Ripley Runs

Salomon X-Trail 10km Run

2011-11-27T22:46:00.001+08:00

I signed up for the Salomon X-Trail Run cos I wanted the red color event tee. Also, this event would be held at the Tampines Mountain Bike Park & Trail, in which part of the it was the official Mountain Bike venue during the Singapore Youth Olympics in 2010. Though I had ran part of the route before, but none in a race setting.

I arrived half an hour before race start which was at 7:30am. Met and exchanged some words with Jeri and Shafiqah, as well as some runners from the F1 Runners Team. The competitive Men's Open was flagged off first before the rest of Men's Veteran, Women's Open and Women's Veteran some 10 minutes later, probably due to the narrow path. The ground was soft and wet. The first 2km was tougher than I thought. It felt more like 5km. The biggest challenge was the soft ground, muddy areas and the numerous turnings, up and down the slopes. Though the slopes were not steep, it was not easy to maintain a steady, even pace, especially when some runners tend to slow down on the way up or trying to avoid the muddy spots. Although the trail was not wide enough for 2 runners to run side by side comfortably, I could still overtake runners if I picked up the right moment to overtake them. I had my work cut out and I almost twisted my ankle.

Photos by Grace Chen

After coming down from the small knoll, we completed a small u-turn before going up to another portion of the trail. I saw Flip zooming past me! Then Brokie! This was also the start of the fun, if running through muddy water was your type of fun! I was able to run through the muddy area with some care. But for those area flooded with higher than ankle-high water, I just waded through slowly. At first, I was kind of sian since I was wearing my newly bought TNF Double Track. I didn't expect my trail shoes to stay clean but neither did I expect it to submerge totally in the muddy water. After crossing 3~4 more of such muddy terrain, I was resigned to the fate of having to wash my shoes after the run. The marshallers were very helpful. Alerting us to all kinds of dangers like sharp bends, steep slopes, low branches, etc, although some of the description of the dangers were grossly inaccurate. It didn't seemed to bother them that their shoes would be muddy and dirty by the end of the volunteer work. They were also very positive and encouraging, urging us to push on.

By the 7km (or 8km) marker, we seemed to come out of the trail but was quickly diverted to another section of the trail. Luckily, this section was not too long and soon, we came running out onto a big open patch. Just before the open patch area, there was a clear "stream" and I sort of tried "washing" my dirty shoes in it by stepping hard through it. But sadly, it was useless. Cos about 500m from the end, there was another 2 portion of mud bath! I felt so heavy in my shoes but found just enough motivation to cheong past the finishing line and completed the intense 10km run in 1hr 12mins 54secs and ranked 17 out of 53 Women's Veterans. :) Given the condition of the trail, I should be happy and satisfied with my result.

After the race, I saw Brokie and Flip near the finishing line. It's been a long time since I last saw Flip. We chit-chat while trying to find out if there was any water-point nearby to get ourselves cleaned up - another friend shared with us where he washed up and we quickened out steps towards the direction. There were a few queues but we queued at the longest one as the water of the tap was the strongest! We didn't have to wait long for our turns. After washing up, we all looked cleaned enough to take public transport home. :) While this race was not easy, it was lots of fun (at least for me) to run through so many obstacles. I enjoyed myself tremendously though I might not run this race again.

Dirty Shoes, Filthy Legs

Brokie: Time To Do Some Washing!

Post Race Photo: Flip and Ripley

Ozark Trail 100 Miles Endurance Run

2011-11-26T22:30:00.001+08:00

I waited until the 2nd last day (27 Oct) of the closing date before registering for the Ozark Trail 100 Miles Endurance Run in Missouri. I had to wait until the last minute as I was not sure if I had recovered fully from the CDR. Even then, I knew I had ran out of time to properly prepare myself for a 100 mile race. My only expectation was to have fun while trying to cover as many miles as possible. Before my trip, I tried to find out more about the Mark Twain National Forest, where the 100 Miles race would be held. For comparison, Singapore (where I come from) has a land area of 694 km². In contrast, the Mark Twain National Forest, while not the biggest in USA, still has a land area of 6,100 km², of which 320 km² are Wilderness and National Scenic River area. I.e. the forest is almost 9 times the size of Singapore! The race would be a point-to-point course, with several water crossings, 12,000 to 15,000 ft of elevation and most importantly, with lots of leaves covering the trail. Hmmmmmm...

Pre-Race

I arrived at the Bass River Resort 2 days before race day. The weather was great. And I slept the rest of the day. On Friday, I picked up my race packet and went back to my cabin to pack my items into the drop bags. After dropping off the drop bags, I went back to take a nap and didn't wake up till it was time to attend the pre-race briefing and dinner. I took note of some important information, like to always make sure the course marking is on my right, to not be worried about a fire which was burning in another part of the Mark Twain National Forest, etc. There was a lucky draw conducted after the brief and runners won additional race event tee or a year's subscription to Trail Runner Magazine (if I remembered correctly). I went back to my cabin to rest early, since runners taking the bus ride to the race start would have to report at 3:00am for the 3:30 bus ride. I didn't sleep well, waking up every hour to check on the time. Maybe I had slept too much in the day. Or maybe I was just too excited or too worried. I finally woke up again at 2:45am, changed into my race attire, took my hydration bag with my other race items, and walked to the Race HQ.

Race Packet Pick-up

Deposit of Drop Bags

Race Briefing and Pasta Dinner

It was not very cold but if you weren't doing anything at 3:00am in the morning but waiting, in November, in USA, it could be cold. I took shelter inside the Bass River Resort's store with some other runners. Then, someone mentioned that the buses were here and we went out to check-in for the race before boarding the bus. I spoke briefly to a Filipino runner. The rest of the runners looked so experienced and prepared, while I was nervous. Journey to the race start was about 1hrs 30mis. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but couldn't. I endured for the rest of the journey and when we eventually reached, I stayed on the bus to keep myself warm. :p But soon, everyone was getting down the bus and I followed. It was about 5:50am, another 10 minutes before race start. Luckily, there was a fire burning in a furnace right next to the Start Point. I went over and stood right next to it, with a few other runners. Then, I removed my windbreaker and gloves. I was ready! And at 6:00am, the Race Director, flagged off the start and off we ran.

Race Reporting at 3:00am

Gathering of Runners, Volunteers and Supporters at Race Start

Ozark Trail Endurance Run

Distance to 1st Aid Station @ Grasshopper Hollow: 8 Miles; Time taken: 2hrs 05mins

We cheong into the darkness with our headlamp and/or hand-held lamp. The trail was like what was mentioned by the Race Director during the briefing, covered with leaves and leaves and leaves. It was soft but not too slippery. I enjoyed myself following the runners in front at a comfortable pace. Occasionally, we walked on the uphill portion although it was runnable. Well, better saved the legs early. Weather was great and I wasn't feeling cold. By 7:35am, the sky was bright and I could switch off my headlamp. The runners were also spread out by then. I arrived at the 1st aid station just after 8:00am. I took some photos, grabbed some food, drank my favourite milo in my hydration bag, thanked the volunteers, before I left.

Total Time Taken: 2hrs 05mins (8:05am)

1st Aid Station: Grasshopper Hollow

Distance to 2nd Aid Station @ Sutton Bluff: 9.6 Miles; Total: 17.6 Miles Time taken: 3hrs

By the time I left the aid station, I was alone. But soon, some runners caught up with me while I stopped to take more photos of the trail. I ran for a while with a young man. It was his 2nd attempt at the 100 Miles distance and hoped to complete it. From what I gathered, he should be still studying and I asked for his age. I began to understand why his friends thought he was crazy. I thought he was crazy as well. Otherwise, why would a 16-year old be doing something like running a 100 Miles race? After 20mins or so, I found myself trying hard to keep pace with him and I asked him to press on and wished him all the best. Now, I was running on my own. The trail markings were clear although the trail was not. But I had to be alert as there were sharp turns along some parts. On the whole, this leg was very enjoyable. The hills weren't as bad as in CDR although the footing could be as treacherous as well since you couldn't see what's hidden beneath the leaves. I fell once while running down. It was very painful as my new tights had a thread coming off. :( I reached Sutton Bluff at around 11:05am. I saw the Filipino runner (Kenneth if not wrong) and he told me he had to stopped as he twisted his ankle. The volunteers there helped me to retrieve my drop bag and I unpacked 4 milos into my hydration bag. I also removed my race belt (hanging around my neck since start of race, and then left it on the table for good!) I took a some potatoes, more photos before leaving.

Total Time Taken: 5hrs 5mins (11:05am)

2nd Aid Station: Sutton Bluff

Distance to 3rd Aid Station @ Stillwell Hollow: 5.2 Miles; Total: 22.8 Miles Time taken: 1hr 30mins

After leaving Sutton Bluff, I walked the road portion and only started running when I reached the trail. The trail was really beautiful and I was really enjoying myself. Perhaps too much. Then, half way through running, I felt it. Sigh. The back of my right knee was feeling sore. The same kind of soreness that I felt after coming down from Mt Hamel in the CDR. The same kind of strain that put me off running for over 2 months. It was not a good sign. I also realised that I left my race belt with my bib in the last aid station. Sigh again. Why on earth did I remove the race belt was beyond me. Why ddin't I wear it on my waist was also beyond me. I was clearly not thinking. Feeling the strain and being demoralised, I slowed to a walk. Just before I reached the 3rd aid station, a runner ran past me. (I found out that he was Leonard Martin later on). Upon reaching, I declared to the volunteers that I left my bib in the last aid station and asked if I could continue. I also told them that I need my bib as I left the cabin key inside the race belt pouch. They told me not to worry and promptly radioed to the 2nd aid station to arrange for the race belt to be brought back to the Race HQ back at the Bass River Resort finishing line! That was a nice gesture! Thanks! 2 more runners came into the aid station but Leonard didn't waste anytime. He grabbed whatever he needed, and left in a jiffy. I reckoned that was due to the next aid station being just 5.2 miles away. In hind sight, I should've done the same.

Total Time Taken: 6hrs 35mins (12:35pm)

3rd Aid Station: Stillwell Hollow

Distance to 4th Aid Station @ Johnson Hollow: 5.2 Miles; Total: 28 Miles Time taken: 1hr 45mins

I decided to power walk to the next aid station as I did not want to aggravate my old injury. Soon, the 2 runners I met at the earlier aid station passed me. And I knew I was losing time to make the cut-off. Along the way, I saw 2 different groups of riders on horses. It was a pleasant distraction although the fresh horse dung along the way wasn't. I decided to take more photos since I was walking. I started running when I no longer felt the strain, and power walked whenever I felt it coming. There was another creek crossing, just before reaching Johnson. I only had 10mins spare. I decided that I won't make the next cut off and spent even much time eating and taking photos. I enjoyed some coke before I left.

Total Time Taken: 8hrs 20mins (14:20pm)

The Very Clear Course Markings

4th Aid Station: Johnson Hollow

Distance to 5th Aid Station @ Gunstock Hollow: 6.8 Miles; Total: 34.8 Miles Time taken: 1hr 56mins

I saw a 3rd group of horse riders just leaving for Gunstock Hollow. By then, I accepted the fact that I won't make the next cut-off. I was happily enjoying walking the trail. After yet another bigger creek crossing, I tried running again. Somehow, I was able to sustain for quite a distance. Something which I wasn't able to in the last section. I decided to adopt a run-walk system where I would slowly increased my running distance and decreased my walking distance. I didn't feel any strain and I didn't anticipate the walking that I did previously would do me good and allow me to run for much of the way to the 5th aid station, though it was not at a fast pace. I reckoned that I could perhaps just made the cut-off. I pushed myself a little harder and I knew I was near. If only I knew I was that near, I might have gone for an all-out sprint. I arrived at Gunstock Hollow just after 4:16pm and saw my one and only drop bags at that aid station, while the volunteers had already cleared up the place. The aid station captain informed me that she had to pull me off from the race as I had missed the cut-off, even though it was just over 1min. Sigh.

Total Time Taken: 10hrs 16mins (16:16pm) - DNF!!!

To 5th Aid Station: Horse Riders, Creek Crossing, Gunstock Hollow & Totally Trashed TNF Rucky Chucky

Towards End-of-Race and Post-Race
I woke up the next day at 1pm plus and walked to the finishing line. There was a small crowd gathered. Everyone was excited. Runners, volunteers and supporters. At around 1:48pm, someone ran out from the trail and more people followed behind. It was the last runner (Frank Dietiker)! He crossed the finishing line in 31hrs 51mins and was the winner of the Last Mule in the Barn Award. The award presentation followed quickly. I was happy to hear that Logan, the 16-year old young man from Wisconsin completed his first 100-miler and congratulated him. :) Well done, kiddo! After almost everyone left, the last runner, Leonard Martin, came back and cross the finishing line at 32hrs 50mins! Although he missed the cut-off, the Race Director presented his hard earned buckle to Leonard. This is something I hope the orgainsers in Singapore could do. No one signed up for an ultra to DNF and if the runner had completed it even though it was off the cut-off, he truly deserved the finishing buckle.

Races in USA were really different from Singapore in that the volunteers there were all spontaneous and awesome. They were like a part of your family and made you feel part of them. When you come into the aid station, they offered food and drink, and retrieved your drop bags without you asking for it. Sometimes, you were so comfortable there that you wish you could stay longer with them but of course, we shouldn't, especially for a back-of-the-pack runner like me. :) I really enjoyed running inside the Mark Twain National Forest. It felt surreal. And while there is no easy 100 Miles Race, this race was actually pretty runnable. As for myself, I could only wondered "what if". What if I didn't take the 50 over photos that I took along the way? What if I didn't fell down? What if I just ran over all the creeks instead of wasting time to find the best spot to avoid getting wet? What if and what if? DNF the race by 1min plus was really painful. All I could do is to register for next year's race, make sure I come into the race 100% fit, take lesser photos for my blog, run slightly harder and I am sure I could finish the race. If I could cover 67km (approximately 42 miles) within 11 hours for the Canadian Death Race which is even much tougher, I'm sure I could complete the Ozark Trail Endurance Run. Especially with this year's experience, I am very sure of that. See you all next year!

From Top L (clockwise): Frank Dietiker (Last Mule in the Barn Award); 16-year old Logan Polfuss with Mum; Last Finisher Leonard Martin; 1st Female Masters Susan Connelly

Lab - My New Love

2011-10-27T20:45:00.002+08:00

I love Lab. It was love at first sight. I was sure of it. Damn sure. :) I met Lab about two weeks ago. On 13 October afternoon, two days before my big race - TNF100 Singapore. I had gone to Velocity at Novena to change my headlamp battery and to see if I could get a new backup headlamp after our department's Deepavali Lunch outing. I got what I wanted at Outdoor Venture, a leading privately-owned sporting and outdoor equipment distributor in Singapore. And went home extremely pleased. On my way out from Velocity to the MRT Station, something caught my attention. I was drawn to his immediate beauty. There he was, standing near the entrance of the Salomon Concept Store. I couldn't take my eyes off him. "Wow! Isn't he gorgeous?" I wondered quietly to myself. I was completely mesmerised. I walked towards him and learned that his name was Lab. "Sounds cool." I thought.

But really, Lab was more than just cool. :) He seemed like a perfect match for me. To perfect actually. My heart skipped a beat when I laid my hands on him. His texture was nowhere near the silky smooth of some of my top range dri-fit tees but I was okie with it. Overall, he's one "fit" dude. They said you never try anything new on race day. But I had good fortune for trying new stuff on race day. Like in 2005, I bought a pair of CW-X compression long tights and Wright Socks at the Richmond Marathon Expo and tried on both products during the following week's Philadelphia Marathon. Both worked brilliantly. So I decided to take my chance. In came Lab. Out went Nathan.

During TNF100 Singapore, Lab gave me all the support I ever needed. He hugged me tight with his Sensifit's precise and secure fit. I kept a 500ml bottle of H2O on the front left pocket and a handful of gels on the front right pocket. During the race, the bottle and gels stayed where they were. No bouncing around or obstructions. The pockets were at the place where I had wanted them to be. Nathan also had two pockets in front but they were not meant for water bottles as they were smaller and shallower. There was also a whistle on the left side of Lab, which was easily accessible if the need arised. Both Lab and Nathan treated me well, though Nathan tends to loosen his front grip during very long run. As for the hydration bag, both Lab and Nathan had a 1.5L capacity. The difference was Lab's Source Widepac 1.5L came with an easy, quick connect/release click so I could remove the hydration bag without having to pull the drinking tube out, plus and Isothermic Water Pouch that could keep liquid cool longer. (* However, I didn't make use of the Hydration Pack so the part on if the water movement was significant could not be verified yet) Lab had 2 removable velco stick-on pockets which I didn't use during TNF100 Singapore and also a gold-colored space blanket (otherwise, also known as safety blanket) which I intended to use it for my next hiking trip. The other useful item which I had yet to try out was the 4D Pole Holder.

Overall, the Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Hydration Pack scored a cool 9.5/10. It had everything I ever wanted on a hydration pack although I have yet to use all available functions. The best 3 features are (1) the front chest pockets, (2) detachable drinking tube from hydration pack, and (3) adjustable Twin Link Lite system. :)

Twin Link Lite System, Chest Pockets For Bottles & Whistle

Back View - Back Top Pocket & Back Side Pockets

Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Hydration Pack

What Went Wrong/Right For TNF100 Singapore?

2011-10-19T21:42:00.000+08:00

I read with great interests on some of the comments posted on TNF Singapore Facebook page. While I had my own views of the race and how it should be conducted, I felt that the tone (or the way) some of the comments made by runners were not as constructive as it could be. I guess in a way, these runners were fully justified to voice their displeasure when this year's race was not the inaugural race but 4th year running! Come on, TNF Singapore! On the other hand, I was also very sure that no Race Director (RD) in the world would want to organise a race in order to get their runners run the extra mileage, or to let their runners suffered by not briefing the volunteers what to do at the aid station, or even to DNF. The truth is, I had never run a perfect race. So I did expect screw-up here and there. Unfortunately, while some screw-up were not within your control, some others were totally unforgivable. Every runner has differing ability, differing reasons on why they run, differing experience gained from the various races and hence, very differing expectations. As part of the TNF Global Endurance Challenge, TNF Singapore should try to understand and address our various needs, instead of providing a one-size-fit-all solution. This blog entry was exactly how I felt about this year's race and the RD and fellow runners may not agree with everything I said. But whatever the case is, my point is to share with you the experiences I learned from other races. Happy reading. :)

Never ever change race time at the very last minute!

When you said you start the race at 0700hrs, you start the race at 0700hrs. If you were still negotiating with the authority to start the race at 0700hrs, knowing that you may fail in your attempt, no matter what good reasons you had, you better indicated that in the website so that everyone, especially the overseas runners, were aware. A simple "TO BE CONFIRMED" text inserted next to the 0700hrs or 0800hrs start time would be very useful so everyone knows that the race would start at 0800hrs if your negotiation was not successful, while 0700hrs would be a bonus. While I was not affected by this change of time, I had friends, fellow marathon maniacs, who were affected as they had to rush down for another race in Malaysia. It was either a DNS or DNF for them. :( Luckily though, common sense prevailed and I was glad the RD allowed those who requested to start early with the 100km soloists, although there were still runners who ran out of time to complete the race and had a DNF. On a side note to this, even if you had to change the race time last minute due to safety issues (which I do appreciate), you had to inform the affected runners through all means available! Never assumed that every participant got a Facebook account and a member of TNF Singapore Facebook page! I had a few friends who entered the 100km duo but were not aware of the event Facebook page and change of time. Good that this was rectified eventually through mass email and sms although it left a bitter taste in affected runners as the announcement was made too late.

Understand what the race provides and prepares for it!

When you sign up for a race, understand what the race provides. If you think the race should provide certain amenities and it didn't, then either you ask them how they could assist you or don't sign up for the race at all. I was appalled by runners blaming the RD for not providing bag deposit service, or that the official beverage is milo, or that there is no isotonic drink, or that only banana was the only fruit at the aid station, blah blah blah blah blah. If you really think this event is not worth the amount you paid, then don't sign up. If the race website did not state sufficient info for you to commit, then drop an email to clarify. If you sign up knowing that only limited amenities are provided, please don't cry father cry mother. Suck it up and plan how you should tackle these additional problem. I never sign up for a race and blamed the RD for not providing this or that or that the race was not worth the fee paid. I adapted to the race, to the drinks and food given, to the weather, the terrain and the environment. Especially for ultra and trail races, being adaptive is a must. Otherwise, you might as well go run around your neighborhood! While many races provided bag deposit service, there are others like the Canadian Death Race that did not. Don't ask me why - they just didn't and there wasn't any lockers around the start/end point which is in a huge hanger. For Bataan Death March, which is a 102km/160km road race, no water support was even provided! Everything is self-sufficient, just like Badwater. (* I'm excluding comparison with RTP as those are stage races). The only support was medical and marshalers at critical junctions. Comrades Marathon - the largest ultramarathon in the world with 12,000 runners, provided all their drinks (water, pepsi, isotonic, etc) in sachets. In fact, all drinks are provided in sachets for South African races. So you can't get used to it like me, BYOB and stop whining!

Get the basics right! E.g. providing informative signage, correct timing, etc!

In any race, the basics are the least a runner expect from the organiser. These includes, (1) sufficient info on the website to help runners prepare for the race, (2) a safe and well marked route, (3) adequate aid stations throughout the route and (4) correct timing, whether timed electronically or manually. In these respects, there are much room for the organiser to improve for next year's race. Take for example the information on the website. While the basic information was there, the route was not made known to runners till probably a week or two/three before the race. I was not sure why must the RD be so secretive on this. TNF is not an Amazing Race! So why couldn't the RD shared the info on the race route earlier? At least, the runners from Singapore would be able to familiarise with the route before the race and perhaps even help out the overseas runners if such situation ever arised. While trail running is always more dangerous and exciting as we are running in the wild, a well marked route would ensure we had a better experience. I didn't get lost like I did last year so I won't complain. But there were a few critical junctions which were either not marked (a right turn after coming from Ranger Station and a left turn after the rocky terrain and stream on the way back from WP1), or misleading (T-junction at Berluka Trail, though I could be wrong as I knew I had to turn left towards Zheng Hua Park). In the second scenario, what the RD could do, is to put up 2 signages (one turning left for the 100km soloist and duo and one turning right for the 50km duo) with a black/red background for those running 100km or 50km (wearing black or red color background bib) and green background for those running 25km (wearing green color background bib). Such signages could also be captured in the event website, with detailed explanations. The onus is on the runners to read up prior to the race. As for adequate aid stations, this was at least something that the RD got it right this year. Last year, there was only 3 aid stations including the start/end point, one at the Ranger Station and one at mid-point, entrance to Lorong Asrama. Please keep it up. Personally, I am not fascinated by results. But I do mind about the time being captured at the various check-points. The reason is that I could use such timing and distance to breakdown the whole race so that if I were to run it again next year, there is some basis for me to gauge how fast I must run for each segment of the race in order to finish within the cut-off. (* Provided its the same race route.) If electronic system is susceptible to failure, then back it up with manual records. To publish incorrect results due to the equipment failure or whatever, is really not cool.

I guess I have raised the issues. Hope TNF Singapore could review the comments raised by the runners and that we runners should also self-reflect on how we would run our next trail race better. Let's hope everyone of us would have a better race experience for next year's TNF. Happy running!

TNF100 Singapore - 1st Lap 50km Race Review

2011-10-18T00:15:00.001+08:00

I decided to attempt the TNF100 Singapore 100km again this year to finish my unfinished business from last year. But as luck would have it, I needed 2 months to recover from the Canadian Death Race and left with only 2 weeks to seriously prepare for TNF100 Singapore. Also, even though I had started running, I knew I was not 100% fit. I had to make a choice. To either try my hardest to finish my unfinished business and risked getting injured again, or to just do a lap of 50km as part of my LSD for my next event. TNF100 Singapore is a tough race with stringent cut-off. For a slow runner like me, I had to be 100% fit and done all my preparation. The choice was obviously easy. :)

I took a day's leave on Friday to rest at home. Everything was fine until I decided to leave home in the early afternoon to get something for my dad. As I rushed off to Tampines, I left my EZLink card at home and had to use cash for my transport. At the Tampines Bus Interchange, while dropping the coins into the cash box, I also dropped my sim card into it! (Don't ask me why my sim card wasn't inside my cellphone!) It was a total nightmare. Luckily, a friend was kind enough to help me out to getting my stuff to my dad's place and went back to Tampines Mall's Singtel shop to get a replacement sim card. Then I had to wait anxiously for the sim card to get activated! At 955pm! Otherwise, I might have to DNS the race. This seemed to be the start of some good fortune. :)

At 1140pm thereabout, Alvin Low called me and told me he had arrived at MR, while I was just about to leave home. I reached MR slightly before 12mn and met Henry Yang at the carpark entrance. While passing the timing gantry, I commented to Henry that I hoped the organiser won't make us (the 100km soloists) walk the few hundred meters to the transition / drop-bag area to retrieve our bag. But unfortunately, it was the same arrangement as last year. :( I had issue on this because no runner would like walking or running the extra few meters. Besides, for slow runners like me, every seconds, every minutes counts. :p If the same arrangement were to be made for next year, I know what I need to do - set-up my own support crew and make sure they had my drop-bag at the right location. Further down the road where the tents were already set-up, I saw other 100km soloists. The sight of some of them made me wonder if I should even be thinking of signing up for such races as I was a back-of-the-pack slow runner. I felt intimidated by their ability and achievement. A friend commented that runners of my speed would only take on 5km/10km type of races. But I guessed it was too late to pull out of the race.

Some Of The TNF100 Singapore100km Soloists

At around 12am plus, we were told to check in our gear and weigh in as well. Had a little chat with Andre Blumberg from Hong Kong whom I met at the Hong Kong Trail Ultra and TNF100 Philippines, as well as Jeri Collett who did the UTMB (apologies Jeri - but I couldn't recall seeing you last year. Age is certainly catching up with me. :p ), and Paulina who did the BDM 160 this year. I also took some pics for/with Sim Whitley, Alvin and Khaliq. At 1259hrs, the RD told us that 5mins more to the 0100hrs start time. His watch was certainly faster than my Garmin 510 and I made a mental note that I had until 1004hrs for my 1st lap 50km. There was not much fanfare since it was early morning. Even the monkeys were sleeping! I quickly fell back to the last runner after the race was flagged off. As I reached the Amenities Centre, I almost slipped while running across the water fountain area! Phew. What a lucky escape. As we ran towards the MR trail head, I talked to Karen from Malaysia. She and her 100km duo partner were supposed to start the race at 0800hrs but as the race's start time was changed last minute, they had no way to catch their flight back to Malaysia. Luckily for them, they were allowed to start with the 100km soloists.

TNF100 Singapore - 100km Start - Photo by Carey Junior

From start to the first WP1, it was fairly straight forward as I ran this route a couple of times. There was also someone at critical junctions (after I hit the road from the Northern Trail and at the Ranger Station). After WP1, we ran along Rifle Range Road and were supposed to make a left turn. Karen was standing at the junction as she wasn't sure which way to go. This was a different route from last year but since there was a sign there showing a left-turn, I reckoned it should be correct. I ran up the slope and noticed a biker in front. Karen followed me closely behind. Further up the road, there was a group of people clapping and cheering for us before we turned right into the trail again. This was a short section as we were quickly out of of the trail before crossing the road into another part of the trail. By then, Karen had ran ahead of me. After yet another short section of the trail, I came to the carpark area of the Bukit Timah Visitor Centre and into the tricky part of the trail as I got lost there last year. Luckily, this time round, I didn't get lost. Somehow, I was able to find my way to WP2 just before we reached Diary Farm carpark.

Before I left WP2, I bumped into Karen and another runner! Sometimes, such incidents could scar the hell out of you. Apparently, they got lost inside the trail. I continued running as Karen requested for some vaseline. After I went into the trail towards Zheng Hua Park, Karen caught up with me again. At a critical junction (Belukar Trail), there were 2 signs, one turning left and another turning right. Karen took the wrong route but luckily for her, a marshaller on a bike shouted the correct route for her as I was too focus on the path in front of me. I reached WP3 shortly, had a banana, 4 cups of milo before continuing my race. As I approached Zheng Hua Park, I recalled my failed attempt during the TNF Progressive Run 2 which I had to stop after the BKE underpass. I was glad that I was still doing fine. My right leg was still running okie. I was all alone in the trail and I loved every moment of it. Just before I reached WP4, I saw some moving lights in front and moved to the side. A group of runners ran past me and someone shouted for my name though I couldn't recognise the voice. After a short while, Khaliq (I think) ran past me too! I reached WP4 and saw Karen and another runner leaving the water point.

The route after WP4 was also different from last year. Runners had to turn right to go towards Sembawang Park Connector. When I reached there, there was a marshaller on a bike who followed me as I was the last runner. At the end of the park connector, there were 2 more marshallers pointing out where I should go to avoid the muddy terrain. Once inside Lorong Asrama, the biker marshaller followed me until I reached WP5. Along the way, she gave me words of encouragement. At the WP5, I took some water before going up .265. According to the marshaller there, I had to look for a blue color tent at the 1 o'clock position once I reached the top. .265 was really not a difficult hill to climb. It was way too short to be considered a tough climb though it could be slippery. I saw 3 blinking red lights as soon as I reached the top. As I walked towards them, I heard someone calling out to me on my right! It was Karen and the other guy runner again! Scary man! Somehow, they didn't notice the blinking lights.

At WaterPoint 4 - Photo by Chris Voo

After we passed through the timing station, Karen and the other runner pushed ahead and I never saw them again. I was fine as I enjoyed running alone. Running at night inside Lorong Asrama was really nice. It was cool probably due to the open terrain, as compared to running inside the trail earlier in the night. Unfortunately, I could feel the back of my right knee acting up. The soreness had returned! I decided to fast march for the rest of the route until I reached back WP4. By then, daylight had arrived and after drinking another 4 cups of milo, I continued my last part of the journey. I whipped out my cellphone and text my remaining Ocean 9 who's doing the 100km duo about the muddy terrain. Then, Alvin called me! He said he was approaching the pipe lines and asked me how I was doing. He also told me what he intended to do once he reached the transition / drop bag area. I warned him not to rest too long as for some runners, it would be hard to get back into running again after loosing that momentum.

Somewhere Out There - Photo by Andy Ng

For my remaining journey, which was about 16km, I walked as fast as I could. Just after I hit WP3, I ran into the leader of the 100km race! As I applauded him, I noticed his shock all over his face! I wondered why. Perhaps he thought I was the race leader. :p I had also hoped to complete the Rifle Range Road section of the race before I clashed into the 100km duo runners due to the extremely narrow lane being blocked out for the runners. I managed just that, meeting Lexxus Tan just after WP1. From then on, I bumped into more and more runners and many friends running the 100km duo race. This was another aspect of running (or racing) which I loved. I saw Kayano who told me that his partner, Shu Ming had to accompany his wife to the hospital and that Jeri Collett had a nasty fall and was sent to the hospital. I guessed this was part and parcel of running. Sometimes, you fell sick before the race and sometimes you fell during the race. I hoped Jeri's injury wasn't too bad. I also met Mohan, who was always so cheerful, and Winnie. We took photos before wishing each other best of luck.

With Mohan & Winnie - Photo by Adeline Lee

Just before I reached the start of the Norther Trail, I saw Alvin sitting on the rock! He looked totally shagged and wanted to give up. I told him he still had plenty of time and he should keep going. I had to push on too as I wanted to finish the 50km lap before the race for the 50km duo race was flagged off at 1000hrs. Otherwise, I might get crashed. Somehow, my knee began to co-operate! I felt better and I started running intermittently again. As soon as I exited the trail head, I picked up my pace and completed my 50km in 8hrs 48mins! At the finishing area, I declared to the volunteers that I won't be continuing my race, before going back to the tent for some nice food. I loved the grapes but not the strawberry. It was alright since I had no appetite to eat.

While my timing for 50km was about 38mins slower than last year, I felt great and had enough energy to follow Tekko to support the rest of our friends. In fact, I even had the energy to pace Alvin for the last 16km from WP4 to the finishing line, to ensure he was the last runner, last finisher of this year's TNF! I was happy that I could help a runner complete the 100km race within the cut-off of 18 hours. The race had met most of my expectations: I didn't get lost and I didn't get hungry. The only 2 complaints I had which might have affected my race, was that I had to walk the extra distance to the transition / drop bag area, and that there wasn't a clear path for the 100km soloists to go through to the transit area. TNF100 Singapore was already one tough race due to the humidity and heat. We needed no other injects to make the already tough race an even tougher one to run. Break All Boundaries but break no promise made to the participants. :)

My Road to Recovery and TNF100 Singapore

2011-10-10T21:02:00.001+08:00

Even since I sustained this irritable strained as diagnosed by Changi General Hospital's sports doctor in early August, I had been patiently resting. I was able to sleep late and wake up late. Once or twice my legs got itchy and I went back for a short run but found that I had not recovered. Luckily, no damage was done and while the few acupuncture sessions helped to a certain extent, there is no way to rush back from an injury or strain, except really to take my time to rest sufficiently. It was just 2 months and 2 weeks since the Canadian Death Race and while I didn't feel 100% yet, I knew my patience would pay off eventually.

This afternoon, I went back to CGH for a follow up with the sports doctor and physio. My sports doctor asked how was my pain since the last time we met 3 weeks ago. I told him that I had started running since last Monday for 5mins, followed by 10mins on Tuesday, 15mins on Wednesday, 20mins on Thursday, all on the treadmill. I felt fine except on Thursday when I felt the same soreness towards the end of my run. On Friday, I did a 30mins session on the treadmill, and on Saturday, I did a 45mins session at MR. On both days, I felt the same soreness after about 20mins or so of running. However, the soreness didn't persist like it did when I test-run it in early August and during the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run in mid August. In fact, I was able to continue my run.

I told the doctor I continued running on Sunday and this morning, covering 65mins (8.8km) and 60min (8.3km) respectively. For both sessions, the same soreness struck but didn't go beyond the scale of 1/10, so I was able to complete my run. The doctor reminded me that because the Popliteus muscle is a muscle hidden deep inside the knee, it was not easy to recover. I would need to see him again in 3 months time and if the soreness persists, he might need to send me for a MRI scan. Since I have no problem in running now, I could return to running but I should not push too hard, too fast, too soon. After visiting my sports doctor, I went for a follow-up with my physio, also at the CGH's Sports Clinic. I went through how I got my injury as he was new to my case. After assessment, he prescribed some glutes strengthening exercises and advised that I should stretch my calves and hamstrings.

I'm very happy to know that I'm certinly on my way back from injury although I also know I'm not 100% fitt. I will continue to build up my fitness although the TNF100 Singapore race this coming weekend is 2 weeks too early for me to run the 100km. The temptation to push through the pain barrier is there (I know I could if I want to) and I'm not helped at all by some runners, who have such strong believe that I'm an iron lady who definitely can do it. (I know you meant no harm!) The thing is, I'm not an iron lady at all. If I am, I won't be injured in the first place. Make sense right? :) Even if I've a iron mentality, I am too smart to risk my body to cover a 100km with only 2 weeks of build-up, if you consider running 5mins, 10mins, 15mins and 20mins your typical preparation for a 100km race. :p Perhaps they are trying to be polite or not to be discouraging. I appreciate everyone's best wishes but I know what I need to do. The Bib No. 2 is a spectacular number that's normally reserved for the elite. So I will take good care of the Bib by jogging and walking the race so as not to damage it. :) Wish me luck!

TNF100 Singapore Goodie Bag and Bib Number 2

What To Do When You Are Down With An Injury?

2011-09-15T21:47:00.000+08:00

Ever since I came back from the Canadian Death Race in early Aug, which I DNF, I didn't feel 100%. I knew I was injured. Just that I didn't know what kind of injury I had. Actually, to be frank, I took care of myself very well and I hardly had any injury since I joined the force. As far as I could recall, my one and only serious injury was when I fell awkwardly and twisted my left ankle while on my way back from a night mission. My ankle grew to a size of an apple and I was excused from all physical activities for about 3 weeks. Apart from that, I mainly suffered from small, niggling injuries that were part and parcel of training and racing. Nothing serious at all. After resting for a good 10 days, I went for a 10km run with the F1 Runners on National Day but the pain flared up after about 4km. I managed to complete the 10km route due to the numerous pit-stops for photo-taking.

NDP City Run with F1 Runners

I decided I had enough and went to see a doctor 2 days later, who referred me to the Sports Clinic at CGH. I was extremely lucky to get an appointment date the following Monday. That morning, I decided to go for a run to be certain of where exactly was the pain and at what distance it occurred. The run was a disaster as I could only last 15mins, running at 7.5km/hr speed. The good thing was I knew exactly where the pain was so I was able to describe to the doctor specifically the problem area at the back of my knee. He did a check on both my lower limps and commented that my range of motion was normal. He pressed against the area where I could feel the dull pain before doing an ultrasound scan at the back of both my knees for comparison. Then, I was sent for an X-ray on my right knee. His diagnosis was that I had strained my ITB and Popliteus muscles - the Popliteus muscle is a thin, flat, triangular muscle in back of the knee, the action of which assists in bending the knee and in rotating the leg toward the body. After making my physio appointment, I left but my knee couldn't bend at all and I was in a lot of pain. A patient saw me limping and encouraged me to look for a certain professor who treats patients at the TCM clinic next to the Sports Clinic inside CGH. Since I had nothing to loose, I went and the professor did acupuncture at the sore area - she poked 2 spots to release the "bad" blood (something like blood clot or blue-black). After the procedure, the pain was gone totally and I could even walked normally to Simei MRT. Before I left, she advised me to take some time off running, since I injured myself after completing 110km 2 weeks ago.

My Acupuncture Sessions

I went for another acupuncture session 3 days later. To overcome my boredom, I did some jogging and photo-taking during the TNF Progressive 1 Run that weekend. It was fun taking photos and not running. :) I also managed to transfer my Lean Horse 100 race to 2012 after informing the RD of my injury. Following weekend, which was end Aug, I went to Adidas King Of The Road to take more running photos! It was shiok looking at all the expressions on the runners' faces. But as soon as I uploaded the photos, I got kind of depressed again for not being able to run although I was enjoying giving myself a deserved break. I decided to do some upper body strength training although I wasn't that motivated. I chanced upon a trail maintenance session organised by TNF and had fun learning how to make the trail a better running surface. The following weekend during AHM, I also managed to wake up early but the early start meant that the photos taken weren't that great. Nevertheless, I enjoyed meeting up with my friends after the race for makan. I did a final session of acupuncture as my professor would be returning to Beijing. While I no longer felt any soreness or pain while walking up and down the stairs, the pain came after running about 2km during the TNF Progressive Run 2 the next day. I reckoned I should rest more!

Taking Photos & Volunteering For Trail Work

Well, being injured is really no fun. It is especially tough when your friends are running and you are not. Having to miss races that you already signed up is making things worse although I'm lucky that I managed to postpone mine to next year. So when will I start training again? I'm not sure. Will hear what the physio and doctor have to say this coming week. I must be patient instead of rushing back. Otherwise, more unnecessary down time! :) In conclusion, consider the following if you are ever injured and unable to run / exercise:

1. Rest, rest and more rest! But active rest. Do other exercises that can aid your recovery. E.g. swim, weight training, stretching exercise, etc. Whatever that can occupy your mind in a positive manner, is surely great. :)

2. Support other runners! What better time to cheer for your friends! Be it taking photos along the race course or finishing line, setting up a ad-hoc aid station with food and drinks, or simply cheering them on during the race. :)

3. Take on meaningful task like volunteering for trail maintenance work. But if we are not committed to running, training and racing everyday / every week, we should play our part now instead of waiting till injury struck us. :p

TNF Progressive Run 2

2011-09-11T11:24:00.001+08:00

This was the last TNF Run before the TNF100 Singapore in Oct. The response was fantastic. I shared a cab with Karen and Carey, and we arrived at the Diary Farm Car Park B slightly after 7.30amm. The Progressive Run was organised by Dirt Traction and they were busy setting up the registration counter and time capturing device. I mingled with the rest of the runners. Shu Ming, our of our TNF Run Leaders, just reached as he ran from MacRitchie Reservoir! He intended to run one lap (15km) before running back to MR to get his car. Molly was running one lap as she had another appointment while Kayano was unable to make it. While checking-in for the run, Alvin commented that although he was not given the Bib No. 4 (which sounds like "dead" in Mandarin), his Bib No. 10 was not far off to sound like "die" in Mandarin in another phonology. Tekko was still recovering from his foot injury while I intended to jog till I felt anything uncomfortable in the back of my knee.

Registration, Briefing & Start

After a quick brief on the route, the runners were flagged off. I covered the rear as I intend to run slowly and for 1 lap, if possible. I caught up with Shu Ming who was doing a slow and easy run. There were a couple of runners who ran past me just before Zheng Hua Park so I assumed that they arrived late. After the BKE flyover, I felt some discomfort at the back of my knee everytime I curled back my right leg in a running motion. I decided to stop for good and focus on taking the photos. Two more runners ran past my location while another runner wearing the Bib No. 26 walked towards the start point. He said he felt pain in his knee and decided to cut-short his run. An old lady about 70 plus years old walked towards the same path as the runners and I told her to watch out for traffic, especially the bikers, given her age. We chatted for a while before she continued her morning walk. A short while later, Sharif (Singapore Blade Runner) and his colleague ran past me and I decided to walk towards the u-turn point which was about 5.5km away, and u-turn when I met the last runner.

The weather was great and the runners were under shade at least on the first half of the run, which made my photo-taking more challenging as there wasn't enough light. The first runner I met was Khaliq (the younger brother of Shafiqah) but he was too fast and the photo came out blur as I wasn't able to get to a brighter part of the trail. It was the same for most of the other runners who followed, except those whom I captured under no shade. After about 1km or so, I made an u-turn to return to the start. I met some runners on their way to completing the first lap as well as the faster ones who were doing their second lap.

The Guys...

And The Gals...

At Zheng Hua Park, I saw more runners on their way back to completing their first loop and even more runners commencing their second loop. Just before I reached the end, Khaliq zoomed past me. It was already 10.40am when I reached the carpark. Chatted with the other runners who had completed the run. Some of us, who had some time to spare, decided to wait till 12.15pm for the finale of the Progressive Run 2 - lucky draw of 9 prizes of Premium iPhone 4 Covers and 5 prizes of Optic Nerve worth $100 each. :) The runners were all very excited as there were a total of 13 prizes but only about 20 over runners left and hence chances of winning was high. Chances were high indeed. One of the runners, who won a $100 Optic Nerve Voucher in the Progressive Run 1, won again! This time she won the Premium iPhone 4 Cover! We also discovered a "lucky spot" - everyone who stood on that spot each won a prize. :) So that was it - the last TNF Run before the race in Oct. I hoped after TNF100 Singapore, I would be able to keep in touch with the new friends made through the TNF Run Series, including the Ocean 9 Run Leaders. But first, hoped to see more runners in the next Trail Maintenance with NParks on 17 Sep! :)

End Point @ Diary Farm Carpark B

Conduct of Lucky Draw & Winners

Trail Maintenance With NParks & TNF

2011-09-11T02:54:00.001+08:00

Received an unexpected email from Karen. She asked if the TNF Run Leaders were interested in doing some trail maintenance work inside the MR trail. This led to some interesting discussion among the Run Leaders but I had no hesitation in volunteering my time. In some of the ultramarathon races in USA, the Race Director requires participants to clock a certain hours of trail maintenance works before he/she is eligible to participate. For example, Western States 100 Miles requires participants to clock eight hours of service as a way of giving back to the running community. This service can be in the form of trail maintenance or volunteer services at any run or ultramarathon. For Wasatch Front 100 Miles, participants are required to complete 8 hours (one full day) of trail work. Eligible trail work will include maintenance of existing trails or building new trails. And the Angela Crest 100 Miles requires participants to clock eight hours of Trail Maintenance Work that supports an Endurance Running Event while general volunteer work at an ultramarathon will not be accepted. As trail running become more and more popular in Singapore, it is great on the part of NParks to engage trail runners and nature lovers to help maintain the various trails. :)

On the morning of 3 Sep, I met up with Karen and Carey before reporting at the carpark next to Venus Drive. There were a total of 10 volunteers, mainly made up of TNF staff (3) or their friends/family members (3). Alvin and Brokie were there too, together with David, the only other runner who took part in the TNF run series. The NParks officers, Amin and Chris came shortly. Amin, the OIC, then gave us a quick briefing to the morning's work. We were to load up onto the NParks vehicle and proceed to pick up cookies and working tools at the entrance of the trail. The vehicle would then drive us as far into Rifle Range Link (stream crossing) as possible, until it was no longer accessible by vehicle. We then had to carry the cookies and tools into Rifle Range Link, about 100 meters from where we stopped. The ride to the location was uneventful but we were all very excited. After about 20mins, we entered the Singapore Island Country Club, passed through their carpark packed with many expensive-looking cars, and into the entrance of the trail. One of the NParks officers unlocked the barrier while we get ready to disembark to pick up the cookies and working tools, laying by the side entrance of the barrier. There were about 30 cookies and 3 cangkul in total. Alvin, Carey, David and I went to pick up the cookies and tools, and passed to those who remained in the vehicle in a human chain. Then, we began our bumpy ride!

It took us another 20mins to reach where the vehicle was supposed to stop. Along the way, Chris (I think) had to wield out his parang several times to clear the path, so that the branches would not hit us. Alvin, Brokie and David stood during the journey to get a premium view of the trip. There were only two walkers we seen walking towards the SICC direction. We then passed the Jelutong Tower and more even more runners and walkers. By the time we reached our destination, it was already 10am! Carey and Karen distributed hand gloves to all of us before we commenced our work and we quickly unloaded ourselves, the cookies, and working tools. And this was where the hard work really started. I led the way, carrying a cookie and the rest followed swiftly. The guys carried two cookies while the gals carried one.

There were a total of 3 locations where we had to touch up the trail and we split ourselves into 2 groups, led by Amin and Chris. At the first location, Amin gave an introduction to everyone before he left with 3 guys for the third location. We then got down to work with Chris' supervision. First, we had to clear the path. I.e. removed the loose stones, rocks, etc. After that, we had to "even-out" (not sure the right term to use) the ground. I.e. remove the stones and rocks that were below those loose ones. All of us were involved in the first segment of the trail works. We used our bare hands to pick up the loose stones and rocks and put to one side as we would need them later. However, only Alvin was involved in the second segment as there were only three cangkul and two of them were brought to the third location (which was furthest away from the vehicle). Alvin was a very good worker and was brilliant at using the cangkul. He attributed this to his NSF stint as a engineer in the Pioneer Platoon. :) As I was getting bored watching Alvin, I decided to join the other team. They were much faster as the area to be paved was slightly easier to maintain. In fact, they had already started laying the cookies. Laying the first cookie was easy, but it got harder and harder as it was difficult to find a perfect match. Often, we had to remove a cookie laid earlier and match another more fitting one. After we had laid the cookies, we had to fill the pockets in between the cookies with the soil, sand, stones and rocks that we removed earlier, to ensure that the cookies were stable. Lastly, we had to use our hands to pound and compact the area. After completion, we encouraged those runners who ran past us to try out our end-product. We were really pleased with our works. By then, the other team had almost finished their tasks so we continued with the second location. As this was a fairly small area, and with the experience gained earlier, we were able to complete our task in half the time. :) Chris and the rest had also finished their task and came over to help out at the second location. When completed, everyone was very pleased with what we had contributed.

First Location

Third Location

I recalled one of the event website stated in their trail maintenance work requirement that "We feel that we need to be stewards of the land that we use and love. Those who have volunteered for trail work have discovered that it can be a lot of fun, so go out and enjoy yourselves!" It is indeed very true. At least for the group of us that morning. It was some hard work, some fun but lots of satisfaction. I hope there would be more opportunities to do trail maintenance works and that there would be more like-minded trail enthusiasts to take up such challenge. :) P.S. The next session of Trail Maintenance with TNF would be on 17 Sep.

Drymax Running Socks and TNF Sentinel

2011-08-27T22:17:00.000+08:00

Some of my friends had been asking me about my secrets for having ZERO blister after reading about my unsuccessful attempt at last month's Canadian Death Race. Well I'm not too sure what's my secret. It could be due to my hardened feet although it was more likely due to the type of socks and/or shoes that I wore during the race. You see, despite CDR being a wet, muddy race this year, I completed 110km out of 125km using just 1 pair of socks and 1 pair of trail shoes! :)

Drymax Socks

The first time I heard of the Drymax socks was while reading my first subscription issue of the 2011 Mar's Ultra Running magazine. The advertisement included the feet of Jamie Donaldson after she had completed the 2008 Badwater race - a pair of blister free feet immediately after 135 miles through Death Valley. She said "...... In 2008, I made the switch to Drymax Maximum Protection socks and have been blister free with zero tape or lube ever since. I love my Drymax socks!" "Hmmm, that sounds great!" - I thought to myself. Although I won't say I was bothered by persistent blister problem, it was always nice to find a product that claimed to be the best in the market. This year, I had zero blister after completed Mar's 16-hour Twilight Ultra Challenge (85km), Apr's TNF100 Philippines (100km) and May's Comrades Marathon (87km), while I had a couple after completing Jan's Hong Kong Ultra Trail (100km) and Jun's Sundown Ultramarathon (100km). The worse was Feb's Bataan Death March (100 Miles) as I had more than 10 blisters on both my feet, despite changing to a new pair of socks and shoes.

I decided to give Drymax socks a try. With my 20% discount from signing up TNF100 Singapore, I went to Funan Centre's Running Lab and bought 2 pairs of Hot Weather Running Drymax Socks (S$29 a pair) and 2 pairs of Hyper Thin Running Drymax Socks (S$19 a pair). (Running Lab also sells the Running Lite-Mesh Drymax Socks for S$16 a pair on top of these two versions of the Drymax socks. The Lite Trail Running Drymax Socks has also arrived since mid-August for S$19 a pair.) I tried both version of Drymax socks for most of my runs in July, including the last TNF Run Series - Woodcutter's Trail Run. Drymax looked and felt more thick than my other running socks and I had my doubts early on as I loved thin socks. But after wearing the socks in my running shoes, I didn't felt as thick. In fact, the socks was fitting, soft and breathable. The Woodcutter's Trail Run was the longest distance I ran using the Drymax socks - about 14km. The socks did what it was supposed to do and given the distance I ran in, I would give Drymax socks a solid but not so spectacular 6/10.

Hot Weather Running Drymax Socks

For CDR, I chose to wear the Hyper Thin version instead of the Hot Weather version since it was cooler in Canada and less humid than in Singapore. During the first 3 Legs of the race, I stepped into numerous mud pools along a distance of 67km. At the Leg 3/Leg 4 exchange area, I took a longer rest to refuel. I checked on both my feet and they were perfect. No blister. :) I decided to push on using the same socks and shoes. For the rest of my journey up and down Mt Hammel and up to the carpark just before the river crossing, I covered another 43km, mostly in raining condition. Occasionally, small stones and pebbles would jump into my shoes. I pushed on until designated check-points, where I could remove them. At the emergency aid station where runners were permitted a drop bag, I wasn't able to find mine for a change of dry socks and shoes. To save time, I pressed on after removing more stones and pebbles from my shoes. My final 7km (from start of Leg 5 to carpark before river crossing) was the worse as the trail was so soft and slippery. In a few occasions, my feet sank into the mud and I had to grab on to whatever I could find to pull myself up the short segment of slopes. When I got back, I thought I might have a few blisters but magically, I had none! Drymax scored a perfect 10/10 for me!

Hyper Thin Running Drymax Socks

The North Face - Sentinel Trail Running Shoes

As one of TNF Run Leader (more of sweeper role), I was given a pair of TNF Sentinel Running Shoes. I felt great the moment I tried on the shoes, and even greater when I took it for a trail run. It also felt lighter than my other TNF Rucky Chucky Trail Running Shoes, although both weighs 10 oz (per side). While Rucky Chucky looked and felt rugged and heavy, Sentinel looked and felt lighter and had sufficient support to execute nimble, fast footsteps.

My Blue Color TNF Sentinel (also available in Aloy Grey/Blitz Blue or Q-Sliver Grey/Melon Red)

I didn't have many opportunities to try it out in Singapore before CDR and I certainly won't run into puddles of water or muddy terrain unless I absolutely could not avoid them. But during the recce for the Woodcutter's Trail Run and the actual run, chances presented as we tried our best to jump over the muddy terrain. At the end of the run, I didn't feel my feet being overly hot or having excess water (from sweat and water in the muddy terrain). So I guessed this meant that the TNF Sentinel had enough breathability due to their so called "multiple-weave engineered mesh found on the shoe's upper". Whether it was on dry or wet road, dry or muddy trail, the grip of the TNF Sentinel did a fine job. Going up and down steep incline was okie too but it was slightly more tricky on sandy, dry steep slopes. Tough trails (those strewn with rocks or roots) were also easily overcome but that's if you run / jog at my kind of slow speed over the rough terrain. All in all, I'll give the TNF Sentinel a strong 7/10. (Note: as all of us have different feet type and shape, its very hard to recommend a good running shoes, as compared to recommending a good pair of running socks. Socks are soft and will wrap around and fit onto the shape of your feet but for shoes, it's the other way round. I.e. you have to find a pair of shoes that your feet will fit into it.)

So there you have it: was it the Drymax socks that gave me a blister-free experience in CDR or was it the TNF Sentinel? (Hint: TNF never claim they produce blister-free shoes but I'm sure running in a great pair of shoes with the right design, breathability and material won't hurt your experience. :p ) Now, you can be my judge! :)

TNF Progressive Run 1

2011-08-24T23:12:00.004+08:00

After the last TNF Run series in Jul, everyone were eagerly waiting for the news on the first TNF Progressive Run. It was to be held in the Tampines Bike Trail, on 20 Aug. As I was still recovering from my CDR's exertion, I decided to listen to my doctor and rest. Instead of running, I volunteered to take photos for the event. So even though I didn't get to run, I could still enjoyed the nice scenery found in the bike trail. :)

I reached the Tampines Bike Trail at exactly 0800hrs and found my other Run Leaders already there, less John Ling. There were about 40 over runners in total. I took my bib - a very lucky number #8 - from Shu Ming. After a brief introduction by Dirt Traction's Hui Min (the organiser), the run was flagged off. As Tekko and I were "out-of-action", we walked the trail instead. Then, I told him what had happened on Monday after my visit to Changi Sports Clinic. Basically, I limped to the shuttle pick-up point. I was unable to bend my knee. Or rather, every time I had to bend my knee, I would take a long time to bend it and then straighten it. A fellow patient waiting at the shuttle pick-up point asked me what happened and I explained to her. She encouraged me to visit her chinese sinseh at the 中華 medical hall in CGH, which I happened to know was just next to the Changi Sports Clinic. I decided to give it a try since I had nothing to loose. The doctor was kind enough to accept my walk-in request.

When my turn came, she asked me what caused the pain and looked at my knee. She muttered the words "一蹋胡塗" (which meant my knee "cannot make it") to her assistant and other medical terms which I didn't understand. Another assistant then prepared the floor by putting layers of papers. The doctor then instructed me to stand on the papers before she administered 2 pokes of the needles onto the side of my right knee. It was not painful but I wasn't prepared to see what happened next. Blood flowed out gently and slowly from my knee onto the paper. It was dull red in color - didn't look like the blood that you see when you went for blood donation drive, which was bright red in color. After about 20mins, it was done. I thought I was going to faint but I didn't. After the assistant helped to clean off the blood stain on my leg and applied the antiseptic cream on my wounds, I was ready to put on my shoes. My first step after the session felt intensely great! I didn't feel any pain and I could walk freely! That Sat was 6 days after I saw the chinese sinseh and 2 days after my 2nd session with her. Although I felt ready to run, I assured my Run Leaders that I would only attempt a jog during the Progressive Run.

After I finished relating my experience, I left Tekko and took a left turn where the runners would be running towards my direction for their first loop. Along the way, I met some bikers and didn't have to wait long for the first runner. I walked further up to plant myself under some trees canopy, which I thought would provide a unique photo opportunity. Unfortunately, the lighting was too dim and most photos turned out blur. I even had to make Michael Kang to run past me a few times as I didn't manage to capture his photos. Luckily, he was gamed enough to oblige. :p I then retrieved my steps to another location as the runners were supposed to do a clockwise loop for the 2nd loop. This meant that the fast runners would pass me really soon which they did, and I was too slow to capture them. :( From that point, it was rather fun as I had to look to my left for the fast runners embarking on their 2nd loop and slow runners on their way to finish their 1st loop. Somehow, I didn't feel like I was in Singapore as the trail was markedly different from other trails in Singapore. Another runner - Soo Eng - made the same remark that you hardly find such trails in Singapore. :) I was happy whenever these runners waved and posed for me.

For the 3rd loop, it was the same as the 1st loop, i.e. run around the bike's trail in an anti-clockwise direction. I sms to Tekko to confirm the number of runners as I didn't want to be left inside the trail although the distance back to the start/finish point was not that far. Apparently, most runners would run the full 3 loops. But the truth was, there weren't many. If I were to run, I wouldn't be so motivated as I disliked running in loops. 15km of trail in a single loop was much better than 3 loops of 5km, no matter how stunning the scenery was. :p Nevertheless, I decided to make my way back slowly. The weather was extremely good. It was cool, no sun, and kind of windy (as it looked like it was going to rain). Then, I saw Molly and Brokie making their way back to the start to complete their 2nd loop. There were about 10 over runners who went back for the 3rd loop at my next stop, and a few who ran past me to complete their 15km run. Soon, Molly and Brokie came towards me but they were walking! Apparently, they decided to just do 2 loop as they had run to and from Eco Green before the Progressive Run. SLACKER!!! :p The 3 of us chit-chat and waited for the runners before taking a stroll back.

TNF staff gave out packets of goodie bags to all registered runners. It comprised of a car decal, 2 GU Gels, 1 GU electrolyte, 1 medicated patch, 2 blisters shield patches, 1 TNF $50 voucher, Jump Start (which according to Michael Kang, worked wonders for distances of at least half marathon and above). A lucky draw was also conducted and 3 prizes of vouchers for purchase of sunglasses were given out. But I wasn't so lucky to win the lucky draw although I had a lucky #8 bib. :( Overall, it was a well organised run. There were clear markings along the route. There was also a cyclist riding around to ensure no one was lost. :) I looked forward to the Progressive Run 2 which would be held on 10 Sep, although it seemed to be a tad too early for me to participate again. Nevertheless, I would be patient and would give myself as much time as I need to recover fully before I start running. Otherwise, I might end up getting worse and requiring even more time to get back to my pre-injury fitness, which was something I would avoid at all cost. :) Meanwhile, I hoped you guys enjoy your running as I enjoy my time-off recovering.

National Day City Run

2011-08-12T22:42:00.004+08:00

I decided to join the F1 Runners for the City Fun Run on our National Day (8 Aug). It was 8 days after my exertions at the CDR and I reckoned it was time for me to do some light running. I reached Dhoby Ghaut MRT at around 6.30am and walked towards the park opposite the previous Le Meridian Hotel. But instead of F1 runners in their red/white singlet, I saw many cardboard robots with red/white background! I decided to take a photo to prove that I was there! :p Then I messaged Lexus to inform him that I couldn't find him and that I was going back. But after confirming my location, I was told to stay at where I was (the water feature opposite entrance to Istana) to wait for the runners. Soon, I saw a group of runners in familiar red/white singlet running towards me. :)

This was the beginning of our 10km City Run. After taking some photos, we next stopped at Cathay cinema, SOTA School of Arts, Singapore Art Museum / St Joseph's Institution, old Raffles Hotel, WWII Memorial Park, Esplanade Park, Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, CBD, UOB Plaza (where the Fat Bird flew), for many more photo shooting opportunities. It was extremely hard and strange to see Lexus not pushing anyone for a run! In fact, it was those serious runners like Karin and Lijun who were more determined to get a good workout from the morning session. :) After our last photo shoot at the bridge just before the Asian Civilisations Museum, we continued our run along River Valley Road, Clemenceau Avenue, Penang Road and back to starting point opposite Regency Park. All in all, the very short 10.5km route took us slightly more than 3 hours to complete. Personally, I thought we had too much fun taking photos. But I was fine having fun. It was also really nice to meet other runners from another running group, especially Hazel, whom I had not meet for the past 6 months! She promised to arrange for a makan cum kopi session with the rest of the gang soon. I shall patiently wait and see. :) As for the next proper training session, well, I would be taking active rest till I feel sufficiently re-charged and ready to run again!

How To Complete Canadian Death Race

2011-08-08T21:52:00.002+08:00

After attempting to complete the Canadian Death Race for 2 years and still failed, I believed I have found the right formula to succeed for the 2012 race. Here are my 5 rules to the road of success. Read them and take notes where you find them applicable, i.e. you have to tweak it to suit your CDR adventure. I couldn't be held accountable if you DNFed... :p And remember, they are in no order of importance! (And don't take it too seriously either!)

Rule #1 - The Importance of a Support Crew

If you are a soloist and back-of-the-pack runner like me, i.e. a marathon PR of 4:33 within the last 2 years, ran on a super flat and cool weather condition (aka around 2° Celsius or 35.6° Fahrenheit), then it is absolutely vital to have a support crew to help you out at the end of every Leg. Why leh? So that you only need to bring along essential items that you require for each leg. And nothing else. I.e. This means that you need not lug along items that you absolutely do not require during that particular leg. E.g. trekking poles, headlamps, extra batteries, extra food, etc. It means that you would be running with a lighter load, which should translate to faster running - hopefully. Your support crew could also help prepare what you need to eat and hydrate.

Rule #2 - Work our Your Time Strategy

You know the official cut-off time. But if you stick to the official cut-off time, I'm afraid to tell you that you'll never make it beyond Leg 3. Why is this so? Because the cut-off time for Leg 2 is at 6pm and for leg 3 is at 7pm. Unless you are Ryan Hall, who is the first American to run under 60 minutes in the half marathon, you have absolutely NO CHANCE to make it beyond Leg 3, no chance at all - sorry to be so honest and direct. (Well, even Ryan Hall will have great difficulty since his effort was on road and this is the CDR!) So what is the strategy? For me, its to examine the last 5 successful finishers of the 2010 race and work out my timings. The average of the timings for the 5 Legs were: 2:00, 5:30, 3:30, 8:30; 4:20 for a total of 23:50. Based on my standard, I planned for 2:15, 6:00, 2:45, 8:30, 4:15 for a total of 23:45 with 15mins spare. I did 2:21, 5:30, 3:00, 9:04 for the 4 Legs this year. Will probably need further fine-tune for next year's CDR.

Rule #3 - Train, Train and Train

You have to train, train, and train. And if you train properly, then you would have no excuse for not finishing the CDR, unless it is due to bad weather (either too hot or too cold) or injury sustained during the race itself. And especially also if you have mountains to train at your own backyard. Unlike Singapore, which is super flat with a highest "mountain" at 545 ft high, there is no reason for not going out to your nearest hill or mountain to train for the uphill and downhill. Absolutely no reason at all. And if you are so unfortunate like me, well, you still have the treadmill to use. Just remember to slowly crank up the gradient of your treadmill to at least 12% grade over the weeks/months - that was the recommended gradient when training for the Pikes Peak Marathon, which rises from 7,000 ft to 14,000 ft over 13.3 miles of ascent. And if you can't run at 12% grade like me, just walk at that gradient at the fastest speed that you could sustain. For at least 1 hour per session, per week. Otherwise, you could also climb stairs. Just look for 10-storey high buildings (which are plenty in Singapore) and do sets of climbs.

Rule #4 - Envisage What Else You Need To Do

Envisage, envisage, envisage. When I was told that this year's CDR would be muddy, I asked a friend if I should skip round the water obstacle or to run through it. The advise given to me was to skip round it whenever possible, cos you never know how deep the mud puddle or water obstacle would be. Jose was very very right in this aspect. In Leg 1, a relay runner apparently sprained his ankle while running through the mud (which didn't look that bad at all), while in Leg 2, I saw 2 runners digging deep with both their hands as one of them had lost one side of his shoes. I also envisaged that for Leg 2, knowing that going downhill was my weakness, I decided beforehand that I would slide down whenever possible. This was exactly what I did after I finished the loop round Mt Flood. I believe my decisiveness helped me shaved an incredible 31mins! Also, decide what you wanna eat at the end of each Leg and have your crew prepare for it.

Rule #5 - Have Fun While Training Hard!

Well, train seriously but have fun at the same time. Have sufficient rest and recovery session in between your hard training. You certainly would want to get to the start of CDR feeling refreshed. And if you can't get to CDR feeling refreshed, i.e. 100%, then you are quite doomed. Very doomed indeed! :p The CDR requires one to be at the start, feeling strong and raring to go. Mentally and physically. Even if you stand at the start feeling 100%, there's always a chance that something might happen in an ultra race of such distance (more so for CDR due to the extreme terrain). So prepared well and rest well.

And there you have it! The secret that I shared above, shall be the route my success at next year's CDR! Hopefully. Remember to use the info at your own risk and see you Death Racers @ next year's CDR!!! :)

Of Course "It's A Killer"

2011-08-07T10:56:00.005+08:00

I came to know about the Canadian Death Race (CDR) in the Trail Runner: One Dirty Magazine back in 2009. The race, which starts and ends in the small town in Grande Cache, Canada, with stunning, breathtaking and awesome scenery, is 125km long. While I might have done a few 100km races, doing the CDR would present a very different challenge considering the 3 summits that you have to ascend and descend, 1 wild river to cross with a total elevation of 17,000 feet! But I signed up for the 2010 race anyway. Unfortunately, I didn't make the cut-off at the end of Leg 3. A friend commented that I would never finish the CDR as I was too slow a runner but somehow, my hands/fingers and brain were so fast on the early morning of 11 Jan 2011 (Singapore time) that they filled up the registration form even before I was fully woken from my sleep!

Pre-CDR

Luckily, I had a race every month leading up to Jul's CDR which meant that I need not worry about CDR till then. But I knew it was only a matter of time I face the devil. So I sat down and examined my last year's timing, together with the timings of the last few finishers, and worked out an achievable target to aim for in early Jul. I also met up with Jose 2 weeks before CDR, who shared his 2010 race experience - mainly on what to expect on Leg 4 and Leg 5. I told him I did last year's race without any support crew as I usually travel for overseas races alone. Jose was very encouraging and commented that if I could make the cut-off of Leg 3 with 1 hour to spare, I would have no problem to finish the CDR within the 24 hours cut-off time. He also linked me up with his good friend Matt, who was going to attempt the CDR, so that I could tag along his support crew to help me in completing CDR.

These new info and arrangement worked wonder and I was like someone being given a shot of morphine. On the eve of race day, I met up with Matt and his friends at Grande Cache after collecting our race packets at the Rec Centre. I had worked out my strategy and what I needed. This was also taken into consideration the raining weather forecast for Sat, 6pm to Sun, 5am, as well as what I had put in the Ambler Loop Drop Bag emergency aid station. The key man - Wolfie (I think) - would be the guy to look out for at the end of every Leg. He was extremely tall and would be hard to miss - but to me, almost all Caucasians looked alike! :p I thanked Matt and his friends and went back for a quick nap before the free pasta dinner and race brief. I also met Alex (whom I met at the TNF100 Philippines, CamSur) at the race brief and wished him all the best for the race.

Back home, I prepared my gear for the morning - TNF cap, TNF zipper short-sleeved top with 3 pockets at the back, Spibelt (to hook my bib and to hold my death coin), 2XU compression pants, Nathan HPL #020 hydration bag and my all-time favourite - my TNF Sentinal trail running shoes. (All available and bought from (or sponsored by) The North Face Singapore or Running Lab, less Spibelt and 2XU compression pants).

Leg 1 CDR (19km)

All solo runners and Leg 1 of relay teams had to check-in at the start, by inserting the timing stick into the timing device. I did and kept my timing stick safe inside my hydration front pocket. Everyone (runners, supporters and volunteers) were excited. I was too but with some anxiety. At around 7.50am, the Canadian national anthem was sang and at 7.55am, we were moved to the start line of the race. The CDR was officially started at 8.00am sharp. Most runners started fast and furious while I slowly warmed up in my slow pace. I found my legs very lethargic - and it could be due to the altitude of Grand Cache at 4,110 ft. I started panting and walking even before the first upslope although we were still running on paved road! Things got slightly easier when we turned into the highway (since it was downhill) and even better when we entered the trail. There was even a sign at the start of the trail head stating: "Go Death Racers - 120km to go!" - my god.

I started to enjoy my running. It didn't feel as hard as it was but that was the beginning! Soon, we had to jump over many muddy terrains and mud piles. Most of us couldn't run and just followed the next guy in front. There were a couple of kung-ho runners who "ran" through the waterlogged mud. Then, the group split into two: one taking the left and the other taking the right flank, when we encountered yet another huge mud puddle. I was glad I made the right choice following the person in front of me. :) This was much more FUN than last year - I thought! I didn't dare look at my watch, preferring to run based on my feel. After we came out from the trail and crossed over another highway to the other side of the trail, I knew I was not far from the end of Leg 1. The lake on our right took my mind off temporarily. A few miles later, we entered another section of the trail. Before end of Leg 1, I saw a few runners helping a relay runner - apparently, he stepped into the muddy terrain and twisted his ankle. He didn't look good as he couldn't stand at all. I hoped he was able to reach the exchange for his team to continue. As for myself, the soft terrain meant that my right ankle felt sore and out of alignment. There was pain when I pushed off but luckily, this feeling didn't last. Leg 1 was done in 2hrs 21mins, 6mins off my targeted pace but 9mins improvement from last year. Overall, I find this the 2nd easiest leg after Leg 3. I spotted Wolfie at the end of the long lines of supporters. I drank up my milo, and refilled my drink and gel. I also left my trekking poles untouched - what a decision!

Leg 2 CDR (27km)

Leg 2 was the brutest of all 5 legs as indicated in the Death Racer's race magazine. I thought so too. Not because of the steep incline but because of the steep decline as I was very bad at going down. I stayed focus by zooming into what was in front of me - steady climbs. I was again, able to pass people on my way up, but with more effort needed due to the soft ground. I won't say I enjoyed it but at least I know I was strong to push myself going up Mt Flood @ 6,085 ft - the first summit, which I reached in 1hr 45mins, 6mins faster than 2010. (This section was about 11~12km). At the top of Mt Flood, runners had to crest around the mountain before descending into Washy Creek - also known as the Slugfest section, where runners like me preferred to slide sitting down to save time and effort. There were about 4~5 such steep sections. At the bottom of Washy Creek, which was still at a high of 4,750 ft, I saw two men standing in the middle of a mud pile with their hands moving inside the mud - one of them lost one side of his shoes while prodding through the mud. I wished they could find the missing shoe to continue.

The distance to the next summit - Mt Grande @ 6,520 ft from Mt Flood was around 10~11km. It was another brutal section going up and I still managed to pass a few people. I enjoyed it once we reached above the treeline - you could see the breathtaking scenery all around you. Just before I reached the next timing station at the power line, I heard someone shouting at me. It was Matt, on his way down to the town centre! I was happy that I wasn't too far away from him. This section was done in 2hrs 16mins, a great improvement of 31mins, probably because I knew when to slide down as compared to last year, when I probably tried walking and balancing my way down Slugfest. From top of Mt Grande, it was 6km down towards the town and this was the worst section of the entire race! I couldn't use the sliding method as the various sections were too long and way too far down. Once in a while, a cold sweat would break out of me. After 1hr 29mins from summit of Mt Grande for a total of 5hrs 30mins for Leg 2, I finally reached the end of Leg 2 - an improvement of almost 50mins! I met Wolfie just before end of Leg 2. He had to shout for me as I didn't expect him to appear before the timing device. I drank my milo and ate my gels. I also asked Wolfie to reserve a banana for me at end of Leg 3. :) After I checked-in at end of Leg 2, I ate 2 more packets of jelly before continuing for Leg 3. I was fairly confident that I could meet the cut-off at 7pm.

Leg 3 CDR (21km)

Leg 3 was the easiest of the 5 legs but one had to really open your eyes to run especially on the first half of the leg due to the big rocks that strewn along the course. A missed step could mean a sprained ankle. It was at this leg that I ran passed Scott, one of Matt's friend. I wasn't sure if I should overtake Scott but as I was feeling strong, I decided to give it a go. It wasn't that scenic so I could push myself a little. Just after I came out from the trail, onto the paved road, I picked up my pace. Before turning into the bridge, I caught up with Matt, who was walking. He told me to push on and run, and not talk to him. I did what I was told. After crossing the bridge and highway, I hit a wall. The 2km distance seemed longer that it was. About 1km from the end, Scott zoomed past me. Just meters from the end, someone grabbed me from behind and it was Matt. I finished Leg 3 in 3hrs and an overall of 10hrs 52mins, just 8mins before the cut-off time at Leg 3. Phew! At the aid station, I gobbled down 4 cups of oranges! Then I walked towards Wolfie at the far end. There, I drank another can of milo, ate a gel and a refrigerated banana! I also took the chance to powder my feet. After a good rest of 20mins, I continued towards Mt Hamel's direction. Before leaving, I packed another 2 cups of oranges and 2 cans of milo into my hydration bag.

Leg 4 CDR (36km)

Mt Hamel was the highest of the 3 summits @ 6,986 ft high. But Jose told me not to worry as the climb was not as bad as Mt Flood and Mt Grande. In fact, after the Hamel Escape Station near the top of Mt Hamel, the route consisted of switchbacks. And he was very right in this aspect. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get into any regular pacing at all. One lady who walked passed me commented that I looked pale. I stopped to refocus. Yes, she was right. I didn't feel as though I had sufficient food back at the aid station. Shit. This leg was the longest and I just started! I decided to drink up one can of milo before I continued. It worked wonder and I regained my composure. By then, Matt overtook me on the way up. I was alone walking in the trail. Soon, I caught up with the two ladies who overtook me. I also saw Alex! How nice to have someone to walk with. :) So both of us started talking and walking. Alex told me that the distance to the next cut-off was about 5km. It perked me up and I was walking ahead of Alex. I kept urging him to catch up but that was the last I saw of him. :( I then saw Matt not far in front. He had stopped to help two runners on his way up. While walking with him, I also learnt that he had a stand-off with a bear for around 30mins in Leg 3! Wow! For a while, I wondered if it was the same bear that derailed my CDR last year. I was glad that I didn't met any unusual creature this time round. Along the switchbacks, I left Matt behind. It didn't take me long to reach the summit. After checked-in, I had to turn back for 500m to retrieve the flag. But it was getting dark and you couldn't really admire the surrounding scenery.

After I deposited my flag back at the summit, I decided to wear an additional clothing as it had started to rain. In total, I wore two short-sleeved top and a windbreaker. Not bad for someone who come from the heat. I should have exchanged my windbreaker with my raincoat back at the Leg3/4 exchange but in a haste, I forgotten. :( That was also the last I saw of Matt who went past me while I was changing. Once done, I started my way down Mt Hamel. It was dark at around 10pm and my headlamp came in handy. I decided to fast march my way down instead of running as the trail was a bit rough. And it was a costly mistake. By then, the rain had gotten heavier and the wind, stronger. I wasn't feeling cold, just miserable. And once I entered the trail again (from the treeline), I encountered more puddles of water, some of which covered the entire track! I decided not to wad across the water as it would be very cold. I jumped into the woods and manoeuvred my way around the water obstacles! I also lost quite a bit of time by giving way to the numerous ATVs who were plying the route to check on the runners on course. I had aimed to reach end of Leg 4 at 3am but only managed to reach the Amber Loop Station at 2.10am. After completing the loop, it was already 3am. I knew time was tight and ran the remaining distance till I reached the check-point just before the main road. From there, it was 2km away and I finally arrived at end of Leg 4 at 3.57am - (9hrs 4mins on Leg 4) 18mins before cut-off.

Leg 5 CDR (22km)

The volunteers told me that its 7km to the boat crossing. I was happy to hear that. I also asked if I could have the gloves as I lost one side earlier in the night. They were happy to give me - THANKS! I ate 2 packets of jelly and dashed off as my aim was to reached the boat crossing between 5.30am~5.45am. The first part of Leg 5 was exactly what Jose had described. He said "you have to climb on all 4s". Luckily, the section was short but it was hell. The footing was so soft that I would slide down after stepping on it. I had to grabbed on the roots, branches and whatever I could grab on, to pull myself up. After that start, things got easier. But it was a misnomer to think that you could cover the 7km "fast" - 1hr 15mins~1hr 30mins that I gave myself was just not enough. Basically, I got screwed. I took things too easy. Though I slowed in another 3~4 sections that resembled the first part, I didn't panic until about 5.50am as I had not reached the giant split rock. I started to run, passed another runner and the split rock, but I was too, too late. :( I ended up at the Sulphur Gates staging area parking lot at 6.20am - a full 20mins off the cut-off. After I stopped running, I shivered all over and had to be sent to the community hospital. Imaging running for 8 straight hours in the rain, from the mountain to the river, in your soaking wet clothes!

Post-CDR
The award ceremony was held on Monday. You could see many people limping around. I won 2 lucky draw prizes and picked myself a useful compression socks and a nice, long-sleeved Deathfest Tee. Organiser also gave out the CDR race poster as souvenirs. I managed to grab a couple and hope to use this to entice more Singaporeans to join me for next year's race! I was glad to hear that Matt, Scott, Will and Sergio had completed their CDR. I should be mad with myself for taking things too easy for the last leg. But having said that, this was also the first time that I felt that I had really achieved something - though I DNFed. It was hard for the local Canadians to train for CDR. And I can tell you that it was a million time worse for someone from Singapore like me. Singapore, if you do not know, was as flat as a pancake - the highest point being Bt Timah Hill @ 545 ft! I had absolutely no terrain long enough or high enough to train - especially on going down as that was my biggest weakness. There was another element that was different - the weather, especially up in the mountains where weather changes could happen any minutes. We have a tropical rainforest climate with no distinctive seasons, uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity, and abundant rainfall. But running in the rain in high humidity area is very different from running in the rain in the cold mountain! I was just glad my body only gave up after running 8 hours in the rain-soaked condition. Overall, it was a well organised race, except the Ambler Loop drop bag as the bags were not arranged in any manner. In the end, I gave up searching for my bag to save some time. (I was not sure if the reason for not finding my bag was because it was hidden away from the rain by well-thought volunteers as there were a bunch of drop bags not retrieved until much later, after Monday's award ceremony had completed).

I would also like to thank Jose, for his invaluable information on Leg 4 and 5; Wolfie, for supporting the runners throughout the 24 hours; Matt for his encouragement whenever I met him along the course, Alex for his company at part of Leg 4; and of course to all the volunteers out there supporting the runners! Special thanks also to TNF Singapore for the sponsored gears - the TNF Sentinal Trail running shoes and Drymax running socks - the one pair of shoes and socks that lasted me for 110km and I had ZERO blisters! Amazing stuff isn't it? :)

Training with the F1 Runners

2011-07-22T20:53:00.006+08:00

I decided to sign up for the 13-week TNF100 Singapore Training Sessions with the F1 Runners to prepare myself for the TNF100 Singapore race. I received a confirmation email from the principal trainer, Lexxus, on 7 Jul and went for my training sessions on 19 Jul and 21 Jul. :)

19 Jul (Tuesday)

The venue for the weekday training was at Diary Farm, which was just next to my workplace. I arrived early to change and saw a few other runners wearing the familiar red color F1 Runners singlet. They all looked pretty strong and fast. I was worried as I was never a fast runner and wondered if I had made the wrong decision to join the training sessions. At 6.20pm, I approached 2 of the lady runners (Karen and Lijun - I think). They in turned intro me to other runners (Ben, Kerry - I think). Ben offered his car space to put my belongings. Lexxus and Jacky arrived shortly after and the runners were all commenting how similar they looked - twins but 30 years apart. They were very right! We were given instructions to run to the Bukit Timah Visitor Centre, while Lexxus and Jacky waited a while more for the other runners. Unfortunately, we turned into the wrong trail and ended up back where we were at the Diary Farm carpark. After a quick check that confirm the wrong route taken, we went off again but as the sky was getting dark, we were told to make our way back just before hitting the quarry. We did another 1.2km loop around the Wallace Trail before gathering back at the shed next to the carpark.

And that was when the "fun" really began! There were a total of 12 exercises, to be performed twice. Jacky led us through each of the exercises, demonstrating how they were to be executed. Luckily for the beginners, we were given some discounts, 1 set of the Combo A Exercises. :p During the execution of the 2nd exercise - the Bridge, my left calf cramped up badly that I had to stop. I managed to continue for the rest of the exercises: Superman, Back Extension, Planks, Cobra Leg Raise, Spine Twist, Knees to Chest Head Lift, Groin Stretch, Leg Lunges, Standing Hamstring Stretch and Push Up. Jacky was playful and tried injecting some fun when leading us through the exercises, yet serious during the execution. But to me, it was everything but fun! After the end of the 1st set, I decided to accept the discount given and rest! We chit chat for a while more after the rest of the runners completed their 2nd set and I also met two more F1 runners - Ronald and Dora. Kerry then gave the other new runner and me a lift to the bus stop after the training session ended.

There was nothing new about the exercises prescribed by Lexxus. I read about these exercises in Runners' World, Running Times, and some running-related books. However, there was a huge difference between doing them on your own and doing them with a group of friends. While I lacked no discipline to do some of the exercises on my own, I would certainly skip those tougher one if I were not in a group. I guess this is what group training is about. I hoped for the remaining training sessions, I could pick up useful tips relating to trail running, building a stronger core for a more efficient running in the trails, as well as making more like-minded friends. :)

21 Jul (Thursday)

I barely survived Tuesday's session but was looking forward to some hill training on Thursday as I love running uphill. We did a short warm up before Lexxus led us to another section of the trail that I had not been before. There were 3 sections of hill training to be done a total of 6 sets, excluding the familiarisation set!!! Luckily, it was 6 sets in total and not 6 sets of all 3 sections that I feared. Phew. :p Even then, by the end of the 6 sets, I was fully drenched with sweat. Worse still, that was not the end of the training. We had to do a sprint up the slope that led into Wallace Trail. Jog back down. Then sprint up again into Wallace Trail. After coming out from the trail, we had to perform another 6 sets of sprint up the slope that led into Wallace Trail. Needless to say, I was the last of the lot. But I somewhat enjoyed the session as compared to Tuesday's session.

I hope I'm able to keep up with the remaining training sessions and now looking forward to Sat's session. :)

TNF Woodcutter's Trail Run

2011-07-17T00:00:00.003+08:00

This was the last run of the TNF Run Series and the most challenging as it was almost 95% trail. Despite injuring his 2nd metatarsal of his left foot, Tekko still managed to drive Molly, Brokie and me to the starting point of the run. Besides him, Kayano was also struck down by a nasty bite that had him hospitalised for a few days, while Alvin had to be a responsible Brother to his good friend's wedding ceremony this very morning too. So the official Ocean 9 Lead Runners was down to Ocean 6 Lead Runners for the Jul's TNF run, with Terence and Brokie leading. After giving his instructions to all the runners, Terence led the way while I tried to stay on pace in the middle. It was a cool morning. A perfect morning to either sleep in or to get out into the nature for a trail run. :)

I felt difficult to run at first as I just recovered from a high fever 2 days earlier. My legs felt sluggish and heavy. As it rained yesterday and last night, the ground in the trail was wet and muddy. It was a stop-start-run especially as we tried to avoid running into the puddles of water as well as avoiding the roots. There was a part where runners have to climb over or go under the fallen tree trunk. Luckily, some kind soul dissect the middle section of the fallen trunks for two other trees further up. :p There were also a few streams to cross: one with a rope for you to hold on to, one with 2 thin trunks for you to balance and cross, and one last one with some branches and stones for you to step on. Surprisingly, the flower pot which was there last week, was gone! So we had to execute a perfect jump. I found my rhythm soon and managed to keep up the pace with the runner in front of me. Our first photo shot was further up at the "4 Stones" and Brokie, our reliable RSM as always, gave out precise and clear instructions for everyone to fall-in for the group photo. :)

The Obstacles

First Photo Shot @ 4 Stones

After leaving 4 Stones, I decided to cover rear as it was easier to run as compared to running in the middle, where I tend to feel that people behind you seemed to be chasing you down. I also took some photos for Shu Ming who didn't come for the recce last week. We soon came out to an opening but went into the trail further up for a short loop inside in the trail before coming out again for our second photo shot at the S Curve (who said only the driving circuit got the famous S curve)! :)

In And Out Of The Trail

Second Photo Shot @ S Curve

After the S Curve section, it was time to go back. I took the lead for the first time today but stopped at an appropriate place to take some action photos of the runners. They turned out satisfactory to me. It was also my opportunity to fall back to the rear again. And I was happily following a lady wearing a DBS red color shirt, with John behind. The trail seemed to get even more muddy by then, although my North Face Rucky Chucky was still pretty dry. Shu Ming, who was running not far in front of us, kept saying aloud that his shoes were still very dry and I offered him a chance to get them wet. He soon disappeared!

Action Shot of Runners

Someone (Amy) remarked if we were on the right track. I assured her yes, as we just crossed a stream. I landed awkwardly twice but on different foot. So I was still able to run, unlike another runner in grey shirt who twisted his ankle 3 times on the same foot. He had to walk back by then, accompanied by his friend. Luckily, we were very near the entrance / exit to the Woodcutter's Trail. John and I waited for both of them while Molly and the rest ran back to the carpark. Once they emerged from the trail, we own time own target ran back to the finishing point at the carpark. Total distance covered was almost 14km. At the carpark, Karen and Carey gave out promotional sample of GU Gel and Penguin Sports Wash. This was the best TNF Run Series and the most memorable one. Thanks to TNF, I made many new friends and explore many new trails in Singapore. I hope next year there would be another TNF Run Series and that Ocean 9 Run Leaders would continue to meet up to explore the rest of the unexplored trails. :)

P.S. Special thanks to our guest run leader, Kops, for leading us during the recce run last week as well as the actual run.

GU Nutrition Testing Session

2011-07-16T13:31:00.000+08:00

Went down to Funan IT Mall this evening to take part in their GU Nutrition Testing Session conducted by the Running Lab. They had the GU drink, GU Chomps and GU Gel on offer to the runners before the commencement of their weekly run. I tried a cup of the GU drink while waiting for them. The taste was much much better than the non-carbonated 100 Plus (offered during the Sundown Ultramarathon). As for the GU Chomps, I felt that it was a bit too chunky, while for GU Gel, they are definitely the type of gel I would recommend together with the Hammer Gel, especially their ultra endurance energy gel - GU Roctane. :) After the runners come back, the organiser held a lucky draw where 3 runners won themselves a cap each. All runners and participants (including those who didn't run) also walked away with a GU water bottle with 2 packets of GU Gel, GU Chomps and GU Brew Electrolyte Drink Tablet packaged inside. A very happy day indeed. :)

Before Run

After Run

My GUdie Bottle

My Runs in 2011 (so far)...

2011-07-04T22:06:00.004+08:00

I think it's always important to take stock of your goal at certain juncture in your life, your career, etc or in my case at certain point in my yearly running resolution... Now, let me remind myself what I hope to do for 2011 and what I have done so far:

1. To run an ultramarathon a month, every month, in the year 2011...

>> So far so good. I completed 1 ultra every month from January to June. I.e. 6 ultras in total in the first 6 months. However, I must admit that with the exception of Comrades Marathon, I didn't met all my time goal for the other ultras nor did I met my intended target distance for the 16-hours Twilight Challenge, although I did try my best to cover as much distance as possible given the 16 hours.

2. To complete at least 50% of the ultramarathons within the cut-off time...

>> Assuming I will eventually run 12 ultras, I would have achieved this aim since I had successfully completed 6 ultras. It is also interesting to note that the race director for the Bataan Death March 100 Miles extended the cut-off time from 28 hours to 30 hours (which I completed in 28hrs 54mins 38secs) and the race organiser for the Sundown Ultramarathon 100km extended the cut-off time from 16 hours to 18 hours (which I completed in 16hrs 21mins 45secs).

3. To do a team run...

>> I did the Venus Run 2011 with Molly and Citra Dewi. This run was held in celebration of International Women's Day at Bedok Reservoir where runners had to cover a 5km cross country race. It is unique in that the total age of the 3 runners must be equal to or surpass 83! Why the magic number 83? Simply because 8th March is celebrated globally as the International Women's Day. And the larger the women's total age, the higher the age factor! Our team came in 17th even though our was 28mins on average. Well done to us. :)

Team MKD (Dewi, Molly Kelly from L to R)

4. To do one fun run...

>> I'm taking the Great Eastern Women 10km Run as a fun run. Unfortunately my usual kakis (Elise and Vivian) didn't manage to sign up for the race in time. But luckily for me, I still had fun last Sunday. The next "fun" run would be the Shape Run on 23 Jul and Yellow Prison Run on 18 Sep where Elise and Vivian would be running with me! As usual, I would run with my camera and took pictures at every km markers. :)

Great Eastern Women 10km Run

5. To do one "very relaxing" overseas run...

>> I managed to do 3 runs in the trail in 3 separate days while holidaying in Ledbury, UK!!! I got "sting" by plants on the first day, passed by and visited an armoury workshop that produces armour shields and tools for the movie - Clash of the Titans Part 2 on the second day, and chased many sheeps (and some cows) on the third day!!! All thanks to Phillip Howells and Edward Chapman!!!

Runs Around Ledbury, UK

6. To complete 2.4km within 12mins 30secs...

>> Completed 2.4km in 11mins 50secs there about in my 2nd IPPT attempt. Actually, I also run a sub-12min 2.4kmin in my first IPPT attempt I did on 1 Apr. But my results was void (not because of April Fool's Day but) due to some administrative lapses on my part.

I recalled someone said that in a report, many people died with lots of regrets. For me, if I were to die right now, I would have no regrets whatsoever. I would like to think I'll die a very happy runner. :)

My Thoughts On Sundown 100km

2011-06-30T23:25:00.024+08:00

Alvin said I was too long-winded, like I was writing a composition. :p So I decided to give my comments separately. Some people might be unhappy. Some people might be discouraged. But this is not my aim. My aim is to share that little bit of knowledge that I gained through running ultramarathons since Dec 2006. And if anyone (new or experienced runners) could point out my mistakes or wrong views expressed herein, I would be most delighted if you could tell me too. :) We are all here to learn from each other and also to enjoy the journey of running.

Signing up for an Ultramarathon - A journalist for a South African publication reported (after this year's race) that it was irresponsible of the TV commentators to urge South Africans to put on their running gear and train for next year's Comrades Marathon. Apparently, that was part of what transpired between the reporters during the 12-hour live streaming of the world's biggest ultramarathon - Comrades Marathon. The journalist, who was a runner himself, commented that as South Africa also faces the problem of increasing obesity due to poor diet, the TV commentators should highlight the importance of eating a healthy diet and starting an exercise regime to keep fit. Urging common folks who had not been eating and exercising well to take on the challenge of Comrades Marathon was not practical at all. Yes, it is true that everyone would get caught up by the atmosphere, the adrenaline, the joy, the tears, the triumphant feeling (after the race) while watching the live streaming of the race, but to attempt it and succeed, one must have some years of running experience. Otherwise, you may just give up as quickly as your initial excitement.

Personally, I agreed with the journalist's observation. When I looked back, I remembered taking part in the annual Army Half Marathon for about 6 years, before I signed up for my first Singapore Mobil International Marathon in Dec 2001. (Actually, I signed up in 2000 but that year's concept was such that runner could stop at 10km or 20km or 30km or at the end of the marathon. After 30km, I was so tired that I decided to stop for good). After 3 years of running a marathon a year, I started tackling multiple marathons a year, starting from 2 in 2004 to 6 in 2005. By 2006, after another 5 more years since I started running marathons, I decided that I was ready to tackle the ultramarathon. Even then, the first ultramarathon that I signed up was the time-based rather than distance-based 12-hour MR25 Ultramarathon, although you need to run a minimum of 5 laps of a 10.5km loop. I did 6 laps. My next ultramarathon was the Addo Elephant 50 Miles in Apr 07 - my first 50 mile race in South Africa, followed by a modest Great Ocean Marathon 45km, Australia in May 07 and Vermont 50km, USA in Sep 07. I ended 2007 with another 12-hour MR25 Ultramarathon in which I completed 7 laps. In 2008, I DNFed in both 100M trail races. I was demoralised and took a step back in 2009. When I came back in 2010, I had mixed results - success in road ultras but failure (again) in trail ultras. I started looking for trail races with a more lenient cut-off time and did more strength training and in 2011, bingo! I succeeded in completing two 100km trail races in Hong Kong and Philippines!

What I'm trying to say here is not that I'm a coward or someone with no guts. But perhaps I'm a coward. But I'm also not stupid to think that I could suddenly transform myself from being a marathoner to an ultramarathon in just a year. I know my strength / weakness and I know success takes time. Hence, I needed confidence building, i.e. I needed to take baby steps. Unfortunately, some runners were too caught up by the adrenaline of signing up for races or for the finisher medal or finisher tee given out at the end of the race, that they plunged straight for a race that they are not prepared for, mentally and/or physically. I admired their fearless attitude but at the same time worried about their well being. Running an ultramarathon is really no joke, especially any 3-digit distance with a KM behind. I believed in depositing the mileage through months or even years of running so as to prepare ourselves. Then you can savor the result - completion of your first ultramarathon. Of course, there will always be the exception. But unless you are that someone with special talent, you should build up your confidence and mileage. Enjoy your run before the run breaks you.

Training for an Ultramarathon - I became aware of how a fellow SGRunner was training for his Sundown 100km. He was a wise 50-year old runner and he was extremely talented. At least, that was the impression he had given me. He trained almost everyday and on weekend, he ran/recced along the Sundown 100km route and shared with fellow SGRunners on his observations of the route and what to look out for. I was appreciative with the info given as I didn't have the time to check out those part of the route that I was unfamiliar with. Yet at the same time, I wondered how did he recover from his run at such a fast rate although he was already - as what he said - "half a century old". After the race on Sunday evening, the 50-year old man posted in the forum that he had to withdraw at the 70km pitstop due to muscle cramp and fatigue. He also mentioned that by 7.30am, the sun was getting hot.

I admired his spirit but wondered if he were to train differently, would the outcome be different? Maybe. Maybe not. A number of runners I know, are obsessed with raking up huge mileage, especially when preparing for ultramarathons. I choose a different approach. To me, training for ultramarathons is different from training for marathons, especially for races like 100km or 100 miles. I trained by time or heart-rate rather than by distance. The main reason is because I find it hard to recover from a 60km run as compared to a 4-hour run (which I may only cover 30km thereabout). Also, by doing back-to-back long run, I would be still be able to reap the benefits and stress my body on consecutive days while also giving it a little more time to rest. However, if I were to run 60km at one go, I wouldn't able to do a back-to-back run and I would definitely need more time to recover.

The other way to look at it is this: a fast runner and a slow runner training for an ultramarathon. Both logged a back-to-back 4-hour run on consecutive days. Yes, it is true that the fast runner would cover more distance. But if they are both running at the same % of their max heart rate, then their "training gains" would be perceived to be equivalent or thereabout. Make sense? What this means (at least to me), is that if the slow runner was to run the same distance as the fast runner, he would be deemed to have put in more effort on the back-to-back training since he would spend more time running. Also, he is not allowing his body time to recuperate for the next running effort.

Conclusion: I completed the Sundown 100km in 16hrs 21mins 45secs, with my longest LSD being the 2 sessions of 17km runs I did at Pulau Ubin, 3 and 2 weekends from the event. While I can't say that it's a respectable time and I didn't meet my target of completing within 16 hours, I couldn't complained as I had some hydration issues towards the end of the race. Of course people may point out that I had the luxury of using my last ultramarathon as a LSD, the important point is that I still need to get ready for Sundown, i.e. to manage my mileage to ensure I train just enough instead of getting burnt out. Just like now, I'm happy to use Sundown 100km as my LSD for my next race!

Disclaimer: This is not an attempt to show how well I train. I'm also not trying to imply that one has to register for ultramarathon race and use it as a LSD training session a month before a ultramarathon. What works for me may not work for you! :p

Sundown Ultramarathon 100km

2011-06-29T22:41:00.003+08:00

25 Jun was the DAY! The day I embarked my first ever 100km road race in Singapore. I woke up at around 9am, read through the info guide for runners again before I packed my race kit and drop bag to be deposited at the 50km mark. I then went out for a quick brunch at the coffee shop. When I reached home, I took a 2-hour nap before changing into my gear and getting myself ready to report to Marina Barrage. I was supposed to meet Alvin at the Tanjong Pagar MRT at 3.45pm. :)

But Alvin was late. So I had plenty of time to put my change of clothes at the gym. I also bought a medium-size meshed potato and a small ice milo at KFC, which I ate while waiting for Alvin at Tanjong Pagar MRT. I saw quite a number of runners as free shuttle buses were made available by the organiser to bring the runners / supporters from Tanjong Pagar to Marina Barrage. :) I also saw Regina and Fennel but they were waiting for Ivy. As soon as Alvin and his friend Wei Jie arrived, we made our way to the pick-up point. Luckily for us, we needn't wait for the bus to be full to leave for Marina Barrage. :)

Race Start

I then recalled about Bee and Ronnie's wedding shoot at Marina Barrage! It was a few years ago. I wonder if I would see them again soon. We chose a spot to sort out our stuff. (Actually, I already sort out my stuff but the 2 young men had yet to change into their running gear, etc!!!). While they changed into their shoes, I snapped away photos of the them, the area, the other runners, and many running friends. It was like a big reunion run! There were also other runners whom I had met previously but somehow I couldn't recall their names / nicks. :( Even Permadi was there to lend us her support, although she had to walk with her clutch. I also took photos with Matthew's dog but the dog was more interested in other runners than me. :( We went to deposit our bags at the baggage counter. It was very efficient probably due to smaller number of participants (about 900 of us registered for the race). We then went up to the 2nd level to kill time, as the weather at the start point - at the top level of the building, was freaking hot . It was kinda cool to actually start a race running from the top of a building (even though it was only 3-storey high), but at the same time, scary to think that we had to "run" up the final 100 meters!

At around 5.40pm, after Alvin's repeated pestering, I relented and went up to the race start area with the two young men. We went up to the notice board showing the route and examined the route details. It was amazing yet frightening to know how far we had to run to cover the 10km between every pitstops! It was different when you took part in overseas races as you had no prior knowledge of the route. I took a mental note of the 5 check-points at start of ECP, NSRCC, Changi Village, Pasir Ris Park and Bedok Reservoir. Benjamin, one of the organiser from HiVelocity, reminded runners to check their bib should they change into a new running top at the 50km mark. I wouldn't have this problem since I would be using my race belt to hook my bib. At 6.02pm, the organiser flagged off the first ever 100km road race in Singapore and off we went!

0km~10km: On the map, the first 10km seemed short. There were a few turns around Marina to Mountbatten to ECP, including running along a narrow path next to a row of hoardings of a construction site and a condominium, as well as across an overhead bridge, 2 roads and an underground bridge. But there were traffic police to direct the traffic and runners were given priority. :) About 2km after I entered the ECP, we saw the pitstop #1. This would be the easiest 10km of the night. Time taken to reach: 1hr 16mins 37secs.

Pitstop at 10km

10km~20km: I took 2 slices of oranges and a cup of 100+. Then I took off. The sky was getting dark. But as it was a Saturday on a school holiday, there were plenty of people in ECP. It was crowded but not so bad that you couldn't run. I kept reminding myself even though I felt good, I should maintain my easy pace. After Comrades Marathon, I was very aware of the kind of easy pace that I should run. I visualise the sound my footfalls in sync with my breathing. :) Just before reaching NSRCC, it started to drizzle! :( I sort of sian half and had put my compact camera into my hydration bag. Luckily, the rain left as fast as it came, though my socks were wet. I reached pitstop #2 after running for 2hrs 32mins 3secs.


Pitstop at 20km

20km~30km: The next 10km was extremely boring as it was just one straight, never-ending road. Although the night was still young, I was getting sleepy. I forced myself to run past every 15 lamp posts and walk the next 5. It worked for a while but soon, it became monotonous again. So I ran past every 23 lamp posts and walked the next 2. This combination seemed to work okie and I soon ran past the 22km, 24km and 26km markers. At the traffic light junction leading to Changi Ferry Terminal, I saw acleong for the 3rd time! I wondered if he owned a time machine. I thanked him for taking my photos and continued my run. After 3hrs 58mins 56secs of running, I arrived at Pitstop #3.

Pitstop at 30km

30km~40km: At the pitstop, I saw Mohan and said hi. There was an official who asked me if I was okie. I was okie. I felt okie. I decided to take a gel at the pitstop since they were giving out free gel. But bad choice! The Strawberry Power Gel was not okie. It was horrible! The worse kind of flavour and texture I ever ate! I should have had my GU Mandarin Orange Gel! As soon as the gel went into my throat, I had the urge to throw everything out. YIAKS! I washed down a cup of plain water but it only helped a little. I took some slices of oranges and felt better to continue. Running out of Changi Village was some gentle upslopes. It meant I could walk without guilt. I found this 10km section the most enjoyable as we ran past the Commando Camp, Loyang Road, a mosque, a Condominium showflat, before reaching Pasir Ris Park, pitstop #4 in 5hrs 45mins 34secs.

Pitstop at 40km

40km~50km: Just before I reached the pitstop, I saw the leading man running back towards the Marina Barrage direction. At pitstop #4, I took some oranges and drinks. By then, the 100+ started to taste horrible. After I left the pitstop, I had to run along some dark path behind some private housing and crossed another road. I also met someone who asked if I needed anything. I asked him what drinks he had and he offered me a packet of sng pao and a banana! I thank him and continued. After crossing another overhead bridge, I saw many supporters near a bus-stop and almost took a wrong turn. :p I was pointed to the correct path and knew the stretch to Bedok Reservoir was near. At one of the traffic light, I bumped into Napoleon - a Filipino runner whom I met at TNF100 Philippines. We wished each other well and ran the opposite direction. Just before I reached Bedok Reservoir carpark, I met another support team who offered me Red Bull, and Terence/Tiwazz/Charlotte who offered me a packet of electrolyte! :) As I ran towards the half-way point in 7hrs 29mins 25secs, Alvin zoomed past me!

Pitstop at 50km

50km~60km: I had 2 cups of soup and some biscuits and bananas before I changed into my new pair of socks, shoes and my running top. I spent less than 10mins in total. About 1km down the path, I met Wei Jie, who was walking. I told him to join me as I was doing a run-walk combination. I also ran past Evy and waved to her (I think so). At the 48km/52km marker, I saw John again and requested him to ask Tekko and Molly to help me get Milk Tea as I was sick drinking 100+. Wei Jie did very well and followed every instructions I gave him - when to run, when to hold back, when to walk, etc. Just before we turned into Pasir Ris Park, I ran into Lynette who was taking photos. :) We reached pitstop #6 after 9hrs 26mins 33secs.

Pitstop at 60km

60km~70km: I took 2 packets of raisins, 2 packets of sweets, a banana and plain water. After Wei Jie filled up his bottle with special electrolyte tablet, we pressed on. This time, we ran 400m and walked 100m until we were out of Pasir Ris Park. We continued with running 400 steps, followed by walking 100 steps. At one of the bus-stop, I met DreamRunner and his group of supporters. Someone offered me Kopi O and a packet of Ice Milo!!! The Kopi O was great! I asked Wei Jie if he needed anything but he was too shy. Just after we turned into Loyang Road, I saw a familiar carplate numbering 842 and recognised it might be Tekko's car! I was right. He stopped the car further up a bus-stop and asked me what I need. "2 bottles of Milk Tea please!" I said excitedly. They drove off but soon, returned and gave me a bottle of Pokka Milk Tea! Molly said they will pass me the 2nd bottle along ECP. :( (I should have asked for 3 bottles). :p We arrived at pitstop #7 in 11hrs 19mins 47secs.

Pitstop at 70km

70km~80km: The 70km pitstop was just after Changi Village. I took a sponge to cool myself down. After I got my necessary refill and food, I told Wei Jie that I had to walk for about 5mins for the food to digest. He said okie as his legs were getting painful to run. So we walked for almost 10mins and our pace slowed down considerably by then. Just after the SAF Ferry Terminal, Wei Jie decided had to visit the washroom and told me not to wait for him. So I left Wei Jie and took up a different form of strategy: running 500 steps and walking 100 steps before I reward myself with a sip of Pokka Milk Tea. The counting was as boring as running along Changi Coastal Road. I didn't pay special attention to the km marker but knew that the pitstop would be just 1km after the 80km marker. There were a few volunteers on bicycles as well as cyclists riding or training along the road / pavement. It was almost 7am when I reached pitstop #8. Total time taken: 12hrs 59mins 41secs.

Pitstop at 80km

80km~90km: I was so happy to reached the 80km pitstop as I was too hungry. I grabbed a banana and 2 cups of plain water. A volunteer helped me to refill my milk tea bottle with plain water. After eating, I felt much better and energized. I looked at my watch and reckoned I might reach 84km before 13hrs 50mins (my finishing time for 84km Sundown Ultramarathon), if I continued my earlier pace. So I pushed myself to run 400 steps and walk 100 steps. I caught up with Dave Poh a while later. Further up, just after the toilet, I saw a group of supporters next to a shed. Permadi and Michael Kang were there too! The supporters must be from the Punggol Runners group. One guy asked what I want: suan mei sng pao, red bull or coke. I gladly accepted red bull AND coke. :p I also saw the 84km marker just further up and requested them to help take a photo. :) I knew I would be seeing Tekko and Molly. Just before the hawker centre I saw Tekko, Molly and John! Molly passed me new bottle of Pokka Milk Tea while John waved some inspirational sign at me. I thanked them and continued. By then, ECP was kinda crowded. There was another activity organised for older folks and they had no sense of human traffic. Luckily I managed to avoid collision. I reached pitstop #9 around 8.30 am, after running for 14hrs 31mins 42 secs.

Pitstop at 90km

90km~100km: The last 10km was the hardest as it was already past 8.30am. Sun was OUT!!! I had to ration my bottle of milk tea as I was sure it would not last me till the end if I just drank freely. I managed to maintain running 400 steps and walking 100 steps till after crossing the overhead bridge across Mountbatten Road. It should be around 95km when I ran out of milk tea. I attempted to take a sip of 100+ left but it was awful. It was then I realised that I couldn't run anymore as I would probably faint if I pushed myself too hard. It was disappointing as I managed to pick up my pace from NSRCC to Mountbatten. I also knew it was not possible for me to complete below 16 hours. I tried to think positive: the faster I walked, the faster I get replenishment of water or food at the end of the race. Runners then passed me one after another. Just before the 98km, a Caucasian woman walked passed me and I noticed she had some water left in her bottle. I asked if she had plain water to share and she gladly offer her bottle although it left less than 1/5. I decided to stick to her pace until she stopped at around the 98km mark, when we had the Marina Barrage within sight. I slowed down and wait for her to catch up which she did. Just after we turned into the construction site and across the bridge, I asked if she had done Comrades Marathon before and that I felt this was much tougher than Comrades. She totally agreed even though she loved the warm weather of Singapore! Just after the bridge, I decided to run up the slope and signalled her to follow but I guessed she's just too tired. I almost tripped over the finishing banner when the volunteers released it too late. As I staggered across the field, another volunteer put a towel over my shoulder. I realised that was a finisher towel! It was nice to have something different. BUT I don't need the towel at that point. It was not cold or windy like some US cities. It was HOT and HUMID! Nevertheless, I remembered about the lady who shared her water with me and was fast enough to snap a photo of her finishing her race. :) My unofficial finishing time: 16hrs 24mins 37secs.

I went down to look for Alvin and told him I ran with Wei Jie for about 20km. I then asked about the finisher tee and he said it was next to the food area next to the finishing line! WTH... I had to walk up 2 storeys! As I was feeling nausea, I went to the medical tent to seek help. The medic told me that I had electrolyte imbalance and I should be fine after resting for an hour. Benjamin was kind enough to help me get my finisher tee. Alvin asked if I want to have my photo taken but I just want to go home. I was not interested to get my food or my certificate or my photo taken. He told me that Wei Jie had finished about 15mins after me and was looking after our stuff. When he was done, we took the free ferry service back to Tanjong Pagar MRT and I went to the gym to wash up before meeting up with Vivian and her boyfriend for brunch @ Sushi Teh. Then it was home sweet home. :)

Note: I met many more friends than I could have mentioned here. I'm very sorry that I am unable to include all the details and all my friends who had helped me in one way or another as doing so would make my report too long-winded. I also tried to mention 1~2 highlights during the 10km run between every pitstop.

Eve of Sundown 100km

2011-06-25T09:59:00.007+08:00

I am supposed to be sleeping now. It is 1.00am and in less than 18 hours, I will be lining up at the Marina area for my 3rd 100km race this year but my first 100km road road. Unfortunately, I am also reading the UK's Trail Running Magazine which I bought while on a holiday in UK last month. I found it by accident while at the Manchester International Airport, heading to Durban. It was a great magazine and the information contained very useful to aspiring trail runners. My top 3 articles are: (1) Epic Trail - Don't just run in the hills, eat, sleep and breath the hills in your biggest running adventure ever, (2) Give Me Strength - 7 core exercises to toughen your body for trail running, (3) World's toughest ultra -the Tor Des Geants.

Summer Edition 2011 Trail Running - the UK's No. 1 Off-Road Running Mag

Just finished packing my bag to be dumped at the gym later. It contained my change of clothes after I complete my Sundown 100km. As for my drop bag, I'll pack it later in the afternoon. I'm alsol thinking if I should bring my compact camera. But most likely, I will. Although this isn't a scenic route, it is always nice to take photos, especially at the check-points where volunteers will play an important role. After the race, you will be able to look back at the photos. While some may view completion of the 100km as the ultimate goal (or the finishing medal or finishing tee), the journey to that completion is more important to me. I hope my journey tonight (and tomorrow morning) will be a memorable one. :)

Time now: 9.30am. I read through the Sundown Ultramarathon website again on the hydration and fuel support at all pitstops (aid stations), the cut-off times at various check-points, and the reporting time. I was particularly impressed by the spread of food that will be made available to the runners along the course, although I was hoping the pitstops are 5km apart instead of 10km apart. As for cut-off time, there were 3 in total: 50km by 9 hours, 90km by 16 hours and 100km by 18 hours. And since the reporting time is 4pm, I could nap for another 3 hours. :)

Hydration and Food at the various Aid Stations (Pitstops)

It is always good to read through some of the more important info just before a race. To reassure yourself that everything is in order and you are good to go. My program for the day will be:

- Pack my drop bag and get ready my race gear.
- Brunch at 11am, Bedok Point.
- Sleep at 12.30pm till 3.30pm.
- Leave for Marina at 4.30pm latest.

Sounds good right? :) Okie, time to go pack my stuff!

Seriously, I Just Wanna Run... :(

2011-06-25T00:44:00.004+08:00

I didn't buy The New Paper since the English Premier League ended almost 3 weeks ago. A colleague who knew I run for fun, pointed out to The New Paper's headline (the smaller one on the right side bar) if I read about another champion being disqualified in a recent race, when we went to the petrol kiosk. I then stole a look at the photo and recognised that the face on the front page news. He was one of my Facebook's friend, Jacky Ong. Being a running enthusiast, I bought The New Paper to find out more about what had happened.

Well, apparently, the rules and regulations for the recently concluded Sundown Marathon, which also held races in the half marathon, and 10km run, stated that the minimum age for any participants is 18 years old. Unfortunately, Jacky was only 14 this year. So he resorted to taking on his girlfriend's father identity as they shared the same surname. (Note: Jacky was unable to use his dad's identity as his dad was running in the 10km race as well.) The issue arised when Jacky collected his 1st prize despite knowing that he broke the rules and regulations. (Note: There were 2 runners who finished the race faster than Jacky but they withdrew themselves from the award presentation knowing that they were running in someone else' bib). In the same page, Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) president Mr Tang Weng Fei remarked that "Jacky's is a talent that we need to capture", although he did maintained that what Jacky did was wrong.

Two days later (on Saturday), after coming back from a run at Pulau Ubin, I bought The New Paper while on my way home and I was shocked to read the main headline titled "Parents support boy. Mum says "I don't think it's cheating". So the saga didn't ended with Thurs' The New Paper as the reporter follow-up on the news by interviewing Jacky and his parents. In the interview, the parents justified why they did not think what their son did was wrong, as well as that their son did not have any unfair advantage over other runners since he was not ranked in the 50-age group (the age of Jacky's girlfriend's dad), although they did acknowledge that they will abide by the age restrictions (Note: By my interpretation, they said they would abide by age restriction but did not say specifically they will abide by the rules and regulations of the race) in future. By now, I was shaking my head in total bewilderment. Luckily, The New Paper's Sports Editor gave his views on the opposite page of the interview and highlighted that Jacky should do it the right way in his pursue to sports excellence.

The Sports Editor also sort views / comments from the readers, which appeared in Wed's The New Paper. 7 of of the 8 comments published were in general agreement with the views of the Sports Editor of The New Paper and SAA's President - that what Jacky did was not right. My own views are:

- Let's give Jacky a break. He's still a very young lad who just wanna run. In terms of athletic-age, he can be considered as someone just started out. Hence, he may not have the concept of winning in the right spirit - i.e. what sportsmanship is about. While what he did was not correct, bombarding him with words, calling him names, etc would not help him in anyway. Even if he didn't showed any remorse, we couldn't put the blame on him entirely, especially since he was misled by his parents. We all knew about his precocious talent. Let's help him in whatever way we could and hope he learned his lesson and become a better athlete: it's not how fast you run but how gracious you acknowledge someone slower as the legitimate winner.

- Despite being runners themselves, it was unbecoming of Jacky's parents to find ways to defend why their son did not have unfair advantage nor what their son did was right. They failed to see that when Jacky took the 1st prize even though he was ineligible to take part, he had deprived someone else who was the rightful winner! (I'm assuming that everyone in the Open Category is of the same playing field and no one had any advantage/disadvantage). I wondered: if someone who's not eligible, ran faster than Jacky in a national meet and deprived Jacky of his 1st prize, would they be so kind as to allow the ineligible runner to be declared as worthy winner. As adults, they should guide their son the proper path to take and not giving justification on why their son had not done anything wrong.

- I was appalled by our SAA's President's emphasis on the episode - that "Jacky's a talent SAA need to capture". The whole interview seemed to focus on Jacky's performance, with only a line from Mr Tang's interview that he maintained what Jacky did was wrong. As the President of SAA, the least he should do is to give a stronger assertion on Jacky's wrong-doing before he commented about Jacky's exceptional ability. Otherwise, future potential athletes who are unable to achieve any breakthrough may resort to negative tactics to seek attention. (Disclaimer: it might be The New Paper who structured the report by emphasising on Jacky's ability and through no fault of Mr Tang. :) For that, then I should blogged about being be appalled by The New Paper's reporting. :p )

Now that it is a week after the news, I hope we can all focus on running, with the commencement of the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore's registration and the conduct of the Sundown Ultramarathon just 1 day away (what a coincidence :p ). I wished Jacky the best in his pursuance in athletics.

TNF Trail Run Series @ Pulau Ubin

2011-06-18T14:44:00.319+08:00

This was the 4th TNF Trail Run Series that I participated (as lead runner), having missed the 1st one due to my overseas race. I thought the weather was great before I left the house although I did notice the howling wind. It rained after I stepped out of my house at 6.00am and I had to go back to take an umbrella. Luckily, the rain stopped by the time I got into John's car at Tanah Merah MRT. It stayed this way until we reached Changi Village's Ferry Terminal at around 6.45am, where the rain suddenly poured heavily. The rest of my Ocean 9 gang were already there together with TNF's 2 staff, less Francis, who was training hard for his Sundown Ultramarathon one week after. Tekko suggested that we wait-out till 7.30am. The sky must have heard him and stopped almost as suddenly as it started! At around 7.00am, John and I led the first group of runners over to Ubin. By 7.30am, the rest of the runners and Ocean 9 arrived safely, and we took a leisure walk towards the basketball court direction for Tekko's briefing on the run.

Basically, the Ubin Run would be around 17km, with 60% trail and 40% road/pavement. There would be 2 scenic points for gathering cum photo-taking and water in Ubin was not portable. Hence, one should run with own hydration. If anyone ran out of water, there would be available drink stalls along the course, operated by the residents of Ubin. Tekko also highlighted the section where everyone had to look out for - an area where there were loads of rubbish around with swamp on one side and open water on the other side. I added that the ground around the area was uneven and rocky, so one really had to pay attention to where they land their feet. Otherwise, they might end up falling flat, which happened to me one week earlier when we came for our recce run.

Once everyone was clear of the route, we set off. As usual, it was supposed to be an easy pace run and not a training run. But somehow, the fast runners and the TNF lead runners (Alvin and Terence) of the fast group were miles ahead. Tekko, Molly and I covered the rear and stayed with the slower runners or runners who stopped for photo shoot. Ubin was a really nice place to run. It was hard to find such a habitat in the Singapore main island to run and enjoy being so close to the nature. Although we did have MacRitchie, Pierce, Mandai etc, it was easily accessible and personally, I felt too crowded at times. Ubin was totally different. You could feel the pace of living being slower. Besides, on an rainy, early Sat morning, there weren't many other visitors yet. :)

On the way to our first photo-taking scenic point, we picked up a small durian just underneath the tree. (We would see more durians along the way later). After taken some photos, our group of about 5 runners (Singapore Blade Runner aka Shariff, Agus, Tekko, another runner whom I forgotten his name and me) reached the entrance to the look-out point. Luckily, the gate was already open at 8.05am although it was supposed to open only at 8.30am. We took a break even though we had only cover a very short 3km and admired the scenery laid in front of our eyes. Due to the low tide, we could see large boulders, which would otherwise be covered by the sea, being exposed. We took our group photos before returning to assemble near the toilet.

I decided to run ahead (since I was slow and I wanted photos of the front runners). I had wanted to wait for the group at a potential photo-taking point but was caught up less than 1km later when I saw Alvin! Good that I had enough time to stop and snapped away some pictures but unfortunately, the photos didn't turn out well as the lighting was too dark. :( Terence did stop at that unofficial photo-taking point for those who want to take photos, before leading the group on to our next photo taking destination - the beach. By then, I was more at the back of the mid pack than at the rear. In fact, I didn't know who was running at the back. I then saw Molly who was standing just before we were supposed to turn right. Luckily she was around or else, I would have led the group to an unexplored route. We ran past the dumping ground. The ground further up was muddy and oily but we were quickly out of it. Soon, we passed by the NPCC training centre, towards the beach direction.

By the time we reached the beach, it was 9.00am! We waited for the rest to join us at the beach before Jancy, in her usual RSM's voice, i.e. stern, decisive yet friendly, directed us to get in position for our photos taken. We had covered around 10km by then. The next section of the run would see those running the shorter loop taking a left turn towards the ferry terminal for a total of 11~12km, while the rest of us would turn left, past the chalet, towards the bike section, for a total of 17km. We passed by a junction with many durians laid on the ground but apparently, they were all rotton. John was directing at that critical junction when I reached. He quickly caught up with me after directing the back-of-the-pack runners to the respective routes. About 1km after the chalet, there was a Y junction and again John was there earlier to direct the traffic.

I then saw Jancy and 2 more runners at the end of the road barrier. Jancy didn't come for the 2nd recce run and didn't know the route. I told them to turn left into the trail and follow the check point numbering. And if they saw more than one check point markers, to take the one that looked easier. :p After I turned into the trail, I saw John coming up from behind and Shu Ming cutting in from the road! And soon, both young men were ahead of me again and out of sight. In fact, by then Tekko and a few more runners had also caught up with me. As we came out from the trail onto the open grassy section of the route, Tekko instructed me to gather all runners before we ran back to the ferry terminal. Unfortunately, the fast runners were so far ahead that only the mid and back pack runners were there. It was then own-time own-target for every runner since the route was straight forward and there were directional signs to point visitors to Ubin the way towards the ferry terminal. It was 10.20am when I reached the basketball. The 2 TNF staff were distributing product samples (GU CHOMPS) while John and Terence were helping to acknowledge the TNF card for the runners. It was a great workout for me and I hope to go back to explore the rest of Ubin before it gets further commercialised. :)

Comrades 2011 Afterthoughts...

2011-06-12T12:20:00.000+08:00

It was 2 weeks after Comrades Marathon and I still remembered the good memories during this year's down run. One thing that reinforced my thinking was the need to conserve energy from the start of the race. In many occasions, I heard other runners saying the need to run fast at the beginning to bank-in enough time so that you could use this time at the later stage of the race. While it may be possible for a standard 42.195km marathon, the same cannot be said of ultra races, especially one like Comrades Marathon. If you were to do that, and if you did not refuel properly, you may bonk out by the half way mark! Another lesson I learnt was that running in a pace group really helped IF your leader had the experience of running the race. This was very true for Comrades Marathon. Jafta was a great leader. He was inspiring and had great knowledge of the route, having completed 16 Comrades previously. He knew when to take walk breaks, when to run up and down hills, when to power walk, which water stations to skip (he didn't skip that many though), etc. He also encouraged other runners to join his buss as and when we ran passed them. His pace was consistent throughout. For the tough section of uphill running, he would motivate us by running 2 lamp posts before power walking, and another 3 lamp posts before another power walking session. He knew breaking up long uphills into manageable portion would do us better than running a longer uphill with a longer power walk. He was also smart enough to remind runners during downhill running, not to rush but instead to listen to our foot falls. This is the hallmark for a great pacer. I am not sure if I would be lucky enough to bump into him the next time I decide to do the Comrades Marathon but I'm very sure if you stick with him, Jafta will surely bring you to the finishing line within the 12hrs cut-off time. It is indeed a very "sub-comfortable" finish effort.

I felt that the up run seemed tougher than the down run but when you actually run it, the down run seemed to take more out of your body. This could be due to the downhill sections that comes near the end of the run - the Fields Hill is about 3km long and while I don't mind pounding down at the later stage of the race, I'm sure my knees did not enjoy one bit at all. Maybe that explained why at both the down runs in 2009 and 2010, when I knew I could make the 12hrs cut-off time about 4~5km from the finishing, I slowed to a shuffle as I felt nothing left in my tank. Even when I entered the stadium, I couldn't really speed up. (It shouldn't be due to the food I ate because I had more gels and food for my down run as compared to my up run. This year, I only took 1 GU gel plus some bites of oranges and bananas as compared to 3 gels in the previous 2 years). I guess I'll have to try both the down and up run again to see if which one I enjoy better. Hmmmm... The only motivation to do another Comrades Marathon would be to get into the Green Number Club, which means I have to successfully complete another 7 more! This is something I had to really think about it carefully. Well, according to the official website, next year's down run will he held on 3 Jun 2012, which means I have another 357 days to consider (though the race registration would start sometime in Oct 2011).

Logistically speaking, I enjoyed the up run more than the down run. This is due to the need to wake up early for the down run. As most runners opt to stay at Durban (for both up and down runs), it means that you have to wake up very early at 1am and make sure you reach the start around 4am. This is to give yourself ample time to check in your check bag and visit the toilet. For up run, you only had to worry about getting back to Durban, which could take a longer time to reach due to the traffic jam. Hence, it is important to pack some recovery food and drink in your check bag. Otherwise, you may end up having the only option of eating MacDonald as it would be 9pm when you reach Durban and most eateries closed early on a Sunday.

So by end of May 2011, I had successfully completed an ultramarathon race a month as scheduled. Next up will be Sundown Ultramarathon 100km in Jun 2011.

Comrades Up Run 2011

2011-05-31T22:27:00.363+08:00

I usually woke up every other hour the night before a race... Mostly to drink and to pee... But for Comrades 2011, I had a very peaceful sleep... Most probably too exhausted and disappointed with the football result of the Champions League Final played in the previous evening... I set my alarm to sound off at 3.30am but I was awaken by Ian's alarm at 3.00am... I lazed around in bed and to wait for my alarm to ring at 3.30am... I let it snoozed for another 10mins before dragging myself out of bed to eat my breakfast, which comprised of 2 cross buns and a packet of chocolate milk... I then changed into my running gear, packed my 3 GU gel into my race belt, checked and re-checked my checked-bag to be dropped at the start of the race: windbreaker, jeans, packet of chocolate milk, ZAR100 note... :) I also decided that I won't be bringing along my compact camera, in case I lost it along the way... After a quick visit to the toilet, I felt ready... Almost...

We left at 4.10am. Traffic was smooth and we reached the public carpark at 4.20am. Temperature was cool - about 12 degree Celsius. But when the sun was not out, it felt cold. Ian was well prepared. He had a tube of trash bags. I got one from him and used it to cover myself to keep warm. We then walked to the start which was just a block away. Before entering the race area, we saw the trucks for the checked-in bag and a long queue behind them! Luckily, we already tagged our checked-in bag with our given tags (apparently only the international runners were given the tags) and were able to handed in to the volunteers instead of joining the queue, who were awaiting for their bags to be tagged. :p Once we get into the race area, I went to the H seedings while Ian left for the E seedings. We wished each other good luck and reminded Ian that the meet-up at the International Tent after the race. I then sat down on the road with the other runners in the H seedings. I was worried about not finishing within the cut-off time. At 5.15am, the runners stood up and moved forward and I followed. By then, the runners were beginning to get more and more excited. Soon, the cock did the ceremonial crow and the South African runners sang their national anthem. At 5.30am sharp, the organiser sound off the gun which signified the start of the 2011 Comrades Marathon!

It took me slightly more than 6mins to cross the starting mat! In 2009, I chose to run a sub 4:40 marathon so that I could qualify for the G seedings. But I didn't bother to do that for 2010 and 2011. I reckoned it won't make any difference to save 2mins. However, I felt that the "traffic" was much more congested as compared to the previous 2 down runs that I ran. The first 2kms was really slow. I had to start-stop for numerous times to avoid bumping into the runners in front. Luckily, I was able to regain my consistent pace by the 3km mark. By then, I wasn't really looking forward to the km marker either - the Comrades Marathon uses the countdown km marker, which meant that the first few markers were 86km, 85km, 84km, etc... It was like staring into a horror movie, except that while most horror movies were 2 hours long, the distance on the Comrades Marathon markers only become "digestible" at around the 42km (the standard marathon distance) mark! For back-of-the-pack runners like me, it meant enduring about 6 hours of horror, doing the counting down till the 42km marker!

After running for around 5km, I found myself in an official buss. I can't really see the timing on the pacer's flag but I was able to somewhat maintain the pace. I tried following. It was hard but manageable. During the walking section, I saw that this was the 11:00 buss. I thought perhaps if I could follow the buss comfortably, I might aim for the Bronze Medal (for those finishing between 9:00hrs to sub 11:00hrs). But by the 70km mark (remember this was a counting down marker, which meant we had run almost 17km or there about [86.93km - 70km = 16.93km]), I felt that the pace was slightly too hard and if I were to follow, I might blow it in the 2nd half of the race. I decided to let the buss go. For the next 5-10km or so, I was huffing and puffing, till I ran caught up with a small group of around 6~8 runners. The leader of the group was giving out instructions on slowing down, when to walk and when to run. Suddenly, I recognized his voice! He was the pacer for the sub 12:00hrs buss for the 2010 Comrades Marathon! I didn't know his name but I could remember his voice and the way he motivated the runners. So even though he was not wearing the official buss this time round, I decided to stay close to him!

Soon, more and more runners begin to follow the sub 12:00hrs buss. I also found out the pacer's name - Jafta. According to his bib, he had completed 16 Comrades. I was able to squeeze to the front of the buss and ran almost side-by-side with Jafta. Many times, when the front followers moved half a step in front of Jafta, he would sound off a warning - "slow down", "hold back", "hold the line", etc. And we would immediately fall back. And when some runners asked him what buss were we running with, he would reply that this was the "sub-comfortable finish" pace buss. He also had a way of motivating the runners in his buss - always giving us a bait, or making us a deal. "Let's run for 4 poles", "Let's run to the next robot" (it took me a while to realise that the robot refers to the traffic light), "How about running to the next km marker" (which was visible and hence, not too far), "Let's run to the water station", etc, etc, etc. "Deal or no deal?" - well, the answer was clear! It was always a deal!

We passed the first cut-off at Winston Park at 9:10am, with an hour so spare. This was after covering 30km. The next cut-off was at Drummond, which was also the halfway mark. Before this, we passed through the wall-of-honour and Arthur's Seat - which is some kind of a "depression" between 2 walls and is rumoured to be a "resting spot" for Arthur Newton, who had won the Comrades Marathon 5 times. The rumour said that runners who greet Arthur with a flower placed in his "seat" will have a strong run in the second portion of Comrades. This year, the water station just before Arthur's Seat even offered runners a rose to pay our respect! After Arthur's Seat, we reached Drummond and just before we crossed over the timing mat (we crossed over at 5:33:33), we heard the winner for the men's category, Stephen Muzhingi, had won this year's Comrades at 5:32:45! The time now was 11:05, which meant that we had a spare time of 35mins.

After Drummond, it was a 3km of tough uphill to Inchanga! At this point, Jafta's instruction was to power walk. But it was still tough. The wonderful thing about running in a buss was that everyone helped out each other. I was running side by side with another lady, Bonny, and although we didn't talk much, we would take turns to look out for each other. At one point, I told her that I found it easier to run next to her than next to Jafta as I would get scolded whenever I stepped out of line. Sometimes, I would take additional water sachets for her and sometimes, she would do the same for me. Often, when the buss passed through a water station and everyone was everywhere, we watched out for one another and signalled to each other to go where Jafta was. At the 3rd cut-off at Cato Ridge, which had a cut-off time at 14:30pm, i.e. 57km after the race. We passed through this point at 13:30pm after 8hrs into the race. Now, the 12hr buss had grown bigger as Jafta picked up more and more runners, and encouraging them to join the buss. The 4th cut-off was at Umlaas Road Interchange, which was about 10km away and we made it in good time, at about 14:50pm. By then, we know we had less than half a marathon (around 20km to be precise) to complete! We also knew that the last big hill was Polly Shortts. Spirit was high!

After we passed the highest point in Umlaas, the route became downhill. Running seemed easier but Jafta reminded us not to sped up but just listen to the sound of our foot falls and let the rhythm guide us through. It was a good way of conserving our energy before our final climb to Polly Shortts. Polly Shortts was not exactly that difficult but after running for 77km, the almost 2km climb to the top of Polly Shortts was tough. I was particularly looking forward to reaching the top of Polly Shortts as a fellow runner told me that after Polly Shortts, it was all flats and downhill (something which I realised was not entirely 100% true). We reached Polly Shortts at 16:11pm, which meant that we had a comfortable 1hr 19mins to cover the remaining 8km and made the cut-off. It was certainly achievable if I kept my pace.

And indeed, I managed just that! Thanks to Jafta's conservative's running style and numerous power walk, I found myself with new found strength that I didn't experience in my previous two down runs. Instead, I had plenty of energy left in my tank that I was able to speed up with 6km remaining. At the beginning, I still kept the 12:00hr buss in sight just behind me. But after we turned left up a short hill and subsequently a right turn, I lost sight of them and decided to let go of the buss. I pushed my own pace a little and soon, the Cricket Oval in the Peitermaritzburg Stadium loomed just round the corner. As I entered the stadium, I could hear everyone, screaming, shouting and encouraging the runners from the spectators' stand. Some even extened their hands to high-five! At approximately 17:09hrs, after 11hrs 39mins 27secs of the sounding of the start gun, I had completed my 3rd Comrades Marathon! What a relieve! :)

My Pre-Comrades & Comrades Expo 2011 Experience

2011-05-30T16:35:00.238+08:00

This was my 3rd Comrades Marathon but my first up run. They said you can never claim to have done Comrades if you just run the up or the down run. You have to run in both directions. So when I completed my first Comrades in 2009 (down run), I knew I have to do the up run in 2011. However, I also very gian the back-to-back medal, which was awarded to novice runner who successfully completed 2 back-to-back consecutive Comrades in their first 2 attempts. Hence, despite knowing that the 2010 Comrades is also a down run, I ran it anyway. I really had no choice - I wanted any medals that I could lay my hands on. Besides, tell me which other run will give you 3 medals when you successfully completed 2? No races! Except the Comrades Marathon in my limited race dictionary. So here I was, in Durban on 27 May 2011, after an overnight flight from Manchester, UK. Looking forward to immersing myself within the atmosphere during the Expo and on race day, but worrying about my ability.

As with the past 2 years, Ian, whom I met on my first trip to South Africa back in 2007, picked me up from the Durban Airport. I was very happy and glad to see him. Despite crossing over the half-century years plus another half a decade, he looked very fit. Since 1991, he had attempted and completed every editions of the Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans Marathon. [Mind you, Comrades Marathon is not a marathon and Two Oceans Marathon is also not a marathon. They are almost 90km for Comrades (depending on the direction of the run) and 56km for Two Oceans. I'm not sure why but one possibility that I could think of was that the word ultramarathon did not exist back in 1921 when Comrades was first conceived.] So this will be the 21st time he would be running Comrades and I gathered I could ask him for some advice for the up run. : )

We went straight to the Expo to pick up our race packet. It was a breeze for the international runner and for the green number club runner. (To qualify for the green number club, you have to complete 10 Comrades). However, for the South African runners, the queue stretched to outside the Expo and almost reached the main road next to the Expo! Also at both the international and green number registration counters, there were drinks and snacks provided. I took a bottle of Enegade while Ian made himself a cup of coffee and we sat down to rest and to look through the goodie bag contents. There were a lot of product samples and race pamphlets. Pretty standard stuff.

After 20 minutes or so, we decided to do some walking and shopping. Our first stop was the Reebok's official store which sells all sorts of Comrades products. There were dri-fit tee-shirts with both men and women's cutting, polo-shirts, cotton tees, mugs, wine glass, jackets, shoe bags, etc. There was even a green number section where only green number runners could enter! As usual, I bought myself a dri-fit tee-shirts of men's cutting and a mug. Then we went to look at other products on offer. As compared to Singapore, they had different brands, new products and more varieties. However, the prices were not necessary cheaper than in Singapore. A standard GU gel was selling at around ZAR100 (S$20.00) for 4 packets and the endurance GU gel was selling at around ZAR35 (S$7.00) for 1 packet! After a quick walk-about, we went looking for Nadia and Estienne, who were the organiser of the Extreme Marathons series of runs, including the Addo Elephant Trail Run and the 7-day Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon Stage Race.

I first met Nadia and Estienne in 2007 when I signed up for the 50 Miles Addo Elephant Trail Run. Unfortunately, they no longer included the 100 Miles race for the Addo Elephant Trail Run and I wasn't keen on Stage Races, especially those that you need to carry your own stuff. Since I DNFed in the 2008 100 Miles race, I only managed to keep in touch with they when I visited them during the Comrades Expo. But we were all very happy to see one another again and I told Nadia that I may check out Augrabies eventually, but as a photographer. We left them as they got busy with answering queries from interested runners. Ian and I went for a testing to check on our cholesterol level, which revealed that we both had unhealthily high level of bad cholesterol! Ian didn't really believe but I accepted as I had not been taking my cholesterol medication since my trip to UK one week ago. We decided to go to another exhibitor who was also testing cholesterol, as well as blood pressure and glucose level. This time round, although our cholesterol level was still high, it was within the safe zone. This meant that we both could press hard for Comrades the next day! Before leaving the Expo, we picked up our Comrades Certificate (Ian had 20 race times recorded on it while I had just a miserable 2 race times) and paid for our bus tickets (from Pietermaritzburg to Durban after end of race).

I loved the Comrades Expo. There were so many things to buy, to explore and to do (like massage, cholesterol testing, catching up with friends, etc). And I secretly hope that my 3rd Comrades up run would be as exciting as when I visited the Comrades Expo. We had an early carbo-loading dinner and I had 2 plates of prawn pasta. It was great although my evening was somewhat spoiled by the defeat of Manchester United by Barcelona in the Champions League Final. As I opened up my race packet to check my bibs (there were 2 - one for front and one for back) and prepared my running gear, I got more worried as the race drew nearer. Ian advised that I should pin both my race bib on my running top instead of using the race belt for my front bib. After pondering for a while, I did so but used just 2 pins to pin the bib near the bottom of my running top so that I won't my bib won't be crumbled after the race. Would I make it 3 in a row? I certainly hope so...

TNF100 Philippines - CamSur

2011-05-02T22:36:00.801+08:00

I attempted but failed in 2010 TNF100 Philippines which was held in Baguio City. I would deem to be disqualified as I took in oxygen after running out of breadth. So I decided to call it a day instead of finishing the race. Besides, my headlamp's battery was running so low that I couldn't see the marking in the dark. :p For this year's race, the organiser changed the location to CamSur. From what I know, unlike Baguio City which is situated at about 1,400m elevation and 8°C cooler on the average than any place in the Philippines, CamSur is much warmer with a higher humidity. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try again and Blas helped me to register for the race as there was no online application option available.

Vivian sent me to the Budget Terminal after her tuition class on Thursday night. My flight to CamSur's Naga Airport via Manila departed on Friday early morning and I arrived at the resort by late morning. Blas meanwhile, took the free bus transport from Manila and he arrived soon after me, after a 8-hour bus ride! Once we checked into the resort, I went for carbo-loading lunch with Blas and Russel (a Korean runner stationed in Manila). They went into the city after lunch to stock up some drinks and food while I went back to the resort to catch up on my sleep. At around 4pm, I woke up to open the door for Russel. I found out from him that Blas decided to watch a movie with Estan and they would be back slightly later. We decided to wait for them at the resort lobby where the race briefing would be held at 5pm. By then, many other runners were already there together with their family. I saw Francis and Paul, fellow Filipino runners whom I met in the BDM or in last year's TNF100 Philippines.

Arrival @ Camsur and Lunch...

The race briefing started at 5pm sharp. Blas arrived just before the briefing commenced. The organisers outline the rules and regulations, as well as the route for both 50km and 100km. For the 100km participants, we would start and end at the CamSur CWC Resort while for the 50km participants, they would be ferried to the start line approximately 50km away and end at the same CamSur CWC Resort. The organisers also went into details the actual route, what to expect and the various check-points. Last but not least, the organisers also mentioned that all successful finishers would get a trophy (top 3 will get the gold, silver and bronze trophy while the rest will get a black trophy, all in the shape of a running figurine). The top 10 runners would also get a medal, while top 50 runners in each category would also receive a visor! Wow... :) After the race briefing, I went to collect my race packet. There was a slight problem but Blas sorted it out for me eventually.

TNF100 Philippines Race Briefing...

We went back to our room after the briefing to prepare our gear required for the race. All participants would have their gear checked by the race officials prior to the race so we had to ensure we had everything we need, especially those mandatory items. Otherwise, we wouldn't be allow to start. This would be the first time that Russel did a 100km race as he was more of an avid hiker than a trail runner. He asked a few questions on the attire, etc but I wasn't able to advise much as it is pretty personal when it comes to ultramarathon. What works for me may not works for him and I wouldn't like to be responsible for someone's failure because he/she had taken my advise. Not especially when it was for the actual race. Nevertheless, I did mention certain things that I would be bringing (e.g. the number of gels I would carry with me, what I put in my drop bag which I deposited after the race briefing, etc). I also found out that Blas would be doing the 50km race instead of the 100km! Uuuurrrrgggghhhh... Once we are more or less done, we went to the same restaurant for our carbo-loading dinner before an early night.

Race Aid Stations, Race Packet and Carbo Loading Dinner

I woke up just after 2am. By then Russel had already cooked himself a nice breakfast. :) I had 2 pieces of bread and a packet of Milo. We left at almost the 3am towards the direction of the resort lobby. But was told that only participants for 50km needed to assemble there to take the transport to the start while the start for the 100km was along the road near to the restaurant where we had lunch and dinner. I wished Blas good luck for his 50km before retrieving our steps towards the 100km start with Russel. When we reached there, we had to check-in to have our mandatory gears checked. Once that was done, I sat down and go through the various check-points, distances and estimated timings. There were a total of 14 check-points. But the distances indicated in the route map was not very clear cut, especially after A6. I also recalled during the race briefing that after entering CWC, we would be running another loop within CWC although the race director did not mention the distance nor the difficulty/obstacles in the final stretch. In hind sight, it was something that the race director could have done so that the runners would be prepared better mentally. 10mins before race start, it drizzled!

Pre-race Gear Check and Race Start Point...

The race director flagged of the race start and amid the slight drizzle, everyone of us were in good spirit! The distance to the first Check-Point A1 was 9km. We were running mainly on road, before turning into some kind of back lane. By then, the drizzle had stopped. The back lane was wide and there were houses on our left and right, with some farms (based on my smell) in between the houses. I tried to save the battery on my headlamp by making use of the light from other runners. The ground was largely flat and even. At the end of the houses, we cut-across some kind of plantation with a footpath that leads out to another rows of houses. I reached Check-Point A1 at around 5.25am, with Russel not far behind. I tooked some drink, refilled my water bottle before heading out.

Distance covered: 9km

Check-Point A1 - Distance Covered: 9km

From Check-Point A1 to A2, the distance was a manageable 6km. We were still running on pavement. But straight ahead, I could see some mountains looming nearer and nearer! They looked intimidating as they became nearer and higher. It wasn't so much about the going up that I feared. It was the going down that I worried. And I knew if we went up a mountain, there would come a time we had to come down it. I just hoped that it would not be as bad as I thought. Soon, I reached Check Point A2 at around 6.10am, although I didn't feel as though I had covered 6km for this section, and for a total of 15km.

Distance covered: 15km

Check-Point A2 - Distance Covered: 6km

The next section of the race was also a manageable 6km, or so I thought. After leaving Check-Point A2, I finally entered the trail! I love running the feeling of running inside the trail (or forest). Somehow, the air seemed fresher when I was out in the nature. I had a spring in my legs and was enjoying my run. Soon, I encountered the first hill. And the next one. And another one further ahead. It was never ending. In fact, on some portion of the route, there were ropes that were tied from trees to trees as runners could use the ropes to pull themselves up. I didn't have to use it as I was strong going up. But when there was a downhill, the ropes were certainly very useful. In fact, at some of those technical sections, there were volunteers stationed to ensure we successfully completed the "obstacles". I then came to the first "river crossing" just next to a waterfall. Luckily, there were rocks which we could step on and I managed to keep my feet dry. I arrived at Check-Point A3 around 8.15am!

Distance covered: 21km

Check-Point A3 - Distance Covered: 6km

Check-point A3 to Check-point A4 was the furthest apart in the race with a distance of 11km. I topped up my water bottle before continuing my race. I couldn't remember much except that the 1st male runner for the 50km race zoomed past me! He was soon joined by another runner. Then another runner. And another runner. The 1st female runner for the 50km race also ran past me but I didn't register fast enough to shout out to her for a job well done. Then the weather turned nasty. It started raining again and although it was not heavy, it was more than just a drizzle. I was rather demoralised although the weather was not cold. I just disliked the feeling of running knowing that your shoes would be soaked with rain water. Then I saw Blas! I wasn't surprised to see him but I was happy that he was running very strongly despite the rain. He told me be strong and press on. Aiyoh, at that point, it was easier said than done! :p Luckily, the rain didn't stay for long. Further up, I saw another lady runner and I shouted out to her that she was in 2nd place. A further 3 to 4 more ladies running the 50km passed me, by the time I reached Check-Point A4 at 10.20am. I ate a gel which tasted so horrible that I wanted to puke. :(

Distance covered: 32km

Check-Point A4 - Distance Covered: 11km

I took a bottle of mineral water before leaving for Check-Point A5, which was about 9km away. I had not seen Russel since I last saw him at the first check point. Sometimes, it is easier to have someone to run with whether that someone is faster or slower than you. At least, you can pace or push one another. Especially for me during the night portion of a trail ultramarathon as I could be quite blind. I tried my best to cover as much ground as possible during the daylight hours. Then hope for the best when night falls. This section of the race was slightly less demanding than the previous section. I spent 2 hours 25mins covering the 11km distance, reaching Check-Point A5 at around 12.45pm. I loved the orange flavoured 100 Plus drink and the volunteers were so enthusiastic to help me.

Distance covered: 41km

Check-Point A5 - Distance Covered: 9km

I walked the next section with a Filipino runner whom I met at the Check-Point A5 aid station. He was supposed to run with a friend but his friend was still behind. He didn't mind walking with him till his friend caught up with him. This section of the race was actually easy. There was a lot of steps and was going down, except that because of the wet weather earlier, the ground was rather slippery. The path led to some kind of a park and/or pond. There was a river to cross and many people were jumping and swimming in the water. Again, runners had to cross the river by jumping across the rocks to the other side of the path. Further up, there was yet another river to cross which I did so successfully with the help of the Filipino runner. Then I was running alone as he decided to push the pace a bit. I reached the next check point known as Check-Point LP (Bamboo Farm - where the 50km runners started earlier this morning) at 3.05pm. This was also where our drop bags were!

Distance covered: 48km

Check-Point LP - Distance Covered: 7km

I took out my foot powder to dry my feet. But I decided not to change my socks and running shoes since we would be doing a loop for the next section before returning to Check-Point LP again. I ate my orange flavour electrolyte, dumped my headlamp and windbreaker before I left for Check-Point A6. By then, I was trying to keep pace with 2 Filipino runners. One of the runner was Ceazar. His friend was slightly stronger and was pushing the pace. We almost went off course but luckily, the volunteer spotted us and shouted from behind. We were extremely grateful. I met Francis (whom I met in last year's BDM and TNF100 Philippines) who was on his way back to Check-Point LP. He said that the distance to Check-Point A6 was about 5.5~6km. I realised that the organiser meant to indicate the 11km from LP to A6 was actually from LP to A6 and back to LP again. We power-walked and ran along some farms and there were children who were happy to high-five. Perhaps they hardly see anyone running at their village. We reached Check-Point 6 at 4.15pm.

Distance covered: 53.5km

Check-Point A6 - Distance Covered: 5.5km

We had a quick stop at Check-Point A6. While there, I asked if there are any solid food available but there was none. Ceazar and his friend asked about my refuel strategy. I told them that I only brought with me GU gels and the orange flavoured electrolyte. Ceazar and his friend offered to give me a can of sardine rice at Check-Point LP when we get back there. As we know what to expect for this section back to Check-Point LP, we ran a consistent pace and reached back at the drop bag aid station at 5.20pm, 5mins faster than we took to reach Check-Point A6. :) Ceazar's friend passed me their spare can of sardine rice. It tasted great after digesting 3 packets of GU gel, which were too sweet. I also shared my remaining foot powder. I guessed in ultra running events, we had to help out each other whenever possible. I also changed my socks, shoes, and wrist band while re-packed my more powerful headlamp with spare batteries before I left for the next check point.

Distance covered: 59km

Check-Point LP - Distance Covered: 5.5km

We were told that the distance from Check-Point LP to the next check point, Check-Point A4, was around 8km. The sky was getting dark. I told Ceazar and his friend to go ahead as I wanted to power-walk in order to digest the sardine rice. Soon, another couple of runners (Simon Sandoval and Alex Yap) who were pacing each other ran past me. (I were to reach Check-Point A4 just after them later). I didn't fancy running alone in the dark, in a foreign country. But I loved running alone in the trail. I found it quite fun and totally independent as there would be no one to rely on except to keep pushing yourself. However, running past a group of local out in the night could be a different story. But luckily, they were just having beer after dinner. They offered me a bottle which I declined politely before pointing towards the direction of my running route. They nodded their head simultaneously. Just after I crossed yet another stream, I caught up with Simon and Alex. I joined them for the rest of the route just before Check-Point A4.

Distance covered: 67km

Simon and Alex were still at Check-Point A4 when I reached about 5mins after them. They left for Check-Point A3, which was another 8km away shortly after, as I decided to rest for a while more. According to the map, this was the same route that we took when we ran from Check-Point A3 to A4 earlier in the day. But I was very blind at night and couldn't recognised anything at all even though I was walking along pavement with houses on both sides. As it was still early in the night, there were people walking around, as they were probably aware of the race. Although the street lights were far apart, it was still bright enough and I needn't switch on my headlamp. Then I met a volunteer who directed me to turn right into the trail. I thanked him. Before I proceed, another volunteer told me to switch on my headlamp, which I did so immediately. Apparently, he had been walking between that point where I met him and Check-Point A3 as he was the person in-charge of it and had to check on his trail markings and volunteers. He was on his way for his round and I was lucky to have him to follow. I soon caught up with Simon and Alex again. As Alex was struggling, I decided to push on instead, though eventually, they caught up with me just before reaching Check-Point A3.

Distance covered: 75km

The distance from Check-Point A3 to A2 was a mere 2km apart. It was not the same route that we took earlier but a short cut. Unfortunately, there were no more sports drink at that check-point, which was only manned by 1 volunteer. We also met with someone with the official videographer! He filmed and asked us how was the race and how were we feeling. Uuuurrrgggghhhh... So even if it was tough and we were tired, we had to look enthusiastic to describe our emotions at that point! :p As it was a new section, we were kind of worried if we were on the right track. But there was really no worry as the route was properly mark and we arrived at Check-Point A2 soon after.

Distance covered: 77km

We decided to take a longer rest. I had another GU gel and apply some foot powder to both my feet. Simon commented that the distance showed on his Garmin watch was very accurate so far. That meant we had another 23km to go, out of which another 8km would be inside CWC. But none of us know how it was possible to do a 8km loop inside CWC. After about 5mins, I left for Check-Point A1 as I didn't want to loose my momentum even if I was only doing power walking. The pavement became easier on this section as it was mainly pavement. I reached Check-Point A1 just after an hour of power walking. :)

Distance covered: 83km

My spirit was high as I know I just need to cover another 9km to reach CWC, though I knew I would have another 8km loop. Although it was late, bikes or cars would drove passed me every now and then. It was a straight road and I tried to use the vehicles light as a gauge to estimate how much further was the road before the turning. Then, I almost missed a turning as I walked directly into a farm! I only noticed it as the soil was just ploughed recently. Luckily, after moving in circle, I managed to retrieve my steps and joined back to the actual route. Phew! After I made a quick stop at a volunteer's tent that I spotted to remove the soil that went into my shoes, I continued and at the same time, kept looking back for any signs of Simon and Alex. I saw none of them but I did saw 2 policemen soon after and they directed me to cross the road. I then knew CWC was not far ahead. :)

Distance covered: 92km

I was in high spirit when I entered CWC! I knew the end was near and I thought no matter how tough, it shouldn't be more tough than the 92km that I had covered. But I was so wrong about that. Once I stepped into the trail after following the volunteer's direction, I got worried. It was really dark and although it was mostly man-made features e.g. the steps, benches, resting area, it looked and felt eerie. So it was steps down and steps up. Then I came to an open grass patch, before crossing some kind of water body. I then came out of the trail onto civilisation but another volunteer pointed me to another kind of garden. Just after I entered the garden, Simon and Alex caught up with me and we accompanied each other for our remaining journey, including getting our feet wet as the stones were too far apart to jump over, wading through a stream, etc. We then saw the finishing tent but they were small! After we climbed out from the trail onto proper pavement, we reckoned we had to run along the circumference of the lake before we reached the end point. It was tough as I could feel the water squishing inside my shoes. The last km felt the longest! We walked down a flight of steps into the carpark area. Through Simon's encouragement, I picked up my paces and finished the race in 24hrs 43mins 57secs, which was also good enough for a 6th place among the ladies. :)

Distance covered: 100km

Twilight Ultra Challenge - Fear No Twilight!

2011-03-28T22:37:00.347+08:00

This was my 3rd race of the year and possibly my only one that I had no pressure. Runner could choose to run whatever distance he/she likes, using the full 16 hours or less. :) However, I did have some targets of my own. This was as part of my preparation for Comrades Marathon in May, the Sundown Ultramarathon in Jun and the Canadian Death Race in Jul. My first target was to complete 125km within the 16 hours. This was because the Canadian Death Race had a cut-off time of 24 hours and I reckoned that if I could complete 125km in 16 hours on road, then my chances of success for CDR would be high. If this was not achievable, I would downgrade my next target to completing 100km instead. Again, this target was worked out based on the cut-off time of 16 hours for the Sundown Ultramarathon 100km in Jun. But if I was still unable to achieve these 2 targets, minimally I must complete at least 90km since the cut-off for this year's Comrades Marathon was 12 hours, covering 86.93km for the up run. But plans are plans, and sometimes, things just won't go as planned, especially when you are attempting to run an ultramarathon distance.

I reached ECP at around 4pm. After checking-in and gotten my bib number, I deposited both my personal bag and my special-need bag. There were so many familiar faces. Some runners, some volunteers. I took photos and tried to look relax. It helped a little. Philip the scientist was also there to conduct some test as part of his sports studies (or something like that). I didn't take part as I thought I had to provide urine samples every 10km loop but I was wrong. :p Around 20mins before race start, the race director, IronmanDreamer, aka IMD or Ben gave out some instructions on the race. Basically, the start/end where we were, was also the 5km mark. I.e. we would run 2.5km towards the ECP Hawker Centre direction and back to the start/end for a total of 5km and continue towards the Big Splash direction for 2.5km before turning back to the start/end for 1 loop of 10km. This would mean a 10km loop with 4 water-stops at 2.5km. Runners were strongly encouraged to BYOB (bring your own bottle) which we could top up. I brought my own bottles of H2O and Pocari Sweat.

Sotong briefing the volunteers (Top L); Taz, Charlotte & Ripley (Top R);

Bottom: Runners & Supporters

IMD flagged off the race at 5pm sharp. Although the run was held in the evening, somehow, I felt warm. It wasn't so much about the temperature but the humidity. There was no wind although we were running next to the sea. ECP was crowded but since it was a small race, the human traffic was manageable. Marshals were stationed at critical junctions near the hawker centre to help direct the traffic. Tey, DO, Mohan and Azhar were also running and they were the free-spirited runners who helped make the atmosphere fun by taking pictures, making funny faces and encouraging the runners. The volunteers were also very encouraging and helpful. By the first loop at the 7.5km mark, I decided to safekeep my camera with Tekko & Molly so that I could concentrate on the run.

Beginning of Twilight Ultra Challenge

Soon I was struggling as I realised I wasted much time at the start/end point. Everytime I reached the start/end point, I would retrieve my special-need bag and helped myself to a packet of milo, which I had 12 packets. At every 20km interval, I would spend more time applying foot powder to my feet and pour the remaining into my running shoes. Running in loop didn't help. It was so boring. After 4 loops (40km) I was looking for LaserRunner desperately. She was supposed to help some of the runners and supporters get our special order. For me, it was the Earl Grey Milk Tea with Pearl from Gong Cha that I was craving. But I didn't see her. What kept me going was the encouragement of runners who passed you at regular interval (since this was a loop course).

Into The Twilight..

I couldn't remember when I saw LaserRunner. But it should be the 5th lap. I was grateful although it was not my favourite Earl Grey Milk Tea. Well, any bubble tea at that point would perk me up. It was like a wonder tea! :p I also managed to get Genevieve to walk a lap with me. She needn't have to as she had been working hard to help out with the recording of the laps of the runners but she did. And I was grateful to have someone to walk with and talk to. Of course I could have continue the race alone. If I was high up in some mountain or remote trail, it would have been easy since I had no one to ask to pace me. But seeing so many familiar faces but unable to run with them was a torture. I was not exactly as strong and as determined as others think of me. In fact, I was rather weak mentally when surrounded by people I know.

The next person whom I walked with was Henry. He was an accomplished runner but with a very humble attitude. By then, Henry had already run 1 lap more than me but was happy to pace me for 1 lap. We talked about our upcoming races and he recommended the Annapurna 100 - Nepal's original ultra trail running race which would be held on 1 Jan 2012. Runners had the option of running 50km, 75km or the 100km category. I asked Henry to email the race website URL to me so I could read it for more details, especially on the race and travel requirement. Time flies when you are having a great time. Or in my case, I took such a long time as I was walking leisurely. I knew I wasn't able to achieve my 1st target. As for my 2nd or 3rd target, it was still achievable but I really had to push myself. Having someone like Joe hot on your heels really help. Joe was a very strong walker. In fact, I think he could walk as fast as I could run in a super ultra distance. So my motivation was to try to stay ahead of Joe as it was also his aim to complete 10 loops in the given 16 hours.

Morning along ECP...

When morning came, I knew it was not possible to complete 100km, but I still could aim for 90km. I was kind of hungry and I had ran out of milo. The H2O and Pocari Sweat didn't taste as nice. Tekko & Molly offered their packet of nasir lemak. It was very tempting. I decided against eating as I was running out of time. I decided to call it a day when I reached the start/end point after completing only 8 loops for a total of 80km as I was really tired. I didn't achieve any of the target. But I was the type that could find all sorts of reasons to console myself. It was about 7am plus. After resting about 20mins or so, I decided to walk towards Tekko & Molly's aid station to get back my camera. I asked IMD if I were to cover the 5km, could he count it towards my overall total. He said okie and I got a friend who was volunteering to brisk walk with me! (Sorry my friend, I could not recall your name!) I managed to completed the 5km loop at almost 8.30am. Phew!

The Finishing Line...

Prize Presentation & More Photo Taking of Runners & Volunteers...

The race ended at exactly 9am. The caterer setup the buffet area with a great variety of food while the volunteers helped to tally up the results of the runners. IMD then presented the remaining runners with their hard earned finisher medal and finisher tee. He also conducted a "lucky draw" for 10 winners, which I won myself a Hammer's water bottle. We took more photos before IMD declared the closure of the race. I packet some beehoon as I didn't have the appetite to eat then. I waited for Tekko & Molly, who arrived back at the start/end point after clearing up the 7.5km aid station. Although I did not achieved my target, I was still able to pick up some learning points. I hope I would learn from this race and be more prepared on what to expect for Sundown Ultramarathon in May.

The super-sized Finisher Medal & my Conqueror Tee!

Bataan Death March 160km Ultra Marathon

2011-02-28T04:51:00.633+08:00

I registered my interested for the Bataan Death March (BDM) 151km road race back in May 2010. I was wondering at that time why didn't the RD make it a 100 Mile (160km) race instead. He must have heard my plea and decided to make BDM the first ever 100 Mile race in Philippines (and probably in the whole of Asia)!!! :) I was thrilled as I could use this as one of the qualifying race for the Badwater Ultramarathon, yet at the same time terrified. To me, to actually want to do a 100 Mile race took a lot of courage and even more insanity, then running the 100 Mile race itself. Will I make it to the start? What kind of mileage should I deposit into my mileage bank before I'm sufficiently prepare? What about food, hydration, clothing? Will I finish it within the cut-off time? There were soooooooo many questions I had in my head. Luckily, I had time to prepare - 8 months, to be exact. :)

Preparation for 100 Mile Race
This would be my 3rd attempt at a 100 Mile race but the first one on the road. My previous failed attempts were in the Addo Elephant 100 Mile Race in South Africa and the Lean Horse 100 Mile race in South Dakota, United States. I attempted both races in 2008 but DNFed. For the Addo Elephant 100 Mile Race, I was out of the race at approximately the 107km mark after running, walking for about 21 hours. This was due to my failure to meet the cut-off time for one of the check-points. The RDs were very kind and gracious to present those of us who DNFed in the 100 Mile race a 50 Mile race token. :) After Addo, I decided to choose a flatter course and hence Lean Horse 100 Mile. Unfortunately, although the weather cool in the summer and the humidity low, the heat from the sun was unrelentingly harsh. I made the mistake of wearing just a singlet, without applying any sun block protection. By 40km, I was feeling so hot and nausea. I attempted to cool myself by pouring water over my arms - another big mistake as it only helped for that moment. Eventually, I decided to stop at one of the CP after covering about 56km. :( I decided to attempt some 100km races, gained more experience running 100km, before attempting another 100 mile race. Successful completion of the Comrades Marathon ~ the world's most famous ultramarathon in South Africa, in 2009 and 2010 gave me some of that confidence as one needs to complete the hilly and arduous 90km within a gun-time of 12 hours.

In Oct 2010, I was prepared to look at the races for 2011 and what I had to prepare myself in order to complete what I had planned. I reckoned that I would start building up my base and fitness in Nov and maintaining it by running 6 days a week once my "race" season started. By Jan 2011, I had registered a race every month until Aug 2011! Because of my low mileage, I could sustain my training without any injury, although I took longer time to recover from my strains and aches. But I was still very unsure if I could complete all within the cut-off. I decided not to be too hard on myself and reckoned I should accept a few DNFs as long as I tried my best and had fun during the race. For the BDM 100 Mile race, I didn't clock serious mileage, the max being 12km inside the Bukit Timah trails. However, if I could count the Vibram Hong Kong 100km Trail Ultra I did in Jan 2011 as part of the training, then I should be sufficiently prepared. Other than running, I also did strength training for my quads, abductors, adductors, and hamstrings.

Pre-Race Preparation
I was happy to be able to link up with Titanium Runner, aka Blas Ople Tiangco, a local runner from Philippines. We shared the support vehicle for BDM 102km last year and the support crew took care of everything I needed. Blas was a hardworking runner. And he was also hard at work sharing his thoughts on running, his training, the races he participated and the type of running gears he used. I arrived on Friday early morning around 5.30am and took a cab to his place at Veteran's Village. By the time I reached his place, it was almost 7am. After settling in, I told him that I needed to sleep for the day and only to wake up for lunch. Weather was hot in the Philippines. Luckily, Blas was so kind as to give up his room with the aircon. :) So I had a good rest to make up for the sleepless night spent on the airplane. Just after noon, I woke up and we went over to the mall SM North Edsa, which was near his home, for lunch. We then went shopping for our remaining essential items required for the run.

After shopping, I went back to sleep again. And this time I slept until about 10pm at night and in the process, missing my dinner! Then, I was awaken by people talking in the living room but I was too lazy to get up. I lazed around until almost midnight before I dragged myself up, changed and get ready my stuff. I then went down to say hello. I remembered Blas' mum. She looked just the same and very enthusiastic about us running BDM. Blas' nephews and brother-in-law were also coming to support us. Blas then whipped up a plate of pasta for me! It was just the right time to fuel. After eating, we gathered our stuff to meet our driver. On top of the cartons of Gatorade drinks, Blas also prepared trays of sandwiches and potatos for the race! Just before we left, Estan, our team's "official" photographer arrived! We were all set to go!

Our Support Vehicle and our Food & Drinks...

The journey to the start was about 2 hours plus. The drive was smooth as there wasn't much traffic. So I was able to get some more rest along the journey. :p By the time we reached, it was around 4am plus. The start was getting lively as more and more runners and supporters arrived. The traffic was also getting more congested as dawn broke and people woke up for work. I was a nervous wreck but somehow, it didn't show on my face! The runners were busy checking their bibs, gear and taking photos. I also saw John, Paulina and Wee, the other runners from Singapore and I wished them good luck for the race. I tried to calm myself by mingling around other runners, taking photos, trying to look cool and soaking in the atmosphere. I saw other familiar faces but couldn't really remember where did I met them. The race was supposed to commence at 5am but there was some kind of delay. About 10mins before 5.30am, Bald Runner - the race director gathered all the runners. Someone led the singing of the anthem and prayer. We had another good piece of news, which was the extension of the cut-off time from 28 hours to 30 hours. Then Bald Runner flagged off the race at approximately 5.30am.

Blas and his Team, Rest of Runners @ Start

Runners from the Singapore Contingent: John, Paulina, Wee, Kelly

Commencement of BDM 160km
I started off at my usual easy pace as I would normally take a while to warm up. Weather that morning was great. In fact, it was much much better than when I did the BDM 102km last year, when the temperature was a sizzling 41°C high! My arrangement with my support team was to stop at every 8km so that I could refill my water bottle and get any food to eat. And since the route was marked every km, it was easy for my support team to know where to stop, and for me to look forward to the km marker. By doing so, I was also counting down the number of stops I would make in the entire run - 20 stops and the last one was also the finishing line. :) Hence, this leap-frogging method served us well, especially so because Blas was running slightly in front of me. The first 30km or so, the terrain was undulating, which was good because I could then walked the uphills and run the downhills (which weren't that many) and flats. Then after the 33km mark, disaster struck!

Blas and me at early part of the Race...

I had a habit of tripping during races. The first time was in 2007 when I fell inside McRitchie while doing the MR25 Ultramarathon. I fell twice actually. Both in the 4th loop. I also fell at around the 36km mark in last year's Comrades Marathon. This time, I fell at around the 34km mark. I didn't pay much attention to the rocks underneath my running shoes and so I tripped over. OUCH! It was also the first time I fell while running on a road surface! 'Shaking head'... Luckily for me, another runner was just behind me and he lent me a helping hand. A fellow support crew was also nearby and although we did not know each other, they helped me to clean up my wounds and apply antiseptic cream on it. I was very grateful for their kind act and I was able to continue although inside my heart, I was very low morale. Soon, my support crew drove past and I decided to continue running without the plaster as the antiseptic cream was wet which made the plaster difficult to stay in-place.

Disaster struck after 33km Marker!

And so at every 8km pit stop, besides refilling my water bottle, I also had to clean up my wound and apply more antiseptic cream. This continued to the 72km marker when I decided to seek help from another support crew as mine had not arrived. I also managed to buy a packet of chocolate milk and went to the toilet of a family staying nearby. When I was done, my support crew happened to pass by the spot where I crossed the road over to the drink stall. I was thus able to refill my water bottle before I continued. By then, I was also worried about Blas whom I know was struggling a bit though he was not far off from where I was. I told them to encourage Blas the next time they saw him and if they didn't see me, they shouldn't be worried about me. I should have also retrieve my headlamp but I didn't want to burden myself carry something which I did not need now - which was a mistake!

At Noon...

Jonel (left in yellow) & Blas (right with cap)...

I didn't see my support vehicle until 90 something km. By then, it was pitch dark. I managed to tag on to fellow runners running with a headlamp or the street lights at some part of the route. I felt strong as the weather was cooler. By then, I was running 200 steps and walking 100 steps consistently. Still, I was able to pass a few runners along the way. I was so happy when I saw Estan and the support vehicle. I quickly changed to a new running top and powdered both feet. I could feel blisters forming but I didn't dare to look at them. I decided not to pop the blisters. Instead, I change to a dry pair of socks and shoes, before I set off. I was able to reach the 102km in about 16 hours 20 minutes, which was almost 39 minutes faster than what I took to complete the BDM 102km last year.

Some runners had pacers with them for the remaining 58km. I didn't. I was worried about getting lost especially in the initial route until we reached the main road. Luckily there were other runners around and I also recognized the vehicles of support crews, which had the official big banner carrying the BDM 160km race logo! I saw Estan and my support crew and they updated me that Blas had reached the 102km within the check-point cut-off time of 18hours. However, he was having some problem. I told them not to worry about me. Just stopped the vehicle when they next passed me. I pressed on from that point. When I was feeling good, I would run 500 steps and walk 100~200 steps. Otherwise, I would run and walk 100 steps each. After midnight, I was exhausted and I slowed to a walk. My eyes could hardly opened but I could still push myself to cover 1km in 12mins. But other times, I was so slow that I need 15mins to cover 1km. I also lost track of the distance covered. It wasn't important to me by then. I just wanted to finish the run earlier so that I could get a good sleep.

It was about 5am plus, after running for 24 hours, that I next saw Estan and my support vehicle. Estan told me that Blas had to DNF due to his knee problem and was sleeping in the support vehicle. So they would be supporting me till I finish the race. I was happy but worried. This was because I usually excel when I was alone fighting my own monster. However, when I knew help was round the corner, I would become dependent on them. I was right. I couldn't help but requested Estan to stop for every 2km instead of the 8km and they obliged. I had lost my desire to be self-sufficient. By day break, Blas had also awoken. As he had run the last 58km route before (it was some kind of a test run), he gave me precise information on the distance and what to expect.

The last 8km of the route was the most brutal as it passed by the entrance to the finishing line. It was demoralising. Temperature was much higher than the previous day and the terrain was undulating. By then, more and more runners overtook me while I limped closer to the finishing line. Estan and Blas stopped at every km to give me more drinks to cool myself. Just before I turned into the entrance to the finishing line, they drove passed me. The last 300m was like 3km. Estan appeared with his camera. I shouted to him to get my Singapore flag which was in the support vehicle. He rushed to retrieve the flag while I waited. Once I got hold of the flag, I pushed myself for the final few steps and staggered across the finishing line, into the arm of Bald Runner and a volunteer. I got my deserving Finishing Hug from the race director! Other volunteers brought me a stool to sit down while I received my Finishing Medal which showed that I was the 29th runner who completed the run, my Finishing Polo-tee, my Finishing Buckle and my Finishing Trophy! This had to be the best race that I had ever run and in a time of 28 hours 54 minutes!

She did it! Finishing Line of Bataan Death March 160km!

Recovery and After Thoughts
This was the hardest race that I had ever attempted and it was also the most fulfilling race completed. I was limping for almost a week due to the huge blisters that formed on both my feet. In fact, I was limping so badly that I had to go to the Emergency at CGH once I reached Singapore. After examining my condition, the doctor gave me 3 days of Home Sick Leave and various painkillers although I only took 2 days to rest, as I could not really walk. A short walk to the hawker centre, which was 1km away, to get my meals would take me more than half an hour. Luckily, psychologically, I felt great and satisfied about finishing my first ever 100 miler. Especially so when you earned yourself a finishing medal with your position printed on the reverse of the medal, a finishing buckle, a finishing polo-tee and a finishing trophy! For good measure, as I was also the 2nd lady who completed the race, I earned a 1st Runner-up trophy for my effort! It was really 滿載而歸 !!! After resting 2 weeks and doing nothing physical, I was raring to run again. I had to, since my next race would be in Mar, the Twilight Ultra Challenge, a 16-hour run from dusk to dawn in Singapore.

My BDM Medal, Finisher Buckle, Finisher Trophy, and 1st Runner Up Trophy!!!

Vibram Hong Kong 100km Trail Race

2011-01-17T09:00:00.809+08:00

I first read about the Vibram Hong Kong 100km Trail Race in SGRunners.com. After some email exchanges with the organiser on the cut-off timing, etc, I registered the race for fun. Running 100km was no joke but since the cut-off timing was a generous 32 hours, I reckoned I could easily completed it while having fun along the way. But I was so wrong.

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I arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday night and had a good night rest. On Friday, I went to collect my race packet in Causeway Bay before I took the MTR and public buses to check out the race start point. On the last bus route, I met fellow Singaporeans (Bernard, Chantel, Joyce) who were also running the race and staying the night over at the camp site just next to the race start point. By the time we reached the camp site, it was almost 7pm! I decided to join them for dinner. Bernard offered a place for me to stay for the night so that I won't need to get up too early the next day. But it was already late by the time we finished dinner. It was a matter of sleeping early and waking up early or sleeping late and waking up late. I decided that I should sleep early. By the time I reached the hotel, unpacked and prepared all my race stuff, it was almost 11pm! Talked about sleeping early! :( I set my alarm clock to ring between 5am to 5.30am the next morning, since the first MTR will only commence at 6am, before hitting the sack.

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I woke up at 5am and continued lying in bed and listened to my alarms snoozed until it hit 5.30am. After a quick shower, I checked out of the hotel. Luckily for me, I met a fellow runner at the hotel reception and he invited me to take the cab, which I did. We arrived at the race start point at about 6.50am! It was not cold but because of the strong wind condition, made it unbearable. I seek refuge in the toilet and bumped into Janet, the RD! The public toilet was extremely clean unlike most in Singapore and I was able to get away from the strong wind by hiding inside and occasionally, made used of the hand dryer to warm myself! :p By 7.15am, more and more runners gathered, and I went out to deposit my check-bag. I also met up with the other Singaporean runners. At around 7.50am, the RD welcomed everyone and gave us some reminders on the race, before flagging us off at 8am! The race had began!

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There were a total of 1 Support Point (@ 9km) and 9 Check Points (@ 18km, 28km, 36km, 45km, 52km, 65km, 73km, 82km, and 90km). My strategy was to reach CP5 before night falls, so that I could have a change of clothes, socks, shoes, as well as retrieve my torch light for the night segment of the run. The first 9km was pretty easy although there were some slopes. The trail was more of like dirt track (I hoped I got the term right since I was still pretty new to the use of proper trail running terms) while the rest were mostly on tarmac road. Just before I reached the Support Point, I removed my long-sleeved running top as I was sweating in the strong sun. At 9.40am, I arrived at Support Point after running for 9km - 1hr 40mins!

Distance covered: 9km; Time taken: 1hr 40mins

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Before I set off for CP1, I asked the RD - Janet, if the weather condition would be still as windy and she assured me it would be better once I cleared the next mountain. I took a banana and some water before setting off. The stretch up the mountain was manageable. Up at the highest point, the wind was so windy that it blew off my cap! Unfortunately it landed quite a distance away in the shrubs and I was unable to retrieve it back. :( After coming down from the mountain on a pavement, I ran through a series of two beaches. The sky was clear and the sea was blue! It was a very beautiful sight and I just had to stop to take in the sights. I also passed and gotten passed by other runners. Just before CP1, I walked across yet another beautiful beach before crossing a small pond. At 11:29am, about 1hr 49mins and 9km from Support Station 1, I arrived at CP1. :) I had a quick bite and water, thanked the volunteers at the aid station before continuing my journey - another 82km to the finishing line!

Distance covered: 18km; Time taken: 3hrs 29mins

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The distance from CP1 to CP2 was approximately 10km. Out from the CP1 aid station, the trail became rooty. I wasn't able to run. But once I reached the top, I saw yet another beach appearing right in front of my eyes! I quickened my pace during the descent and reached the beach as fast as I could. The sand was soft and made running hard. So I allowed myself to fast walk along the beach and admired the waves crashing into it. At 12:53pm, I completed the 10km route in 1hr 24mins. (Afternote: it didn't feel as though it was a 10km distance from CP1, judging from my timing clocked. But it could also be due to gentler and easier terrain during this stretch of the course.) At the aid station, I took some cut oranges, a banana and a new bottle of water before making a quick exit towards CP3. Distance remaining: 72km! Time remaining: 27hours!

Distance covered: 28km; Time taken: 4hrs 53mins

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Distance to CP3 was around 8km. So far, I felt ok with my effort. The weather was really nice although the sun was shining brightly. There were some ups and downs but nothing technical. I was really enjoying myself running alone, without anyone to push me. Then I came across yet another beach! It must have been the 4th beach I strolled across that day! When I reached the other side of the beach, things became difficult as I didn't see any course marking after climbing up several big rocks. After about 50m or so, I decided to go back to the beach to survey if I had missed any course marking. I couldn't see any but saw a runner approaching the rocks. "I should be on the right track then". I assured myself and carried on my journey. Soon, the course led me up a series of steps. It was impossible to run at all. So I took one step and a time. Although I was good at climbing stairs, this was no fun. I lost count of the time and distance. At 14:37pm, I saw CP3 course marking! This part of the course was only 8km but it took me 1hr 44mins. Must have been all those stairs! :p

Distance covered: 36km; Time taken: 6hrs 37mins

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The volunteers made you feel like a VIP! Once I checked-in, they invited me to sit down and asked me what I want for food. I asked for a plate of beehoon (I think). After finishing, I grabbed a bottle of water, thanked the volunteer, before setting off for CP4, which was 9km away. I walked for about 10mins as my stomach was full. Along the way, saw a few little puppies wondering on the side of the pavement. I couldn't really recall this part of the course except that there were more steps to climb! I reached CP4 at 16:18pm, after 9km and 1hr 41mins.

Distance covered: 45km; Time taken: 8hrs 18mins

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At CP4, the volunteers were as enthusiastic as those in CP3! One of them asked me immediately what I would like to eat and drink. And before I could even think about it, she listed down the food they had at the aid station! I politely asked for a cup of miso soup as it would be getting dark and cool. I also ate a piece of cake, 1/8 of an orange and 1 banana. CP5 is 7km away and I was confident I should reach the CP before dark. :) But I was almost wrong! I started off in an easy pace. The trail was easy. But soon, I reached the foot of a mountain. It was steep and very rocky. I tried not to look up but took consistent pace and short steps, one step at a time. Occasionally, I stopped to take photos and enjoy the views, which I probably would never see again. Due to the tougher terrain, I took 1hr 49mins to complete the 7km route before reaching CP5 - the station with my drop bag and change of gears. And at 18.07pm, it was already dark, unlike in Singapore.

Distance covered: 52km; Time taken: 10hrs 07mins

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The first thing I did upon reaching CP5 was to retrieve my drop bag. I took out two packets of foot powder, emptied almost the entire packet each onto my foot. I also changed to a new pair of socks and poured the remaining powder into my shoes. After taking care of my feet, I took my headlamp, wore back my long-sleeved running tee before getting a cup noodle. Unfortunately, the volunteers at the aid station must have been overworked and most of them looked tired and uninterested. I even had to ask for hot water to cook my own cup noodle! Nevertheless, I thanked them before I leave for CP6, 13km away.

I decided to take this route to the next CP very easy as it was already dark. Unlike running in the dark in Singapore, running/walking in a foreign place at night was more fun since I wouldn't know what to expect. I was totally alone, walking upslope on a tarmac road. Soon, the road led me into the trail. I switched on my headlamp once in a while to make sure that I was on the trail. Suddenly, a female voice shouted at my direction: "Are you doing the Hong Kong 100km Trail?" Hmmmm, I thought the voice sounds familiar and I was not wrong! Apparently, Chantel was unable to locate the course marking in the dark and had been lost for about 20mins. I told her I didn't see any course marking but based on my limited experience, we just need to go straight until we encounter any junction. "Surely there would be course marking" I told her. But I was wrong.

Luckily for us, there was a local Hong Kong runner just behind us just before we reached the junction. I saw the "Maclehose Trail" sign at the junction and remarked that we perhaps should turn left into the trail. The local runner confirmed that we should turn into the Maclehose Trail. The route to CP6 was really tough. There were a lot of stairs to climb up and down, but mostly up. The weather was also getting very very windy. On the way up, I would power past Chantel until I couldn't see her headlamp. Then I would wait for her by taking a rest until she caught up with me. At one point, I told her that I lost my cap as it was blown away by the strong wind in the morning. She offered me her spare one and finally, I was able to have something to cover my head! We must have walked along the ridge of the mountain as the wind was so strong and you felt that it could blow you away anytime!

We tried to navigate that portion of the route as fast as we could, as it was getting unbearably cold even though I was wearing 3 pieces of clothing and gloves. By then the local Hong Kong runner was long gone. We didn't reach CP6 until 22:26pm, a good 4hrs 19mins to traverse 13km - the toughest portion of the course!

Distance covered: 65km; Time taken: 14hrs 26mins

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We literally dashed into the tent upon reaching CP6. A young boy asked us what we need and we asked for a cup noddle and miso soup! In this cold weather, anything hot was preferred. In fact, it was so nice sitting and resting there that I wished the race had ended. After resting and refuelling for about 20mins, we decided to push on. Distance to CP7 was 8km away. We thanked the volunteers before continuing our race. This part of the course was rather "easy" in that it was on the tarmac road. However, it was a steep downslope so we decided to walk. Once in a while, we would look out for course marking to make sure we were on the right track. Soon, we saw a course marking that led us back into the trail.

Again like the route to CP6, there were a lot of steps to climb. By then, I realised that the batteries on my headlamp were running very low. I tried to conserve the battery by relying on Chantel's headlamp. Without her and her light, I would have been lost in the dark. The wind was not as strong as before though the weather was still cool. This was probably because we were on the other side of the mountain. During the ascent, I would powered up ahead, while on the descent and the flat terrain, Chantel would catch up with me with ease. At one of the ascent, I realised I had reached CP7 at 1.15am, Sunday morning! It took me 2hrs 49mins to cover 8km in the dark!

Distance covered: 73km; Time taken: 17hrs 15mins

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There were two runners in the tent at CP7 and a volunteer manning the aid station. I requested for a cup of miso soup to keep myself warm from the volunteer. About 5mins later, Chantel came into CP7. We rest for a while before setting off for CP8, which is approximately 9km away. Judging at the speed we went, I was confident that we should be able to complete the race within the cut-off time to qualify for the buckle of 24 hours.

Our spirits were high although we were both very tired and getting a little sleepy. After 2 hours inside the trail, we came to road. There were 2 marshallers and one of them pointed to us to use the overhead bridge! We followed the instructions. Upon coming down from the overhead bridge, we saw this path with a big red/white tape across that tie onto a signboard (or lamp post). We presumed that it meant we had to go straight instead of going into the small path. After walking about 1 1/2 hours, we noticed that we didn't see any other runners. Not that we saw any runners while inside the trail but somehow, we had this hunch that we were on the wrong track since we should be going into some trail instead of along a main road. At the sight of a Shell petrol station, we went inside to enquire if the road would lead us to this damn. (Luckily, Chantel carried with her a paper of the names of all check-points and the name of CP8 was Shing Mun Dam. Unfortunately, both uncles manning the petrol station were not sure although one of them pointed to us that if we continue for another hour or so, we would come to a dam whose name sounded like Shing Mun Dam.

We thanked them and proceed. However, after about 20mins, we were quite sure that we were on the wrong track as there were simply no pavement to walk further. We had in fact, come to a highway! We took our chance and ran across the road to yet another petrol station. The uncle at Esso had not heard about Shing Mun Dam before but confirmed that there was a dam if we continued in the same direction. To play safe, he offered to called the local police for help. After waiting for about 20mins, a van with 3 policemen and 1 policewoman arrived at the station. They used their Street Directory to show us where the dam was. But we were too excited to ask them about the use of pavement to the dam. By then, it was too late as they left the petrol station.

I bought two cans of hot coffee to drink and keep myself warm. After thanking the uncle for his assistance, Chantel and I went out onto the road. I whipped out my cellphone and managed to contact the RD, Janet! She wasn't sure about our location and had to pass the phone to Steve. After confirming with Steve that we were indeed on the wrong track, I seeked his permission to take cab to the overhead bridge - the last known point before we got lost. He agreed to our request. By the time the cab took us to the overhead bridge, it was almost 5am! We were lost for more than 2 hours! :( This time, we only saw one marshaller at the road side. We told him we were lost and clarified with him exactly where to turn after the overhead bridge. It was the first left turn - he said. We sighed. Somehow, we must have missed the course marking. We told him that we would not be using the overhead bridge as we already lost precious time.

Before he could say no, we ran over to the other side of the road. This time, Chantel and I walked slowly, looking for the course marking for confirmation. Finally, we saw it! It was not the normal course marking but a tiny piece of reflective ribbon tied onto a lamp post! No wonder we missed it! We were relieved yet upset. We powered forward, looking for more course marking to ensure we were on the right track, but we shouldn't worry as it was the only way to the dam. By then, we saw groups of local. They looked as though they were on their way to some morning exercises, judging from the way they dressed and their conversation. Some of them were very friendly and greeted us "good morning" in cantonese! At one point, we stopped to ask if there was a dam further up. We were glad to hear their positive response. Shortly after 6am, at 06:19am to be exact, we finally reached CP8 after 5hrs 4mins on the road/trail, including getting lost for more than 2 hours!!!

Distance covered: 82km; Time taken: 22hrs 19mins

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The volunteers at CP8 were very enthusiastic and happy to see us. We also met Chantel's friend at the CP. He was surprised that we were behind him. Chantel told him our ordeal. The volunteers brought us food and drink. I didn't had much as I felt abrasion at my waist after wearing the hydration bag for almost a day. Chantel's friend advised that I should apply generous helping of vaseline and one of the volunteers, upon hearing it, quickly brought me the vaseline! I applied a generous helping as advised and asked if any one had some AA size batteries for my headlamp. Immediately, the in-charged person (she seemed to be the most senior) said she had and went off to retrieve the batteries. She came back in a short file with the batteries, which I changed. In that instant, my headlamp came to life immediately, shining through the darkness! I thanked everyone at the aid station, before setting off with Chantel and her friend. Our target is CP9, 8km away.

With the newly powered headlamp, I was in high spirit. I urged Chantel and her friend to press on. We came to more steps to climb which I decided to press ahead, knowing that Chantel would surely catch up in the descent. The sky was also getting brighter with each minute passed. Luckily, this part of the steps were more gentle. But my relieve were short lived as Needle Hill came into my view. Don't be mislead. Needle Hill was more than just a hill, although it couldn't be termed as a mountain. It was steep and about 532m above sea-level. Okie, it was not that tough but after you had been running and walking for almost 24 hours, that was a tough climb! What kept me going was that I knew there would be beautiful scenery at the top of the hill and I was right. I didn't take me long before I summit.

I decided to wait for Chantel. After about 8mins, she finally reached the top of Needle Hill! We took some photos and continued our journey. As the weather was cold at the top of the hill, I sped down the hill to get out of the wind. By the time I reached the bottom of the hill, my quads were totally trashed. :( Somehow, I found my second wind and fast marched as quickly as I could, since that part of the route was mainly tarmac road. After more than an hour, I finally saw a familiar course marking! What a relief! :p After more turns and more course markings, I heard the sound of generators running and quickened my pace. I was right! I had finally reached CP9 at 08:56am: 8km in 2hrs 37mins.

Distance covered: 90km; Time taken: 24hrs 56mins

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After checking-in, I took shelter in the tent. I met another runner who had to DNF for good as he had some injury. Chantel arrived at the CP about 6 mins later and we both set off for the last part of the race. As we trekked up the summit, we met some hikers who stayed the night at the summit. Chantel asked them about the mountain which we were heading to. One of the hikers pointed to another mountain. It was so near yet, sooooooo far!!! :( Luckily, this part of the race was very scenic. I was glad that I could witness the beauty of the mountains in daylight instead of in the dark. We also had to manoeuver around big boulders. Soon, I forged ahead but occasionally I would turn back to take a picture of Chantel and the scenery. Every step I took seemed to bring the mountain that we are heading a little closer. Soon, I seemed to reach bottom of the final mountain but there was no course markings to be seen. I decided that since there was no other way to go except the road up, I should e on the right track.

By then, I had stopped running. Even after I reached the final summit and on my way down, I just didn't have the energy to lift up my legs. In fact, I had to use much energy to balance myself while threading down the steep downhill carefully. On my way down, I saw many locals walking up the mountain - most of them along the same road I took coming down, while some bashed through it. Since there were still no signs of the course markings, I asked one of the local if the Rotary Club Park was at the end of the road and if there were any other way down. He must be wondering why would someone asked him such a hilarious question but the local nodded politely that the road was indeed the only way down to the Rotary Club Park (so I was on the right track) and the other way of going down was to take short-cut by bashing through the plants next to the road. I thanked him and pushed on.

I finally saw the course marking! The section that I had just completed seemed to be reserved for hikers as there was a chain across the path. A small parking lot next to the path seemed to confirmed my suspicion. No wonder there were no cars! The further I walked, the more excited I became. I saw road signs that showed that the Rotary Club Park. I looked at my watch and thought that I might just make it within 28 hours! I needn't have to worry although I almost missed the left turn into the car park area of the Rotary Club Park! Luckily, the RD had decorated the finishing line with colorful papers that were hard to miss. I eventually crossed the line at 11:55am (10km in 2hrs 59mins), after covering 100km in 27hrs 55mins! Chantel also beat the 28 hour mark by crossing the line just 4mins later! We were both ecstatic but tired. The RDs, Janet & Steve, presented us our finisher sweater and certificate. Although I didn't get the finisher trophy, given to those who completed in less than 24 hours, I was happy with my effort as this was the first 100km trail race that I had completed within the cut-off time set by the official. :)

Distance covered: 100km; Time taken: 27hrs 55mins

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Afternote: I enjoyed myself throughout the race. The weather was almost perfect for me, less the strong wind that made the night portion of the race more challenging. The volunteers at most aid stations were enthusiastic and encouraging. Although I was upset at the time lost due to making the wrong turn, I was grateful to the locals for being so helpful. My other positives take away are: having no blisters at the end of the race and able to finish the race strong. :) Would I recommend this race to anyone? Yes, but only if the person enjoys trail. At the same time, I would also warn the person that there were a lot of "unnatural" steps in the trail, which made the ascending and descending easy (to manoeuvre) and hard (due to the pounding on the knees, especially when you were going down).

My Running Resolutions For 2011...

2011-01-01T02:00:00.017+08:00

Never like to list down my resolutions... Felt that it gives me too much pressure... But yet, it also gives me a sense of "direction"... So here it goes:

1. To run an ultramarathon a month, every month...
2. To complete at least 50% of the ultramarathons within the cut-off time...
3. To do a team run...
4. To do one fun run...
5. To do one "very relaxing" overseas run...
6. To complete 2.4km within 12mins 30secs...

Sounds damn easy hor? :o)

Review Of My 2010 Running Adventures...

2010-12-31T20:40:00.046+08:00

Its been quite a 2010 for me... Started off with a 30-hour Charity Run to raise funds for the President's Challenge 2010 campaign, my team (too many to mention all but the key personnel being Aihua, Kang Ling, Malcolm, Taz, Teelee, Tekko, Molly, Sharon, and many many others [including sponsors like Geylang Serai CC and Hammer Nutrition, and those pacers who were activated at the last notice] who played important roles) ensured that I was well fed, well hydrated, well massaged, and well paced to cover 150km in this challenge... And in the process, raised approximately S$42K for the less fortunate... All on the first day of 2010... :) Thanks again to all supporters and donors... Your actions were deeply appreciated...

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2010 was my year for ultras... Not that the marathon had lost its magic... But rather, there were certain ultras on my bucket list and I knew my chances of completing them would be higher now, then when I got older... In all, a total of 6 ultra races were planned... 3 road and 3 trail ultras respectively... I succeeded in completed the 3 road ultras (Bataan Death March 102km in 16hrs 59mins; Two Oceans Marathon 56km in 6hrs 53mins; and Comrades Marathon 90km in 11hrs 25mins) but failed miserably in all 3 TNF trail ultras (completed 61km for TNF100 Philippines; completed 68km for Canadian Death Race 125km; and completed 50km for TNF100 Singapore)... Trail races were more obviously more difficult as compared to road races since they were found mostly in mountains ranges (and hence trails and more upslope and downslope "running")... The beautiful scenery were partly my reason for taking longer time than I should as I stopped to capture my journey... Of course the main reason for my failure was my lack of ability to traverse as efficiently as I would on road, though it was more of my physical ability than physical fitness... You see, the terrain in Singapore is mostly flat and there are no mountains to train for downhill running... Okie, I did like giving excuses but the fact was while I could overtake other runners on my way up, even more runners would pass me on my way down! It was pretty demoralising... :( Nevertheless, I vowed that I would try again in 2011 and if I still failed, I would have to look for other ultras with a more lenient cut-off time or join a relay team to sight-see the beautiful scenery, in the case of the Canadian Death Race.

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Running was not all about LSD / ultramarathons, etc, and while I enjoyed running far, the races I had the most fun were those shorter races like the SHAPE Run, Great Eastern Women's Run and the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run... In particular, both SHAPE Run and GE Run were organised just for women... It was really fun as I ran the women races with my regular running buddies Elise and Vivian... We stopped for photos at all km markers, as well as some of the water points and cheer-leading performances... Timing wasn't on our agenda, especially for the GE Run, when Elise was already 4 months pregnant!

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The only marathon I did for the year was the extremely beautiful Jungfrau Marathon. It started at Interlaken in Switzerland and ended at the mountain of Jungfrau... In fact, I only managed to get into the race through the wait list due to the pulling out of other runners as the registration was full by the time I had decided to sign up for the race... And mind you, although this was just a marathon, it was still a hard race due to the climb up the Jungfrau mountain in the second half of the marathon! In fact, had the organiser been more stringent with the cut-off time, I would have failed in my attempt to complete it within the cut-off time of 6 hours 30 minutes... Luckily, all those who cleared the final cut-off time of 5 hours 40 minutes at the 38km mark were allowed to cross the finishing line and my finishing time was 6 hours 30 minutes 50 seconds... :)

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My final running event for the year was an overseas running cum makan/shopping trip with Tekko and family in Macau / Hong Kong in December. It was also the most relax overseas event that I had ever signed up, although the MOP$700 for just a 6.5km run was a tad too expensive... In fact, the stressful part was to ensure that I finished my race fast enough to go back to the hotel for a quick shower and change of clothes, and then rushing back to the stadium and to take the finishing photos of Tekko and Molly, who were both running the 21km event... I managed to do that with about 10mins to spare... :p After the run, it was just eat and eat and eat; shop and shop and shop... Never had my trip been so easy...

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I had been very lazy in updating my running blog in 2010... This would be something I had to change in the new year... And in the process, I hoped to share the races that I had signed up (whether or not I completed them :p ) as well as the photos taken during these overseas running trips... Someone told me that I inspired them through my runs... I was not sure how my running could be so powerful... Besides, I'm an abled-body runner with no disability... My only conclusion was that although I was a slow tortoise, I was courageous enough (or stupid enough - 不知死活 ) to sign up for tough races that only the best runners in business would think of signing up... So if I could inspire more people to take up running for health, to challenge themselves or whatever other reasons, I guess it's something worthwhile... And hence I should and will try my best to share more of my stories in the new year... Be patient though... :)

SCSM - 10km Mixed Team

2009-12-06T17:30:00.010+08:00

This was the first time ever that I did not need to wake up early for a race in Singapore, as the women's 10km for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon would be flagging off at 8:30am. I met Sera at Bugis to leave my bag at California Fitness Gym before heading down to Esplanade - the starting point. There, I met up with Janice and Shirley, my other team mates. Sherman had started the 10km by then (the men's 10km flagged off at 7:45am) while Jeff was ill. I also told Janice and Shirley that I had sustained a strained from my recent US's races on my right foot and would be walking the whole of the 10km though my target time was to complete the "race" within 2 hours. We were promptly flagged off at 8:30am sharp.

There were a lot of supporters and most were shouting and encouraging the runners and walkers. We took about 13mins to reach the 1km mark. By then, I already noticed that Sera was very bored as she was a competitive person by nature and would love to chiong as fast as she could although her quads were sore from Friday's training. I tried my best to take this opportunity to talk to her as we hardly had time to communicate face-to-face. At the first water station, I stopped to take photos and noticed that in general, the old uncles are less spontaneous than the younger volunteers. At least in Singapore! They just looked at you blankly and wondering what you are trying to do while the younger volunteers would pose and smile at you. : ) I took a cup of water and kept it with me after drinking - trying to do my part to use less paper cup! (Every effort counts! :p ) We took almost 1 hour to reach the 5km mark along the ECP expressway. The view of the CBD skyline was awesome, especially the Singapore Flyer (when you looked at it from the ECP expressway). I stopped to take more photos, much to Sera's chagrin.

After more photos, we tried to quicken our pace by picking target after target so that we could finish the event within the 2 hours we set ourselves. Just after passing the Singapore Flyer (at ground level), before we entered the F1 pit-stop, we noticed very strong muscle rub. This was the point where the marathon/half-marathon runners merged with the 10km runners. This was the 40km and 8km mark for the respective runners! We met Hokkien Beng and Yankee taking a drink at the water station, as well as BoSe and his friend. They were all doing the marathon and the adrenaline from seeing these marathoners prompted us to start running. We stopped along the Esplanade Bridge (approximately 9.5km mark) for more photos after seeing Tekko before crossing the finishing line in 1hr 55mins - the longest 10km we ever "raced"!!! We enter the 10km chute, get our medal and went straight for lunch.

Overall, it was a good workout. The weather was exceptionally great! The sun was taking an off day and didn't appear until about 11am. The only negative comment was that there were too many turns and bends for the 10km route and it just slowed down your momentum, even for those walking. I would not walk another 10km anytime sooner but will cherish this morning's experience. P.S. The Singapore Marathon is one of the "un-green" event I attended - as comparing with the recent races I did in the USA. The bib number came with a plastic ziploc. The blank bib-like paper came with another plastic ziploc. The event tee came with a plastic cover. And the medal came with a plastic cover as well! I hoped the organiser could do their part and do away with all these unnecessary plastics and ziploc!!! It's time to SAVE THE EARTH and be GREEN!!!

After Thoughts...

2009-12-02T20:25:00.012+08:00

Finally arrived back Singapore after the hectic trip to the USA. Feeling refreshed although the strain on the front of my my right foot still hurt a bit and looked swollen. My groin strain was getting better too but I won't be running anytime sooner until I know I had fully recover from my adventures. Looking back, perhaps I was silly to attempt something like that. 4 marathons over 8 days! Any doctor would say that was very damaging for the body and I probably won't deny that. In fact, I felt mentally drained more than I felt physically drained! My tank was almost empty after finishing my 3rd marathon within 6 days - Atlanta Marathon - most likely because I had to push myself so hard to meet the 5-hour cut-off limit. But luckily for me, I managed to push myself one last time to complete the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon though my timing was not great. Frankly speaking, I seriously didn't care about my timing as long as I got my finisher medals! :p

Would I try something like that again? You bet! It was very worthwhile to squeeze in so many marathons for this trip but I must admit I was very lucky in that I didn't have blisters or anything serious to stop me from completing the 4 races. Felt pleased and satisfied to pull off such a feat since I'm not a strong runner but someone with enough experience marathoning and a "sensible" mind. And now, I could add Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Mississippi states to the 11 States that I had completed since 2004. Another 35 more States and I would complete 1 cycle of the 50 States! This would be my ultimate aim and I hope to achieve it within the next 10 year! : )

Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon - 28 Nov 2009

2009-11-29T19:36:00.024+08:00

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon is run entirely inside the John C. Stennis Space Centre in the southern part of the state of Mississippi. John C. Stennis Space Centre is one of 10 NASA field centres in the USA. It is home to America's largest rocket engine test complex where every space shuttle main engine is tested and future engines and stages will be tested for returning astronauts to the moon with possible journeys beyond. Needless to say, the location of the marathon was remote and the only public transport was by cab. Luckily for me, there were a few runners staying at the Best Western Slidell Inn, about 15 miles from the race start/finish. Slidell was actually a town located in the next state of Louisiana. In fact, it was closer to the Space Centre as compared to the other towns in Mississippi. Thanks to the very helpful front desk manager, Nikki, I managed to arrange for a lift with fellow runners, Melissa Larkin (Bib No. 67) and Chelsea Wilson (Bib No. 112), who would be running the half marathon. Incidentally, Chelsea would be getting married to Scoter (one of the passenger besides Melissa's mum) next weekend and the girls were jokingly said that this weekend would be a great opportunity to test their endurance, in case Chelsea decided to runaway. :p

The weather was cool when we reached the Space Centre. Security was tight. When we arrived at the start point, I rushed to collect my bib number, stuffed my event tee into my baggage and left it with the volunteers. It was a small race so all runners and walkers for the full, half and 5k races start at the same time. While on the way inside the Space Centre, I noticed that this was a flat course. Despite the urge to run fast, I eased into my 13:75min per mile pace. By the Mile 4, I found myself running alone as the runners spread out. At around Mile 6, I met Jim Simpson running in the opposite direction, which should be the Mile 7 mark! He asked how I did for the Atlanta Marathon. I told him I barely survived and he replied that he finished in 4hrs 24mins! He told me to take it easy before we continued our running. I also met another runner (could be Ray Rowell) from the Marathon Maniacs group who also did the Mountain Home Marathon and Williams Route 66 Marathon! Talked about being hardcore, these were the real hardcore runners who had been doing back-to-back-to-back races for years!

By the start of the 2nd loop (yes, this was a 2-loop course), more runners were finishing the half-marathon, leaving even fewer runners on the full marathon course. It took me about 2hrs 55mins to complete the first half and I knew I couldn't afford to walk much if I were to complete within the 6-hour cut-off limit. Still, I took the opportunity to snap some photos while I passed the aid station and interesting landmarks when running alone. :p Mind you - I didn't want to be caught taking photos within a highly guarded facility! By Mile 16, I was feeling painful while stepping off my right foot though still bearable. I met Jim and Ray went passed me again after the Mile 21 mark. I was slowly slogging away until after I passed the Mile 23 marker. The last 3 miles seemed forever as it was a straight, never-ending route. After the last turning (halfway after Mile 24), another runner caught up with me. We ran together while talking about why we ended up choosing this race to run. At Mile 25, a clocked showed 5:45 and I thought perhaps we had a chance to finish within the 6-hour cut-off. There were a few turns which made it more bearable. Cars were streaming out, with many drivers honking at us and telling us that the end was near! It was and we managed to cross the finishing line in 6hrs 49secs!

Post race, we were presented with our medals by a 12-year old girl who insisted us to write down our name and timing on a sticker which would be pasted on their tracking record sheet for the final result compilation. She insisted that we filled up the correct data and made sure she sticked our record in the correct space! A very promising future race director indeed! Soon after, the race director and his assistant were taking down the finishing line although I remembered there were 2 more runners behind us. In fact, the crowd had dispersed as the award ceremony had finished by then. The runner whom I finished the race with, MK V, gave me a lift back to my hotel. Before this, we stopped by the Wellness Centre to wash-up. The manager at the Wellness Centre (a gym for the people working in the NASA facility) provided us with a towel, while the bathing facility came with hot shower and shampoo! This must have been the most awesome end-of-event washing-up facility! Overall, it would have been possible to achieve a PB running this course as it was super flat with few turns. The weather in Nov was great too. Perhaps I would be back one day to give it another try. But for now, I was just happy to complete my 4th marathon for this trip, all in the space of 8 days. : )