“Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward.”

– Drew Houston, Co-founder & CEO of Dropbox

This impactful quote from Drew Houston that I stumbled upon online resonated deeply with my current state of self-discovery, which set me thinking. In response, I rose up to the challenge (pun intended) and registered for the National Vertical Marathon 2018; I wanted to keep to my personal goal this year – seizing new opportunities and chasing new experiences.

The National Vertical Marathon (NVM) was first conceived in 1994, by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Sports Club. An alternative way to race, participants ascend the entirety of a skyscraper, instead of flat-road running. Being an NTU undergraduate myself, I had yet another reason to support this event. This time, I rounded up several friends from NTU and my brother Justin to register along with me in the Men’s Open Race Category. For the most of us, including myself, were first-timer-goers for the NVM.

In this year’s NVM, participants were challenged to scale the stairs of a 37-storey-high building: Guoco Tower, Tanjong Pagar Centre. There was a wide selection of race categories to choose from and were mainly grouped according to the Individual, Team and Relay categories. Some were more unconventional but creative, such as the Lover’s Challenge and the Family Fun Race.

Race Day – 3 June 2018

I arrived at Tanjong Pagar Centre at around 8:45 am and met up with my friends soon after. We then headed to the registration booth to collect our Race T-shirt and RFID Race Bib. Registration was a rather smooth process, with multiple counters available for participants to approach. Many volunteers were stationed around the booth – essential for an easy registration flow. There wasn’t much of a queue during the time I registered, which was probably due to the pre-assigned timings as mentioned in the registration email. I was assigned to register at 8:57 am, so I had no qualms throughout this whole process.

Upon receiving our race items, we changed into our Race T-shirts, pinned on our Race Tags did some light stretching to ready ourselves.

At around 9:30 am, we were called to the gathering area to be split into our details. My friends and I were put into the same detail and lined up to start our race. Each 5-man detail was released at intervals of every few minutes. I was impressed with the level of management and coordination of details.

Before long, the race horn sounded and we were off. We began with a slight jog just to warm up before arriving at the stairwell. Psyched for the race, most of us began the climb with large strides, skipping one step as we go.

As the race proceeded, several posters on the walls reminded us of the remaining floors to check our progress. My group of friends gradually split up, with each going at their own paces. At around the halfway mark, my legs had too much lactic acid built up and I was forced to a quick walk – no more skipping steps for me. In all honesty, it looked way easier than it actually was and I was underestimating it way too much. The stairwell was also stuffy – with little to no ventilation.

However, this was just what I signed up for – a new experience! Rather than chasing excellence, I was chasing after a different challenge, which makes the whole experience much more worthwhile.

Hydration points were stationed at every 10 flights of stairs, which provided plain water in cups. Every few floors, there would be a volunteer supporter to giving encouragement to the participants.

Nearing the top, I noticed everyone around me picking up speed to give that last push for the finish and I followed suit. That last burst of motivation was all I need to muster a sprint up the remaining few flights of stairs. With the final few quick strides, I completed the race alongside my brother, Justin.

A familiar sense of accomplishment swelled within me, just like every other race I completed, no matter how easy or tough. At the top, my friends and I huddled for a group photo and started sharing with each other about the experience. Everything felt in-place but something was amiss: a breathtaking view! Or at the very least a view from a balcony. To our disappointment, we were only ushered to a lift lobby to take the lifts down. A friend of mine commented that last year’s race rewarded participants with a view from the top, unlike this year.

Upon exiting the lift at ground level, we were given our finisher medals and some isotonic drinks and joined in with the crowd at the race carnival. Among all the festivity, I noticed race participants were either playing booth games, queueing for snacks redemption, taking photos at a photo booth or getting their caricatures drawn. All these were given complimentary to each race participant. Some snacks I redeemed for myself were Kacang Putih, Ice Cream and Muah Chee (breakfast was settled!). There were some live singing performances on stage throughout the carnival, which really brought the whole atmosphere of a fiesta.

Our group took some commemorative photos together and collected our goodie bags thereafter. These goodie bags were packed to the brim with mostly items from event sponsors.

After spotting some familiar faces from NTU and catching up with them, we went to collect our deposited baggage. Once again, we had another quick and easy baggage collection with no queue.

On the whole, NVM 2018 was considerably well-executed for a student-run initiative. Despite the minor disappointment of not having a view at the top, the race adequately brought across the whole idea of an alternative to running. One great point worth mentioning was the smooth management of details of the various categories, which can possibly be a logistical nightmare. I would recommend the NVM to any runner who seeks to try a different form of race. Kudos to NVM and NTU Sports Club!

Final Thoughts

“Attitude, Aptitude, Altitude” was the tagline for this year’s NVM, which challenges us to approach trials and tribulations with the right attitude, test the limits of our aptitude and reach a new level of altitude.

Hopefully, this would provide some inspiration to you not just in running, but also in the exciting roller-coaster of a race: life. As Drew Houston had mentioned, embrace the adventure and run skyward.

Till my next write-up, continue chasing after new experiences, God bless and have a great day ahead!

Pulau Ubin must be the last place in Singapore that still retains its charming, rustic environment. Time seemingly stands still here, even though most residents had already moved to mainland Singapore many years ago. This island, which is just a 10 mins boat ride from Changi Village, welcomes many visitors during weekends; all who want to escape from the bustling mainland to enjoy cycling, hiking, fishing or even kayaking.

I had been to Ubin several times throughout the years, either cycling or visiting chek jawa. But it had never crossed my mind that one day I would take part in a run event there.

The Event

Held on 27 May, Pesta Ubin was jointly organized by Community Sports Clubs from Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru, Queenstown, Buona Vista, Henderson-Dawson and Coffee Tea Runners. It was supported by Nparks and Esprimo.

There were 3 categories: 2 km walk, 6 km run and 6 km biking. I took part in the 6 km run and was entitled to a 10% discount since I am a passion card holder.

Event Day

There was light drizzling on the Sunday morning, but the weather was cooling. I had hoped for clear skies since it had already rained on Saturday. I took a bus ride from my home to Changi Village to take the bum boat to Ubin. A single trip now costs $3.

There were already many brisk walkers at the waiting area. They were mostly elderly and had signed up for the event at their community centres. Kudos to them for leading a healthy lifestyle and don’t mind travelling ‘overseas’ for this event!

The assembly area was at the former basketball court, opposite the Volunteer Hub. I reached there around 8.45 am. Perhaps due to the rainy weather or that it was still early, there wasn’t many other visitors in Ubin. I felt we had the whole Ubin literally to ourselves for this event!

I went to register in and was given a green wristband (runner’s color) and deposited my bag. Some runners were already doing their warm-up exercises and bikers proceeding to their flag off area near the public washrooms.

The bikers were flagged off first at 9.15 am, followed by the brisk walkers 15 mins later. The runners were in the last leg and had the privilege of being flagged off by ultra-marathoner Mr. Lim Nghee Huat and former olympian Mr. C Kunalan, who held the 100 m national record for over 30 years. I was honoured to have a photo taken with him!

The run took us past some scenic Ubin landmarks. There were kampong houses and coconuts trees residing along the roadside. There was mention of durian trees too though I couldn’t recognise them. It was a fun run, so I was not expecting a technically challenging trail. But again, it was a nice departure from Macritchie. Macritchie’s trails can be unforgiving and it can be real hot running in the dense forest there. Unlike here in Ubin where space is generous. The only issue here is the mosquitoes!

There was lucky draw at the close of the event. But as usual, luck wasn’t on my side. I collected my event tee, $5 toast box voucher and some snacks. The event ended at 10.50 am and I proceed to meet my family at the nearby chinese restaurant. They had come at a later time and did not participate in the event.

We had a light lunch and embarked on my 2nd activity of the day – cycling.

Post Run Cycling

My cycling has always confined to the eastern part of Ubin. Today I decided to venture to the western side towards the Outward Bound. It was quite a different scenery and I passed by interesting places, which I had heard of but never visited before: the German Girl Shrine, Ah Ma Drink Stall and Ketam Quarry.

And certainly, we also crossed path with Ubin’s other inhabitants – the monkeys and wild boars, which scurried into the bushes when saw me approaching them.

The cycling ended almost 2.5 hrs later and we took the bum boat back to mainland Singapore for a late lunch at Changi Village.

Comments

1) I would personally prefer to retrieve the event tee before the event, just like the brisk walkers, so that I can wear it for the event. It is not supposed to be a finisher’s tee.

2) Perhaps I have missed it, but I think information on collection of event tee could have been placed in the website. I was still thinking when to collect it until I received email, days before the event, notifying me it is to be collected only after completing the run.

3) Although it was a fun run, but I think a simple map highlighting the route to be run would be useful.

4) I think it was really wonderful to have Mr. Lim and Mr. Kunalan to grace this event. It does feel good to be flagged off by a personality who had achieved, excelled and proven himself in the same sports (running).

Overall, I feel the event was well organized and kudos to the organizers for managing and giving us 3 options of either walking, running or biking!