Are You Running Too Much Or Too Little?

August 16, 2017

tired runner — Photo Credit: Rebalance Life

A good training plan strikes a balance between running and recovery – because we must always remember recovery is part of training. So, just how much is too much? Running too much or too little will interfere with our fitness level. In this case, more does not necessarily mean better. Putting unreasonable demands on your body can have adverse consequences. If you are overtraining, you are in actual fact killing your chances at improving. But you also cannot expect to improve if you don’t put in sufficient training.

The Adverse Effects Of Overtraining

Overtraining can make you feel sluggish throughout the day. You would start to dread your workout sessions. You will start to deteriorate in performance. You will start to feel frustrated with yourself. Your sleep may be affected and thus you won’t be getting proper recovery. You will start thinking – why? I’ve been putting in so much more effort, why isn’t my results proportionate to the effort I’m putting it? Overtraining will take it’s toll on you both mentally and physically.

Symptoms Of Overtraining

Disturbed sleep, frequent illness and an elevated resting heart rate can be an indication of overtraining. If you are starting to dread your workouts, this is also a sign for you to slow down and maybe take a rest day or two. Get in enough snooze to allow your body to recover.

How To Prevent Overtraining?

Generally speaking, your training load should vary from day to day. You shouldn’t be doing a hard session every day. That is way too much. You should alternate your hard and easy days to get the most out of training. You must always remind yourself that recovery is part of training.

Training is the stimulus for your body. When you train, your muscles start to break down. You will start to feel fatigue. When your muscles start to repair itself, it will repair itself to a state that was stronger than before. This is known as the overcompensation theory. This way, when you are back for your next training session, you are stronger and fitter than before. If this is done right, you will get fitter over your course of training. But remember, you must allow your muscles to recover in order to become stronger. This is the importance of recovery.

Risk Of Injury

Injury is a very real risk when you overtrain. This is why you should be mindful about overtraining. When you are overtrained, you are sluggish and fatigue. Your muscles are weak. This greatly increases the risk of injury. You could easily pull a muscle and set you back in your running journey.

So, if you are putting in your training and not seeing the desired results, it could be because you are overtraining. If you hardly feel fatigue after training, this means you are undertaking. Put in more quality sessions to see better results!

Road Closures & Flag-Off Information for SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2017

Team JustRunLah!

August 15, 2017

The SAFRA Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon (SSBR & AHM) 2017 will be held on Sunday, 20 August 2017, from 4.30am to 10am. The run will be flagged off at Esplanade Bridge, and participants will be running on roads in the Central Business District, around Marina Bay and the National Stadium before ending at the Padang along St Andrew’s Road. Several roads will be affected by the event.

Flag Off Timings

21km Army Half Marathon:	4.30am
SAFRA 10km Race:	6.30am
NS50 Team Run:	7.30am
SAFRA 5km Fun Run:	7.30am
Families For Life 800m Challenge:	8.30am

Road Closure Details

The following roads will be fully closed on 20 August 2017:

These roads will be partially closed on 20 August 2017:

Note: Timings of road closure are subject to changes.

For more information on the event, visit www.safra.sg/ssbr_ahm

Understanding Why You Hit The Wall

Mel

August 15, 2017

In the marathon running scene, more often than not we hear the term hitting the wall. It is really the bane of marathon running. Hitting the wall is feared! Whether or not you hit the wall can make or break your race. It is important to understand why you hit the wall in order to prevent it.

What Is Hitting The Wall?

This hitting the wall phenomenon refers to the depletion of your glycogen stores. Fatigue starts to set in and with that comes negativity. Glycogen is the energy stores in our muscles and liver. It is the easiest most readily available source of energy. It is our body’s preferred source of fuel. When glycogen stores start to run low, as a preservation method, our body and brain starts to shut down. This explains the negativity that comes in the later stages of the race.

When Do You Hit The Wall?

Typically, runners hit the wall at the 18 – 20 miles mark. Our body stores 1800 – 2000 calories worth of glycogen in our muscles. Depending on pace, our body uses approximately 100 calories per mile when running. So, at the 18th – 20th mile, this is where our glycogen stores start to deplete and also where runners normally hit the wall.

How To Overcome This?

Although our body primarily uses carbohydrates as an energy fuel, we also have the ability access our fat stores. The answer lies in training our body to access these fat stores to continue to produce energy to sustain our effort. However accessing fat stores for energy is a longer complex process, one that we need to constantly train our body to utilise the metabolic fat pathway in a more efficient way. One way to do this is doing the long run.

Photo Credits: Jagged Words

Another way to overcome this is by consuming gels. Gels give you a quick fix of carbohydrates. Always try taking gels during training so you know how much more additional fuel you require to complete the distance. Always take gels before you feel the fatigue setting in. There is a saying, always eat before you are hungry and drink before you are thirsty. This will enable you to avoid the hitting the wall phenomenon.

Hitting the wall is not something to be feared. Instead, we should understand it, embrace it, and prepare ourselves well.

TPS Singapore, Race 2: Great Run in the Northeast, Lucky to Have the Great Weather

WeeKee

August 15, 2017

The second leg of the 3 parts TPS 2017 ran along the scenic Punggol Waterway and through Coney Island.

Frankly, I was disappointed when the route was announced because we did the same route for race 1 of TPS 2016, and remember the roasting experience due to the late flag-off. So after the route was out, I wrote in to the organiser to request for review of the route direction and hope we can start earlier possible to avoid the sun and also the other park users. Although the direction had changed, but the flag-off time remain as 7am, so I told myself to forget about PB although is home-ground.

The congestion at 5 – 7km was as expected because that path is too narrow to be divided into 2. And considering the usual heavy human and bike traffic, it is definitely a portion to get away as fast as possible. So I tried to move forward and stay ahead of the pack. I can see the main pack coming after the U-turn, overtaking is almost impossible.

The route after crossing the bridge to the other side of the waterway is generally smooth and easy. This time we have cold sponge which was nice, I kept it on my head till the end to cool my head.

Overall I enjoyed this run, lucky to have the nice weather, I managed to improve 7 mins. There are not much routes for 21km in Singapore, most commonly held around Garden By The Bay and East Coast. Its nice to have new routes and this is a good one.

While this route has some negative parts, I think this is best we can have with the constraints, so we need to manage ourselves and plan our race.

Looking forward to Race 3 @ Changi. Hope the flag-off will be 5am as there are not much trees in that area and many construction sites.

Lastly I hope our fellow runner who fainted at the finish line is fine now.

5 Things Millennials Need to Know About Running

Mel

August 15, 2017

Everyone knows Millennials and Boomers are different. Times, they are changing. And the way Millennials approach things are different. Millennials try to keep up with the trend, at all expense. So, here are 5 things for the Millennial generation to know about running to excel at running.

#1 You Need To Train For A Half Marathon, Let Alone A Marathon

A Half Marathon presents a challenge in itself. You don’t need to sign up for the marathon for a challenge. Some have said if you can’t run a sub 2 half marathon, you should not even be attempting the marathon distance. The rationale behind this is due to the risk on injury. If you’re legs are just no used to the consistency pounding for 4 hours, you are risking injury. An injury will set back your running progress. Is it really worth it to take a 6 months break from running just to run a marathon distance. Unless you have put in sufficient training – don’t!

#2 Start Small And Build Progressively

Take things one step at a time. Start small. if you are a beginner, take on the 10km distance. Target to improve the timing of your 10km distance before moving up the distance ladder. Slowly, but surely. This is also an injury risk management strategy. You will reap for benefits this way than moving up to fast.

#3 Start Slow In A Race And Build Up Progressively

Starting at a slower pace and finishing strong is known as negative splits. It is always good to run a race this way. Firstly, this way you avoid going out too fast and taking out too much from you. If you go out too fast you risk burning out before you cross the finish line. Starting out conservatively also gives you a mental boost when you start passing people in the 2nd half of your run. Most people tend to slow down in the 2nd half. This mental boost can give you the adrenaline to bring you back to the finishing line with a personal best.

#4 You Do Not Need A Fancy GPS Watch

Let’s face it! You’re probably going to be spending so much dough on a fancy GPS watch that you don’t even utilise all its functions. Especially if you’re just starting out, you just beed a basic GPS watch. Do you really need the fancy Suunto Spartan Ultra or the Fenix 5X? You probably could do with the basic forerunner 235. You just need a watch to tell you your pace to allow you to pace well. Unless you would fully utilise all the functions and statistics your watch tells you, there is no point forking out so much dough!

#5 Train Different

Try vary your training and incorporate different kind of runs. It’s not necessary that you just run for an hour everyday at the same speed. You can include tempo runs, intervals, fartlek training into your workouts! Training will never be boring this way. And you are bound to see and improvement in your races.

De Asis Shocks Buenavista in MILO-Tarlac

Servinio

August 14, 2017

TARLAC CITY – Jujet de Asis shocked running legend Eduardo “Vertek” Buenavista in winning the 41^st National MILO Marathon qualifying race Sunday morning (August 13) at the Maria Cristina Park. It was a tight race that was decided in the final stretch.

De Asis finished the 21-kilometer course in 1:14:33, a good 16 seconds faster than the five-time MILO King Buenavista who checked in at 1:14:49. Third Place went to Jomar Angus with a time of 1:16:07.

Meanwhile in the Women’s Division, Shane Acosta finally ended years of frustration with her first championship in a clocking of 1:44:00 to ease out Angielyn Pablo (1:49:54) and Maricar Gammad (1:51:48). Acosta started racing 21 kilometers in 2014 and settled for runner-up finishes after winning the 2013 Tarlac 10-kilometer category.

Others who went home victorious that morning were Philip John Gongob (36:49) and Merry Joy Trupa (40:09) for 10 kilometers, Mitch Fulgado (17:27) and Maria Angelica Yabo (24:24) for five kilometers and Jericho Tacutaco (11:50) and Joana Marie Gagarin (14:25) in the three-kilometer kiddie race.

The MILO Marathon will take a brief break this week and resume its search for the best runners with another regional qualifier in Naga City on August 27. It will be followed by more races in the cities of Lucena (September 3) and Lipa (September 10) before moving over to the Visayas and Mindanao.

This year’s National Finals will be hosted by Cebu City on December 3. A cash windfall of PHP 300,000.00 awaits the grand winner plus the chance to represent the country in an international race in 2018.

In May of this year, reigning MILO King Jeson Agravante and MILO Queen Mary Joy Tabal were sent to the ScotiaBank Ottawa Marathon in Canada. Tabal won top honors in the 21-kilometer category in the process setting a new Philippine record for the distance in 1:16:27.

Over 4,500 ran at scenic Punggol East & Coney Island for second race of The Performance Series Singapore 2017

Team JustRunLah!

August 14, 2017

On Sunday the 13^th of August 2017, more than 4,500 runners took part in the second run of this 3-part Singapore edition running series which happens throughout the year. The first run happened at Stadium Riverside on 28^th May 2017.

This time round, participants were brought through the scenic route extending from Punggol East through Punggol Waterway Park and Coney Island before finishing after the iconic Lorong Halus Bridge. The Guest of Honour, Mr Ng Chee Meng, Minister for Education (Schools), Second Minister for Transport and MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, flagged off the 21km participants at 7.00am sharp, followed by the 10km and 5km categories. Joining Mr Ng was Mr Desmond Tan, Chief Executive Director, People’s Association, and Mr Joseph Tan, Chairman of Punggol North Community Sports Club.

Coupled with great weather, the race gathered individuals, families and communities from all walks of life and all parts of Singapore. They enjoyed the benefits of health and wellness through running at a scenic and beautiful landscape that we are all so proud to call home. All the race volunteers, supporters and participants had all made this event a great success.

Congratulations to the winners

As part of the initiative to encourage participants to push their limits, prizes were awarded to the top 5 winners of 9 categories as follow:

All runners can access their timing results and e-certificates by clicking here.

Moving forward

The next race of the Singapore edition series is taking place at Changi on 5 November 2017. There is also the Malaysia edition series which the next race is taking place at Kuching, Sarawak on 3 September 2017. Registrations are open via www.theperformanceseries.sg and www.theperformanceseries.my respectively for the 21km, 10km and 5km categories.

Credits

The Performance Series Singapore 2017 is presented by PAssion Card, supported by Compressport, Lucozade Sport, Jaybird, pH Balancer, World of Sports, Mizuno, Pro-Tec Athletics, High 5 Sports Nutrition, LIV3LY, Sportstats Asia, One Raffles Place, JustRaceLah!, Elements Wellness, Qoolmart.com, ActiveSG, Community Sports Club, Coached, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, JX Productions, Superhero Runners and CoffeeTea Runners. The event is created by JustRunLah! and organised by Esprimo Pte Ltd.

More about The Performance Series

It is a series of six running races that brings runners through unique iconic landscapes of Singapore and Malaysia.

The series had attracted participants from more than 60 nationalities, aged 6 to 81. Through the series, individuals, families and communities will have an opportunity to advance, excel and experience the joy of living better through running.

This series is also a first of its kind in encouraging individuals of all levels, from non-runners to runners, and from runners to racers, to have a schedule of races to work toward and progress along with the series. With the tagline #TranscendYourself, The Performance Series 2017 aims to inspire anyone to reach their personal goals, whether it is through running or any other aspect. There is very active social media engagement with the community via

https://www.facebook.com/ThePerformanceSeriesSG
https://www.facebook.com/ThePerformanceSeriesMY

The Performance Series 2017 has also adopted Breast Cancer Foundation and PRIDE Foundation as our official charity causes so as to encourage people to maintain a healthy lifestyle and at the same time be able to contribute back to the community via donation and/or fundraising. Through the event Page on SimplyGiving.com, runners can easily create their own fundraising campaign. Non-runners can also visit the event page to donate to the campaign.

The Performance Series hopes to raise at least S$10,000 for the Breast Cancer cause. So far, S$4,823 has been raised.

Win A Blue Seventy Triathlon Mens’ Shorts With Singapore Aquathlon 2017

Team JustRunLah!

August 14, 2017

Calling all Asia’s Biathletes! Come challenge yourself in both worlds – land and sea at the Singapore Aquathlon 2017! The stage is set for 22 October 2017 at the Casuarina Grove, East Coast Park, F2 with 6 categories and 4 different distances. Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a freshie, come challenge yourself at the Singapore Aquathlon!

Register Now and Stand a Chance to Win A Blue Seventy TX1000 Triathlon Mens’ Shorts (Black Special Edition)

Great news for JustRunLah! readers! 3 lucky winners will stand a chance to win a brand new Blue Seventy TX1000 Triathlon Mens’ Shorts (Black Special Edition) when you register for the Singapore International Aquathlon 2017.

If you’ve already signed up, just fill in the form below to stand a chance to win! If you haven’t registered, just follow the steps below:

Click here to register yourself
Fill in the form below to stand a chance to win!

Another piece of good news for our readers!

The contest has ended – Thanks for taking part!

Gear Review: TomTom Runner 3

Andreas

tomtom-runner-3-jrl3 — Hands-on with TomTom Runner 3 Cardio+Music.

Out of the box

Runner 3 is the latest addition to the TomTom family of watches. The watch is less bulky than most others in the market, and its simple yet sleek design makes it suitable for everyday wear. Control of all functionalities is done by pressing the four sides of a chunky plastic pad located below the screen, which is easy enough to operate while running. The display is a 22 x 25mm monochrome LCD which is very clear to see outdoors, even on bright days. A backlight can be turned on by touching the screen.

All the tracking you need

The watch can count your steps, your heart rate and sleep cycle on a 24-hour basis. On top of that, there are a number of different activities that you can track, most of them coming with GPS support: Press ‘right’ on the pad to access and start an activity, including running, swimming, cycling, gym and freestyle. While recording an activity, there are loads of live metrics, such as calories, distance, heart rate, time and pace. The more impressive part comes from the additional screens (press ‘right’ once more) that can display a live route map, compass, heart rate zones, more.

Hitting my daily target and it’s only 11:00 am 🙂

Route exploration

The major selling point for me was that Runner 3 comes with on-screen route tracking. This works in two modes: first, it can help you navigate a pre-determined route, which can be any of your past runs or any gpx file uploaded via mysports.tomtom.com. Second, as you go out for a new run, your GPS data form a map in real time allowing you to find the way back home easily. There are 3 zoom levels at the map giving you a great sense of direction. Even though that might not be crucial in your everyday run around the neighbourhood, it is definitely a good feature to have when you set out exploring new places.

I really dig the routes exploration function. You can use any of your past runs or upload a gpx.

App and interface

At the end of your activity, you can sync the watch with your mobile app, which also uploads the data to your web dashboard. The information is quite well organised and a handful of statistics are available. I especially enjoy the “trends” screen of the app that provides an overview of your progress in a very intuitive and user-friendly way. Data freaks though might need to dive into the web interface as not all metrics are accessible from the app. Via the same web interface, you can also create routes by uploading gpx files that are later downloaded and displayed on your watch screen.

Music

TomTom Runner 3 is compatible with a large number of bluetooth headphones. Loading music is relatively easy, however, it requires that you have already created a playlist on your iTunes (or Windows Media player). Perhaps in a future update, a drag-and-drop functionality could be added so that we can load individual songs or albums. There’s 3GB of storage that can hold about 500 songs on the watch, which should be more than enough to last for a full marathon!

Comes with a handy compass that automatically shows your starting point (home).

The verdict

TomTom Runner 3 is a good and affordable option for those who want to keep track of their activities and monitor their progress. It comes with a rather accurate GPS and heart rate monitor, good battery life time and plenty of storage for music lovers. The compass and route exploration is a great add-on for the more adventurous out there, and the only thing that seems to be missing is integration with phone calls, SMS and WhatsApp. What remains to be seen is how the material will hold under heavy use over time.

Price and availability

The TomTom Runner 3 Cardio and Runner 3 Cardio+Music are retailing at SGD 249 and SGD 299 respectively. Both sports watches are available on TomTom.com and at selected retailers nationwide.

Disclaimer: This review represents the genuine, unbiased views of the author. A free unit was provided to the reviewer.

Race Review: Shape Run 2017 [10 km] (by Jilian)

Jillian

August 13, 2017

Today is my last run before my school starts tomorrow and I’m feeling particularly excited. The weather was cooling after the slight drizzle and it seemed perfect for a morning run. I arrived at the carnival early and went to walk around. Entered the start pen when the marshal made the announcement. A short warm-up session was led by the instructors of True Fitness before the flag off. The wait for the flag off was not long and I truly appreciate that.

The race road is rather scenic as we run up the Nicoll Highway, towards The Concourse and back past Suntec City. I don’t remember experiencing any bottle necks throughout the race and there were ample space to cater to both slow and fast runners. The reminders by the organizers for slower runners to keep to the left worked and the running experience was pleasant, at least for me.

There were also ample hydration points along the route and I know I am falling in love with the lemon water they provide as hydration. It tastes so good! Seriously, you should try it chilled if you haven’t. I preferred the lemon flavour over the orange one. With each hydration point were 2 portable toilets which I felt was really good of the organizers to think of that since there are almost no toilets along the way. It will be convenient for the volunteers too.

I managed to finish the race with a timing that I’m satisfied with. So yes to #runmypersonalbest

There was no jam at the finishing line where I queued for my medal and drink (YES to lemon water again!).

Overall the race was well-organized and I am glad that I signed up for this race. Although big part of the reason was that their race singlet came in a pretty pink colour.

13,000 Runners Join The CIMB Color Run™ 2017

Team JustRunLah!

August 13, 2017

color run kl 2017 — Photo credit: The Color Run™ Malaysia Facebook page.

KUALA LUMPUR, 13 August 2017 – With its motto of “Happiest 5K on the Planet”, The Color Run™ with CIMB Bank (or “CIMB”) as the Presenting Sponsor, hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur for the second time since 2014. Over 13,000 runners were covered in vibrant colors as they completed the five-kilometer run at Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur. Featuring an explosion of colors, The Color Run™ advocates a healthier lifestyle, happiness, and joy by bringing the community together in this one-day event.

Tengku Dato’ Sri Zafrul Aziz, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group said, “CIMB is proud to be the Presenting Sponsor for The Color Run™ in not only Kuala Lumpur, but also Jakarta and Singapore this year. I believe all participants had a great time at this fun Color Run™ in Kuala Lumpur. We had a good time engaging with the runners and our customers, and in showing how we support their different lifestyles and goals through our new brand promise, “Forward”. To us, the vibrancy of the Color Run™ reflects not only Malaysia’s, but also ASEAN’s diversity, which is the exact quality that CIMB embraces and promotes in its vision to become the region’s leading universal bank.”

Dashing joyfully through a series of vibrantly colored tropical-themed zones, many participants, arrayed in various costumes and props were flagged off in the first wave as early as 7.00 a.m. The fun did not end at the finish line. At the much awaited and epic Finish Festival, the fun continued at this larger-than-life post-run tradition with a final color throw, covering participants in a myriad of vibrant, colorful combinations.

Other activities at Padang Merbok included an exciting food village, as well as photo and games booths, offering plenty of fun and freebies for runners and their families to enjoy. Reprising their previous roles as the emcees of the event, James Thorne and Linora Low kept the momentum going, injecting their vibrant personalities to the event proceedings.

“I am super excited to be back here for the second time. Aside from the beautiful colors, I think it’s a great effort towards a healthier Malaysia. Of course, the Finish Festival is something that my friends and I look forward to as well,” expressed Safiyyah Khairul, 26, a café manager and also a running enthusiast.

Nordiana Nuzuin Akmar, participating in the run with her husband and her son said, “I think this a great way to exercise together as a family unit. My family had a fun time with the colors and it’s great to try out all the other activities hosted here. We’ll definitely join the run again if they were to organise it in the future.”

Speaking on behalf of the organiser of The Color Run™ Malaysia, Greg Hooton, Vice President, IMG Events Asia Pacific remarked, “It’s incredible to witness the tremendous outpouring of support throughout Malaysia for this fun, community-inspiring event.” Continued Hooton, “We’re grateful to our Presenting Sponsor, CIMB Bank, our co-sponsors Ramsay Sime Darby Healthcare, Face Shop and E-curve, as well as our iM4U volunteers, for making our return visit to Malaysia so successful in welcoming new and returning runners for a uniquely colorful experience.”

More information on The Color Run™ Malaysia can be found on www.facebook.com/TheColorRunMalaysia and @thecolorrunmy on Instagram. Join in the chat using #TheColorRunCIMB, #ColorRunMY, #Happiest5k, and #Tropicolor.

My Shape Run 2017 [10km] (by Lingderella)

Lingderella

August 13, 2017

Signed up for Shape Run just one week before race day as I wanted to see I wanted to see if I could run my first under 1 hour for 10km. And I did it! ?

(Photo Credits: thisisjeffrey from Instagram)

Collected the race packs within minutes on the 2nd racepack collection at Leong Huat Building just the day before race day.

Took Grab this morning with promo code and it cost only $6.50 and fetch me nice nice from home to race site which I think is about the same price as buying shuttle bus tickets. Think I’ve been getting lazy ? Ever since I started taking Grab a few months back, no more buying shuttle bus tickets as Grab can nice nice pick me up from home and fetch me to race site ? If I buy shuttle bus tickets I need to walk about 2km to pick up point leh!

It was raining while I was on the way. Just nice when I reach the race site, rain stopped ? Deposited my baggage with no queue, go to the portable toilet with no queue and look for start pen already as just nice the start pen is about to open. But was wrongly directed by the marshals with the entry to the start pen, quite a few or us were directed wrongly and I seriously walk to and fro 5 times at the same path before I finally get into the start pen. It’s still ok, not a big issue just some miscommunications but some runners is not very happy about it. The marshals is very nice and apologetic.

My heart was beating very fast while I was in the start pen, the same type of feeling like I was sitting for examinations in school. The emcee was saying something about #RunMyPersonalBest and then I realised isn’t that what I came for? I was aiming to run my personal best! ? But sometimes I don’t want to stress myself so much because anything can happen during a run and had happened to me before such as cramps, stomachache and feelings of nauseous etc. Just run what I can as safety and health is the most important thing.

Flag off is a few minutes delayed because of the pre-run warm up ? Think the fitness instructors of True Fitness leading the warm up on stage didn’t stop until the music stop ? And I was just at the front of the start line and I didn’t think much till I saw elites then fade myself backwards a little ?

It’s so nice to see many runners I know along the way ? I was constantly thinking about my breathing the entire run, remember to breathe by nose instead of mouth because I think I’ve read somewhere about oxygen is more taken in when we breathe by nose. Physics and biology in running is real. Anyway, I started out too fast and end up my pace was slowing down till the end of the run. The 60 minutes pacers were constantly behind me every time when I run through a u-turn, I will see them shortly. They were like give me constant stress of not falling behind them ? It will be good if they have faster pacer group to chase. It’s awesome when we crossed the finish line, a few of us high-5s and congratulate one another ?

Race Review: Singtel-Singapore Cancer Society Race Against Cancer 2017 [10KM] (by Rebekah Ong)

Rebekah Ong

Photo credits: Dave Poh from Pictureart Gallery (@Pictureart60)

Cancer refers to a group of diseases. Although there are over 100 different types of cancer, all cancers are characterised by abnormal cell growth. If left untreated, this disease can lead to death. In Singapore, about 37 people are diagnosed with cancer every day and the number of cancer cases is on the rise according to the statistics of the Singapore Cancer Registry, Annual Report 2015.

The Singtel-Singapore Cancer Society Race Against Cancer (RAC) 2017 is one of the many charity runs that appear on Singapore’s running calendar. RAC is into its 9th edition and was held last weekend, 30 July 2017, at Angsana Green, East Coast Park. Organised by Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), Race Against Cancer aims to raise funds for cancer treatment subsidies, welfare assistance, cancer rehabilitation, hospice care, cancer screenings, research, public education and cancer support group initiatives.

Funds raised will help to drive SCS Programmes and Services such as the SCS Cancer Care Fund, SCS Cancer Rehabilitation Centre, SCS Cancer Treatment Fund, SCS Help the Children and Youth Programme and the SCS Welfare Aid.

RACE PACK

A big thank you to my friend, Jennifer, who helped collect the race pack for me. When I opened the race pack to check out the contents, I was pleasantly surprised. It did not just have your typical race event tee and brochures; it had a few snacks like a box of Hello Panda biscuits, 2 packets of oat biscuits, a bottle of Pokka Green tea and a micro-fibre cleaning cloth sponsored by SingTel. It was a very nice race pack as compared to other run events. I’m glad that RAC had generous sponsors.

MANY FIRSTS

For me, not only was this first time participating in the RAC event but it was also my first time attending a run event at East Coast Park (ECP). Since the event flag-off was at 07:30hrs, Jennifer and I had decided to try Grab Hitch to get to the event site. We were successful in securing a Grab Hitch! Though there weren’t any GRAB X RAC promotions, we were entitled to a first time user’s discount which made our trip to the event site very reasonable.

Above: Taking some photos at East Coast Park Beach Area.

RACE DAY

We arrived at the race site around 07:05hrs. The race site was bustling with lots of activities. There were no queues at the toilets. Jennifer and I decided to take a few photos around the event site as it was still early. The 15KM runners were already in the race pen and were about to be flag-off. When the Guest-Of-Honour (GOH) arrived, the emcee also invited some children dressed up as superheroes up onto the stage. The children in superhero costumes represent the cancer patient caregivers who are always there for them. To the Cancer patients, their caregivers were their Superheroes! The 15KM flag-off around 07:15hrs.

Photo credits (Above): RunSociety’s Facebook

The start pen didn’t open for the 10KM runner till around 07:20hrs. Once most of the 10KM participants were gathered in the START pen, they welcomed back the GOH and the kids dressed as superheroes on stage and the 10KM participants were flagged off promptly at 07:30hrs. The weather that day was really good and I was excited to start!

Above: Snapping some pre-race photos at the race event site

ROUTE

As I started my run, I noticed that the running paths were a bit narrow but it was not too congested except at the beginning. The congestion quickly cleared somewhere near the 2KM mark and thereafter it was clear. I was quickly drawn in by the nice beach scenery and the activities that were going on by the beach. Familiar sights like the famous ECP MacDonalds and Parkway Parade could be seen while running along the route. I always like a change in route as it takes away the monotony of running.

Photo credits (Above): Tan Kim Lai’s Facebook

It was a pretty simple and flat route U-turning at the 5KM mark for the 10 KM participants. I was pretty happy to maintain my 07:00min pace for most of my run. Hydration points were located roughly at every 2KM along the route supplying mainly water. Distance markers were place clearly along the route. It was a really nice run especially with a nice morning breeze blowing.

Above: 2017 RAC Route

CHEER SQUADS

Photo credits (Above): RunSociety’s Website

What I thought stood out for RAC were the ever enthusiastic volunteer cheer squads along the way giving encouragement to all the runners that passed by. They were very easy to spot as they were holding up signs with encouraging words or were blowing party blowers or making sounds with clappers! These volunteers deserve two thumbs up as they really gave me the push to keep running on.

I completed the race with an official time of 1hr 11min 13secs. Official results were released two days after the event. I collected my Finisher entitlements which included my 10KM Finisher medal, a banana, a can of Pokka PLENISH Sportswater, a bottle of mineral water and a bottle of Yakult! I was delighted to receive those goodies as I was a bit hungry. Once completed, I went to find my friends for the usual catch-up and photos. There were lots of photo opportunities at the race site but there were long queues and I decided to skip those.

Above: Happy to have completed the race. Check out this year finisher medal and my un-offical timing

RAC was definitely a success! Singtel, the title sponsor raised more than $25,000 in total for Singapore Cancer Society. RAC is surely making my list of favourite run events for the year 2017. It was well organised and I definitely had fun running for a cause! Kudos to the organisers on doing such a fantastic job! Till my next write-up! Take care everyone!

Above: Post race photos with my friends!

Double Barrel: Runloaded This October 29

Servinio

August 12, 2017

ONCE AGAIN, the Philippine National Police teams up with the Pinoy Aspiring Runners to bring you “Double Barrel: Runloaded”, a fun run to benefit PNP personnel injured in police operation. The said event will be held on October 29, 2017 (Sunday) at the Liwasang Ulalim of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City starting at 4:00 AM.

Runners may choose between the 16, 10, five and three-kilometer distance categories. All categories come with a race singlet and race bib plus all finishers will get special medals while 16-kilometer finishers get a statement shirt inspired by no less than PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa.

Entries are now being accepted at Garmin stores located at Glorietta, SM Mall of Asia, Uptown Mall BGC and Alabang Town Center. Registration is also accepted at the Police Non-Commissioned Officers Association Incorporated (PNCOAI) office inside Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Race fees are set at PHP 750.00 for 16 kilometers, PHP 650.00 for 10 kilometers, PHP 550.00 for five kilometers and PHP 450.00 for three kilometers. Prizes from sponsors await the top finishers in all distance categories.

“We are supporting a very timely cause with all those police getting injured in the line of duty,” said PAR President Joseph Balbino. “We runners want to show our appreciation for their big sacrifice and effort.”

No less than 2,000 runners are expected to answer the starting gun. The field will include several surprise celebrity guest runners.

Last year, the PNP and PAR combined forces to stage “The Running Addict”, a fun run in support of the Duterte government’s drive against illegal drugs. Through the years, PAR has built a reputation of staging running events in support of various charitable causes.

Eat, Play And Run Your Personal Best In Selangor, Malaysia

Mel

August 11, 2017

There is so much to love about Malaysia. Selangor offers you an adventure in unparalleled ways. The city is blessed with deep culture and heritage and is known for it’s world class cuisine. It is blessed with such natural beauty and many places remain a hidden treasure – yet to be discovered and explored.

Eat Your Heart Out

if you’re a gastronome, you’re to love Malaysian food. The Malaysian cuisine have such great blend of flavours strengthened by fierce spices and by a group of people fiercely passionate about the cuisine.

Photo Credits: Openrice

Try our national dish – the Nasi Lemak. Try it in Malaysia for an authentic flavour. We heard Village Park in Damansara uptown serves up one of the best. Or try the Hokkien Mee whereby fans of this dish is like a cult – because it is oh-so-addictive. Try this at the Tiong Hokkien Mee in Damansara before heading to Sentul Satay for supper. Satay with peanut sauce is a must try as well. Banana leaf rice at the famous Nirwarna Bangsar is steamed rice flavoured with curry. This is accompanied by authentic Malaysian dishes such as fried squid, curry chicken, deep-fried bitter gourd or curried mutton. Let your rice soak up the aroma of the curry before indulging.

You have not visited Malaysia proper without a food hunt.

Go On An Adventure

Photo Credits: Nashunter

A little more than an hour from the heart of Selangor, explore the magnificent Temperung caves. the 3 hour exploration journey will get your adrenaline rushing. Wade through underground rivers, crawl through holes, climb almost-vertical walls and slide down slippery stones. You will be rewarded with the sights of fascinating rock formations.

Photo Credits: Yellow Tuktuk

Almost an hour away lies Bukit Kutu. Climb to the very top. The panoramic 360 degree view is simply magnificent. To add an element of adventure, hike up to see sunset and descend in the darkness.

Run Your Personal Best

Come run your personal best with The Performance Series KL! The stage is set for the 19th November 2017 at the Setia City Park -a relatively flat course perfect for a personal best. This will be the grand finale – the final leg of 3 to The Performance Series Malaysia. There are 3 different distances, offering a distance for everyone – a half marathon for the bold, a 10km for a challenge and a 5km for the beginners.

See a different side of Malaysia! The Setia City park shows you the urban park side of Malaysia. It is away from the hustle and bustle of the city, making it a pleasant run with a breath of fresh air.

Also, earn these pretty finisher tees and parade around town in them. Wear them proud.

Great news for JustRunLah! readers, click here for a 5 per cent promo code!

The Sorely Magnificent 100KM of Merapoh Trail

Redhippy7

August 10, 2017

“At the end of the storm there’s a golden sky” – HH

But to get through the 100km storm is torturous to say the least.

Running through the dark trail, going up the stab-in-the-calves hills, waddling through the 3-km plus river, being electrocuted by the fence, getting bloody blisters, roasting under the blistering heat, with endless cuts and bruises in between.

Darn it, it was fun, but also excruciatingly agonising.

Still, it was a splendid 100km, 19 hours 30 minutes (I’m not sure about the real timing; I seem to have lost the ability to count, or look at the watch properly. Come to think of it, I don’t even have a proper sports watch to begin with) worth of memories.

Every single step, every single minute, every single second.

The journey to Merapoh itself wasn’t a smooth one. There were bumps and hurdles along the way, added with the jitters and the tense and getting cold feet (and hands) even towards the very last minute.

“We’ve come this far, we might as well make it till the end”, I was told.

Or at least get to the start of the line.

Kampung Merapoh, August 4, Friday, 9pm – 100km runners’ flag-off.

There were smiles everywhere, friends getting re-acquainted, new friendships formed – but all I could feel and think was “WTH am I doing here among these ‘terer’ elite runners?!”

Countless of ‘all the bests’, ‘good lucks’, ‘run safe’ greetings were exchanged, warm-ups and stretches all done and then before I knew it, the fireworks exploded in the air marking the start of The Magnificent Merapoh Trail 2017.

Off we went into the darkness of the night, with just head lights and blinkers as guides.

The mission was to get to KM43’s KTMB Merapoh station, marking check point (CP) number 4, before 4.30am, and we (initially) had 7.5 hours for that.

Having made the grave mistake of being ignorant of cut-off time (COT) at check points during the previous 100km attempt – I was now much more aware of it, and only allowed 10 minutes max rest time at certain CPs.

We were doing well, running up the hills and going on and on – until cramps started to hit me at only around 10KM.
What a dung-load of fuss!

(Wo)man down. But not for long. I was asked to stop for a bit, walk it off, catch a few breaths, and start again.

I was a wreck by the time we got to CP3 (32KM Ladang Tengku), but luckily it was dark – otherwise others could see what a mess I was – face smeared with sweat and tears.

“Accept your life and what it brings, for tomorrow might bring better things” – The Kinks.

Soldiering on, we got to CP4 well ahead of the COT time – and bought ourselves 2 hours of buffering time.

Things were made slightly cheerier with the warm greetings from the villagers – we got kids high-fiving us, and even ran together until their parents shouted for them to stop – mind you it was already around 2am at that time!

You guys made our night, you bunch of munchkins!

And then, there it was.

Behold, the dreaded 3KM-plus Sungai Persik. At 4-ish in the cold, chilly morning.

That waddling through slowed us down tremendously. It was uneven, full of sharp, slippery rocks and protruding branches, with uncertain depths that made balancing on a trapeze seems like a child’s play.

And then, I lost myself under the river for a few seconds.

That one tiny missed step was all it took for me to go under the water, and though panicking, I got back up immediately. And laughed myself silly – when all I wanted to do was just sit down and cry.

I am a crybaby – I cry when I’m sad, I cry when I’m mad, I cry when I’m happy, I cry when I’m being silly.

That’s just me. Take (me) it; or leave (it) me.

Swaying on, we continued our river-crossing and it was only half-way through that I just realised the current was getting stronger – and it that split second, my buddy had a slight misstep and he was washed away by the waters!

Holy mother of rivers! I can’t swim! How on earth was I going to save him?!

I was frozen.
I just looked at him helplessly for a second.
Suddenly my brain was switched on again and I immediately looked around for a stick for him to grab on – for me to pull him to the shore.

But before I knew it, he swam over to me and said he was okay. And laughed it all off.

SERIOUSLY?!

Shivers went down my spine. What if something happened to him? Nobody else was around at that time. What would I do?

“But there have been some moments and I think, ‘Wow, my life could have been so different,’ and, ‘I don’t deserve this; I’m not worthy of this life.’ – J. Gray.

Reassuring me that he was alright, we continued till the end of the marked river, and all I could think of was a steaming, hot coffee that I was hoping to get at CP6, at 61KM.

With a change of dry socks.

We got there at around 7am, the sun was about to come out, but there were no hot drinks available.

The damn tears were about to burst again.

“Hang in there, let’s move on to CP7’s Rumah Seni – they’d have hot water there and you can have your coffee and oats,” – he soothingly told me.

Holding on the tears (and sleepiness), we finally got to KM69, and gobbled down oats and coffee and took some painkillers, bumping into a senior runner who kept pushing us on with his motivating words.

He knew what we went through the last time, failing to complete Titi’s 100km.

No, not this time. We’d make it this time.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe – You will achieve”.

Talk about a rude awakening, the route to Gua Persik had me electrocuted. Yes, there were signs everywhere – but it only stated “DANGER” without saying what kind?

I mean, my whole life has been in constant danger, what would it be this time?

As it turned out, the villagers made electric fences around the cave area to protect their land from wild boars and wild animals.

And with me being electrocuted (I brushed my thunder thighs against the electric fence, thinking they were just harmless ropes AND I was all wet from the river and sweat) – I guess I was made into ‘wild’ as well!

The Magnificent Merapoh Trail involved a whole lot of crawling in the caves – and they were majestically breathtaking!

Shame that some of them were vandalised with graffiti and some of the forests were torn apart to make way for development though.

You could see some lands being cleared off – no more trees, no more greens.

By the time we got to 89KM CP – the heat was unbearable. Our feet started to feel like they were barbecued, and we could feel the blisters creeping and biting on to every bit of the feet.

We had the time on our side, and all we had to do then is to sustain enough energy and might to get to the finish line before the COT.

I was told by him, over and over again to just go for it, run to the finish line on my own and get the earlier glory.

But I have never been the one who leaves.

I do have fire in my soul, and a mouth I can’t control – but I don’t abandon anyone as a whole.

All we could do at that time was keep on walking – and it was my turn to tell him:

“We’ve come this far, we might as well make it till the end”.

“But in the end, I know I’ve worked as hard as I can for everything I’ve done and am appreciative of where I’ve been.” – J. Gray

We made it to the Finish Line, safe and not entirely sound. Our friends also made it with us, and those who didn’t, well they know that they’ll come back with a vengeance next time around.

Finishing the first 100km trail marked the beginning of everything. No more feeling sorry for myself, no more regrets, no more hidings, no more wrong-doings.

It’s a new beginning. Let’s all move on.

“I have lived in a flurry of images, but I will go out in a freeze frame” – A. Quinn.

Much gratitude for all the supporting runner friends, who kept egging each other on, sharing stories and anecdotes to motivate one another.

Thank you to hardworking photographers, cheerful villagers, the tireless The Running Project, wonderful volunteers and helpful marshalls.

And of course, congratulations champs! You guys are out of this world!

I’ll be forever indebted to two special beings – my support system / training buddies / pacers – My Pegawai Pengiring and Penghulu Kawasan who always have my back, always keep my feet on the grounds and always sticking by my side all the time.

Always.

Thank you. For everything.

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