Pearl Izumi PURE Run Series - 12km

PEARL iZUMi PURE 1st Series 2008

This is the first year that the PI PURE Run Series is being organized, and to get the coveted finisher's tee (one has to complete all 3 runs in the series), I signed up for this very early on. I only realized today that the final run (30km) clashes with my trip to Korea for the ChunCheon and Seoul marathons....aiya, let's see what we can do lah.

SgRunners @ PI PURE Run

I arrived at about 6.30am to Bedok Town Park, and found that the start point was actually where Tekko's support station for Sundown was situated. There were many SAFRA runners, including triathletes. Met many familiar faces from SgRunners as well. The run helpers, decked in their very nice yellow tops, were receiving last minute briefings from Mike and Sam.

The women's open was started first, at 7.30am. After 7min, we could see the front runners of Mika, Sumiko and Alan Chao's disciple in front. The guys were waved off at 7.40am. The initial pace was pretty fast, and I had to constantly slow down so as not to burn out. IMD and a few others soon overtook me to move ahead. There were some slopes to tackle, but the air was still cool in the initial 20min. Reached the 5km point in 25min+, which I thought was not too accurate...should be sub-5min pace.

Divey and her bf were doing marshal duty today. Went to the 7km mark, and Mike Kang directed us to the water point. Chairman was cheering along the way. By the 8km mark, the sun was blazing and some were walking. I could see SAFRA MF runners led by trainer Ong on the return, and they looked like they were running upslope....wow, a real 'mental' challenge. I decided to pull back the pace when I began to breathe heavily. I was pretty drained, and was not able to wave to so many familiar faces....hope they understand.

With 2km to go, I was still conserving myself along the Bedok Connector Park. By then, I have climbed quite a lot of steps already....wah, siong. Sam sure know how to design a challenging course. All of a sudden, I saw the 11km marker....hmm, seemed like the markings were erratic. At the final staircase, the marshal mentioned it was less than 1km to go. I climbed the flight of stairs, before finally entering the final 500m. I saw Sandy shouting to the marshal about something....I was too tired to really ask....just kept my pace and finished the race in 55min. Oops, I really think that the course was short, possibly 11.5km or less, although the stairs and elevation could have been factored into the total distance.

SAFRA MF Runners did well. Lee's son came in first, and teck Hou was third. Mika was first, followed by Alan's prodigy and then Sumiko in third...kudos to all the winners. lcpSimon did a commendable 5/6th position. SlingRunner's fast time of 49min put him among the top 10. I spent time chatting with all the runners, refueled with a banana and 2 cans of 100plus. We also spoke with Mike about the Ponggol Run and possibly volunteering for the PI Run too. Good to meet with Yulan and Divey, 2 people whom I have not seen for some time. DO was keen on the prize presenter....he will lay down plans to train hard :). After a wash up at SAFRA Tampines, DO, Cokiee and myself went down to Adam Food Centre to meet the MR Trail Runners, who had a very successful run where 60 SgRunners showed up.

Distance: 11.5km__Time: 55min20sec__Pace: 4:49min/km