppa noodles. Besides, i didn’t wanna take unnecessary risk as a consequence of the food i consumed.

Gadgets :

And finally I need not fuss nor worry about charging my iPhone. That spared me a lot of hassle and time. I no longer relied on my Runtastic Pro App. I got myself a  Suunto Armbit 3 Peak Sapphire back in Feb ! The only mistake i made was forgetting to Lock the button of the watch. I lost 15 mins of personal tracking when i Paused the tracking without realizing it.

The other thing i did which i hadn’t done for a few ultra distance runs was immersing myself in music. My new Sony Bluetooth water-resistant earphones worked wonderfully. Throughout this whole run, i only ever needed to recharge it only once and that was when the battery went completely flat. Rated to last up to 6 hours only, it surpassed it’s specifications (granted i wasn’t blasting the music on full blast). It had gone at least 8-9 hours. I left it to charge (so i was running one loop without music) and by the time i returned it was already fully charged

[it’s actually quite interesting writing this report so many weeks since the event. as i’m going thru my fellow ‘competitors’ stats, i learned and saw how the race unfolded on that day. Faith Tan, the Female Champ led the field after completion of her 11th loop, 52.5k. She lost the lead to the Men’s leader shortly after the u-turn on the 14th loop. And got pegged back further after the u-turn on the 15th loop to the next male runner. She’s now 3rd placed overall, but she made a strong comeback to regain the lead being the first to clock 90k that day. She eventually surrendered that lead for good after 97.5k but was strong enough to maintain her lead in the Ladies category, and finished the race in 2nd place Overall. 120km in 15 Hrs 22 Mins !]

Still Men’s 2nd, 3rd Overall … since the start of the 17th loop, i knew my only chance of topping the Men’s category was up when i saw #150 still going strong. He did not look like he was going to call it a day anytime soon. This was when i’d just  completed my 90th km. He must have been at least 2 loops ahead of me by then, and he had just set off on yet another loop. My best bet was to buckle down and hold down my fort in 2nd place (Men’s).

Handa (a friend) whom i’d first met at Craze 101k back in 2014 was still breathing down my neck for an eternity. First signs of trouble felt on my 19th loop. Right ankle did not feel right. I tried not to think too much of it, but it certainly made me exercise caution. This lap took ** 44 mins (to complete the 5k loop) – longest i’d taken to complete a single loop since the start of the event. 95km done.

** Checkpoint Spot, The Official Time Timekeeper & live tracking provider’s splits were taken without including the idle time when a runner was resting at the main CP area. In other words, the splits were calculated from the moment the runner started on a new loop (eg loop 9) (crosses timing mat A), u-turn at the midway CP (timing mat B), crossed timing mat A again (one loop of 5k – 9 loops completed). If say, the runner then rested 55 mins before setting off on his next loop (10), and took 40 mins to complete his 10th loop, the split on the results page for that runner would indicate Lap10 Finish 40 mins, and not 1:35:00 (55 + 40 mins) **

Out for another loop, and suddenly the same sharp pain on my right ankle became increasingly painful. I was stopped dead in my tracks for the first few occurrences. Handa was approaching ever closer. I tried my best to run, to at least maintain a distance between him and i. I had to. I was not going to give him any encouragements from seeing me struggling. 97.5k – U-turn … i continued running in spite of the pain becoming increasing frustrating ! Round the bend, out of sight … i walked, praying he’d do likewise after the u-turn. But alas, he was still running ! and as he passed we cheered each other to push on ! Loop20 : 42:30 : 100k done : Men – 3rd : Overall : 4th

Mayday, Mayday ! :

I was distraught. The ankle was hurtiing. Plus i knew i could no longer run ! Frustrated because i was no longer in control of the situation. There was still time, but what good if no longer able to run ? Run … pushing through pain … and risking an extended period on the sideline was not my idea of how i should run. I am not a professional runner. Decisions decision, call it quits or continue prodding along. At which point now, time becomes the enemy because now those trailing behind me have the time to overtake me. Quit, and for sure lose out on the possibility of my first podium finish. Walk, and then the bitter reality that i had been narrowly edged out of Top 3. Lily & Eugene Teo (he was here last night to support the runners before going home) watched on somewhat bewildered at how fast my situation had changed from one of optimism and hope to one of utter despair and anguish. I laid down on the groundsheet to get my head sorted out. In the meantime, i’d asked Eugene to help me fill up the plastic bags i’d given to him with ice. Minutes passed, how many i hadn’t a clue. I finally got up, went to my belongings and switched out from shoes to my Teva sandals. I had to try … as the saying goes, you’ll never know if you never try ! I headed out on my 21st loop !

This was the most difficult loop of my TUC ! Demoralized, deflated, despair, tired, plus the sun was now out, and as if things could not get any worse the PCN was now bustling with activities – joggers, runners, cyclists ! 2 attempts to try running in the sandals both ended in failure. I had to walk … no more running. Loop21 : 52:49 : Men – 3rd : Overall : 5th

Busy working out the permutations, weighing the odds, checking with Checkpoint Spot on how much lead I had from my ‘chasers’ … and in the midst of it all, Daniel and Esmond returned with another loop conquered. They both just finished their 100k ! At one point i suspect i was almost 10k ahead of my buddies ! Daniel was contemplating stopping for good, but Esmond was still eager to go on. Eugene Teo was getting ready to head for home. We reached an agreement. We’d all walked together for this loop.

Loop22 : 1 Hr 01 Min : my slowest ever of TUC 2016 : As at the time of my completion of this loop … Men’s : 3rd : Overall : 5th … Gun Time : 15:16:48 ! 33+ Minutes of waiting to see if i was still in the Top 3 …. Loop 22 as it happened : we walked cos we both could no longer run except for Esmond. He soon left us to go on ahead on his own. Daniel – foot blisters from wrong choice of footwear; racing flats ! Eugene Teo – departed shortly after Legends Cafe to get home. And then there were 3 : Daniel, myself, and ST Ngoo (Daniel’s pacer friend). This loop was painful, but it could certainly have been a lot worst had i not had company. I’d probably might not even have attempted this loop had it not been for Daniel who went out on a last loop simply for my sake. Thanks Daniel Ong ! He completed 105km, a TUC PB for him.

Tejo arrived 10 mins after us at the CP. He still had 33 mins to complete his 23rd loop. RD Ben Swee & Yee Hua cajoled him to head out for one more. Tejo headed out and i was joking with Ben & his wife about my 3rd placed finishing prize being robbed ! I was resigned to the loss. I totally lost tracked of time nor of what i was doing since i completed my race. Soon, Tejo came roaring back in style ! I cheered him and congratulated him on his awesome finish ! We shooked hands !

In all, 16 runners completed 100k (20 loops) or more vs last year’s 23 (2014 – 25, 2013 – 26, 2012 – 16, 2011 – 15), bearing in mind this was at a new venue and each loop being only 5k (vs the 10k ones at ECP) so it was mentally more draining and monotonous.

3 outstanding runners to point out, all happened to be ladies – Mary & Esther. Both started the race slow and easy, and i think i was ahead by 2 loops at least at one point during the race. Both showed great tenacity to finish strong ! Mary completed 110k in 15:44. Just found out she saved her best and fastest lap for last. She completed her final 5k loop in 31 mins !!! Esther did 105k in 14:54 to finish 3rd & 4th in Ladies category. The other lady i hadn’t mention was Thricey. Gritty, resolute and tough … she endured the pain in her knee from pretty early on and pushed herself to complete 100k in 15:37 to finish 5th in her gender category (though the Results page erroneously reflected her as a male runner)

Last runner to cross the Finish Line before the 16-Hour cut-off time was up was #150 Moog Antoine, the man whom i was ‘plotting’ against, the Overall Champ from France … 125km, 25 loops, 15:52 ! The Female Champ Faith, the 2nd placed Overall – 120km in 15:22 !

All good things gotta come to an end … and soon 16 hours had come to past. Time for the prize presentations. I was completely taken by surprise when Ben called out my name for Men’s 3rd placed Finisher. I’d been pranked ! Apparently Tejo had turned back prematurely on his last loop. I’m still not sure if he was in on the prank, but regardless i had not seen it coming. $100 store voucher courtesy of sponsor Key Power Sports, put to good use with the purchase of the Ultimate Direction Stereo Hi-Fi running belt i’d been eyeing. Just as well cos i’d ran the first 50k with my iPhone 6s Plus in my hand, before removing the casing and slotting it into the back pocket of my TNF Long Haul Shorts for the rest of my journey in this year’s TUC

And how did i fare for this year’s TUC ? i think i did good, better than i could have anticipated. But most importantly, i did it in the manner that i always do my races. Cheerfully, merrily, clowning around with friends and kakis, laughing and generally having a great time even thru the hardest and darkest periods of the race. To me, that is why i continue to love running. The camaraderie is the quintessential component of an Ultra race, probably one that cannot be matched by lesser distance races. The runners are all in tuned with the fatigue, the mental drain, the suffering … Elites not exempted

Consumed :

Fishball Noodle, Coke, coconut water, coconut drinks, Nescafe canned, H20 isotonic, Lucozade, water, 4 lychees, 5 seedless dates

Credits And Thanks :

• The Officials : Running Guild – Ben, Lok, Phil, & Teelee. Yee Hua, Checkpoint Spot, The volunteers, The medics on standby
• The photographers : Run Mo Cap – Nora & Joe, Tony Goh, Wilson Ong, Running Shot Marcus, Run Shoot Repeat, Nyoman, Ming Ham, Satay & Joyful Runner.
• My fellow Ultra runners and friends. This event would not have been possible without your continued support and participation. We kept each other running through the night, and for a few … into the morning and after ! Too many to name here, you guys know who you are ! Heartfelt Thanks ! 🙂
• Jeeb Akid – for returning with the trolley to aid me with the broken cooler box. I think your act was key to the whole thing. It set everything in motion, and i was able to be calm instead of being a nervous wreck worrying over no time for this and that
• Lily Bimmo – for dinner, and just about everything else. PB Support / Supporter. can’t thank you enough sis
• Eugene Teo – for your kind words of advice and concern after finding out i was injured. I think i might have stopped at 100k. you played a part in my continuing on. and thanks for helping me to fill the bags of ice, as well as walking out on the last loop when you were bound for home
• Daniel Ong – for your constant cheering throughout the night, and especially for talking me into going out one last loop and accompanying me too even though your feet were suffering just as badly. Proud to have known you, and to be a friend of yours bro 🙂
• Jason Cheong / Chung Kit Szeto – for running / walking with me; your company, your continued encouragements and support to fight for podium, for hearing me blah3 lol

Final Words :

Lesson from this race : While you see a chance, Take it !

i leave you readers with this thought : A lad, young runner … passing (towards me) as i was going out on another loop sometime in the middle of the night, 3 AMish, maybe even 4 …  suddenly asked me : “don’t feel tired one ah ?” I just smiled at him and “Jiayou” back ! but in the back of my mind was : yes i’m tired too, but i’ve got a podium to catch ! LOL … it all comes down to how much you want it, and knowing how much you willing to suffer for it. Me, i was lucky in that the injury struck pretty late after i’d completed 100k. Any sooner, and the outcome of this post would have been an entirely different story, different mood, more sombre ! I was not willing to risk a long term injury for something which i could not even be certain of, in this case the 3rd placed (Men’s) finishing … and i came to within a whisker of losing it too. I will cherish this for a long long long time 🙂

STATS :

I knew Snoopy was one of Missus’ favorite cartoon characters. When I learnt about the Snoopy Run being held for the first time in Singapore, I took the opportunity to encourage her to sign up and go for a fun run together.  She has a strong disaffinity for running somehow.  Unfortunately I failed to convince her and so it ended with me signing up for the fun run so that I could get the Snoopy and Peanuts Gang theme race pack and medal as belated birthday gifts.

The race pack collection was at the Sports Hub Library and I was early so I didn’t have to queue up and collected my race pack, in a pink plastic bag with the favorite cartoons on it.  I was asked to choose the start time and I picked the first time slot 7.00 am (or 7.30 am rather).  I was given a pick colored number bib, which left me scratching my head, wondering if I had put the wrong gender down on the electronic form.  Anyway, I had picked a smaller T-shirt since that was meant for Missus.  (It turned out that all first wave would be pink color.)

After my last half marathon in Run350, I unfortunately twisted my ankle quite badly about a week after.  So for more a few days,  I was limping and feared that I had stress fracture or somehow gotten back my old torn ligaments injury again or worse, or worst, get Plantar Fasciitis all over again.  For the first time I didn’t go for my runs at the park for more than 3 days at a stretch.  So I thought after resting for so many days, I would take the fun run as a test also to see how bad my ankle was.

I was early and there was a lot of people of different size, shape and ages, but everyone was looking excited, enthusiastic and relaxed.  This wasn’t any competition race so no one was trying to push their way through to the front so that they could be in wave 1.  Everyone (or perhaps 99%) was complying with the instruction to wear the Snoopy T-shirt.   I was one of those 1% and so was wearing a white T-shirt so that I could still blend in with the Snoopy supporters.  Some were carrying the yellow iconic Charlie Brown bag given in the race pack.  There were largely families and friends out for some Sunday morning fun, though there were also lone rangers like myself too but they perhaps were genuine Snoopy fans.  I felt a bit bogus.  Anyway, everyone was looking forward to the start line where a DJ and Snoopy were flagging off and giving high fives to anyone who could reach across the barrier.  (And I just realized, there weren’t any queues for toilets or bag deposits.  So apparently no tension, then no need for release ?)

The 5 km seemed rather short and it ended when it ended.  Throughout, I  walked, ran, took pictures and looped back etc, so I did everything that I normally don’t do in races.

There were a lot of picture stops so everyone who wish to take pictures could stop and queue to wait their turns.  Every queue was orderly and friendly with a volunteer who often stepped in to take the pictures for the folks.  Everyone was smiling and there were no rush.

The sky did look dark but it didn’t bother the folks and it didn’t rain.  Instead it was calm cool weather, a nice respite from the past days of hot temperature.  You could see everyone was enjoying themselves.  There were also a lot of stairs to climb and these came early too, but everyone enjoyed the camaraderie instead, being with Snoopy/Peanuts Gang fans,  except for perhaps the minority, I only heard one chap asking if this was a climbing race instead of fun run.  But nobody was racing and if anyone was sprinting, he/she was doing it with fun, mostly the children.   There was one hydration point with Pere Ocean as the sponsor.  At the finishing point, a medal, a certificate and a few finisher gifts were given including the famous Meiji Amino Collagen Premium Drink.  You could also get more water if you need.

There were also a few more pic stops at the finishing area.  The sponsors were actively encouraging participants at their stalls like California Fitness, Spark Asia, Charlie Brown Cafe. The DJ invited the characters, Charlie Brown, Lucy and finally Snoopy to pose and dance for the crowd.  According to the DJ, about 10,000 participants signed up for this run.

It ended with the lucky draw and Snoopy interacting with the crowd through rolling a big giant red ball from front to the back.  Everyone seemed to have this Snoopy smile on his/her face at the end of the day.  I also forgot about the pain in my foot while I went back with the finisher gifts.

When I received the email regarding the event pack collection, the first thing I feel is I really regretted not buying the Rock Star tickets! Gonna have priority queue for those who bought rock star tickets during the event pack collection! I didn’t buy that because what comes along with it doesn’t attracts me at first, but priority queue is! Did they mention before about this priority queue thing because I didn’t notice about it. I don’t like to queue, and then I was wishing hopefully I no need to queue during the event pack collection. In the end my friend help me collect the event pack so I also don’t know is there queues or not but still, every race organizers should consider postage option! Even now buy hello kitty from Mac also no need queue or even go to MAC already because got improvements and improvised already right ? Many people will be willing to pay and can help you save on event space cost also ?

So this time I didn’t anyhow chop off the event tee myself, I get a tailor auntie to do it nicely for me at $8. I’m glad I did, it was so hot and humid. I know I could just wear any other singlet to run but I want to be part of the event so I shall still wear what is given but I will just do some amendments to it ?

When my friend and I saw the queue to take the monorail into Sentosa is so long, we would rather walk in than spend time queueing. Since we are runners, just a 2km walk to event site is not something we would complain. But we were just complaining about the heat and sun ? Really so hot and we sweat like as if we already completed the run ?

My running kakis and I are at the very front of the start line, it is my first time in the front line and it is really great, we get to enjoy very nice dance from the dancers before we flag off.

Due to ‘peer pressure’ I chiong with my running kakis for a while and by the time I reach the tormenting up slopes I walk all the way ? The slope is like endless. But luckily I am able to continue running after that.

I was running halfway suddenly I was shoved a fake rubber guitar filled with air by a runner running beside me just a few hundred metres into the run, it’s so cute can! Don’t know why he pass it to me maybe he gets tired of holding it already. But even though it only weighs a few grams I still don’t feel comfortable holding on to it for the rest of the run so I give it back to a volunteer when I couldn’t spot any kids around to give it to and I had enough of holding on to it ?

The music is nice, with nice music the run is always enjoyable. Some nice fact on music were displayed along the way but I just focus on running and didn’t really pay much attention to them. The event organisers really got effort, many things to entertain us in the running route such as dancers dancing and many photo points. But I don’t see any distance markers around.

The only thing not that good is the baggage deposit, not very organise as they took quite a while to search for my bag, then I realised it’s not only me, my friends also waited quite long while they search for the bag.

Didn’t stay and enjoy the concert but if got Maroon 5 confirm will stay ? Enjoying the run and getting the medal is good enough ? I think whether the medal looks nice or not doesn’t matter at all to me actually, it’s the running in the running events and experience the running with friends that matters. The medal on first thought looks like the Chinese New Year gold coin chocolate to me ?

Time for another adventure! This time round to Coney Island. I had no idea this island existed at all or where it was located. The first thing I saw on the Coney Island Run website was that they had pony rides. My girl immediately came into my mind. She is such a sweet and compassionate girl with an extreme love for animals. One day while we were roasting a duck in the oven, she cried when she saw the poor thing came out after the timer was done. She told us eating animals is cruel and to stop doing that. Well, she still loves her chicken nuggets and we didn’t exactly tell her where that came from. Maybe some other day but not today. With that, we are off!

On the street directory, the carparks available near the start point looks really pathetic. We didn’t want to take our chances, so we drove to Waterpoint Shopping Centre to park the car there and then take a shuttle bus directly to the starting area. I was surprised to see some food kiosk operating so early in the morning at the shopping centre. I thought they usually operate much later. So, we bought some bites from Old Chang Kee and proceeded to the bus waiting area. Not exactly the breakfast of champions I know.

A quick ride away and we were at the carnival area, the announcer on stage was already informing the wave 1 runners of the 10km to proceed to the start point immediately. I said good bye to the wife, kids and helper and went for my solo adventure. The start point was actually a good 700 metres from the carnival area. It was during this time I spotted some folks that looked like Kenyans at the form up area. Wow, more professional runners again? I thought these guys only showed up at events like Standard Chartered Marathorns or the Olympics. Maybe it has got to do with the $1000 cash prize money or part of their training to get used to the atmosphere of fellow competing athletes.

Before long, we did some final last minute warm ups and were ready to go. I was trying not to kill myself and wanted an injury free race. So I started off at a relatively slow pace and runners were overtaking me left and right. What’s interesting is that the organisers placed some interesting signs in the middle of the running path to educate people like me more about this island. Did you know there is a lonely cow on the island? I wonder how it got there. The vegetation on the island was also very different from what we get on the mainland.

They called it the Coney Island trail run but technically it should be called 1/4 Coney Island trail run since the entire length of the island is only 2.5 km. So the next 7.5 km of the run would be on the main island instead. I was ready for some disappointment when we exited the island but was pleasantly surprised to see that the landscaping for the rest of the run was beautiful and breathtaking. We ran across waterways and bridges. Even though the 3/4 of run was through a man made environment, it was 100% beautiful.

During the 8km mark, it was close to 9am and the heat of the sun was mercilessly in its shining on everyone. Luckily for me, I brought my hydration pack along and the 1 litre of water that accompanied me so far was almost depleted. The organisers had some hydration points along the 2.5km, 5km and 7.5km mark but they were only serving isotonic drinks. This coupled with the thick t-shirts issued for the run could be a recipe for heat stroke if you had a body conditioned like mine. It was probably due to this added hydration that I could start picking up my pace and overtaking some of the runners in front of me. In fact, I even saw 2 guys took out their t-shirt because it was simply too warm.

Towards the finishing line, the organisers were trying to get runners off the finishing area so that more runners can come in without bumping into other people. Well, this might have helped if you moved the end point water point further away so everyone wouldn’t be crowding around to get a drink. But again, that wasn’t a “real” water point, just more isotonic drinks. As I made my way back to the main carnival area, I saw that they were given out alcoholic Somersby apple ciders. I mean those stuff tastes great but not a single drop of water? This is the first running event I have been to with the organisers not offering a single drop of water. Nonetheless, I feel great after this run. No pain, no injuries and even finished this in a hour and 10 minutes, the fastest 10km I have done so far.

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