Connecting  Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park, the Southern Ridges is a 10km stretch of connecting trails, architectual bridges and diverse vegetation.  The Ridges provide panoramic views of the city, the harbour, the Southern Islands and the Strait of Malacca.  For nature lovers and within easy commute, Southern Ridges is a haven open to exploration.

What was sure to be a challenging run, the hills, hills and more hills and all those stairs were unanticipated to some degree.  The relief however, was in knowing that what goes up must come down, and there was plenty of that too.

Easiest starting point is the Marang Trail and it’s not because the trail itself is easy.  It’s easy simply because it starts outside HarbourFront MRT thereby making it easily accessible.  The trail is an upward stairs climb of about 70m for about 800m in length.  The usual under 6 pacers took off like ‘Lightning Jack’ whilst the rest of us heaved ourselves up the stairs one slow step at a time.

Leading into Mount Faber Park through Faber Walk, we are met by city views stretching as far as the eyes can see. Standing at 106m high, Mount Faber is the fourth highest hill in Singapore and known for the cable car attraction and scenic views whilst dining.

We finished on Mount Faber with the Merlion Sculpture at Faber Point.  The Merlion is Singapore’s mascot depicting a creature that is half lion, half fish.  This one is 3m tall and one of five on the island.  The tallest is on Sentosa Island and stands at 37m high.

With one out of three parks completed, we moved onto Telok Blangah Hill Park via the architecturally designed Henderson Waves Bridge.  At 274m long and 36m above ground this pedestrian bridge “has a wave-form made up of seven undulating curved steel ribs that alternately rise over and under its deck. The curved ribs form alcoves that function as shelters with seats within.” [Wikipedia]

Worth taking the time to enjoy the surroundings, the view and the structure of the bridge, a return visit is on the cards with a better camera and more time on my hands.

As the bridge leads us into Telok Blangah Hill Park, we come upon the Forest of the Giants, where giant native trees tower over the canopy of the secondary forest.  Primarily planted to teach people about reforestation there are now 600 plus trees  that can reach up to 80m when they mature.

The nearby restroom and water fountain was an excellent area to refresh before pushing onto the Forest Walk, a raised zig-zag steel walkway that treks through the forest for 1.3km.  The walkway was a welcomed reprieve as we jogged downhill towards the next connecting bridge.

The final bridge connection was the Alexandra Arch at 80m long featuring “a curved deck and tilted arch like an opened leaf” [Wikipedia].  Another pitstop for the mandatory group shot and much needed rest to  catch our breath before tackling the last trail to our end point.

Skipping HortPark we scrambled our way up to the Canopy Walk and made our way to Kent Ridge Park. During WWII the park was once the site of one of the last and fiercest battles fought by the Malay Regiment against the invading Japanese army.  It became known as the Battle of Bukit Chandu.

With a final push uphill we arrived to our destination some 45 minutes later, sweating, thirsty and relieved to be able to sit down.   We covered about 6km in total.  That was definitely sufficient on this hilltop.

The highlight at the end was the portable cooler laden with anything you want: beer, isotonic drinks, spirits and even cocktail mixes.  If there was any water in there I paid it no heed, nor did anyone else.

With drink in hand and good company we closed off our evening with a sunset.  Can it get better than this?

It has been exactly 3 years since I started SG Unfit Runners and we are running into one of the biggest challenge of our blog: Finding an area in the central area which we have not covered yet and is acceptable by all the Unfit Runners who live all over Singapore. We spend sometime huddling over Google Map, enlarging the map, looking out for pathways or possible running routes which we can share with our readers. Working from the Marina Bay area, we spied a small walking track from Marina Bay East up along Geylang River. That route looks like a possible runner’s dream with minimal traffic crossings.On top of that, one of the best food market in Singapore, Old Airport Road Market is along the way.

SG Unfit Runners gathered at Dakota MRT and we headed south towards Kallang. The run is a scenic one with a good mix of modern condominiums, old HDB estates and expensive landed property. I have ran along many small rivers and canals in Singapore and many of them exhibit the same problems for runners: The smell of stale water and rotten garbage.

The Geylang River does not exhibit the same problem and we even encountered some Singaporean doing some fishing along the way. The path we took is part of the Singapore PCN network and true to our expectations, there are underpasses and sloped overhead bridges which are extremely friendly to both runners and cyclists. There is minimal elevation along the route and there are minimal pedestrian traffic along the way. Other than a few dog walkers, this fantastic route seems to have been forgotten by Singapore Runners. The running traffic started to pick up in earnest as we hit the Kallang stadium area. You can view the Kallang BayEast route here.

We encountered the runners challenging the Singapore Urbanathlon when we reached the Kallang River stretch with the runners challenging Obstacle 6. We had a great time waving at the runners and urging them on!

The Geylang River route is one beautiful, smooth and runner friendly route dotted with MRT stations and some of the best eating spots in the east. If you are looking for a morning and evening run and end with a satisfying meal, Geylang River is probably one of the best route to try out.

Visit SG Unfit Runners for more routes for absolutely unfit people. Don’t visit us if you are very fit and do ultramarathons without breaking a sweat! SG Unfit Runners is a finalist at the Singapore Blog Awards.

Why would you run a marathon?

Before i run the marathon for the first time, i struggle to find a logical enough reason to explain my purpose in doing so. I blabber out reasons like… justforfunlah! seehowlor! which makes no sense. After i finished running the marathon, the answer is clear.

Why should we even explain ourselves? Those whom run it will know the reason why.

Everyone runs for distinct reason(s) unique to their life.

After 5 years of running, I’m just like anyone else, a leisure runner. When I’m happy I’ll run more, when i feel ‘high’ i run bit faster. I don’t do 150km per week neither do i run most of my runs at race pace. Like you and every other runner out there trotting away in the year of the goat, i firmly believed slow and steady shall prevail in the long run (literally).

There are 5 things I’ve learn through Marathon running. Here we go:

1. It’s as unique race.

When you started your running regime, you ran from 1km to 2.4km to 4km to 5km, so on and so forth. Thereafter, you train for a 10k race, subsequently to a 21km race. You complete these races. You look back at your effort for 21km and in your mind, you must be thinking ‘crazy man, how to run 42km?!’ A marathon is long, not as long as a ultramarathon, not as short as a 21km race. This distance could be deadly if you didn’t prepare for it. But even if you did, the training promises nothing 100%. It doesn’t mean that you train well for it, during race day you’ll shine and clock your personal best. Why? In my opinion, its more of a mental than a physical race. A marathon is unpredictable. For a leisure runner with minimal talent, we can only afford so much time, without compromising personal commitments. And that the fun part of it. The distance is fixed, ultimately it depends on yourself. Your peers could help you get there, but on race day you are on your own (even with your peers around you).

2. You are stronger than you think.

I remember when i first started running, i always find myself sprinting the final 200m to the finishing line. When i finished the race, i pant like crazy and wonder why would I have so much energy at the end. Is that really andrenaline kicking in? Could it be your speed trainings and negative split trainings aiding that last 200m? Could it be pure luck? Could it be you’re rushing to the portaloo? They say that after 30km, you would hit the wall. True. They say after 35km, you will run out of energy and walk all the way to the end. True too. Now, look back at your training, what is the longest run you did prior to the marathon? Probably 30-35k? During your longest run, you would probably include some water breaks, walking, waiting at traffic lights etc. Look, during race day, you are likely to run nonstop and even after passing your longest training run mark, you continue to trot, push yourself and finish with a florish at the finishing line with a smile.

3. No short cut, sheer hardwork is required.

Recently I was privileged to know some top distance athletes in Singapore whom were humble to share their training schemes with me. They did 180km in their PEAK week. Like what?!?! So there you have it. The kenyans do 2xx km per week to get the speed for a marathon. You get what you sow. Its pretty obvious. Even with talent, hardwork is still required. As most runs ain’t at marathon race pace, I would think you need to get used to the distance that’s required, forcing your body to understand 42km manageable at a pace you wouldn’t typically run during your long run. During my training, i’ll usually run the final 10km of my long run at race pace. Thats about it. Lots of training is required if you wish to do well in a marathon. If i run once a week, i shouldn’t be expecting myself to complete a marathon with ease. For me that is…

4. The best had yet to come.

The final 5km is always the most torturous journey during a marathon race. Your body is depleted and you are practically using every ounce of your mental energy, the runners around you, the support crew along the way, to egg you on. In the final 200m, you do your best to cross the line with a big wide smile. But you know in your mind, and you are absolutely sure, the moment you cross that line, you’ll do better in your next marathon. Some might say ‘ahhhh no more marathons in a while’, most of the time, they’ll do another the following year or in half a year! #runnerslie . Its akin to studying for an exam. When you scored 75 marks in your maths, your confidence rises and you feel, maybe, just maybe if i work abit harder, I’ll get 80. Is that possible? Of course! Is it attainable? You bet.

5. Management of life comparison.

This is pretty personal. To me, i compare running a marathon with a normal person living his/her life from birth till the end of life. Basically when you started off running the first 10km, you tell yourself you got this, you make sure your effort is steady, pace is steady and this is the part you smiled the most. This is similar to the first 20 years of your life. Basically everything is planned out for you. Your life is usually smooth flowing and there’s little cause for concern as there are always support around you. Sometimes you need them, sometimes you don’t (same as the water points in the first 10km :p). When you start your 11km to the half marathon mark, you still want to ensure a steady effort, but you realised its not as easy compared to the first 10km. Same with your life, from age 20-40, you find yourself grappling with making decisions of your own. Choosing and evaluating your partner, finding a suitable apartment, doing renovation, finding and retaining the right peers in your life. While you find your self having to make decisions of your own, you can still count on the peers around you and yes you will always count on them for a second opinion now, be it your family, your friends or colleagues. The 21-30km mark can be the most daunting to some. Mentally you know you have completed half of it but there’s another half to go. Some start to fatigue midway through and saw their pace dragged away. Some took this opportunity to make up for loss time while managing their expectation and making plans for the final 10km. This is similar to a person’s life. When you are 40, everything seems to come to a stand still. For some, age is a concern and just looking at the numbers ‘4’ and ‘0’ together is daunting enough. For others, they start making plans, they made friends with younger peeps, get involved in running more and being healthy, start making plans for family while managing other commitments. Then come the final 10km (i once had a friend whom told me a marathon was 40km, last 2km on andrenaline so don’t count them in). Your legs are heavy, you feel like dying but you know if you slow down now you’ll crash to a point of no return. In life, when you are past 60, i would pressume peeps just want to take it easy and ‘crash’ in their comfortable sofa and enjoy a retired lifestyle. This contrast is what motivates me in the final 10km. I am not 60 now and i will not be 60 anytime soon. I usually ran the last 10km faster than the first 30km by inducing this concept into my brain. I could run less (maybe even retired from running) when I’m 60, but that time has yet to come.

There will always be non runners whom when they knew you run marathons, come asking for your timings. And when you tell them the timing, the first look of their face betrayed whatever they wish to say in the next instance. Why? They use their 2.4km timing and start multiplying, without taking into fatigue into consideration. They will never understand the above points unless……

They run a Marathon.

– skinnykenyan

Image credit: 123rf.com