May Day Run @ Ponggol

As I was about to step out the door at 6.10am, the rains came....Oops. Immediately informed the rest, and waited till 7.30am when I changed into my T-Shirt and put on a cap, and ran to meet up with DO at Lor Ah Soo junction. Together we ran for another km to pick up Kayano, and the merry 3 ran in a very light drizzle along the Canal off Tampines Road, and then out onto Ponggol Park to meet the rest of the HSP gang.

Doraemon, tktan, RealRunner, teelee, Brokie, sealboon and taz were already waiting and warmed up. The HSP 10 started off on our interesting journey through wooded parts of the canal towards Ponggol Jetty. The rain had stopped by 8am, and we ran and chatted merrily along Sengkang East Rd, recalling the 168km waiting point where we picked up the respective ultra-men whom we were supposed to escort. I remembered Ultra, Alvo, Karen and myself picked up Lim Nghee Huat from that point last year, and Lim went on to become champion NTU 168km-er for that race.

We could see Edgefield Plains on the left as we moved closer to Ponggol end. We stopped occasionally for some nice panoramic photos (courtesy of taz's good photography skills). Finally ran along the road towards Ponggol Jetty. Some of us recalled with fond memories the holiday chalets along Seventeenth Ave we used to camp in, the seafood and famous Ponggol Mee Goreng at the end of the road. We spent some time at the Jetty soaking in the sights, took nice photos, and ventured off-road towards the Marina.


The bits of trail were pleasantly smooth. We ran along the coast, and could see a few cars and vans parked by the side, with a number of people doing leisure fishing. We had a nice break by the Marina, and took photos with the many boats berthed. Nice kopi-si, juices, drinks and half-boiled eggs soon got our energy levels up. With 'egg' and 'wings' in their tank, Kayano and Brokie took the lead out of the Marina, and all of us followed the strong pace. We ran along the unused Ponggol LRT, and took a short cut by running below the LRT line. Although we were getting tired, and the sun was coming out, we were having fun and enjoying the rather scenic route.

We went back by the busier side of the Sengkang Road, and because of the sun and many traffic junctions, it wore our legs down. The thought of ice-cold Soya Bean waiting for us at Ponggol Park kept our spirits high, and minds strong...hehe. Taz departed midway as we neared his home. The 9 of us braved on, with the 2 ladies leading the pack strongly. After what seemed like eternity, we finally made it to Ponggol Park, after being on the road for 3.5hrs. We were elated when we saw Kayano's bro-in-law waiting for us, with all the ice-cold soya bean milk....it was heavenly. Brokie took out her still-cold cut apple slices, and that really revived my energy level.

After a short rest, I continued towards home, while the rest washed up and headed to Kovan Food Centre. I ran for about 3km, and decided to walk the remaining 1.5km home to cool down. I felt like I ran a lot, maybe because of the 4hr+ I was on my feet. Sensing that I would be quite late, I decided not to join the rest of the gang for their laksa and fish-ball noodles. It was an enjoyable run for me through new places, and we were very lucky to have had the bout of good weather...I was glad we waited for that 1hr....and all the while, we encouraged one another by the maxim 'there are no bad weather, only weak minds...'...hmm, somehow that sounds so familiar....haha