NE Passion Run 2014

I know I said I don't want to sign up for local races but when it is in my own backyard and cost just $20.00, I just couldn't resist. This is what I got for $20.00

But then again after signing up, I had my regrets when I found out the route. Like all races in Singapore nowadays, the race organiser do not reveal the exact route until much later and when I found out that the race route was 2 loops of Pasir Ris Park, I was like, what! I knew the park like the back of my hand, running there at least once a week. And when I found out the race closed within a short period, I was worried how crowded it was going to be and how difficult it was going to run through the crowd on the small park paths. I thought of doing a DNS for this but in the end, decided to just go and treat it like a weekly routine run.

The race was supposed to start in 3 waves - the Men's Open at 7 am, the Men's Veteran and Women's at 7.30 am and the 4km at 8 am. Each loop was 7 km and runners will have to run past the start line. The problem I foresee was that the first wave runners will run smack into the start of the 2nd wave and the 2nd wave into the 3rd. The running would become extremely unpleasant especially for the serious runners trying to do a good race. 

True enough, while we were waiting to flag off at 7.30 am, at about 7.25 am, the first lot of fast runners in the first wave ran past. Then there was a small gap before some more runners went past before we were flagged off. So the rest of the runners in the first wave touching 7 km in around 35 minutes or more would ran into the back of us lot. I wondered how they felt and I wondered how I was going to feel when it came to my turn later.

We started off quite fast.  I wanted to clear the crowd and decided to do a faster pace at the beginning. The sidekick was side by side with me in the first km. I managed to do that, keeping clear of the main pack of runners. The pace was around 5.30 per km and I knew it was not sustainable. Sighed that is really my fast pace! Please don't laugh. Fortunately for us, when we finished the first loop in about 35 minutes, the 4 km had not been flagged off yet and so I had a clear route to run as by now the runners had spread out.  But by 9 km I was struggling to maintain the pace and after stopping for a drink, the pace slowed. The sidekick was still about 500 metres behind me. I waited for her to catch up with me but I think she decided to stay behind me to not pressure herself. Eventually at the 13 km water point, I stopped and waited for her to catch up before we ran back to cross the finish line together.

So I am glad I decided to run this race after all and did not do a DNS. Overall, there was great weather without the haze and sun. I managed to do an average pace of about 5.45 min/km something I have not done for a long long time.