The BG Run

Some call it the Botanic Gardens Run, others refer to it as Brokie's Gang Run...whatever it stands for, we all know it as The BG Run :). I finally found time after a long while to join in for this scenic run on this nice, cool humid Sunday morning. Since it was going to be a 14-16km run (hmm....must be the shortest I have ever done on a weekend in a long while yet...hehe), I just took a cup of coffee, and off I went to pick DO and Superboy up from Serangoon MRT. We reached the old SMU campus by 6.35am, and while waiting for the rest to come in, we did 3 slow laps round the track to warm up.

Miffy, angelica, JT walked in as I finished the rounds. By then, there was a crowd at the basketbacll court, all warming up and stretching. Ultraman was a surprise visitor, and he had already ran 20km in the morning before meeting us. Nice to see Doraemon_red, Ronnie, teelee, cfred and the gang. Brokie finally came, and gave a brief of the route with well put up maps...very pro...haha. Attendance were taken, and some late-comers were asked to drop 50...hahaha. The route would take us from SMU (Evan Road) --> in and around BG --> BG Gate (Evan Road) --> Cluny Road --> Minden Road --> Ripley Road --> Tanglin Road --> Nassim Road --> Cluny Road --> Dalvey Road --> Stevens Road --> Orange Grove Road --> Tanglin Road --> Nassim Road --> SMU (Evan Road). I guess there must be over 30 SgRunners gathered, and there were quite a number of new people too. I went around introducing myself and chatting with most of them....great to meet very new members like cazz, bikerchic, melissa (mwengrof) and gems. There was a 12km route, with a 4km extension for those who will need the extra distance. My plan was to shuttle between the front pack and the rear, adding in extra distance on the way, and depending on how I felt, might just do away with the extra bit.

The initial part in Botanic Gardens was nice...bumping into RealRunner and his MHA, seeing the early groups doing chi gong and tai-chi, some joggers too...we missed the front group for a bit, but eventually met up with them at Ginger Gardens. I chatted a bit with roonz, bikerchic, cazz as we ran into the Evolution Garden.....nice place...most of the runners have pretty good pace, and should do well for their upcoming Mizuno Wave and AHM races. I was just running up and down, chatting, and making sure to maintain eye contact with Brokie's group and the rear groups. From BG, we moved out onto Evan Road, then crossed over to Minden Road out to Ridley area and back to BG. I have done parts of this route when I ran with the MF Runners from SAFRA MF to BG. Jamessoh, Teelee, Ronnie, Cokiee, SportVenturer and Tiwazz were covering the rear for that stretch, and I ran along to meet up with their group to continue to the Shell Station along Tanglin Road for the first break. Brokie and the rest were there a tad earlier, and the group RV'ed. We had covered about 9km up till then. We hung around for about 10min, before moving off...this time, I followed renohtaram with JT, angelica, teelee, Ronnie, Cokiee and the rest....running along Nassim Road towards Cluny. I think the slopes started from here, and midway, I ran back all the way and found miffy, cazz, gems, teelee and tiwazz. After passing the last person, I turned back and ran forward again...did that a few times...quite fun, doing the distance, yet maintaining eye contact with all.

We finally reached Cluny Road and back to the back entrance of BG, where Brokie and the lot were waiting for us. DO who lost the group in BG finally met up at that point too. Great, we could continue on from there. The front group had probably ran ahead by that time. We continued on with a new group into scenic Dalvey and Stevens Road...there were a few gentle slopes which posed a good challenge, and I had second helpings of those whenever I had the chance to run back and then forwards again....the air was fresh inside, but it was still humid... lots of lush greenery, good for the eyes....hehe. I felt I was working quite hard with those slopes....good, then I don't need to run extra later on. Out onto Orange Grove Road, and we went for a second loop into the quiet enclave again...by that time, some of the runners were feeling the strain of the slopes, and I advised them to take some walk breaks up the slopes. The second wind came for most of them, and we finished the run in good form and timing at Cluny Road. After some light stretches, we did a cool-down walk back to old-SMU...collected Brokie's barley and cut apples, before arriving to cheers of joy from the group anxiously waiting for the heavenly taste of Brokie's barley. It was a nice workout for me, even though the distance was not that long...hmm, and I was so thirsty. Grabbed a piece of apple, and had double servings of the ice cold barley....heavenly....hehe. The Prata Cafe was closed...haiz...we went to Food Haven after washing up, and I received my autographed Dr.Willian Tan book from Seal....thanks... Also got Ronnie to try the WR9, and am glad it was a good fit for him. Had a lot of nice discussions about SCSM05, World Harmony Run and also the CBD and RL runs. It is always good to meet the SgRunners for runs, as there are always so many people to meet and things to talk about and discuss. It was only when the rains threatened, we left Food Haven with very satisfied legs, stomachs and mouths :).

Because of the to-ing/fro-ing and the fact I did not set my stop-watch, the distances and timings will be based on my own estimates....not very accurate.
Distance Ran: 18km____Time: 2hr____Pace: 6:40min/km