It was an honour to part of our nation’s biggest annual running event, the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015. Furthermore, it was during this event in the preceding years, 2012 and 2014, where I achieved some of my running goals.
However, I wasn’t running this time. Instead, I was a volunteer.
For a long time, I’ve desired to contribute to the running community through volunteering. Therefore, this came as an appropriate opportunity to volunteer my relevant (albeit relatively little) experience. Together with some friends, I joined the First Aid team for SCMS.
As I was stationed just around the junction of Fullerton Road and Esplanade Drive, this meant full marathoners passed by early into their race (5+km) and all categories would merge into that area as they completed their last few hundred metres of their respective races. I loved seeing runners progress through a race – emotions ranging initially from joy and excitement to harsh determination towards the conclusion. I knew too well from experience that it was a journey that would grow exponentially more challenging as the distance covered progressed (and let’s not forget Heartbreak Bridge).
Back to my task at hand (quite literally…), the first aid we offered was multidimensional. Understandably, our utmost priority was physiological stability, yet psychological encouragement was another tool we had. From the common and benign muscle cramps that most marathoners know too well (I too remember them), to perhaps potentially more severe conditions of dehydration, electrolyte imbalances or heat injuries (oh the sun wasn’t of any help at all), we did our best to recognise and relieve.
Some snapshots below.
You may view the complete collection of photos here. Once again, congratulations to all participants of the SCMS 2015 🙂
