Race Reviews, Medal Tallies

Getting that first finisher medal certainly was satisfying especially when the run was completed with excruciating pain. Along the way, when you completed more races, you would want to collect them. After all, it represents some form of achievements. So here they are, no other reasons than to brag about them (well maybe a little bit of how I felt running the races, like a review of sorts). Shout out if you have more…

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

SCSM is perhaps the most well known. Said to be the marquee running event in the year’s sports calender. Officially THE Singapore Marathon, supported by the Sports Singapore, and Singapore tourism board and accredited as the Gold Label Marathon (by the IAAF). So naturally, you want to be part of the brand, and most people I know started taking part in running events here. However, I wouldn’t say this is my favourite event. And certainly, I will not schedule my holiday trips around this run held every first week of December. If I have to miss the run, no qualms at all. Not the fault of the organisers but I think the event organiser was changed several times due to feedbacks. It went like this:

• Half-Marathon 2013: The first attempt on the 21.1km distance. achieved negative split time with a strong finish. This inspired me to complete the full 42km. The run through the Universal Studio was really fun.
• Full-Marathon 2014: The first attempt on the 42.195km distance. I ran till 35km when I felt like “hitting the wall”. Logistically, they ran out of water at the hydration stations from 30 km on, ran out of gels and bananas too. Not a good experience. Nonetheless, I finished the distance jogging, walking and limping.
• Full-Marathon 2015: Made the attempt again with better training, including the Newton 32km just a month before. Logistically self-sufficient and not trusting the organisers. It paid off carrying my own water, gels and some food. I finished the race in almost 5 hrs flat (5:00:09) official nett time. However, I was pretty sure I did my 42.195km in under 5 hrs as my GPS and feedback from multiple sources proved that the distance was actually at least 1km longer. This year, the exclusivity of the race was also diminished as the organiser re-routed runners falling behind much earlier at the halve-way point, 1) allowing them to run ahead of real finishers and collect medals and finisher Tees, 2) deny slower runners to finish the full distance. Talking about being the Gold Label event? I was not so sure.  
• Half-Marathon 2017:  Skipped a year due to a holiday trip. Back in 2017 but only decided to run the half. This time, the start point and time was the same with the full. An unusual departure from previous races, no more Universal Studio. So there was this massive human jam getting into the start pen. many many runners did not start on time. But the volunteers were great.  

NTUC ECO Run350

I must say that the NTUC Eco run is my favourite race. First, the race is normally not so crowded but still have a sizable mass to have fun. Second, it is also one of the cheapest events. NTUC policyholders get a substantial discount. Third, well organised and superb route planning. I have not come across any “chock points” where runners have to stop and squeeze through points. The stock for gels and bananas were plentiful, a stark comparison to the SCSM especially. Finally, it is running with a cause. They promote being Eco-friendly, encourages you to carry your own bottles instead of paper cups from hydration stations. They also allow participants to opt out of finishing Tees, medals and race package “waste”. But I would never recycle my other medals which they try to encourage as well.   

• Half-Marathon: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018. All these were enjoyable runs. I don’t remember any heartaches and my times were also not too bad.

Straits Times Run

This race is also one of my favourite. The first such event held at the new National Stadium which was the main attraction for that year. They also have the most generous race package with big lucky draw prices. I also liked the unique distance, marking the year the Strait Times published its first paper in 1845. Needless to say, this run also received the most publicity on print media. Recommended.  

• 18.45km Category: 2014, 2015 and 2017

2XU, Newton, Sundown Runs

• 2XU Half-Marathon: 2017, 2018. Also not crowded but massive enough to have the feeling of a carnival. I Signed up for this run to get free 2XU merchandise such as calf compress sleeves and running socks. Runners also get discounts for other 2XU products. The running shirts and finisher polo tees were also very trendily designed. I had pleasant runs at their races. I even clocked my personal best last year. 
• Newton 32km, 2015. Relatively fewer participants. The distance and scheduling were just right leading up to the SCSM marathon. There is an 18km category for those building up to the half marathon. The run is conducted to and fro the 8 km stretch of the East Coast Park, almost always part of the SCSM route, so it is good area familiarisation and conditioning. But for 32km, you will run 2 rounds, which is incredibly boring. 
• Sundown Half Marathon, 2014. Tried once and will never do it again. Most races are sunrise races I thought when signing up for the sundown, we can run into sunsets, nice right? It wasn’t the case. The race commences at midnight, and expect you to finish in devilish hours. Unless you adjusted your body clock and train at the same hours, you are going to suffer, to the point of being dangerous. Don’t fall victim thinking that running in the cool night helps. Here is what you should know. First, you fight the run. Second, you fight the fatigue even if you napped in the day prior (body clock). Third, you are fighting oxygen with plants which are respiring at night especially running in vegetation in wee hours of the morning. Forth, our local high humidity hinders sweat evaporation, you may get heat exhaustion without warning, especially with the false sense of coolness at night. You wouldn’t enjoy the run anyway. 

Others

• SAFRA Bay Run 10km 2013: This was my first race. The race that let me felt that I could go for more because 10km was not enough.  
• Jurong Lake Run 2014: I signed my whole family for this run. The kids were very excited. They did 2.5 km and each earned a finishing medal. One of the attempts I tried to get them into living an active lifestyle instead of perpetually looking down at their mobiles and watching Youtube. 
• Compressport Rail Corridor 10km, Jan 2016. This merchandise run was interesting because of its route. First time along the rail corridor, a strip of North-South greeneries left undeveloped after the decommissioned rail link from Malaysia to old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. We started from The old Bukit Timah station and ended at Tanjong Pagar Railway station. This was the last organised run before it was closed for works to transform the strip to a green corridor.
• Compressport: Nicoll Highway 10km, Jul 2016. Another fun 10km run.

Don’t wait, don’t procrastinate. Just sign up for one run and see where it takes you to.    

gobassky