X-Training for 2008?

I have been running for 3.5 years now, and have been enjoying every bit of it. Got myself a toy this Christmas, which hopefully I can put to good use in x-training, and doing something different to maintain my cardio health and fitness for the exciting new year in 2008.


Brought it out for a spin...hmm, not too bad, but need to put in lots of work before it can become as effective as running. It should serve as a good bonding and conversation piece...:)

Happy New Year 2008 To All!

Pre Chiang Mai aniMILES tapering

It was a large turnout from SgRunners for the aniMILES run. many new animals turned up for a trip down to the zoo...TarePanda, SealBoon, RoadRunner (stardust's introduction), Georgie (littletigger's friend from Ozland), DeepCruiser assembled, along with Raven, kk, Gentle, DO, stardust, prata and myself. We waited for a bit, before Cheow12's party of Bug, Rory and PassionRunner came in. Chatted with SC5 who was there for his tapering 8km run with VT and gang. The actual aniMILES group had set off earlier for the longer distances.

Without much ado, we set off in the cool morning air towards OUTR. Passion and Panda were holding themselves back for a steady and slow start, with Rory roaring away with DO, SealBoon and the rest of the frontrunners. Spotted a pack of dogs midway along OUTR...though they were not as agressive as those near Seletar Reservoir, I told Seal to go ahead while I waited for the 2 gals to come up...the dogs were wondering why I was 'hanta-kaki-ing' there, but they were peaceful about it...hehe. We proceeded on past the UPR gate without much incident...I moved on at a casual pace out onto UTR and spotted DO, Rory, Seal and Gentle upfront. Shin Hui and the aniMILES were finishing up their morning run, and I exchanged a hard high-5 with her...haha. I slowly caught up with DO's party, and ran with Gentle through that remaining stretch of UTR, turning into Mandai Road. We discussed a bit about running tactics and re-fuelling, and was mainly enjoying the easy shuffling pace. Spotted Ultraman on his ninja return, and exchanged waves.

Gentle turned off into Seletar Reservoir while I moved towards the junction to the zoo. A quick check showed that I was quite slow this morning. Saw Bug running back at high speed, indicating he didn't go into the zoo. About 1km more in front, saw stardust chiong-ing, and this guy did go into the zoo and back...wah, I calculated that he must have touched the zoo in 1hr5min....very FAST! When I finally reached the junction at my flower-smelling pace, the group of DO, Panda, prata and Cheow was waiting for me...they mentioned that Rory, Passion and the rest have run into the zoo liao...so paiseh to have them wait for me...hehe. They wanted to take the Seletar Reservoir way to get come water and for a change of scenery.

On the return, I took the lead and ran slightly ahead with Cheow and DO just behind. Prata was good to pace with Panda 50m back. We reached the junction in no time, and turned into the Crematorium road....it was a scene of calmness with the Reservoir as backdrop...we ran along till we reached the Mandai Executive Golf Course area for a water stop...hinted to Panda that the 'secret' entrance to Muddy Grass was just around...hehe! We did not pause for too long, and after telling the rest we had 5km to go, we ran ahead towards OUTR and back all the way to LPR, as usual, pacing with Cheow for the final 1km. We covered about 23km in 2hr30min. Bug, stardust and RoadRunner were already back for some time.

As I got the 100plus out, the rest of the runners came back, one after another....Raven and Georgie did a good 30km run. DeepCruiser cruised back after doing 30km, and pacing Rory and Passion for most of the way. Seal and kk did a hard 27km...well done! We washed up after downing many cups of 100plus, before proceeding to the Food Centre for iced milo and good fish-ball noodle. Managed to have a few group photos taken with Georgie's cam. Discussions revolved around the GE30km run in Jan, and also how Georgie could have run a second full marathon in just 3hr8min...amazing, this gal! Till the next aniMILES run!

Muddy Grass 2 - The Return

The Muddy Grass 2 Team

It was a large turnout of SgRunners at MR for the MR25 Ultra Marathon recce run organized by Kayano. I had the good opportunity to call for a Muddy Grass run to tap on the soggy ground conditions caused by the many days of rainfall, as well as have a sight-seeing run for some of the runners who have yet to been to that 'secret' stretch from Seletar Reservoir to UPR ;).

The larger recce group left sharply at 7am. Kayano and PassionRunner had pre-arranged to have a case of 100-plus in my car, as well as plan to meet up after the entire runs for makan. Brokie and Vincent were the final ones to arrive for the Muddy Grass team...Bug, DO, Raven, leh-lio, DeepCruiser, prata, stardust, Alvo, cfred, Cheow12, SassyRunner, Teck Hou, Julie, Melvin and myself forming the rest of the group, proceeded off at about 7.15am.

Just before entering 'secret' passage

It was a cool morning, with rain clouds looming, as we ran into Northern Trail. I briefed some of the runners who were not familiar with the route about some strategic points as we moved along. Soon I was running in mid-pack, trailing cfred, prata and Sassy. The pace was quite nice....midway spotted 2 gals strolling in the woods...hmm, told them not to 'walk'...haha, they know who they are lah! We exited the Northern stretch in about 23min....not too slow. IMD was positioned there to take some video of us running up...nice.

Bug, stardust and DeepCruiser were happy to chiong the 'chunky' SICC slopes....a nice experience for the rookies. We turned into the golf course for some nice morning scenery, before stopping at the bridge to UPR for some group photos. Proceeded forward to meet up with Meteor and Yee Hua for more photos. Thomas who got lost from the 10.5km group, chose to join us for the remaining journey...a decision I am sure he did not regret! From there, it was all the way up UPR, turning out onto OUTR, and then UTR...stopping for group photos in between. We soon reached the Executive Golf Course, where the 'secret' entrance to the Muddy Grass trails was nearby....we found something interesting leftover, along with some golf balls we picked along the way,...haha.

It was a challenging entrance into the Muddy Grass region, with some bashing, crawling, snaking around barbed-wire obstacles, thick vegetation...in the company of creepy crawlies and ants. I was praying quietly not to encounter any snakes, as I was heading up first to recce for the secret 'hole' in the fence....was elated to finally find a clear way to it. Shouted to the rest to proceed, and with DO exhoing the instructions, the team moved steadily, cooperating and helping one another to emerge from the 'hole'...hehe. A small section took a right flank and re-orged with us soon.

We were happy to be free and clear, and ran all around the deserted area. In the midst of the excitement, I almost forgot the way to turn....and as it turned out, we were actually in just the 1st part of the range, after having skipped the Ultra-aircond road earlier. I was happy to find the entrance (with the barrier) finally, and we all recognized the muddy portions and trails we took in Muddy Grass I. DO and gang were smart not to take the left fork this time, and neither were prata nor stardust willing to take the risk by going ahead...haha. We ran mostly on muddy grass areas, jupping over small pools of water, skirting fallen branches, and root undergrowth.

The skies got dark, and the winds howled. The rains finally came as we were midway thrashing through the pipeline grass region. All of us remained focused, as we braved the elements and mud, nobody ever mentioning anything negative, all pushing forward to the exit...we finally reached civilization after quite a long, slow shuffle....all were elated to rush up onto the UPR road. The rain continued to beat down on us as we cheered the remaining members of the group as they came out. We continued to run on, deciding to skip the rifle range in view of the tight timing as well as the likely conditions of the route.

Bug, stardust, DeepCruiser, DO and Melvin led most of the way back to the golf course, along SICC road, and back onto Northern trail. The rains had abated somewhat by then, and lots of people were moving about in the trails. Brokie, leh-lio, Vincent soon went ahead, and I followed from behind....with Thomas, Teck Hou and Julie covering the rear. I was happy to finish the remaining 3km without running too hard, having sufficient time mostly to avoid the puddles of water....reached back to the start-point....total elapsed time of about 3hr15min. I went straight to the car to get the 100plus for all.

The rain continued on, though lighter....and Brokie was lucky to get an umbrella shelter from Meteor to take photos from...very pro lah...haha. Kayano, OrangeGuy, Passion and meimei waited for our group to come back...we were so appreciative. More nice group photos, a quick wash up, and the whole group adjourned to the Adam Food Centre for lots of nasi lemak, prawn noodles, prata, teh alia and teh tarik, milo dinosaur spiced with lots of lively conversations about the run and training, in interesting company, some having turned back from Holland Village and bugis Junction....hehe...suffice to say, a perfect ending to the second installment of the Muddy Grass Run :)

Slideshow of the day's activities, courtesy of Brokie :)

The Velocity Christmas Run

It promised to be a happening and joyous occassion for the gathering of the largest turnout of runners at Velocity@Novena Tue evening....must be 30 runners or more. Many were first-timers to the VelocityRun, all decked in bright red, orange, green, blue, yellow, black and white running gear.

Trencen, PassionRunner and Byron had prepared thoroughly for this run, with Prata and other SgRunners throwing in lots of ideas. Each were given a red santa cap, which we all put on merrily. We ran and chatted excitedly towards Newton Circus, then Cavenagh Rd, and finally reached our first check point at Plaza Singapura. The Christmas shoppers and revellers were curious to see a bunch of santas and santarinas running about, scantily dressed in running gear lah...haha. Ripley was already there waiting with her camera...wah, how did she reach so fast? We posed for some great photo shots, shook some people's hands with seasons' greetings, before proceeding on along Orchard Road.

It was so crowded with people that we could hardly jog. The Christmas lighting along the street added to the nice atmosphere. The weather was great...dry after a day of rainfall....just a tad humid. We were joking and laughing merrily, wishing passerbys as we moved along. Ripley was also jogging along in her jeans, armed with her small cam....haha....what professionalism! We made a second stop at Metro Paragon, and took a lot more happening photos under yet another large Christmas tree. As we were about to cross over to Takashimaya side for our ice-cream treat, we were stopped for a parade of colorful 'floats'....what a spectacle...good that Brokie managed to capture them in her cam.

I was first in line at the corner ice-cream stall...meimei got the first ice-cream bix, durian flavour....I had the honour of getting the next, also durian flavour...then it was a mad rush of red-bean, durian, sweet-corn flavours to meet requests for bread, and even scoops in cups. All had fun shouting out the ice-cream orders, and the ice-cream man was busy counting the numbers...26 servings in all....ice-cream man was so happy....he mentioned he was a Mobil Marathoner some 30 years ago.....haha. We continued on, munching on our ice-cream as we walked towards Borders.

Weaving through the crowd was a challenge....along the way, I shook hands with The 3 Wise Men, and some other Christmas characters on parade along the busy Orchard Road pavement. The final group of Trencen, Prata, Mashie, Raven, cfred, SassyRunner and myself ran at a quicker pace along Scotts Road, then towards Newton...along the way meeting up with Brokie, Davidtch, and a few others before reaching back to Velocity@Novena with bursts of 'Joy To The World' to end a merry xmas run :).

A quick stretch down conducted by Cokiee, followed by a surprise Birthday Celebration for Trencen....a nice strawberry cake, with lots of photos with groups of guys, and of course with the babes too...hope his MHA doesn't read this BLOG lah....hehe. After a quick wash-up, at least 15 of us proceeded to the foodcourt for some more makan and yak-king....discussed a bit about the upcoming holiday MR25 recce and Muddy Grass Run, as well as the Animiles Run on Saturday....wow, lots of makan, very little run done this evening....but it was well worth the trouble to see all very satisfied and happy....the levels of endorphin definitely were high!


Photo Slideshow, courtesy of Byron, PassionRunner & Brokie


A Merry Christmas To All!

New aniMILES runners...

I had plans for a Pengarang trip on Sunday morning with a group of old friends...so decided to do the aniMILES route with a couple of SgRunners. A number of them were running this route for the first time, and were excited to go all the way to the zoo. We picked up Hophling omn the way as he was running along Bishan Park from his home. PassionRunner, Rory, Prata and stardust were already at the LPR carpark when DO and I arrived at 5.45am.

We gathered as Raven, Cheow12 and RealRunner joined in. RR gave a brief of the route as Passion, Rory, Prata Hophling and stardust were first-timers. My plan was to do an easy 24km as part of tapering for Chiangmai Marathon in end December. My legs muscles were still feeling tight as we trotted off at 6am for a slow, easy start. Chatted briefly with almost everyone as we ran along the familiar OUTR...I did feel the strains coming from the various bends, but the air was real cool and nice.

I was happy to stay in mid-pack and just followed the front-runners. As we exited from OUTR onto Upper Thomson Road, the front group got futher ahead, while Hophling was escorting the 2 gals, Rory and Passion. We saw Ultraman doing the final stretch of his run (he started earlier) and gave a wave of acknowledgement. Heard that kk also ran earlier but did not spot him. The pavements were slippery as we turned into Mandai road...hmm, didn't see that many cyclists along this normally busy road this morning. I ran along most of the way with Cheow12, DO, Hophling in sight. With 2km to go before the turn to the zoo, spotted Passion...she was taking a breather as she prepared to go the longer 27km route with Rory, stardust and Prata.

I hit my U-turn point in 1hr7min....quite slow, but I was happy to be taking it easy. On the way back, pointed out to Passion the entrance to the zoo, and the 4 of us (Cheow12, Hophling, DO and myself) proceeded non-stop all the way back to the LPR end-point. Cheow12 and Hophling was running just beside me all the way, as we gingerly moved over the very slippery surface. When we hit OUTR again, I was still feeling ok, other than a slight tiredness in my left leg...spotted a Mobil Marathon runner (wow, he must have ran that marathon 10+ years back), and followed his very consistent pace. I trailed him all the way along OUTR, with Cheow12 closely behind. We even had a mini pacing race along the Casuarina stretch...it was quite fun. Reached the end in 2hr12min, meaning a -ve split of 1hr5min for the return leg.

Hophling and DO soon came back...then stardust gliding back very smoothly in 2hr15min for his 27km...wow, fast guy. Prata came back shortly after his 27km too. RealRunner was impressive as he came back a few minutes after, completing a massive 30km. Wow, so I was part of Team Slackers...hehe. We waited and chatted for a bit, before deciding to drive along the final stretch to cheer the final group of Raven, Rory and Passion. We even sent 2 fast runners, stardust and Prata to escort the lady back....all captured nicely on my camera phone :). It was an enjoyable morning run for all, and as I was rushing home, could not have brekky with all...let's do it at the next aniMILES run lah!

Distance: 24km__Time: 2hr12min__Pace: Not Calculated Yet

Self Myofascial Release with Foam Rollers

Recently got one of the much talked-about foam rollers for Self Myofascial Release. I tried some of the release exercises with the foam (as shown in the video), and it worked pretty. It was good pain, and my shoulder back felt more relieved after the 'roll' :).

Self Myofascial Release with Foam Rollers

Top 5 Foam Roller Exercises

Yishun Dam...Bottle Tree...Hot Spring

Lucky 8 finishing from Yishun Dam

Infamous 5 @ The Hot Springs

Went down to SAFRA Yishun on Sunday morning for the Running Club Location Run, as well as orientation for runners who have been invited to join the newly formed branch at Yishun. I went down to join in the fun, soak in the atmosphere, catch up with running friends from the other SAFRA branches, as well as talk to new members who might be considering.

After a brief by Vincent (TP Running Chairman) and Si Yi (Yishun Running facilitator), the large group set off towards Yishun Dam. It has been a few months since I ran there. Congratulated Eric Koa on his outstanding PB of 3:26 at SCSM. Chatted with Kayano along the way, thanked Shirlyn for her Sng Pao on SCSM day, and said many hellos to all that I recognize. It was good to see Half-Timer, Brokie, Vincent, DO, Kayano, Cokiee, tarepanda, Eliza running with such gusto in front....they must have been enjoying the scenic views along the dam.

I was still in recovery from Sunday's marathon...chose to run easy at my own time...mostly tagging along the main group. On the return, caught up with SealBoon and congratulated him on his outstanding SCSM...he just missed the 4hr mark by 30secs, but a very good PB for him...he will surely break 4hr in the next marathon :). Ran the final bit back to Clubhouse with Cokiee, eugene8, hophIng, Angela and had a chance to chat a little with Si Yi...realized she was a very good runner...very good potential for distance running....good that SAFRA Yishun Running Club will have her to support and help out.

After the run, I had a chance to catch up with Hyperactive who did very well at SCSM, Donald whom I've not seen for some time, Rita who was still as constant in her running as ever, Rosemary who did supreme for her marathon. In true SAFRA Location Run style, breakfast was catered, but the group of us, Brokie, DO, Vincent, HophIng, Cokiee, Raven, eugene8 and myself had to push off for our second adventure to the Bottle Tree Village and Sembawang Hot Springs. Eugene8 was kind enough to run the first stretch with us through the various Yishun Aves. It was drizzling by that time but the spirits were high. Eugene8 left us as we hit the Park Connector...a nice stretch along a canal leading out to sea...Brokie mentioned that the whole canal distance was about 2.5km, but it sure seemed longer than that...maybe because it was so straight, and the rain was getting heavier as we ran...Raven called that Demoralizing Road #2...haha.

By the time we hit Bottle Tree Village, the rain had gotten to be real heavy. We decided to skip Sembawang Park and sit out the rain at the coffee-shop along Sembawang Road. Over kopi-si and drinks (too bad they had no teh alia, and we almost wanted to order Prata..hehe), plans for a overnight Northern Route run was laid...it was fun discussing the details, and by the time we left the coffee-shop, hophIng and Raven has been assigned to conduct some recce runs and do detailed planning for next year's Sundown overnight preparatory runs in the North :).

Brokie led us in the continued drizzle to the Hot Springs, just off Gambas Ave. It was my first visit to the Springs, although I have heard so much about it. We had a great time soaking into the sulphur-lined hot water from the Springs and posing for photos. Although we did not succeed in getting a nice bath-tub for Brokie to bathe in, we did have fun scooping and refueling hot spring water for one another's pails. We felt so warm and nice, especially after running in the rain earlier. Steam coming out from the hot spring water added an aura of mystery to the area...we jested that Er Pei Pai disciples would find themselves most at home there...haha.

We did not want to leave the place....it was so comfy. Then the rains came and got heavy. We quickly put on our shoes, bade farewell to the gatekeeper, and vowed to be back with an even larger group next time. Along the way back, we witnessed a weekend car stuck by the fast lane of the main road, after having probably skidded. Raven went forward to advise the driver not to stay in the car for safety...found that he was shaken from the ordeal, puffing away at the rear passenger seat. After the small incident, we proceeded on the final 2km at a much slower pace...not sure how much distance we have covered, but it was already 11am+.

My legs felt a little achy from a slip I had earlier along the pavement....too much water puddles making the areas slippery. Vincent too had an earlier slip at the entrance to the Hot Springs. We reached back to the ClubHouse to find Cokiee. He had waited patiently for us...what a guy....oh yah, Cokiee had turned back earlier from the Bottle Tree Village. It was a long morning, but we all felt refreshed from that hot dip and interesting morning happenings. As we walked into the ClubHouse to get a quick bath, it started to pour again....wow, indeed a very eventful Sunday morning run in the rains, but we all loved it...yeah!

SCSM Recovery @ Velocity

Did a short 8km recovery run at Velocity @ Novena this evening. Met up with many of the new runners whom I've gotten to know only recently....a fun bunch with lots of potential and zest....should do well this time in 2008...the Christmas Spirit is ALIVE!

SCSM 2007 Gallery

Official SCSM07 Results

The official results confirms my pace timings (courtesy runpix.com)...I guess I can never do a closer pace mark (4hr) than this...so I am quite satisfied :)

NAME:	SUM YEW WAH ANTHONY
EVENT:	Full Marathon (Singapore Marathon)
DATE:	Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
BIB/DIV:	1221 / M4044
TIME:	4h:0m:11s (gun) / 3h:59m:53s (net)

AVERAGE SPEED: 5:41min/km

Result in Entire Field: 606th place
Result in Gender (Male): 532nd place
Result in Division (M4044): 87th place

SCSM07 - A Pacer's FR

I had set my mind from June to be a 4hr Pacer at this years SCSM. With the few training sessions I attended, as well as running with friends and kakis at our own training runs, I felt we were ready to help a number of them do their PBs and even do sub-4hr marathons.

We gathered at 4:45am in the morning, near the Merlion. The pacers were there, along with the elite runners. Met Ultraman and his Er Mei tudis, Akira and his Japanese elite runners, and many SAFRA friends. I was concerned that some of those who wanted to follow my 4hr pace group were nowhere to be seen. When we finally took out spots at the start line, there was Brokie, hophing and a few others spotted.

The first 10km
The horn blew, and away we went. The 4hr pace group of David Tay, kkchin, DO and myself were running abreast at a very comfortable 5:30min/km pace. Many of the runners came up to follow our pace....and there were more who overtook us...must be the race jitters...haha. Soon we had Gentle, Charmaine, leh-lio,Kayano, Ronnie, aerosolcan come up. DT and KKChin ran a tad ahead, with DO, myself and the SgRunners running as a group. It was fun. Kayano had a bib that made fun of Brokie to taunt her in the Brokie-Gentle challenge....but she was in no mood to be distracted...hehe.

I was constantly running at the rear of the 4hr pace group, maintaining a steady 5:30min/km pace, always keeping an eye out for DO and the rest. leh-lio was running very close to my pace.....she secretly said she hoped she would do sub-4hr. I assured her that she had a good chance if she could keep up with us till the 28km at that pace. We caught up with DO and the group by the 10km mark in 54min....slightly ahead of pace. I spotted many familiar faces along the way...we greeted and chatted for a bit....spotted Wong, a very consistent sub-4hr marathoner from SAFRA MF, and told DO and gang to use him as a reference point....turned out that Wong was always nearby throughout the whole race till the end!

11-21km
This stretch took us along Robinson Road, Nicholl Highway then into ECP via Fort Road. We maintained a steady pace and leh-lio was still running close...very strong pace indeed. She stopped at most water points, and was steady throughout. I advised her to speed up a little to go for her toilet break, and then rejoin us. Once into ECP, could see the Kenyans running as a group strongly on their way out....applause for all of them....further down, spotted many familiar faces...Vivian Tang, Teck Hou, the MR25 runners, and many more.....cheered for those that I could recognize. Brokie was cheering heartily for them too...she was still maintaining a good pace. Charmaine was just so consistent throughout, and she was just following DO's pace. At the U-turn from F2, David Tay gave us a shout to acknowledge our steady pace. We reached 21km in 1hr57min...barely on pace.

22km-32km
I started to move up slightly, and told DO, Charmaine and leh-lio to move ahead. While I could still see Brokie about 50m back, Gentle must have tapered off slightly. I continued to maintain the pace, and along the way chatted with a 62yo German who did a very good 3:30+ NYC Marathon recently. He mentioned that this SCSM is not for him, as the heat will surely kill' his pace later. I kept about a 50m distance from DO and party, and was hopeful that brokie, gentle and the rest could catch up. Acknowledged quite a number of running kakis from SAFRA, and many whose faces I did have a chance to catch. Shortly after the Powergel station, Saw DO picked up a iced Sng Pao from the SAFRA support station at 27km....I too asked for one, and that 'heavenly' Sng Pao kept me going till 30km. Time check was 2hr50min...was still on track. I walked a little to see if I could spot Brokie and the rest, but to no avail

33km-38km
I noticed a gal running nearby and sensed that she was going for 4hr. I paced her, and urged her to keep going, as we ran out onto Moutbatten and the Nicholl Highway. I could feel my calves tightening, but otherwise all was well. Posed for a few nice shots for photographers lined up along the way. Chatted with the gal from 35km, and told her about Pacers and SgRunners...hope we can have another good runner to help out next year. By then, DO, Charmaine and leh-lio were at least 500m in front. By 36km, I told the gal she has to increase the pace and follow me if she wanted to break 4hr....she said yah! I took a slow drink at 37km mark, and decided to back-pedal to give one last view to the rear to see which other fringe runners I could pick up...I crashed mildly into a cone while running backwards, and almost got a cramp on the left calf...Phew! I had only 30min to cover the remaining 5.195km...I had to make a move.

The final 4.195km
With about 4km to go, I upped the pace to 5:40min/km...a few runners asked me if they could still make 4hr...I told them it was close, and they should be in front of me to stand a good chance...1 or 2 sprinted forward, but the rest mostly stayed behind. There was this guy who followed so close to me, and then kicked my underfoot, resulting in a huge cramp for me...Arghh! I stared at him, and he just ran away...haizz...I had to walk off the cramp, losing precious seconds. At the 39km mark, I noticed someone familiar...it was SealBoon...he was slowing, although moving. I ran up and signaled to him to keep going at my pace. The final 2.195km was just pure mental of trying to ward off my cramps, and running in a 'crabby' posture...it must have looked funny from behind.


Then it was into the Esplanade and about 1km to go. Spotted Bee waiting near the end, and waved to her. With 500m to go, I could hear the blaring of the announcer. I increased speed hoping to meet the 4hr mark. Round the bend with 200m to go, it was 48sec left...Beverly mentioned she saw me sprinting to the finish....crossed the finish in 4:00:06 Gun Time...that was close...Chip Time will be 3:59min+. The finish was a bit spoilt when a deperate Ang Moh tried to cut in....surely would have affected the finishing photo...shucks!


SealBoon and the new gal crossed just after me, allowing them to go below 4-hr Chip Time. They were elated. I was so glad for them, and was happy to have made a difference. I was extremely happy that leh-lio finished in 3:58min along with Charmaine...a dream come true for them...wow! I am proud of Brokie for smashing her PB with a 4:09min timing, and Gentle making a strong comeback with a 4:15hr timing. I am sure they will break 4-hr pretty soon. The Brokie-Gentle Challenge was certainly the highlight of the first part of the race, and true to prediction, it was a close finish in the end.

The 4hr pace group was happy to have accomplished our mission....the other pace groups all did very well to come within 5min of the paces they were doing, in the process helping many do their PBs...this is surely one experience I will treasure for a long time to come! Ultraman did very well to establish a PB of 3:44hr...and his Er Mei Pai tudis all did so well...congrats to all of them.


Beverly took some nice photos of us at the finish spot, and thanks to her shoulder, I was saved from the near eruption of a massive cramp while standing in the sun. Bev clocked a respectable 2:09hr for her 21km, not PB, but good enough on such a warm day (she hates the sun...haha). After collecting our finishers' medals and T-Shirts, we proceeded to take some very nice and interesting group photos at the Cenotaph. As I had to rush for a wedding lunch, I could not stay longer to have lunch with the group and share in their Victory speeches and stories.

Distance: 42.195km__Time: 3:59:54__Pace: 5:41min/km

4:00hr Pacer: Mission Accomplished!

Gun Time: 4:00 flat
Chip Time: 3:59

David Tay: Gun Time - 3:57
David Ong: Gun Time - 3:58

A few SgRunners and friends secured PBs and sub-4hr timings....well done!

Details of FR will be out after I refuel myself :)