Trail Running on Hong Kong Island (by SinaiStrider)

By

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January 29, 2015

As some of you know, I am dipping my toe into the world of ultra trail running in March, at the Translantau 50k, on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Since the new year I have been trying to focus my training on hills, longer runs and higher overall mileage. I love a good speed session so frankly, it’s killing me! but its necessary…

Singapore obviously isn’t the best place to train for an event which involved 2700m of climbing, so I was very happy to get a business trip this week to Hong Kong, giving me an opportunity to get out on the spectacular trails that are so convenient when you stay on HK Island.

This post is a summary of the two trail runs I did, once close to my hotel at Fortress Hill and the other at the much more famous Victoria Peak. Overall I did some hard work, managed 1400m of climbs across the two runs, road tested my new Nathan pack, saw some amazing views and I didn’t get too lost!

Po Luen Trail – starting point Fortress Hill MTR

I constructed this route using the ‘My Routes’ function in Strava, which I find very useful and always use to assess distance and terrain when planning a new route (‘cos I’m a geek like that).

The first kilometer (as with most runs in HK that start at sea level) was very steep, on road, involving lots of staircases and steep climbs. Once the initial shock of the gradient was overcome, I tried to settle into an uphill rhythm, past Braemar Hill Park and onto the trail.

I stopped to take a quick shot back over the city, then carried on to the peak where there is a disused building of some sort and some great views over the other side of the Island.

The trail from here gets pretty hardcore for 1-2kms, steep downhill, technical and obviously not used too much. As it’s the second time I’ve run it I am a little more comfortable than before and I know it will get back to normal soon enough. At this point I pass a totally random exercise station in the middle of the forest, with a couple of 90 year old hong kongers doing their morning Tai Chi, we exchange greetings and I head down to the last section of the trail.

Here there is an extra loop which I must try one day, which is wonderfully named ‘Sir Cecil’s Ride’ apparently after some Victorian dude who used to like to ride his horse up here. I can see why, it’s very beautiful and incredibly peaceful.

The last section of the trail takes me back down the other side of the peak and down to Tin Hau Temple Road and then back down to Kings Road and the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

Honestly I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world where you can get by foot from complete silence and remote forest to the heart of a busy city in such a short time. It’s an amazing place.

So that was trail one, medium difficulty, 45 minutes, a good workout to start the day.

I’m back in the hotel before 8, shower and breakfast And in the office by 9.

Central to the Peak, Hong Kong Trail Stage 1 – starting point Admiralty MTR

Another day another trail, the Po Luen route has whet my appetite and today I want to take on a slightly bigger challenge. So I map out a route from Admiralty MTR station, up through the mid levels to the Peak, then picking up the first stage of the Hong Kong Trail and looping back to the peak.

I’ll stop the run there, get a coffee and then get a bus back down to the MTR and head back to the hotel and office for 0930.

Exit Admiralty MTR just before 0700 and it’s pretty quiet. Work my way up past the HK Zoo and into the mid levels, up Old Peak Road, which is seriously steep. Working very hard, I hit the Treguter Path and end up alternating walk/run because it’s just so steep up there, and it goes on, and on, and on……

This demanding section takes around 10-15 minutes until you exit at the Peak itself.

I took a brief pause here then started the second section of the run, along Lugard Road, which is actually more a footpath than a road, this runs around the peak itself, affording stunning views at every turn – this I can see is one of the issues I am going to have when trail running, the views are so great I keep stopping every five minutes!

After around 10 minutes I take the path to Po Luen Resevoir and hit a long downhill stair section. Quite technical through here,so it’s a slower pace, but really enjoyable to be running in such scenery.

Since leaving the peak I have run for about 25 minutes and have seen about three people, its amazing to think I am 2-3kms from one of the busiest city centres on the planet.

The stairs end and another relatively flat section arrives, which is a welcome reprive from the up and down. Final section is the Po Luen Reservoir Road back up to the peak, which is another tough tough ascent, similar vert to the Tregunter Path. Finally I see the peak buildings and a few more walkers so I know I am back atthe top.

An hour and twenty minutes of running, probably about 1hr 40 altogether with the photo stops. This one is much easier to navigate than the other route, with more spectacular views, but also much tougher.

I treat myself to a well deserved Starbucks coffee and breakfast then take a no15 bus back down through the mid levels to Wan Chain, pick up the MTR and head back for a warm shower.

Hong Kong really is an amazing place, a runners paradise. Next time you are there, why not check these (or other) routes out – you’ll regret it if you don’t.

For me a great trip, good business and 2 1/4 hours of quality trail running, 19k and 1400m of climbing. Love it!

Finally, here is a useful link for more info on the Hong Kong Trail.

Race Review: Skyhawk Nature Run 2015 – iRUN Overseas! (by ‘Little Bump’)

By

Little Bump

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January 29, 2015

My Human is one who is easily bored. Despite only flirting with the “local running scene” for slightly more than a year, her constantly roving eyes have their sight set overseas (yes, Malaysia is overseas). Hence it was no surprise to me that she should register for the Skyhawk Nature Run 2015… way back in July 2014. LOL ~ yep, that is how kiasu a person she is. Anyway ~ some of my plushie friends and their Humans we interested as well, and hence, we all attended the race together (duh).

Day 01 – Saturday 17 January 2015

We departed for Malacca on a Saturday morning coach from the Queen Street Bus Terminal. The 4hr-or-so ride was uneventful. I spent most of the time either watching the Human poke around on the PS Vita, or snoozing.

Upon arrival, it didn’t take long to spot our accommodation – Casa Blanca Guest House, right across the parking lot from where we alighted. We checked-in, hovered around a little, had lunch along Jonker Street (yummy chicken rice balls!), and took a cab out to collect our race packs. There we hung around at the Brooks booth @ the race pack collection, where the Human tried on a pair of running shoes… she would have bought it, if only they had a pair in her size.

yummy!!

Explored Malacca a little after that, ate more food, went to the night market… then it’s off to have an early night.

Day 02 – Sunday 18 January 2015

Sunday started really early for everyone. At 4am, the Human’s alarm went off, and I could hear her curse under her breath (as usual). Really, I am certain that waking up is the worst part of running events for her – there have been a few events that she DNS-ed in favor of more Z-s! Not for Skyhawk, of cos! Our chartered van came to pick us up from the hostel at 5am and everyone was in pretty good spirits.

Gosh, the atmosphere there was pretty lively at that hour, I must say! And is it me, or does it seem that about half the participants are Singaporeans? LOL That aside, the Human got a tad cold, standing around waiting for the race to start keeper check, playlist check, gummies check… and soon it was off we went!

As usual, our little running group broke apart upon crossing the start line, each running at his/her own pace.

The route was refreshing, though a tad hilly. Round the countryside, past housing areas, farms… etc. A great change from the scenery that runners are accustomed to in Singapore. The support was awesome – sufficient drinks at the nicely spaced water points, fresh fruit at one of them, volunteers directing the runners and cheering everyone on. Oh ~ not forgetting the villagers who stood outside their houses and waved at bypassing runners! I wonder if they knew how much that encouragement meant! I could see the Human smiling widely despite struggling along with leg pain (doc suspects itb issue) after 12km.

She crossed the finish line at 02:51:26, according to RunKeeper. Her worst result till date, but I think she is satisfied that she managed to complete the entire course.

Post-race was amazing. There were isotonic drinks, bottles of water, bananas, ice cream, some kueh and a truck serving up small satisfying portions of Mamee noodles!

The rest of the day was pretty much food, rest and a food massage, before we took the 4:30pm coach back to Singapore.

To summarize…

A pleasant well supported race not too far from home. Definitely worth the weekend “road trip”.

Oh… here’s a special shoutout to Mother Hen Siu for taking care of all the logistics and ensuring that the little toys and their Humans got home safe & sound (^_^)/

Race Review: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2015 (by ‘Elf’)

By

Elf

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January 29, 2015

The Sold Out Run

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon or what is starting to be classified as the ‘Sold Out Race’ took place on 25th January 2015. Slots for this run literally ran out on the days registration opened; on the morning of registration, I found myself in a 5 figure queue and was sure glad when I completed by registration.

Race Pack Collection

Took a flight in on Saturday morning and proceeded to collect my race pack after checking into the hotel and a quick lunch. There was a short queue, comprising of overseas runners at the race pack collection at Victoria Park which is also the end point of the race. Collection was quickly done and I was ready to go in less than 10 mins.

Race pack is basically quite simple – a tee,running bib,souvenir, baggage deposit bag, baggage deposit tag,batteries and handbook with other information. The handbook is even divided into the different race categories! The souvenir is basically a medallion and usually carries the animal of the Chinese horoscope of the next Chinese New Year, ie the goat(or sheep).

Other than full marathon runners, the medallion is your only token if you are doing the half marathon or 10km. As always there will be a debate as to why run if there is no medal or even that the medallion is already given out. My take is always that if you need a medal to get you to run, you are probably better off not running :p

Race Categories

On race day, I got up at 0645hrs for the run. Yes 0645hrs, no mistake, as my run was at 0845hrs. Why so late you may ask. Organizers have took it upon themselves to group the runners based on their estimated finishing time instead of getting people to start in the correct corrals (usually without much success). Hence I was grouped in the Half Marathon Run 2, which is like the the 3rd tier after the Half Marathon Challenge and Half Marathon Run 1. The same applies for full marathon which has the Full Marathon Challenge followed by Full Marathon Run 1-2.

Baggage Deposit

Took the MTR down to Tsim Sha Tsui where the start point was at Nathan Road. Based on last year’s experience, I proceeded to Kowloon Park Drive for baggage deposit. Runners are all given a truck number to look for and deposit their bags with the respective trucks. The impressive thing about this arrangement is not just in terms of the tags given but the fact that the trucks are not parked there a few hours beforehand but rather arriving only just before the start of the baggage deposit.

Baggage tag with truck number and bag number

From a logistical point of view, this ‘Just-In-Time’ concept is not easy to plan for. That said, the organizers could not have pull it off without the help of the volunteers who all seem very familiar with the drill.

Take It Easy

Was allowed into the waiting area at about 0815hrs and waited(what else to do in the waiting area) for the start. As always, there are runners who like to squeeze their way to the front. I find this very rude as if you can’t be bothered to be come early, what gives you the right to squeeze your way through to the front. Besides, this is the half marathon run 2 and everyone should be taking it easy right? I soon found out I was wrong about it as when the race flagged off, there were no ‘slow joggers’ – well at least not around me. Even I who usually start off slow found myself kicking up my pace one notch. Not only that, there was almost nobody slowing down to walk/jog pace in the first 2 kilometers! Eventually at the 3km mark, I slowed down for my walk break which I normally do at 2km.

My Superman Moment

Last year, on the eve of the run, I bought myself a thermal compression top for the run. Even though I knew I was breaking the ‘no new gear on race day’ rule, I reckon that abrasion was better than being frozen – I actually encountered single digit temperature at one point in the run. Naturally I reminded myself to do the same this year. But somehow it was warmer this year and I found myself heating up. Hence at the 5km mark, I made the decision to take off my compression top and replace it with a tee. When I got out of the port-a-loo, I felt like superman(dashing out of the phone booth) – I was able to go at a rather fast(by my standard) pace. At 7km, I noted that I was still doing close to 7min/km which really surprised me. I cleared 10km at about 1hr 12mins, within the 90mins cut-off time. Here I must highlight that they are quite strict about the cutoff times as I have seen runners boarding the transport after failing to meet the cut-off. And no – there were no promises of finisher tee or medals to get them up the bus.

Cherry Tomato Power-up

At about 12km, just before the Western Harbor Tunnel, runners were offered cherry tomatoes. I am not one to grab ‘food/fruits’ during runs but somehow that day I did. Either due to the psychological effect or the Gu gel kicking in or really due to the tomatoes – I found myself energised and push myself thru to the middle of the tunnel, where slowed down to make the climb up(the initial part of the tunnel was a slope down to the lowest point in the whole course). By the time I got out of the tunnel, it was already the 15km mark – just 6km to go! A look at my watch told me that I could probably make 2:30(which I have not done in about 4yrs), hence I was determined not to slow down.

Finishing

After clearing the Connaught Road West Flyover, it was basically ground level all the way. Near the end was a change to the route with the runners running through Henessy Road which saw more spectators out to cheer the runners, which was really a nice feeling. As with most runners, we were spurred on and I eventually crossed the line at just before 2:31. I was rewarded with a simple goodie bag containing a banana,fruit bar,snickers bar, isotonic drink, mineral water and a towel. Simple but it basically fulfills the needs of someone who has just finish a race. After collecting my bag and a quick change I proceeded to Tin Hau station to catch a train back to my hotel.

Hong Kong Pride

Overall this run is a well-organized run with not too tough a route and cooling(at times cold) weather which has helped me quite a fair bit. It is probably one of the reasons why the race continues to sell out year after year. The race also seems to be something which Hong Kongers are proud of; from the numerous volunteers involved, to the people who are out to cheer on the runners to the Yellow Umbrella Movement who deem this race as an opportunity to highlight their cause, it really shows that this is an event which is close to their heart. If not for this reason, do join for the cherry tomatoes!

As always, estimated cost as follows:

Race Fee: $60

Air Ticket: $300

Hotel: $250(Based on 1 night stay)

Misc: $200

Total: $810

The above costs is based on a one night stay which is on a slightly high side as Hong Kong hotel rates are quite high.

‘Disclaimer’

In case anyone is wondering, I do not work in Standard Chartered nor am I related to any who does. I guess it just happens that the Standard Chartered Marathon series stands out among other runs. Or perhaps it is my OCD at work again. So no prizes for guessing what is my next race review coming in about 2 week’s time.

Runninghour Workshop Review, 17 January 2015 (by ‘Elf’)

By

Elf

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January 29, 2015

Runninghour – Integrating People With Special Needs

As a lead up to RunningHour 2015 on 22nd March, Running Hour is organizing 3 workshops to create awareness and I was glad to have attended the one held on 17th January at the Sports Hub Library. Since I didn’t do much homework prior to the workshop, I basically went in, mind the pun, blind. I was however fortunate to meet one of the members, Liz Koh, who was kind enough to give me more information about RunningHour prior to the start of the workshop.

Liz shared that RunningHour was basically an inclusive running club to promote the integration of people with special needs through running. The basic idea is to get runners to join and play the role of running guides for visually challenged runners as well as intellectually challenge runners. RunningHour currently has about 400 members(or guides)with 120 beneficiaries and RunningHour2015 is basically organized to increase awareness and in the process, increase the number of beneficiaries as well as guides.

A point which Liz mentioned was integration of beneficiaries – more specifically not to create a dependence. This can be seen from the very fact that the beneficiaries actually made their own way to this workshop by themselves! In the time Liz was telling me about Running Hour, I saw the beneficiaries arriving either with the help of member of public or together as a group. To me this shows, a clear objective of the group but also the enthusiasm of members. It was very heartwarming to see the happiness of the beneficiaries on seeing as well as hearing their guides.

1st Speaker - Michelle — 1st Speaker – Michelle

Intellectually Challenged Runners

The workshop started with the topic of intellectually challenged runners beginning with understanding intellectual disabilities. Apart from identifying as well as differentiating the different disabilities, the speaker Michelle shared the benefits of running for the intellectual challenged which is mainly for them to stay healthy and improve their social skills through engaging people and making friends.

Michelle also gave very good tips for those who are keen to eventually be a running guide – from how to encourage,engage and inspire them to how to avoid potential issues such as not giving out your contact number(as some of them will not be able to tell if it is a good time to call), not being afraid to turn them down(such as going out of the way to travel with them) and verifying the accuracy of their statement. Lest it seems like it is drawing a line between the guides and beneficiaries, I believe it is again a move towards integrating them by inculcating the right habits.

Lastly, the methods of guidance while running were introduced. Guides need to be firm but nice and use simple words. Should new terms be used, guides should explain and introduce the terms being used. Concrete guides, such as actual distance or markers(lamppost etc) should also be used when guiding the runners.

This segment of the workshop ended with an interaction session with intellectual challenged runners. My group which was led by Liz, was introduced to Lee Ming and Sharifal. It was very clear that they enjoyed being in RunningHour as they not only shared their love for running as well as more about themselves. The guides in the group also shared how the beneficiaries will show their appreciation for the guides such as through giving thank you notes during Christmas – very nice gestures.

Lee Ming and Sharifal sharing their experience with the group

Visually Challenged Runners

The next segment was on visually challenged runners. Kelvin was the speaker and as what Michelle did ealier, he shared with the audience firstly on understanding visual impairment. One of his first few points was how from young he didn’t know he was any different from others left a deep impression on me as it was something that I had never thought of. He also shared how he played football when he was in school ;using a plastic bag to contain the football to enable him to ‘hear’ where the ball was, comparing it to how he used to run after chickens in the kampung in his younger days simply because they made sounds which made him know where they were. These points though sounding simple, showed how he didn’t allow his visual impairment from stopping him from being active.

2nd Speaker - Kelvin — 2nd Speaker – Kelvin

Kelvin also shared how to help visually challenged people, not just runners, on some points which again sounded simple but really made sense. One of the points was to establish the ‘level’ of blindness of a person – partial or total, to determine the kind of help needed. Next(although not likely to happen while running) is to NOT hold onto the cane of blind person as doing so is as good someone holding to your eyes while guiding you. Most importantly was when offering help or directions. Kelvin’s examples of how people answered him when he asks for help;

Qns: Can you tell me which bus is 100?(Ans:This one)

Qns: Can you tell me where is the dustbin?(Ans:There)

This goes to show that while some of us would really like to help, we sometime are not much of a help at all.

Kelvin cracking up the audience with his candid examples.

Finally, Kelvin shared some tips for guiding visually impaired runners such as; establishing where he/she prefers the guide to be, how to warn of obstacles/crowd by either informing the runner himself/herself or warning other runners(in the case of crowd) and also establishing a method of guidance such as clock method.

The Drive Behind Runninghour

At this juncture, I had to leave the workshop, missing the hands-on session as well as the question and answer session. But before it left I managed to get some words from John who is the founder of RunningHour. John shared that inspiration for the name of the group basically came from something equally inspiring – Earth Hour and the idea was to basically integrate the visually impaired and intellectually challenged thru running. With more visually impaired runners joining RunningHour, John would also like to see more intellectually challenged runners so as to further help integrate them.

Hands-On!

While I didn’t join the hands-on session, it was basically a session for the participants to have a feeling of not only guiding but also to be guided while blindfolded. Participants need to guided thru a flight of steps as well as to run blindfolded to experience how it was like for the visually impaired while running. While it was certainly not easy, from the photos posted I am sure the participants had their fair bit of fun.

Lee Ming and Sharifal Playing Their Part

Run So Others Can Run

Honestly, I was looking forward to a physical workout that morning but I think I got more than that. If I may say, it was an emotional ‘work-out’ – listening to the members share how being in RunningHour has change some of their perspectives and listening(seeing) what difference RunningHour made to the lives of the beneficiaries, certainly shook me up in realizing something as simple as running which some of us have taken from granted can have such an impact to people’s lives. As what Kelvin mentioned in his segment, ”We are all disable in some way, it is just a matter of how clear our disability is(or how well we hide it).”It has definitely reminded me that there are a lot of things that I can be thankful for.

I seldom do this but I would like to encourage everyone to participate in RunningHour2015 to show your support for the members and beneficiaries of Running Hour. In addition, if possible, do consider attending their next workshop which is taking place on 28^th February, 0830hrs at Sports Hub . It will be a good way to spend a Saturday morning and I am very confident you will enjoy it. Do visit www.runninghour2015.com for more information on RunningHour2015 as well as the workshop.

Photo Credits: RunningShots, Sotong. Many thanks for the permission to use the wonderfully taken photos!

Running 101 for Seniors

By

Team JustRunLah!

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January 28, 2015

Senior citizens running 2cropped — Adding life to your years, and years to your life.

So, you read our article on how it’s never too late to start running, no matter how late in life, and you are convinced. Or perhaps you are determined to push your boundaries after reading the truly inspirational story of Ms Gloria Lau. Either ways, you’ve got your head and heart in the right place, and now you’re looking for tips on how to start. Read on.

Starting from Zero

If you are currently leading an inactive lifestyle, with little to no physical activity, start with a visit to your health care provider. Chances are, you will be encouraged to exercise! Instead of jumping right into it however, give yourself some time to get accustomed to the activity.

As the saying goes, you must learn to walk before you can run. Begin with a realistic and achievable 20 to 30 minutes per day; once you can maintain this for two weeks, you are ready to incorporate some running to your workout.

Start by replacing every fifth minute of your walk with a minute of gentle jogging, so you are walking 4 minutes and jogging one minute, giving you a total of 6 minutes of jogging time in this workout. Assess how you feel after each minute of running time – you want to be pushing yourself enough to raise your heart rate, but if you are completely breathless or if you feel pain anywhere in your body, you are running too hard. Keep your effort at a level 5 or 6 on a scale of 1 (being so easy you can last for hours) to 10 (being impossible to maintain for more than a few seconds).

As you progress over time, increase the number of running minutes per workout. First, start by decreasing your number of walking minutes between each running minute. Once you are able to comfortably run a minute for two minutes of walking (giving you 10 sets of walk-run), you are ready to lengthen your running intervals.

Your next step is to run-walk for equal amounts of time. Start with 90 seconds of running for 90 seconds of walking (10 sets of walk-run), and progressively increase to 2, 3, 4 minutes etc. As you begin lengthen your running intervals, you may also find that you no longer need an equal amount of time of walking to recover from the effort. This is a sign that your cardiovascular system has adapted, and you can confidently aim for 20 or 30 minutes of continuous running without negative consequences to your health.

Aim to do this three times a week, while maintaining your 30-minute walks for the days you are not running.

Active Seniors

Are you already attending weekly salsa lessons at the local CC, or do you start your weekend mornings with a round of Tai Chi? You are definitely on the right track to good health. Perhaps you are looking for an aerobic activity to complement your yoga, or the running craze that has swept Singapore in the last couple of years has piqued your curiosity. Maybe you even received a challenge or an invitation to participate in a 5K with a friend or family member!

While you are already in relatively better shape than your sedentary counterparts, it will probably not hurt to pay a visit to your doctor for clearance to commence running. Your ability to transition from other sports to running will depend on how vigorous your current activities are. If you’re doing sports Pilates and golf, you may wish to start with the walk-run technique as outlined above.

If you currently engaged in more aerobic exercises like swimming, you have a much better developed cardiovascular system. There is a temptation to test your capabilities by running at a hard effort. Take note, however, that running taxes the system in several ways, and oftentimes, our cardiovascular system develop much more quickly than our musculoskeletal system. This means your heart may be able to take the strain, but your knees will not thank you for it. Resist the temptation, and you will avoid injuries.

Find a running buddy with more experience to guide you through the initial training period; they will have invaluable advice to offer, ensuring you build a proper foundation. Then set yourself a target, either running continuously for 30 minutes, or sign yourself up for a community challenge, as this will keep you motivated. Finally, become a running buddy to someone new, you are now ready to inspire and support!

Cover Image Source: straitstimes.com

Looking back at Green Corridor Run 2014 (by ‘GreeneryRunner’)

By

GreeneryRunner

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January 28, 2015

Last year was the first year I started to run races, prior to that I had no idea what races were out there. I signed up for my first race, I liked their FB page to keep up with their updates and somehow came across some local running FB pages and started following them too. Many of these give details on upcoming races and that’s how I now stay informed.

If I see a race mentioned that looks interesting I try to find out more. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I choose races based on the routes/scenery. I like to look at the previous race photos; first, to give me a feel of the race itself, secondly, to read what people say about the races. But it wasn’t until I found “Just Run Lah” that I realised a place you could go to read race reviews from previous years.

Anyway, I thought I’d share my experience of last year’s Green Corridor Run as this year’s edition is coming up soon!

unnamed-5 — Photo posted on Green Corridor FB Page the day before when it was dry 🙂

I signed up because it’s not at the usual Marina Bay area. It looked “green”. I like green! 🙂

I didn’t really like the flag off time which was at 9am. I was in wave two, so my flag off time would be even later at 9:20am, that’s bright and warm already 🙁 I read somewhere that it was at 9am because they had received complaints on past races from residences nearby due to the noise, which is understandable as it’s on a Sunday morning.

I checked out the route the week before the race. I thought it was nice and green, but the path is a bit narrow and it’s a mix of trail, grass, clay and gravel. So not all smooth and even. Secondly even though it’s very green along the way, it’s not shaded. I found it quite hot and it was only 8am.

I live around the race finish line area and the morning of the race I woke up to heavy, typical Singapore, rain. However I hoped it might not be raining, or at least not as heavily, at the starting line. Anyhow I prepared myself for the worse. I put on my older running shoes, ready to throw them away if they became soaked and muddy. Driving down to Tanjong Pagar Station the rain was sometimes lighter, sometimes heavier, it didn’t look too good. Even if the rain stopped, the trail would still be muddy…Oh well, I thought, I’m ready!!!

Finally, when I arrived at the start area, the rain had almost stopped, just a light drizzle. I walked in following the crowd and joined the queue for Wave 2. It started to rain again, lightly. Then off we went. After the first kilometer the sky just decided to break open. It poured!! I kept on running, thinking at least it made it cool, and hoping it won’t be like that all the way X_X

It rained. Non-stop. I didn’t even notice if it was lighter or heavier. I just focused on maintaining my pace, keeping my eyes on the ground ahead and getting through to the finish line. As long as it was safe to keep going, no thunder or lightning, I should keep going. “Those people would tell us if it wasn’t safe, I thought, and nobody did, so…keep going!!!” my mind talked to itself.

Puddle? What puddle?? The whole trail was one long mud bath. You just needed to be careful where to step as you couldn’t know for sure how deep each puddle would be. The narrow trail was soon filled with runners, some braver than others, some nervously looking where to put their next step. I zig-zagged through runners as best I could, choosing which puddles to step in and which looked best avoided!

I kept my head down to cover my face from getting wet, not wanting to lose my contact lenses, otherwise that’d be a real disaster!! My iphone was under my armpit, prevented it from getting wet. I was still listening to my music, at least I was trying to, in between listening to my mind saying “What did I do wrong to deserve this!!??” I felt like I was being punished in the military! (from movies I’ve seen 🙂 )

After a while the mind quit being miserable and started to think “This is kind of fun!!” “At least it’s not hot!!!” “Just dance dance dance in the rain”. My mind tried to think like those kids who are pictured to be playing happily in the rain.

Eventually there was the finish line..PHEW! I saw my worried husband and grumpy daughter in the puddles by the finish line with a pointlessly huge umbrella. 😀

I don’t have a closed up photo of my shoes, but you can use your imagination X_X

Lower Peirce Reservoir – Trails, Stairs and a Traffic Free Road (2.5km) (9km)

By

SG Unfit Runners

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January 27, 2015

20150124_233545894_iOS — Beautiful cool morning at Lower Peirce Reservoir

The start of 2015 started with a Bang! A gunshot that heralds legions of work held back by the chains of the year end festival. It has been non-stop working week-days to week-ends for the first 2 weeks. The 3rd week of Jan me saw me down with a severe cold, thanks to over exhaustion and my running stamina is totally busted by a week of bed rest.

This weekend, I finally got some time to clock in a short recovery run and to draft this post. I got a whole back log of posts piling up and it is time to start clearing them!

This week, BBG, Lazy Girl and me headed to Lower Peirce Reservoir to explore one of the most well regarded running spot in the North. Without doing any research on the routes, we headed to the extremely small carpark of Lower Peirce Reservoir Park along Old Upper Thomson Road. To our horror, the carpark was totally full and we spied at least a dozen other vehicles parked along the road. There were also quite a number of runners & cyclists gathering at the toilet by the road junction warming up in preparation of their run. After driving up and down along Old Upper Thomson Road for 10 mins, I spied a small slot by the side of the road and managed to squeeze my car between the other vehicles.

We spied a huge group of senior folks practicing Taji right at the entrance of the Lower Peirce Reservoir Road and that activity probably explained the reason why the carpark is so packed. We took the left fork heading towards the Singapore Island Club hopping to find a trail to loop around the reservoir bu our efforts were hampered by a gate 300 meters south from the entrance. Turning back we headed into the trail to the small trail to the North.

20150125_002026002_iOS — The gathering point for runners at the Car Park

20150125_000520065_iOS — Healthy Living but Crowded Carpark!

20150124_233806330_iOS — The Southern trail toward SIC blocked by a gate

20150124_234619159_iOS — The Northern Trail. Nice over the water broadwalk

After my experience with the nearby Macritchie Reservoir, I had a feeling that the trail will be a up and down cardio exercise through the secondary forest around Peirce Reservoir and my fears were totally founded. Not only were there slopes and low hanging tree branches, there were lots and lots of steps.

Great for cross-country runners but certainly a No No for Unfit Runners. Take the left fork for the longer trail

Map of the surroundings — Map of the surrounding

After a short 1km walk in the woods, we exited along Old Upper Thomson Road. I was pretty disappointed that there is no developed road around the reservoir and it seems like the only way to run around the reservoir is to run along the Old Upper Thomson Road. The whole entire distance from the carpark at Lower Peirce Park to the Northern area of Upper Peirce Reservoir is around 3-4km depending on whether you explore the side roads around that area. Knowing that my body is still weak by my week long flu, I decided to take it easy and pace along the Old Upper Thomson Road. Along the way, I encountered many other runners doing the 9km Peirce Reservoir running route and a horde of cyclists which I had to jump aside to let them past.

The trail exits at Old Upper Thomson Road

Even though I did not go far, Big Bone Guy (BBG) completed the whole stretch of the Old Upper Thomson Road and took a loop back along Upper Thomson Road and the total distance is around 8.75 km. There is a slight up slope along Old Upper Thomson Road but you will be rewarded by a down slope run along Upper Thomson Road. We pretty much enjoy the traffic free run along Old Upper Thomson Road and there are so many good breakfast spots around the area, that we swear to come back to explore the area further. Meanwhile, we will advice any runners to avoid the trails inside the parks if possible if you dislike stairs.

Breakfast at a HK cafe beside Casuarina Curry Restaurant — Breakfast at a HK cafe beside Casuarina
Curry Restaurant

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

Seniors: It’s Never Too Late to Start

By

Team JustRunLah!

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January 27, 2015

Senior citizens running — Adding life to your years, and years to your life.

Think running is only for the young and fit? Think again! Even if you’re officially qualified for a senior citizen’s discount, you’re never too old to start running. Case in point? Our own home-grown heroine, Gloria Lau, first Singaporean woman to complete a marathon in each continent, only started running at the age of 57. Contrary to popular misconception, running does not cause osteoarthritis, carrying excess weight does. In fact, running may even protect you from developing osteoarthritis in the first place.

Benefits of physical activity

Exercise is the closest thing to an anti-ageing pill that exists in this world. No, it won’t erase your wrinkles, but it just might do everything else, including shrinking that spare tyre around the middle. Yet, it is the invisible benefits of exercise that truly makes it a veritable fountain of youth.

Here’s how regular exercise can improve the quality of your life in your golden years:

Loss of muscle mass slows the metabolism; exercise helps build, or at least, maintain muscle mass.
Regular exercise burns calories, helping you maintain a healthy weight.
Furthermore, it keeps your metabolic functions healthy, such as improving insulin sensitivity, lowering your blood lipid levels, thus reducing the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Suffering from insomnia? Exercise helps you sleep better.
Keep your brain sharp with exercise; the latest research shows regular activity is key to preventing memory loss, and reducing the risks of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The case for running:

For post-menopausal women, osteoporosis becomes a real concern. Running is a weight-bearing activity which strengthens the muscles and the bones.
Running improves your coordination and mobility, which help prevent the likelihood of accidental falls.
A 15-year research conducted on 55,000 adults demonstrated that running can significantly increase your life expectancy.

Top 3 Running Advice for Seniors

Focus on Your Form

To run happily, you must run safely; thus, the main priority is injury prevention. You might be familiar with the advice to buy good shoes, warm-up, cool down and stretch properly, but more important than all these is maintaining proper form while running.

Run with a slight forward lean. Keeping an overly erect back can lead to lower back and hip injuries.

If you have weak knees, aim to land with a forefoot or a mid-foot strike, instead of a heel strike. This shifts the shock absorption to your ankles.

Take many small steps instead of big, long ones. Overstriding leads to landing with excessive force, which unnecessarily stresses your knees and joints.

Adding life to your years, and years to your life.

Quality and Consistency

The beauty of running is that no matter what age you begin running, you will see improvements in your performance over the first seven years. Realistically, you may never beat your best 2.4km time from secondary school, but if you take up running at 55, there is a chance that you’ll be running faster at 60 if you train consistently.

This is the importance of injury prevention, for nothing hurts progress more than being out of action for a few months at a time. Better to gradually build a strong running base by getting your body comfortable with the sport, than shocking the system with an unaccustomed sprint or long distance run.

With age, you also require more rest and recovery after a workout. It is better to finish three runs a week feeling strong and happy, than five a week feeling weak and lousy. Those extra miles bring no additional benefit, and you are better off performing an alternative exercise.

Enjoying the Experience

Above all, enjoy the experience! You may find that your interest wanes after a few runs, in which case, it probably isn’t for you. By this stage, life is too short to do what you dislike. However, if the atmosphere of races, the conviviality of group running, and the thought of continuously challenging yourself excites you, then running is definitely going to be an enriching addition.

Team Costa Top 10 Running Series #2

By

red3

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January 27, 2015

The second run in the Team Costa Series took place on another brilliant sunny day, except this time it was an afternoon affair with an attendance of ten team members. Taking the lead were the 5+ pacers Chris, Jeff & Stan, with David and Michelle close behind, whilst bringing up the rear were John, Veronika, Avni and myself. Our rollerblading member, Zuzana, meandered amongst us all.

We met at 4.30pm on Saturday, 17 January at Boomarang Bistro, Robertson Quay and mapped out the route. Heading south along the Singapore River, the route took us past Clarke Quay, around the bend at the Asian Civilisation Museum and onto the Helix Bridge via the Float @ Marina, where we stopped for a breather, water top up and a group photo.

The Helix Bridge is an architectural feat. Opened to the public in 2010, it was designed by an Australian and Singaporean consortium. At 280m in length the bridge is a representation of the left-handed DNA strand. When you walk on the bridge look out for the paired letters c and g, as well as a and t which stand for cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine, the four bases of DNA.

Heading down the stairs towards the waterfront promenade, we were greeted by another architectural feat (and there are many in Singapore), the ArtScience Museum. Designed in the shape of an open lotus with ten “fingers” as extensions, the museum is anchored by a round base in the middle which acts as a funnel for channeling and harvesting rainwater used for recycling. Each one of the fingers are gallery spaces in which I have whiled away many wonderful hours with exhibitions the likes of: Genghis Khan, Dinosaurs: Dawn to Extinction, Leonardo Da Vinci, Titanic, Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb and Lego: Art of the Brick.

P1170027 — Helix Bridge (L), Marina Bay Sands (C), ArtScience Museum (R)

As we were about to tackle the promenade our delightful Veronika figured that running inside The Shoppes mall in air-conditioning was a much better idea and an opportunity to cool off for a couple of minutes. You didn’t have to ask me twice; I followed suit.

The 3.5km waterfront promenade is a visual feast of glass encased skyscrapers such as the Marina Bay Financial Centre cluster and The Sail residences, the 87 years old neo-classical Fullerton Hotel, the 70 tonnes / 8.6m tall Singaporean mascot the Merlion and the durian inspired Esplanade Theatres.

P1170057 — Esplanade Theatre and Bridge.

We had another welcomed pitstop near the Fullerton Bay before we completed the final leg of the run. At this point, I declared to John (my hubby) that teetotalling for January was off and I’m having a Corona at the end. On that note we rounded the corner under the Esplanade Bridge and pressed on across Anderson Bridge, then Cavenagh Bridge through Boat Quay and the final trek back to Boomarang.

Buckets of Corona and Asahi were immediately ordered, followed by some much needed protein. It’s been a long time since we’ve had kangaroo steak. A little fickle to cook due to its low fat content, a mere 2%, the steak was a perfect medium-rare with low-glycemic sweet potato mash. Another round of beer buckets to really quench the thirst, some more banter and finally the way home.

We satisfactorily completed 8km in about an hour. With competing schedules and different fitness levels we often train either on our own or in very small groups. This session wasn’t about timing but an opportunity to run together, inspire one another and have some fun.

As February is nearly upon us, several Team Costa members are registered for various races such as: Terry Fox, Safari Zoo, Brooks Marina and Marina Party Dash runs and the Metasprint Duathlon. Somewhere along the way we’ll also tackle the Southern Ridges as our third fun run in the series. Here’s hoping to having enough time to write about all of these.

Stay motivated and safe with a SleekTag

By

Team JustRunLah!

-

January 26, 2015

Sports wristbands: The new trend!

Judging from the recent goodie bags that have been distributed during the Under Armour’s Burpees Challenge, Oakley’s “Test With the Best” event and also, this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon, it is clear that wristband is one of the trendiest sports accessory now. In fact, it has already been one of the top sports accessories for several years due to not only its convenience, but also, the myriad of vibrant colours that it can be offered in.

On top of that, to enhance the uniqueness for everyone’s wristbands, customization and personalization services are available for them too! You can either have your name, your favourite quote or even, your race timings carved onto your wristband. Yet, despite its attractiveness, if one still finds that your wristband is either not unique enough or, it is not fitting enough, do not worry, Sleektag is here for you! As suggested by its name, Sleektag, unlike a normal simple wristband, has a metal tag clipped onto it. Besides having encapsulated all the functions and attractiveness of a normal simple wristband, it has more functions and sizes. I was fortunate enough to be able to get a Sleektag Lite S to test out its functionalbility, comfort and so on for my trainings for this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon.

Good for all sizes!

Having a small wrist, wearing a wristband can be a hassle for me. Most of the time, the wristband would either be sliding off my hands or, would be stuck around my elbows. Yet, not wanting to be left out as one of the trendy sports people, I still do wear them for fun and sporty events. Fortunately, Sleektag offers me a wide range of sizes. I managed to get one- Sleektag Lite S, for myself and I have to say, it is one of the most comfortable hand accessory I have ever worn whilst exercising. For those with larger wrists, do not fret! Sleektag offers Sleektag Prime, which has an adjustable silicon band. It mimics how watches are worn.

You might say that you do not care about style when you are exercising so there is not a need for you to get a Sleektag. Yet, what if it aids your health too? Sleektag offers Sleektag Power which helps in blood circulation, alleviating pain and also, fatigue. Not to forget, it contains negative ion, tourmaline, far infrared ray and so on.

Stay motivated.

Besides, from my experiences, I feel that Sleektag can also add as a convenient source of motivation for your marathons. How so? Sleektag offers you the service of carving your own quotes or even, nicknames, onto the metal tag that is clipped onto it. In my case, I have carved- Sore today, Strong tomorrow. During this year’s Standard Chartered Marathon, it acted as a great source of motivation for me as whenever I felt like giving up, all I had to do was to catch a glimpse of the quote that was carved onto my Sleektag to recharge myself for another few kilometres ahead. With Sleektag, you do not need any motivators to encourage you to push on for the marathon, you do not need any music to distract yourself from the pain you have gotten from the marathon, you do not need any nice scenery to make your marathon easier. All you need, is Sleektag.

Stay safe.

Not to forget, Sleektag can be really handy for emergency purposes. If you want to prevent your kids or pets from going missing in a crowded area, all you need to do is to carve your address, your contact number and so on onto his/her/its Sleektag. This will allow passers- by to bring your kid or your pet back to you safely and quickly. If you are worried about losing your item, you can grab yourself a Sleektag Grip. Carve your address and contact number onto it and attach it to your valuables so that they can be returned to you if anyone finds them.

Anyone would have thought that such an item that is focused on personalization and customization would be expensive. Yet, Sleektag proves you wrong. Ranging from 15. 90 SGD to 35 SGD, Sleektag proves itself to be more than affordable.

With its wide range of sizes, its variety of colours and its varied functions, Sleektag is a fashion item that proves itself to be more than one. I will definitely get one for my family and friends and would confidently say that this is one of my best buddies for my trainings and marathons. So, stop hesitating and grab one for yourself or friends and family too at sleektag.com!

This post is sponsored by SleekTag.

Race Review: Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014 [21km] (by ‘kikurazz’)

By

RoadRunner

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January 25, 2015

Hi peeps,

Sorry for the late post – but as promised earlier, here’s a brief race review of 2014’s PBIM 21km. I know we’ve heard many complains and even many bloggers and readers here have experienced it first hand themselves – but to be honest I felt the 21km was not THAT badly organised. I had a really great race overall. Anyway – here’s the snapshot of the highs & lows of the event:-

The Bad:

1. Parking – awful. We parked pretty far from the starting point. We knew with 60K participants traffic and parking are going to be bad – but we didn’t expect to be parking that far. As this was the first time the race was held in the 2nd bridge – thus logistically it was really bad. Hopefully they would improve it in 2015.

2. Participants – I dunno how many ran the 21km – but it was enough to be sandwiched shortly after the starting point when we were turning up to the bridge – instead of running; we were WALKING. From a safety perspective this is bad and this is also a turn-off for people who are gunning for PBs.

3. Different starting time for male and female – again this might be due to the sheer number of people running but i felt bad for those elite female runners trying to zig-zag their way through the number of slower male runners. Ouch!

The Good:

1. Race route – flat enough for those gunning for PBs! Although a little bit boring at times (what do you expect as we are running on a bridge!) – it was compensated by the cool night sea breeze. And not to mention that I managed a PB myself on the flat route. Were it not for the little hike towards the end – my timing could have been slightly better!

2. Volunteers/water station – although some complained that there was not enough of water stations, I felt the number was OK. And as per all the other races – kudos to the volunteers who had to gave up sleeping time to hand out water/gel/ice pack and encouragements to the runners, in the middle of the night! I saw some poor kid dozing off around the 10km mark 🙂 but no complains from me!

I think overall the 21km was OK – i didn’t take the bus and obviously we did not have problem with the bottle neck ending that the 42km and 10km runners experienced. Now that the HM has been shifted to June 2015 – hopefully this year will be a better race and I’m thinking to give it another shot!

So there you have it – my short race review of the PBIM 2014 HM – next up is Terry Fox 1okm run in February for charity, and will post a brief race review after the run.

Keep running.

Regards,

kikurazz

This Month’s Training: Hills

By

Team JustRunLah!

-

January 25, 2015

Hilly routes are probably the least favourite choice among runners because of the extra amount of pressure and energy needed to propel your legs and body against the unrelenting gravitational force in conquering the upward slopes.

Benefits of Hills Running

While the idea of racing up and down slopes might sound like a daunting idea, the benefits and effects it brings are plenty:

Burn, Baby, Burn

It seems obvious enough that running uphill burns more calories than running the same distance on a flat surface, and the steeper the incline, the higher the burn rate. Interestingly however, research has also proven that run down steep enough a hill (specifically, from a decline of 17% or more) also increases the per mile energy expenditure.

Mental Toughness

With practise comes improvement, and slopes that seem impossible at first and prove to be attainable after several attempts are a great boost to the morale to go faster, further and higher. Hills training also show runners that speed is not always everything because there are multiple aspects to complete a hilly training run and sometimes it takes that extra willpower to push your body to achieving something you never thought you would be capable of.

Boost Strength, Build Muscles

Strength gained indirectly acts as an injury buffer. With more developed calf and quad muscles, you are less prone to overexerting your legs, a cause of muscle microtears or strain. Researchers have found that muscle soreness after a downhill run was reduced, suggesting that a different usage of the same muscle group can actually produce a protective effect.

Specifically, your calf muscles employ more muscle fibres to contract more quickly, at a higher rate. Over time, this springing action develops the quadriceps, to produce the high knee lifts while going uphill. So the next time you find yourself running on flat ground, your running efficiency has improved, translating to a greater speed for the same amount of effort.

How to Safely Run Hills

Running yourself into an injury is the fastest way to ensure you’ve found an excuse to never tackle the hills during training. Maintaining proper form is therefore paramount. Run any old how and you’ll risk aggravating the Archilles tendon going uphill, and sciatica or black toenails while coming back down.

Learn to pay particular attention to your body. Shorten your stride length and increase the number of steps you take. Always lean forward; into the hill when you’re running uphill, and yes, forward too when you go downhill. Counter-intuitive though it may be, leaning back actually emphasizes the braking motion, and the impact from each step creates eccentric stress that increases the likelihood of injuries in your muscles, knees and joints. Always remember: keep your nose before your toes.

Always commence any form of training with a proper transition phase to introduce the type of training to your routine. Hills running is a stressful workout, and a lack of gradual increments of training intensity and frequency will definitely result in unwanted injuries and setbacks.

3 Hills Training Runs

The following are three different ways to add some hills into your run this week. Remember to perform a thorough warm-up before you commence your session.

1) Steep Hill Sprints: Find a steep incline of about 50m, and sprint at maximal effort. Recover for 2 to 3 minutes with either complete rest, or walking. Start with 2 to 4 repetitions on your first session, adding one repetition a week until you reach 8 repetitions. While this exercise is great for conditioning the heart, lungs and muscles, it is also incredibly stressful, and we do not encourage anyone with a heart condition from attempting this without medical clearance and supervision.

2) Endurance Hill Intervals: Find a hill of about 100~200m in length, and run uphill. Your goal is to maintain a constant speed, especially as you begin to fatigue towards the end. Recover by walking or slowly jogging downhill. Start with 4 repetitions on your first session, adding one per week until you reach 8. This exercise increases muscle strength and Vo2 Max (your ability to sustain an aerobic effort over time).

3) Long Run with Hills: There is no need to set aside a specific workout purely for running on inclines – simply build some hills into a pre-existing workout, preferably your longest run of the week. Whether or not you have an upcoming race that features some hills, adding hills onto your long run teaches you how to properly pace yourself by switching gears, so you don’t make the race-day mistake of running uphill too hard and crossing over to the anaerobic zone.

Are you prepared to start your race with a steep incline like these guys at the Champenoise de la Marne? Photo credit: Guillaume Perignon

So what are you waiting for? Time to conquer the hills near your area and maximise your running potential!

An interview with the founders and members of Runninghour

By

Team JustRunLah!

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January 24, 2015

Runninghour at KL Marathon — Runninghour runners at KL Marathon.

Meet Runninghour Co-op.

You might know the name from Runninghour2015: Run So Others Can event on March 22nd, or have spotted the Runninghour runners in their distinctive apparel in one of the races you’ve ran, but how much do you know about the background of the club?

We had the pleasure to chat with the founders and a few members of Runninghour, a club that promotes integration of people with special needs through running in Singapore.

Enjoy the interview!

1. First of all, could you please give us a short introduction of yourselves for our readers?
John and Jan, Husband and wife, teachers from mainstream who have special interest in special needs education. Both are regular runners and take part in running races.

2. What motivated or inspired you guys to start this running club?
The youth with special needs have limited platform to integrate into the society. We see sports-running as a sustainable way of integrating people with special needs. We like to share the joy of running with this special population and improve their quality of life.

3. What were the challenges you guys have faced in starting this running club and how did you guys overcome them?
We started off with a very small group. It wasn’t easy to cope with our weekly schedule for the past 5.5 years. There are also many preparation work which are quite time-consuming. We only depend on volunteers to run the club at the moment.

Chris-Hortin Tan (Events), Mohammad Ivni Bin Yaakuv (Vice-Chairman), Siew Yiu Wah (Membership), Frankie Teo (Events), Agnes Lee (Training), Wan Wai Yee (Membership), Dennis Sim (Membership), John See Toh (Chairman), Chan Jan Siang (Secretary) & Soh Kheng Hong (Treasurer). (Left to Right) — Chris-Hortin Tan, Mohammad Ivni Bin Yaakuv, Siew Yiu Wah, Frankie Teo, Agnes Lee, Wan Wai Yee, Dennis Sim, John See Toh, Chan Jan Siang & Soh Kheng Hong (Left to Right).

4. How is your weekly runs like? ( From warm up to post- run)
We have between 60 to 80 participants at our weekly run.
The run are carried out at different location every week.
Participants can choose from the intensity they like to do each week as we offer 3 programmes of different intensity.
Pre-pairing of guides and special runners are done early so that everyone knows his/her role and buddy when they come for the run.
The buddy/guide is responsible in guiding the special runners through the workout.

5. How do you think running has helped the special members? (mentally, physically and so on)
– Build self-esteem.
– Participate in mainstream activities and feel included
– Widen the circle of friends and support group.

6. Have these special members inspired you guys and if so, how?
They give us a good reason to continue running. Their tenacity often make our own problems seem so trivial.

7. What inspired you organized such an event (Runninghour 2015: Run So Others Can) and what are the challenges you have faced?
The club’s phenomenal growth is clearly an indication of the club meeting a need of the special population. We like Runninghour to be an household name and the best way is through a national race event. We hope any person with special needs will know that they can approach us if they need help to participate in sports. This race is also to attract more people with special needs to come up to be active as we offer complimentary entries to all persons with special needs.

8. The event is meant to further integrate the people with special needs into the society and tell the others that they do deserve respect. How do you think Singapore has progressed so far in integrating them into the society?
We are encouraged by the support of the many organisations who are so willing to support us in whatever way they can. The running community is very supportive as well. We also want to take this opportunity to nurture a gracious and caring running community. Through our outreach programme we also discovered that the general public still lack awareness towards people with special needs (out of sight out of mind) but once they understand them, they are usually supportive. On the whole, the journey has just began.

9. How do you think this event will further integrate them into the society?
It will raise awareness through various mass media. Allow more people with special needs to run/participate alongside with the general public.
Demonstrate the ability of people with special needs and not their disability. Raise the comfort level of people interacting with people with special needs. Our integration workshop are quite well received and we happy to have people willing to spend time to understand people with special needs more.

10. Have you guys been training harder for this event? If so, how? If not, what do you wish for all participants to take away from this event?
A small group of our special runners and members will be training to be pacers for the first time. This group is training a lot harder. For others, the race distances are manageable but their special roles for this event will be race ambassadors-encouraging and helping other runners especially the special runners.

11. Finally, can you leave us with a shout out about Running Hour event?

It’s a breakthrough event in our nation’s sporting history.
1st race where more than 800 runners will be running “blind”
1st race to have so many special runners
1st race to have Blind Runners as pacers
1st race to have so many ordinary runners running alongside with special runners
1st race to have a medal in braillie

Q&A with with a few Runninghour members:

Q. What has been the greatest lesson you have learnt from joining Running Hour club?

Dennis Sim: I have learnt that as long as I refuse to allow my disability to define what I can or cannot do, I can continue to achieve greater potential in myself. And because of this , I am thankful for RunningHour for create an environment that focus on what we can do and not what we cannot do.

Q. What have you learnt from your experience with Runninghour Club and what motivated you to join this club?

Taichi Kimura: Before joining Runninghour, I saw them in the Gardens By the Bay while I was jogging by myself. I did not realize for a moment that they are special runners running with guides. I was impressed by the fact that they are running despite their disabilities. Then I was interested to join the club to give support as a volunteer. That was my motivation to join the club. My experience with Runninghour Club made me realize that I have been taking for it granted that I have eyesight. It is inspiring to see that special runners keep trying to achieve their goals and I am glad that I can be a part of that.

Q. What do you hope you and the others will gain from this event?

Siew Ling: For this run on 22 Mar 15, this is a run like no other. A pair can sign up for the blind run where one of them would be blindfolded and running for a distance of 500m. Later, both will reverse their roles. Besides having a feel of running blind, you can also have the experience of acting as a guide for someone who is blind. All the runners would be running with other fellow runners, with or without a disability. Some of the special members from Runninghour would be taking on various roles during the race? Through the run, we hope to let the community be aware of us, that we, the visually, intellectually and physically challenged runners are just like you and I out there, we do activities like anyone, though we do it differently. Besides running, the special members would be taking on different roles throughout the race. We also want to let other persons with disabilities know of our existence, that there’s this inclusive running club they can be a part of.

Runninghour 2015: Run So Others Can will be a race like no other where you will run alongside over 200 visually, intellectually and physically-challenged runners. Click here to register today. In addition, you can join Runninghour in their third and final Integration Workshop on 28th February (more information here).

Top 3 Nutrients for Women Runners

By

Team JustRunLah!

-

January 22, 2015

Proper nutrition is one of the cornerstones to improving sports performance and maintaining physical health. Most of the essential nutrients can be obtained from our everyday foods. However, with significant physiological differences between males and females, our needs subsequently differ. In this article, we will be exploring and analyzing the top 3 key nutrients for women runners, which are: iron, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids.

Iron

Iron plays an important role in our body as it is a crucial element required to form haemoglobin, a compound that transports oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body in the blood. This supports our energy levels and enhances muscle strength which affects the breathing and physical motion for running. However, women require more iron than men in order to make up for the amount of iron lost during their menstrual period, and even more so during pregnancy. While men require approximately 8 mg of iron in their daily diet, women need more than twice than that of men (18 mg, or 27 mg if pregnant).

As such, iron deficiency occurs more frequently among women as compared to men. Some symptoms of low-level iron include feelings of fatigue and depression and in the long run, insufficient iron can lead to anaemia. In order to make up for the loss of iron, women are encouraged to increase their intake of these dietary iron sources such as red meat, chicken and fish, leafy green vegetables, legumes and nuts, as well as fortified cereals.

Adequate iron intake can assist with faster post-workout recovery especially during periods of regular intensive workouts. It can also keep feelings of depression and lethargy at bay, making you a happy and motivated runner!

Calcium

Being the most abundant mineral in the body and a mineral necessary for life, about 99% of the calcium in our body is found in our bones and teeth. This mineral is essential in maintaining strong bones and healthy blood vessels by inducing necessary blood clots, sending nerve messages, and muscle contractions. It may come as a surprise to many that calcium can be lost daily through our skin, nails, hair, sweat, feces and urine. Calcium deficiency affects more women than men because the low level of estrogen production in women during early menopausal stages increases bone resorption and decrease calcium absorption, so women should take special care to meet the daily requirements.

Osteoporosis is a disease that results increased risk of sudden and unexpected fractures due to weakening of bones. Our bones are not static structures, but undergo continuous remodeling, through resorption and deposition of calcium into new bones. When bone breakdown exceeds bone formation, the drop in bone mineral density mass increases the risk of developing osteoporosis over time. Weight-bearing sports like running can help reduce the risk of osteoporosis, but this is only the case when one is not calcium-deficient.

As such, women are advised to maintain a good level of Calcium from young and it can be found in many natural sources in both dairy and non-dairy foods. Calcium-rich dairy products include Milk, yogurt, and cheese, while non-dairy products such as Chinese cabbage, kale, and broccoli provide this mineral as well. In addition. fruit juices, tofu, and cereals are also alternative food sources fortified with Calcium. Besides reducing the risk of osteoporosis, a research conducted concluded that taking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day may help women live longer.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

A lot of women shun fats in fear of weight gain, but there is one type of fat to bring back into your diet. A polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids are essential for numerous body functions including cell membrane construction in the brain, reduction of cellular inflammation, blood clotting.

Besides provides protection against heart disease and possibly stroke, this fatty acid has been included in many diets that aim to promote healthy weight-loss. Moreover, studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acids may aid to increase calcium levels and improve bone density, hence reducing risks of osteoporosis. The fact that our bodies are unable to product omega-3 fats naturally, the only way to get them is through the food we eat.

Omega-3 fatty acids exists in 2 main types in our diets: Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which is found in some vegetable oils made from soybean, canola and flaxseed, some green vegetables such as kale and spinach and walnuts. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, which converts to DHA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are longer chains of omega-3s present in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardine, bluefish and anchovies. Omega-3’s primary interest for runners is the proven reduction of joint inflammation in the joints, and a better alternative to painkillers.

Try making these modifications to your diet today, and see if you feel the difference!

Runninghour: Integration Workshop review

By

GreeneryRunner

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January 21, 2015

I’ve just registered for my 2nd race this year, the inaugural “Running Hour 2015” which will be held on Sunday, 22 March. This race will be different to anything I’ve done before as it’s a race for people with Special Needs. I want to take part to help people less fortunate than me to enjoy exercising and participating in a race.

RH Integration Workshops

Last week I attended their second (out of 3) workshop to learn more about the race. It was held at the nicely new Singapore SportsHub’s Library and was attended by around 50 participants.

The workshop was casual, relaxed and well organized. We registered at 8.30am, were given our name tag and informed of our group. A light breakfast was provided while we waited for the workshop to start.

A little past 9am the we were underway, first there was a Welcome speech and then followed by a session on “Understanding Intellectual Disabilities” delivered by Michelle who is a special needs teacher as well as a volunteer at the Running Hour. Michelle was very clear and gave us a detailed briefing on how to recognize special needs, what to do and not to do with them etc. For example she told us we may find that the intellectually challenged can be extremely friendly, but sometimes shy. We need to be compassionate to them, patient and encouraging.

Then, we gathered in our group to meet some of the intellectually challenged runners, to hear them tell us about themselves and a chance for us to ask their caretakers any questions we had.

After that we had Kelvin, a person with visual impairment, discussing his life with us in order to help us understand a little of what it must be like to live with Visual Impairment. Kelvin was a very confident and entertaining young man. He told us that the key point to guide a Blind Runner is to be verbal. We need to always remember that they can’t see anything and have to always let them know the ground condition, any upcoming changes, the surroundings, etc.

Before the QnA which closed the session, we all had a hands on experience by trying out to be a guide to a blindfolded partner and to then be the blindfolded one too. We walked around, up and down the stairs, eventually building up enough confidence to be able to run at a comfortable speed. It was pretty scary!! In the pitch black, I had no feel for the surroundings, just had to rely on my guide who was a stranger, but she was really good and brave.

The race is open for the public; 10km competitive, 10km non-competitive (with 1km blind run), 5km non-competitive walk/run and 5km (with 1km blind run).

In my opinion, this event is dedicated for people with Special Needs. Us, regular race runners, have so many other events any other time throughout the year, and as we are capable of running other races, why don’t we run this one race to guide the people with special needs run their race?? It’s a good thing. The medal we’ll get at the finish line won’t just be for our usual hard work pushing ourselves throughout the race, but for guiding and encouraging our Special Needs partner to finish his/her race!! I’m sure that will feel even more satisfying than just running for myself.

So sign up now and if you know any body with special needs who needs to get out and exercise, they are free to join this race. For further information please visit www.runninghour2015.com.

See you on the race day!

(editor’s note) There is another Integration Workshop next week, you can get more information and register here.

Win a free slot to Runninghour2015: Run So Others Can

By

Team JustRunLah!

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January 20, 2015

Be part of Runninghour history.

Runninghour 2015: Run So Others Can is an inaugural national event that aims to use mainstream sports as a platform to promote integration and nurture an inclusive Singapore. Runninghour 2015 will be the first and only race in Singapore where participants run alongside over 200 visually, intellectually and physically-challenged runners.

The Run will be a rallying call for Singaporeans to come together and show their support towards integrating people with special needs.

The contest has ended and winners have been notified. Thank you.