This year is the third time I signed up my daughter for the dash. She first joined in year 2011 when she was only 2, and subsequent year when she was 3.

But this year, I decided to sign her up again because location has been changed to Orchard Road and run in the evening under the beautiful Christmas lights! It’s much nearer to home and no hot sun! Yay!! The T-shirt this year is of Christmas theme and little elf design. The race pack also comes with a wristband and a Christmas hat. My daughter was in the 7 – 9 years old category.

We reached Orchard Road quite early that day to shop around before heading to the Kids Dash area. Though no hot sun, but the weather was very warm and humid. I sweat a lot just by standing near the carnival and holding area.  At the carnival, every game station and bouncy castle was crowded so my daughter didn’t get to play any. We were just sitting around waiting for her flag off time. Flag off for 7 – 9 years category was 7.45PM so we had to give her some food before that, she ate some bread before her run.

Her dad accompanied her to the kids holding area at around 7PM and luckily they were not too far off and were quite in front of the starting line. The organiser advised to drop off the kids and see them at the parents viewing area but her dad was worried about her and decided to run with her and I saw many other parents were also running with their 7 – 9 years old. In my opinion, 7 years old still need to be accompanied by parent especially my girl was all alone, no friends to run with her.

There were barricades all over the place and I couldn’t really see them running but could only wait for them near the finish area. There were many smokers smoking at the rubbish bins near the barricade area. Parents and kids who wanted to watch them had to breathe in the second hand smoke. Sorry to say that I hate smokers. 🙁

I think the organiser made a good decision to have the Kids Dash on Saturday evening at Orchard road so that kids can soak in the Christmas atmosphere and do not need to run under the blazing sun. It’s also easy for parents who are taking part in the marathon in the next day morning because they don’t have to rush here and there bringing children around in the morning after their own race. 🙂 I didn’t join the race, no fate with SCMS I guess. Next year maybe!

Kids Dash is non competitive. It’s just for kids to have fun running and to experience what a race is like 🙂

Ask, and you will receive what you’ve ask for! X’mas came early for me! Thank you JustRunLah! for the race slots and I have another medal added to my collection ?

Now I really am thinking thrice before registering for any races and I feel that the race fee for SCMS is really too expensive, with this amount of race fee I can sign up for at least 2 or 3 other runs! ?

There is no train services at all this year, very troublesome for me as the distance from home to shuttle bus pick up point is more that 2km away but it’s ok, used to it already as many our runs also do not have pick up from Khatib. And I just want that extra 10 minutes of sleep and end up I sort of run there. Reaching the bus just nice at 1.58am and I’m already sweating a lot like I have already ran my race and that maybe subconsciously I already have the feeling of do not show for the run.

Thank you Rey, your art talent is very much appreciated ? Its good that they gave a grace time and left at 2.05am. Can’t remember which race, the shuttle bus left exactly just 1 minute after the stated pick up time. I think just like meeting with friends or even going out on a date there is a acceptable time frame to wait for the late ones although by right, don’t be late is the best thing ?

I bought the shuttle bus ticket at $5, there’s pick up at 3am but I choose 2am because I want to deposit my bag and hang around, I actually don’t want to bring bag as it’s troublesome as I remembered the van is parked very far away at SCMS205 and last year I ran the full marathon it was quite killing to walk after that. But I want to have slipper and a fresh set of clothes to change into as it’s really comfortable that after a run you get out from your soaking wet clothes.

I ran the half marathon category and I think its the best category among all because once I’m back in the race village, I have time to explore the race village really like a boss ? My legs is very ok, I walked around, eat ice creams, go around taking photos with the elite runners like a fan ?

Congratulations Dr Mok Ying Ren and Dr Ashley Liew on their podium winnings in the full marathon category! ?

I went to Raffles City’s toilet to change into a fresh set of clothes after collecting my baggage. I don’t even dare to think about portable toilet thought there’s no queue ? Great baggage deposits and collections, no queue at all though have to walk quite a distance to collect my baggage. In fact, all my friends is running the full marathon and the Ekiden category but I’m the only one doing the half marathon. As they are fast runners, its not a long wait and I think I’m pretty good at keeping myself entertained and occupied ?

I think the half marathon is the best category this year to run in. As there is no bottle necks, not like what I’ve expected and no shoulders rubbing shoulders at all since from the very start to finish. It’s a run that I looked forward as I feel that I can achieve a personal best and I had thought it will be a very good run for me. Though due to biological issues, its really not a good run for me as its a constant pain on and off throughout the entire race and I even have the thought of did not finish since the very beginning of the run. And I even thought that it should just be a did not show but now I’m glad that I turn up and got that beautiful medal. It’s really a beautiful medal, but its quite heavy that at one point I carry it sling across my shoulder

Hydrations point is great, though mineral water is not cold, but 100plus is cold. And the 100 plus available at the race village is very generous, free flow of super cold 100 plus! But heard that those who came back late didn’t have water at many hydration points! That’s really jaw drop, its 42km for many runners, how to go far without hydration? ?

Many of my friends who are running the full marathon feedback that it is too jammed at the last part of the run as by the time they returned, as many of the 10km runners were walking ? Hopefully next year the organisers can do something about it.

Race Entry Pack Collection

Collected my race pack on the first day of REPC. July accompanied me for the race pack collection and we have a lot of fun ? There’s no queue at all when I went in the evening at around 6pm.

July and I went to the Jaybird booth and play basketball. It’s in one minute time see how many shots you can score and the top scorer of the day will win their ear piece worth $200plus! I thought it’s easy, but it’s not ? But so nice lah, they still got a “thank you for your participation gift”, a draw string bag.

And thank you P_eace for the customised prints on my race singlet! ? Love it so much! We can choose from a few meaningful the designs template and customise our name on it. And the design that I choose is in Chinese characters, which means surpassing limits. Best thing is, it’s only a 10 minutes wait for me while I use the time to explore the race village.

My favourite part of the whole Expo is none other than the Madame Tussauds Mofarah Mannequin! ? Show the world some love! Recently I’ve been thinking of poses during running, so it’s not the common “peace” and “good” signs. Maybe I shall try sailormoon and ultraman pose if I spot any Photographers during my run. So Madame Tussauds have a contest to post a cutest caption to stand a chance to win a Fitbit.

Race Videos:

I really wasn’t interested in registering my daughter, Trinity for this year’s Junior Spartan Obstacle Race. Certainly not at $55 given that last year when she did participate we only paid $30 for the event. I couldn’t figure why nearly double the price and in a location that was a fair way from home.

However, when I looked into her pleading eyes and her friends hopeful face it was hard to stick to my guns. With some extra research it didn’t take long to realise this is a great opportunity for the two girls to participate in an event that allowed mixed ages. Here is the thing. Trinity is 8yo and her friend, Michelle is 13. Besides the standard age related categories, this race had a mixed ages category for 8-13yo, which meant that this year would be the only time the girls could participate together in this race. Next year Michelle would be considered a youth and she’d have to join the main Spartan event. So hubby and I swallowed the $55 and just paid up.

The race was held at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium and when we arrived to the event site and saw the setup and obstacles we understood why we were paying nearly double the price. Last year’s event couldn’t even compare to the standard of obstacles provided at this year’s event. Higher, harder, longer distance (2km instead of 1km), bigger challenges are just some of the words that come to mind. Looking at the obstacles we knew the girls would have to work extra hard and hope they have the stamina to last the distance.

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It would be difficult to describe the 13 obstacles they had to conquer but some of the highlights were the A-frame climb over, the cargo net climb, carrying pails of water, caterpillar crawl, pull a tyre by the chains, balance beams, rope climb ending with a bell ring, sack races and flip a tyre whilst running in between the obstacles. For any incomplete obstacle the racer had to do 20 burpees, which quite a few kids had to do on what I thought was the most difficult obstacle, being the climbing up a rope about 4m to ring the bell as a sign of completing the obstacle. Thankfully Trini has been doing gymnastics for 2 years where rope climbing was part of the curriculum and she was well trained for it.

As the race progressed, you could see the fatigue overtaking both girls. Each obstacle needed a pull, push, climb, run, crawl using every possible muscle in their young bodies. Their stamina and cardio was challenged and by the time they reached the end they were well and truly finished physically. Nothing that a block of chocolate couldn’t fix.

As a parent looking on, I think this kids obstacle race was spot on. It was well organised with challenging obstacles, contained in a good quality stadium. As parents we had just as much fun watching as they did participating.

Cheers

The inaugural Race Against Hunger is organised by Yum! Asia Franchise in support of the United Nations World Food Programme. I was glad to be supporting this race as all registration fees were to be dedicated to this programme 🙂 As with my other reviews, do look out for the font in italics as I highlight aspects of a race that I feel are important.

Race Category
This race offered a variety of categories, both non-competitive and competitive and both for the young in chronological age and the young (or not so young) at heart. I opted for the 10km Competitive category. It was priced at a relatively affordable price of $38 (and importantly, the registration fees are channelled towards a worthy cause!), considering that nowadays registration fees for a 10km run easily extend into the 50s or 60s.

Pre-Race Matters
Race entry pack collection was held on a single day on 12 November from 11am to 7pm at City Square Mall. Within the race tote bag were a couple of vouchers, the race tee, the race bib and timing device.

The Race Precinct

I arrived a little earlier than my 7am flag off time as I was collecting my race pack on the day itself. It was a gloomy morning with a threatening weather forecast for the morning ahead. After collecting my race pack and using the baggage deposit, I grabbed some hydration (there were also fruits available), used a portable restroom (no queues!) and headed to the start pen.

The Race
A very energetic warm-up routine was conducted before flag-off punctually at 7.00am. The race route wasn’t too different from any race organised near Gardens by the Bay. Runners would run past Marina Bay Sands and the Promontory before heading back, past Marina Barrage and towards Gardens by the Bay East, finally returning thereafter. The notable challenges of this predominantly flat route are the two ascents of Marina Barrage. In addition, due to the numerous construction works going on around the area, there were multiple twists and turns along the route.

Hydration points were available at 4 points along the route, serving chilled water and isotonic drinks. Distance markers were pretty accurately labelled (though they came a little too early at some occasions). The weather was pleasant as runners enjoyed a mild drizzle and a gentle breeze.

Post-Race
After completing my race, I claimed my Finisher’s Medal and grabbed some drinks. There were packets of Milo available, along with fruits and hydration in cups. Interestingly, despite some fast food chains being organisers of this event, fast food wasn’t anywhere in sight. Not complaining though, these healthier options were appletising as well 😀

Hope this brief review was adequately informative! Feel free to check out my personal experience of this event here 🙂

Photo credits: Pink Apple Events.

It’s getting increasingly difficult to keep up with my writing but I would be remiss not to record my first ever half marathon experience. So this comes a good three weeks after the event but in years to come I’ll be relieved I had captured the experience to some degree.

I took up running August 2014 and had a rollercoaster affair with the sport since, particularly throughout 2015 when I tore a ligament that took me out of some major events I was registered for and spent about 9 months recuperating from.

This is my third GEWR. Having my first 10km debut in 2014, then ran 5km post injury in 2015 (I wasn’t going to miss the 10th year anniversary event) and this year I’ve made a debut in the half marathon category. Certainly GEWR races will have a special spot in my heart.

It was a daring decision I made way back in August this year following a group organised mystery run I participated in and ran 22km. At the time I was only trained up to 10km and only in the early stages of my HM training program. It took forever to get to the end but I just focused on the big breakfast and cold beer. Whilst eternally slow with the end result, I was satisfied with my effort and figured I could try an official race to enter in the HM category.

Since I ran my first 10km at GEWR in 2014, it just seemed fitting to do the same with the HM. After the mystery run I went home and committed myself to it. It certainly helped with my training program now that I had an objective in mind.

Come race day and I was up at 4.15am to get ready and get to the event site. Thankfully I was only 15min away from the race location given that 4am is such an unappealing time of the day. It didn’t help that I couldn’t sleep the night before due to jitters so I was running on about 3.5 hours of rest. However, I was in good spirits and it seemed so were all the other HM ladies present.

Whilst I’d like to think that 5.30am is a sensible time to start a race, it’s difficult to consider that time of the morning as sensible but just the same we flagged-off right on time. Several thousand ladies in red tees took off to complete what is a momentous distance.

With a nice and easy attitude, I settled into my pace and started working at knocking off one kilometer at a time. The first 10km was going as expected since up to the GEWR race I had already participated in about seven 10km races, not to mention all the training sessions along the way. However, as I reached the 11th km I hit a brick wall mentally, perhaps for a couple of reasons. One, I was running towards the East Coast which is the opposite direction to where the finish line was. Really messes with your mind. Secondly, my legs were getting fatigued and stiff. I was running on 3.5 hours sleep and one banana on a section of the route that wasn’t particularly stimulating.

Luckily at the 12th km the hydration station was well stocked with cold water, electrolyte drink and bananas. I took the opportunity to eat, hydrate, rest and stretch. By the 15th km I was walking and I was breaking the race down by the location of the water stations. I used each water station as the milestone to run to, hydrate and then walk about 250m before I would start running again to the next station. Breaking down the race in small chunks made it easier to cope with. Instead of focusing on distance left, I would just focus on the next 1.5km to the next water station.

Things were well and truly looking up when it dawned on me that I reached the 18th and then the 19th and on the home stretch. There’s this realisation that no matter how slow or how painful it all is, the end is so near that if I had to slither my way to the finish line there was nothing that could stop me from reaching the end. As you can imagine this kind of positive thinking had a wonderful effect on me physically, spiritually and mentally. And when I saw the 20km marker, all I thought was “I got this”.

Aching, stiff but in excellent spirit I pushed that last kilometer and was met by my wonderful friends, who’d completed their 10km category, cheering as loud as possible. Needless to say I was grinning ear to ear and crossed that finish line.

This was a marvellous experience for my first HM and it’s a sign of changes for future races. Having a racing time baseline, I can now work on improving it and getting better at the next HM in March when I participate with my husband in the OSIM Sundown Marathon race.

Cheers for now.