After a glorious PB achievement at the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival last September, I was very much positive to record another personal best for 10 km, this time at The Performance Series Race 4. I was averaging to about 55 mins for this distance and my long term goal for this year is to run a sub 50 mins.

The race eve. I don’t usually check or study the routes for every race. I am the “come-what-may” and the “just-go-and-see-how” kind. The race is on a Sunday and me and my family usually go to church on Saturday evening reaching home to almost midnight, giving me only about 4 hours of rest before waking up. I was browsing instagram and some runners posted about the route. 100% flat, killer slope, gravel wear old running shoes were some of the descriptions so while on the way home that night, I was contemplating on the apparels I’d be wearing specially the shoes. For me, my old pair of running shoes means blisters and blisters means ‘run die’. Another thing mentioned was that the whole 10 km is 2 loops of the reservoir. Loops! I really don’t like loops. We reached home that night, I was too tired to pack and too tired to think more about the race. I guess I am not mentally prepared for a sub 50.

The Race Day. My alarm was set at 4:30 AM and snoozed to about 15 mins more that day. I still have enough time to pack and get a quick bite and coffee. To my surprise, my wife has given me a slice of banana cake! At the back of my mind relived the stomach pain I experienced while running the half marathon in Sydney and all I had before that race was a delicious banana cake from a cafe near the start in Milsons Point. I disregarded this thought and just ate the bread without any worries and I blindly grabbed any singlet from the closet, put my GPS watch and slippers on and placed my fave shoe on the bag.

I’ve never set my foot around Bedok Reservoir and I couldn’t remember why I did not purchase a shuttle bus ticket too! It was a cold morning as I dashed outside to the get a cab. It was a good twenty bucks and I reached the place at aproximately 6:00 AM only to realize that I still need to walk more than 1 km to the baggage deposit. I must have alighted at the wrong car park. I walked pass the start line and saw lots of excited runners already building up waiting for the wave 1 to be flagged. I’m running wave 1 too and I still haven’t laced myself up! I quickly wore my shoes on the road side the moment I reached opposite the baggage tent, drop my bag went back to the start pen. Did a little body loosening and saw my running buddy Ashraf who injured himself days before this event and together we managed to push ourselves a little bit more to the front of the thick crowd of runners.

Flag off. It was still quite dark and the faintly lit start arc is the brightest area. Few minutes before flag off we can hear a couple of soft thunders signalling a forthcoming downpour. It didn’t worry me much as I am very positive that it will not rain and it is my first time bringing my water proof phone too tucked on my waist belt. Then I start to hear runners murmuring about the upcoming rain. My buddy stays near the place and the last thing I heard from him was “If it rains I will just go back. All the best!” Haha

The count down began and at exactly 6:30 AM off went the first wave of equally excited runners as I am as I slowly advanced and seeing some familiar faces in the running scene and still keeping in mind my goal finishing time. The atmosphere was so refreshing, cool and you can feel a gentle wind. The first stretch of the route was paved until the first U-turn of the first loop and new to me is the gravel which I expected to be something rough, rather rocky and less-than-a-trail kind of route but I was wrong. As a matter of fact, I did not feel any discomfort running. A sudden strong wind welcomed us on the as we U-turned and more winds came from all directions thereafter. I remember there was a part before the 2nd km mark whereby a small tree with long thin branches swung with the wind partially blocking half of the inner lane. I took advantage of the cooling wind as I maintained my pace at 5 mins. Somewhere after the 4 km mark, I saw a glaring lightning clearly dividing the dark sky and struck right down at the middle of the reservoir. This has given me the creeps and from there I prayed that I will finish the race without any injury or without any one being struck by lightning. Some of the volunteers were screaming at us to seek shelter. True enough, after the strong winds and the heavy rains that eventually halted I noticed some runners are starting to slow down and before I knew it I am now at the dreaded uphill slope! It was a long and steep uphill slope. I have come a long way and was able to maintain a 5 min pace. I slowed down inevitably and I felt this part has pulled the last of my stamina but somewhere there I saw the 9 km mark which means I am just a kilometer away to the finish which is usually about 5 mins for me. I checked my watch and I am running a total 45 mins then so that means I am still on the right track. This has given me back my strength and motivated me not to stop. Soon as I have reached the top of that hill I began to glide down naturally and used this to my advantage and made another personal record of 50 mins 26 secs according to my watch. Not the timing i aimed for but now I am very very close to it.

Aftermath. I quickly took my bag and tried to locate my buddy Ashraf whom I couldn’t find. I was checking the place and learned that my wave was actually cancelled. Unknown to me, some runners were forced to stop at the 6th or 7th km mark but were still entitled to the finisher medal and shirt. Waves 2 and 3 were flagged off together and was converted to a non-competitive run/walk.

I must say that this is a one memorable run and one of the best race of the performance series so far. It was well organized, unavoidable circumstances were handled very well and the safety of the runners was regarded as their best interest. Looking forward to The Performance Series Race 5 and hoping for the best.

This is the 4th of the 5 races in The Performance Series and is located at Bedok reservoir. It was a rainy morning on the day of the race and from what I saw on the official race Facebook page, the 1st wave for 10 km was cancelled due to lightning alert. As I was in the 3rd wave, I was not affected by the cancellation, although the 3rd wave was flagged off together with the 2nd wave with was delayed. It was a little crowded but it was generally alright as the paths were relatively wide and spacious throughout.

As stated in the email, runners who go by car were to alight at Carpark A. To my surprise, it was a rather long walk (10-15 mins) to the starting point. It was a mistake (typo) on the email and I only realized it after scrolling through their Facebook posts. The nearer carpark should have been Carpark B. But since I’ve already walked the distance and reached the starting point on time, I’ll just treat it as a warm up before the race!

The race was rather smooth with no major issues along the way. The running route was lined with different kinds of pavements and majority of it was sand. (At least that was how I felt as I kicked up sand into my shoes with every step.)

We made about 1.5 rounds around the reservoir and towards the end, there was a really steep slope. And I meant it when I said REALLY steep. I tried jogging my way up slope but ended up walking instead (oops!). My legs were just too tired to handle the slope then.

The hydration points in this race were sufficient in my opinion and the volunteers worked really fast to keep up with the high water demand of the runners. At the end of the race, the issuing of finisher tees and medals were also fast and efficient with no need for queuing. There is however one little issue with the mud. The field was rather muddy at the collection point (for my queue) and my heart broke a little as I stepped my shoe into the mud on the way to collect the medal. CRY.

Although my shoe got a little muddy in the end, I was still feeling really happy as I held my finisher medal 🙂 This race was definitely a good one and am really looking forward to the last race of this series so as to complete my medal collection!

This is my first time joining a virtual run, which is something different from my normal races. For the virtual run, there is no specific time and place where you must be to start your run. Basically, everything is own time own target.

For this run which I registered under 42Race.com requires us to run at least 21 km to be awarded a finisher pin. Finisher pins will be awarded for 21 km, 42 km and 100 km. There is a specific time frame (21 days) in which you have to complete the runs. The run distance can be added up meaning you can spread out running 21 km over a few days.

There are definitely some pros and cons of joining a virtual race in my opinion. The pros are that it kept me motivated to run during the challenge period. As school gets busier, I have often sacrificed my running time for study and even if I do take a break, I’m often too lazy to go for a run (oops!). As such, my stamina suffered and it was evident on the first day where I started running for this challenge. Joining this challenge also pushes me to clock the distance. As I have set a target distance of 5 km for my every run, I make sure I hit it during that running session. As such, I’ve witnessed some improvement in my timing at the end of 21 days.

The cons about this race however is that I am unable to experience the joy of running with large groups of people as in an actual race. Running a virtual race is just like running my training runs, only with finisher medals/pins after that. Also, it requires you to upload your timings manually onto the portal to clock your distance meaning that there is a likelihood that there might be some cheaters out there. Although I’d love to believe everyone has practiced their utmost integrity, I am sure some would have succumbed to the temptation of cheating because they missed the target distance by just a few meters or so. The organizer have already assured the runners that they would keep a look-out for these cheaters and have mentioned that those who were suspected of cheating would have their status revoked.

Overall, this virtual race was a really unique and fun experience for me and I would like to say that the organizers have really done a great job here. Even though there’s no race pack like some other virtual runs, the beautifully designed pin have already made up for it. Besides this race only cost me $10 and the shipping of the pin is even free. So what more can I ask for! 🙂 In addition, the pin was sent to me only a few days after the end of the challenge, proving how efficient the organizer was. They also do give us the e-certificate for download.

I shall now share with you the quote that I found at the back of the card with my pin…

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.

Happy running!

Two weeks before the Race, I collected the race pack at City Square Mall. Thanks to JustRunLah!, this was the 4th free slot in the series and I was quietly happy that I managed to get into wave 1 this round.  It’s part of the Transcending Yourself series and I was very hopeful that I would get close to my target PB as I was feeling fairly fit on my legs with the recent switch to cycling.  I had a fall from the bike but found that cycling relieved my Plantar Fasciitis symptoms somehow. I was a bit worried there would be a long queue but managed to be early and got my race pack within 10 minutes.

With a week to go before the race, I went for the Sportive Ride and got my second fall ‘lesson’ from the bike, hurting my elbow and fingers, wrist with some scrapes on the lower leg.  But otherwise was fine.  I was feeling good still for the race the following week.

I set my clock for 5 am and planned to reach the area around 5.45 am and thought there would be more than enough time to get to the start point by 6.30 am.  My friend told me to try and park at Temasek Polytechnic if possible.  I reached the area near the target time but found Temasek Polytechnic closed and circled around for HDB car parks which were all full.

In the end I parked at a public carpark opposite a sign that said Tampines Police!  It was about 6.10 am already.  I walked quickly, having noticed a group of runners further down on the left.  The skies were dark and it was windy.  When I reached the traffic light, I saw a lady walking in opposite direction to where I thought the group was.  I stopped to ask for directions as she was dressed in TPS Tee.  Yes she was familiar with the place. She told me the direction and said that it would be 6-7 min to the starting point.  Then she added, if I run.  She was in second wave.  I jogged and then realized that it seemed further than I thought.  I slowed down to take stock and then saw some other participants after some time.  (It was about 1.5 km in distance – I found out later.)

I reached the venue but needed to release the water I had drunk earlier.  Luckily the male toilet queue was shorter.

Unknown to me, a few minutes earlier, 6.15 am and 6.25 am, the organizer had contacted NEA to check on the weather and confirmed it was not a CAT 1 risk.  So the race was flagged off at 6.30 am as planned.

(Side Note: Singapore has one of the highest occurrences of lightning activity in the world. Situated close to the Equator, the warm and humid tropical conditions are highly favourable for the development of thunderstorms. Thunderstorms produce lightning, and in severe cases, are accompanied by heavy rain and gusty winds.  Cat 1 means there is highest risk of lightning.)

Approximately 6:40 am, I ran to the start line.  I was estimating I was about 10 minutes late so I started running, a bit faster than I intended.  (I run almost all races without watch nor smartphone.  But I would be estimating the rest of the narrative with gut estimate and combined them with the accounts given by the organizer.  They turned out to be pretty accurate after I looked at the timing split given on Tuesday’s results.)

I felt fine.  I felt the winds.  It started to rain.  I love running in the rain and I had run under the rain often during training and a couple of times during races – the most memorable was Nila 10 km run in 2015.   So I just carried on.  I glanced occasionally at the reservoir – getting quite blurred with the rain drops but felt a sense of ‘tranquility’ yet, high energy.  Could hear the wind blowing – somewhat familiar sound to me now with the evening rides I had been doing.  Couldn’t see anyone in front, but a few folks were behind me and they seemed hesitant to carry on.

I reached the 1 km loop and overtook some folks – saw more participants.  I continued running, then less runners again.  Saw the first hydration stop and continued running.  The rain picked up.  There was a flash and then thunder clapped rather nearby.  But I wasn’t feeling any concern as I was still feeling quite strong and continued to run.  My mind was almost empty, just get the PB this time.   At least I wasn’t impeded like the last race.  Saw a photographer, gave the thumbs up, and it seemed he took that ‘last’ photograph before he moved away as the rain got heavier.  Another chap was with him and seemed to be calling him.  I continued.

6:45 am – the organizer called NEA and found the weather had escalated to Cat 1.  6:50 am, the organizer decided for safety reasons to cancel the wave 1 and then monitor the weather for future waves.  Immediate communication was made to the volunteers about the cancellation.  And just about 6:52 am, an announcement was made by the Emcee at event site via public announcement (PA) system, stating that Wave 1 has been cancelled.   I was still pounding away…

(Photo Credits Are Due to Running Shots and Tony Ton Ton Fun Shots in the Gallery below:)

Blissfully unaware, I overtook some folks again and skipped the hydration stop.  Then just around the 3 km mark (probably 6:58 am or thereabouts), I saw the volunteers trying to stop a group of runners.  I was thinking they were giving them the option to continue given the weather was ‘worsening’.  But actually, rain seemed to be calming down, so as I got nearer, I only heard what I wanted to hear.  One volunteer said ‘you could choose to carry on if you wish’.  That was what I wanted, so I shot past them.  I did notice at that time, nobody seemed to be following.  Anyway, I was too much enjoying the rain running.  Ran on, not knowing the wave 1 was already cancelled about 6 minutes ago.

Then I saw volunteers at a sign that said turn left to finishing line, go straight to second loop.  I just carried on straight.  After another short distance, I saw volunteers directing all runners to the left.  I followed.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw further down there was some barrier ahead if I had continued straight so I thought I was still en route to the course finish.  I went up some slope, overtaking some folks, then ran on.  Sooner than I expected, I saw the ‘finishing’ line.  What ?  I saw the race clock that said 42 minutes, so about 7.12 am.

Oh Shakespeare…it hammered home.  About 30 minutes by my estimate, so I DNF !  They had diverted me somehow probably the last stretch.  But runners were coming in, in front, behind and I just collected the medal and finisher tee, feeling like I cheated somehow, though I also felt cheated of a race.  I started to ask around.  Wave 1 was confirmed cancelled.

Then I saw my running buddy Chia SY walking by, who was supposed to be in wave 2.  Someone tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around and then I got a big surprise as I saw ‘Ah Siao’, the famous runner who ran with a tyre for the BMDP cause, whom I had befriended on FB.  I could only say ‘hi’ as I wasn’t expecting him to recognize me as we had never spoken in person before.  Then he continued with his retinue of followers around him, as I quickly stretched out too to tap my buddy before he walked into the crowd.   We chatted and he showed me the weather apps forecast and the activity before.

It didn’t feel good to run a race and had it cancelled half way.  But it was for safety reasons and it happens to races around the world.  I just had another FB friend (another inspiring runner Umar) who was in Japan for his ultra run (UTMF) and the distance was shortened due to weather too.  There was a picture of the UTMF director breaking down.  Of course, that is different in terms of proportion.

But as I always encounter and repeat, running resembles real life.  You won’t get fair weather all the time.  Things happen.  Cancellation, injuries, DNS, DNF; it’s what you do after such experiences that matters most.  If something serious did happen during the race due to weather conditions, it would have been irresponsible of the organizers to ignore the CAT 1 warning.  As it was, the CAT 1 was only lifted after about 7.40 am.

I did consider running a second round with my friend but he usually runs at a faster pace and he was watching out for his friends.  I had planned to take breakfast with my family as I expected to complete early that race.  Then I heard the announcement that wave 2 could be at 7.30 am, then later to 7.45 am.  I realized that there was some level of uncertainty.  I decided to call it a day and went home.

At about 7.45 am, the announcement was made to start wave 2 and 3 at 8 o’clock and apparently runners who ran the race enjoyed the nice cool weather and perhaps like Chia and another great photographer (FB) friend – Hock Chuan, some might have done a pretty good time with the cooling aftermath.  I knew Ah Siao went for another round.   Another FB friend, Chris completed 7 km in wave 1 and also thought that it was the right decision to cancel.  In fact he reminded me of safety first too when I posted on FB, after the race.  Overall, after calm reflection, the decision to cancel was the right one, and kudos too to the organizer to make a difficult decision, and also posted an official apology and statement of the events leading to the cancellation which I had freely adapted to this piece.

I went home and decided to expend my energy on my bicycle and did about 25 km, after missing the breakfast too with my family.  Still, I would say a fairly good run and looking forward to the last run in the TPS series !  I told myself I would go back to the Reservoir for a 10 km run and enjoy the tranquility of running near the waters again ! To go beyond the current disappointment and get ready for the next stage.  Two more 10 km races, one more Spartan Beast and the coming Swim For Hope before the end of the year – and maybe, a marathon.  Am still scouting for a free slot for StanChart as I just missed the first 100 by just one like !

Run Safe, Run Happy. Till the next round!

I’m going to start off today’s race review by asking a question, “What do you do when the weather takes a turn for the worst?”. This was exactly the question I had on my mind when I saw a tweet from @NEA yesterday night around 8pm notifying us that there would be

	“Thundery showers in many areas in the pre-dawn hours and early morning”.  I just decided to shake off the weather warning and go to bed so that I could get up early to catch the shuttle service to the race event site.
I woke up at 04:45hrs on race day ensuring that I had enough time to prep and head out to catch the shuttle bus at 05:45hrs at the Yishun MRT station. At this point, the North was still pretty much fair and there was no signs of rain or any down pour. We boarded the shuttle bus and it was a really smooth 20 minutes ride to the race event site.

When we arrived at the race event site, the weather was still holding up and the thought of rain didn’t cross my mind till I was queuing up to use the toilet. It was still very dark but far across the opposite end of the reservoir, you can see the sky turning red and starting to look threatening. We heard small booms of thunder which sounded far away and we were still very optimistic that it won’t rain. Slowly my phone started getting busy with messages from friends messaging me both on Whatsapp and Facebook telling me about the weather. Some parts of Singapore had apparently started raining heavily.

In a matter of minutes, the weather at Bedok Reservoir had just changed, there were strong winds blowing and it started to feel cold. We decided to take shelter near the toilet. There were many people crowding there. There was a slight drizzle but that quickly past and we thought it was going to be okay. I decided to accompany my friend, Cheng Yee to the bag deposit counter to deposit her bag. Just as we reached the bag deposit counter, it started to pour, there were some participants already taking shelter at the bag deposit counter so we decided to follow and stay dry. The rain came down heavily and you could see participants frantically trying to find for shelter.

There was an announcement being made saying that Wave 1 runners were being diverted and the race for that wave was cancelled. They advised participants to collect their medals and finisher tees. What a way to start off their Sunday being drenched in the rain. As for Wave 2 runners, the start time would be delayed pending further weather updates.

We were stuck at the bag deposit area for about 20 minutes before the rain stopped. One of the crew members had came and informed us that Wave 2 would go ahead but with a delayed flag-off timing. We walked out of the bag deposit area and the weather seemed to be holding up. We went to find our friends for some photo taking and chit chat while waiting for announcement of the flag-off for Wave 2. 07:30hrs was the tentative flag-off timing for Wave 2 but it was further delayed to 08:00hrs.

The start pen opened about 07:45hrs and the participants made their way there. The mood before race start was definitely not dampen by the wet weather! I could see that all the participants eager and excited to start! The final decision was to start Wave 2 and Wave 3 together and we were flagged off at exactly 08:00hrs. Though the flag-off was at 08:00hrs, it wasn’t warm. The rain had made it very cooling and it was definitely going to be a temperature to workout to. We were worried that there would be lots of bottle necks but it was pretty smooth running all the way from start to the end.

As this was my first time running around Bedok Reservoir, my first impressions of the place was that it really similar to Jurong Lake. Beautiful sceneries, combination of paved and gravel roads along the route. One main difference was the change in elevation, there were some challenging slopes around Bedok Reservoir and it was part of the 10km route. The most challenging one had to be around the 8km to 9km marks. I just decided that I would power up the hill and take a short breather at the top. It was not easy but being at the top of the hill, I could see a beautiful view of the lake in the middle of the reservoir. Once I caught my breathe, I quickly picked up my pace and headed for the finish line.

As I crossed, the finish line, I was glad that the race did not get cancelled. I have to give it to the organisers! They made the right calls on a difficult situation and handled the bad weather conditions well. Everything was well planned from shuttle services at different locations to water points along the race routes, I really could not fault anything the organisers did. Kudos on a job well done! I’m definitely looking forward to the last and final race of the the series! At this point in time, the details of Race 5 are still not out. Can’t wait to complete that medal collection of mine! Till my next race review, here are some photos taken after the race. Have a great week everyone!

Less walking, Less complaints, More smiles and appreciation.

Australia has widely been recognised as a laid-back country. That is certainly not the case for Blackmores Sydney Running Festival. On the day, Sydney celebrated healthy living by gathering around its famous locations to run, cheer and inspire. With a flatter and faster route, many came hoping to secure for a ticket to Boston Marathon 2017. With a more beautiful route, many came to experience the city through running (runner’s way). For me, I took a step back to absorb in the atmosphere given to me by the running community. And I’m glad I did that.

3 Reminders, 3 Attitudes for a Happy Race

1. Keep Running

Do not stop. Throughout the 21km race, I did not see any participants walking. From beginners to seasoned runners, Australia running community never stops, they continued to run, they continued to race. Coupled with a scenic running route through some of world iconic landmarks such as Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour and the Opera House, together we explored Sydney the runner’s way. This unspoken determination certainly motivates any participants of the race to constantly enjoy the journey ahead no matter how hard it maybe. Just as in life, once you commit yourself to a goal, never give yourself a reason to stop.

Keep Pushing Forward, You Will Amaze Yourself

2. Keep Supporting

From babies in prams to supporters holding well-written motivating cardboards, Blackmores Sydney Running Festival has them all. With such an enthusiastic support from the locals who lined up in the streets of Sydney, you do not need the MP3. Fun, vocal and loud supporters take your mind away from any pains and inspire your every step. They make the race for runners easy and enjoyable. And they make the race for participants memorable.

From supporting your family to supporting your running buddies to supporting your running clubs and supporting your running community. Sometimes, it better to give than to take.

Don’t Give To Get. Give To Inspire Others

3. Keep Having Fun

And enjoy the journey. Sometimes we may be too obsessed with improvement. That may be short lasting. However, take a step back and reveal. Anything that will attract you for a longer period of time is the fun and enjoyment you gathered out of it.

As for the event, runners dressed in their favourite costumes were common. Smiles and praise of appreciation were heard given to the crews at the drink stations and organising committees on the route and at the finishing line.

Life Is Too Short To Be Anything But Run Happy

If you are heading to Blackmores Sydney Running Festival 2017 or hoping into Sydney for a holiday, check out Runners’ Must Do Itinerary – Sydney Beautiful Coastal Run.

Lastly, well done to the organising committee of Blackmores Sydney Running Festival. I truly enjoyed myself. Thank you New South Wales Tourism Board for bringing me back to a place I called home for 4 years. Fond memories deepened. I will be back!