I am back

Right, runeatgossip.com running since 2015 is kaput. For some inexplicable reason, we have allowed the hosting to run out without ensuring that the posts are backed up. So 9 years of posts are gone. And I don't know how to move the contents from there to a new domain. Any suggestions anyone reading this? In the meantime, I will continue to post my travel adventures, sightings of birds and other wildlife at runeatgossip.wordpress .

Top of the World

Well not quite since the highest point in Singapore is only just slightly over 160 metres. But that is Bukit Timah Hill and Bukit Timah hill is now close so the next highest point is Mt Faber at 105m and that where are the trail runners looking to race overseas are flocking to now that they are deprived of good old Bukit Timah.

I followed 1 group last week and did just 1 loop of the hill. One can get a pretty nice view of the Telok Blangah Estate from the top of the hill. The view stretches all the way to Orchard Rd. On the other side of the road, one can see Sentosa, the cable cars and on a clear day, some islands of Indonesia. Instead of using my own lousy camera to show the view from the top, here is a VR taken by Singapore top VR photographer, Aram Pan. Guess what? I am mentioned inside the post! Cheap thrill!

The beauty of running around these areas is that there are several high ground where you can have that top of the world feeling and look out far far away.

From Mt Faber, I went on to Telok Blangah Hill crossing the beautiful Henderson Waves Bridge. And right smack in the middle of the bridge which is 36 metres high you get these awesome view.

Looking southward towards the sea

The Telok Blangah and Bukit Merah estates

After the Henderson Waves Bridge is the Telok Blangah Hill. There are some mean slopes here including a very short and steep one up to Terrace Garden where you can another panoramic view.

Standing between Telok Blangah Hill and Kent Ridge is a patch of forest and over this is a series of metal bridge called the Forest Walk hovering over the forest. And beside being able to see the flora and fauna close up, one can get another great view of the far beyond.

After crossing the bridge, its up to Kent Ridge Park and here there is a series of zig zag path which leads to what is known as the Canopy Walk which comes with a view of the Hort Park below it.

From here it is a straight run down Kent Ridge Park. That is the easy part. But coming back up, there is either the long and steep Pepys Road or the other long and steep Vigilante Drive. By now after conquering the up and down from Mt Faber to Kent Ridge, I was well and truly beaten and could only managed to walk up Vigilante Drive. At the top of course the reward is another top of the world view.

All in, depending on how one runs, one can do up to 20 km covering Mt Faber, Telok Blangah Hill, Hort Park, Kent Ridge Park with total elevation of more than 500 metres. Not a lot by any other measures but certainly a good enough workout for those who want to do some serious hill runs and get many great view at the same time.

Here is the elevation for the run last week

Skechers GoRun 2

This comes about 3 years late. But hey, better late than never. I first read about the Skechers Gorun back in 2012. Back then, Skechers had just embarked on the development of a running shoes and the review wasn't that great. Nevertheless, my curiosity was piqued and I was determined to get hold of one to try out. But being the kiam kanah, I wanted to get one at a more down to earth price since it was just for the purpose of trying. I waited and waited and Gorun 2 came and went and 3 came along. And finally I decided to buy. But not the Gorun 3 but the by now on offer Gorun 2. Beggars can't be chooser so I ended up with a blue shoe. My 2nd pair of all blue shoe after so many years. But the store didn't have any other color available. Worst of all, it was half size too small. I knew it the minute I put it on but so strong was my desire to try it, that I just went ahead. To be frank though, I quite like the color. That was back in the middle of last year and after that, it was left in the box for another 6 months before I finally took it out this year!

The Gorun 2 comes with a 4mm heel to toe drop and is considered a minimalist shoe. The upper is very breathable. And  it is light coming in at about 200 gm.

The heel counter is on the low side just like the tongue is pretty short too for my long feet at least.

The sole is what set the Gorun 2 apart from other running shoes. It comes with round studs which they called Pods. Not too sure what the various colors and design does but whatever it does though it must be doing something great for I am going to say it now, this is probably why I now consider this the best pair of running shoes I ever have!

So far I worn it for over more than 30 km and I am loving every km of it. Notwithstanding the fact that it is still half size too small. In my first run, I knew it was too small and because I have Morton's toe, it was a tight fit at the front although the width was just right. Not willing to give up on the shoe, in my next run, I decided to go sockless and bingo! Without the sock, the fit was just right and there was no blisters on my foot. Not at the heel where I expected or the side of the toe. Nothing. I was really delighted!

Cushioning. This is supposed to be a minimalist shoes and rightfully I do not expect much cushioning but it was there all right. Not a lot but enough to make the landing soft. And best of all, extremely comfortable. 

Traction: I ran mostly on road and in one instance, after a heavy downfall. There was no slippage even on the smooth concrete surfaces. Ground feel was good too. Obviously because this is not a trail shoe, I have not attempted to run in the trails with it. I think the upper appears to be a bit thin to take the toils of the trail. 

Flexibility. The shoe is rather flexible despite the presence of the many pods. The design of the pods forces the wearer to land on the midfoot and toe off properly. No way to land on the heel which is as it should be. I took it for a few hard runs with the longest distance at 10km and it works well especially the pushing off part.

Water Proofing. I ran once after a heavy downpour and maybe because I didn't deliberately run into puddles of water, my foot didn't get wet.

Overall, I would say this is by far the most comfortable running shoes I ever have. However, to date the longest distance I did in them was 10km and I am a bit apprehensive about going longer distance although I am aware many runners have already worn it for marathons. Maybe now that Gorun 4 is already out, I will go and see whether I can get a pair of Gorun 3 at a price below $100.00 with the correct sizing  and perhaps try to run a marathon in them. 

Singapore Blade Runner - Running the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon

Md Shariff Abdullah, more popularly known as Singapore Blade Runner is Singapore's first blade runner. Born without a left foot, life was tough for young Shariff as he struggles with ridicule from schoolmates, a broken family and more physical problems as his stump got infected and had to be further amputated. However, not one to be put down by life, he pressed on and in 2008, inspired by Oscar Pistorius the South African amputee, he started competing competitively and soon went on to compete in many road and trail races including the prestigious Boston Marathon.

Despite his handicap, Shariff dares to dream and once had a dream to climb Mt Everest. Unfortunately, upon doctor's advice he has to stop that dream and is now focusing on completing the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon in 2015. However, as a self employed motivational speaker, he is still short of funds for this trip and is looking to raise more funds for a spare Ossur Flex Run Prosthetic leg, registration fee, flight and accommodation, insurance and other incidental fees.

How you can help:

1. Run with him or your friends and simply share a picture of you running saying you support his trip to Everest, and asking others to donate, with this URL 
2. Rather not run? Just share his page http://www.sgbladerunner.com/everest-2015.html
3. Kind contribution or purchasing the blade runner products which includes a limited edition Compressport tee.

For more information go to his home page http://www.sgbladerunner.com/ or visit his Facebook page 

Light up your Runs

I talked about running safe in an earlier post. And I not talking about being attacked but being visible to motorists and other people. One of the way is to wear bright apparel. Black, dark blue are not bright colours and yet it is so common to see people here wearing dark coloured apparel and running in the night. And event organiser adds to this by issuing running and event tops that comes in black colour. I know black is a great solid colour that speaks of power and might and command respect it is not suitable for night running, not unless one is thinking of doing a stealth run and need the cover of darkness.

But good news for those who really want to wear dark coloured apparels at night. In the past, most major apparel manufacturers will incorporate some reflective strips (usually the logo or some lining) that will reflect lights from vehicles and torches. The problem with this strips of reflective lighting is that they works only when a light is shine on them otherwise they are not useful at all. And they tend to drop off after several wash.

Lately, apparel manufacturers have come up with more innovations to make night running safe. Like Puma NightCat Powered apparels which comes with built in led light strip. And the light can be turn on and off or set to blinking. Cool!\

Photo: Puma

And Skechers have come up with a Night Owl running shoes which incorporates photoluminescent technology which produces an intense glow in low light or darkness. And no battery required!

Photo: Skechers

Not to be outdone, Asics has a Lite Show apparel with built in reflective material in the shoe shoe and design.

Photo from Asics

But if spending hundred of dollars is not your idea of running safe, just wear a white top and maybe carry one of those tiny blinking lights.Cheap and good light include those from Nathan and many many others which you can get from those cheap perpetual clearance shops in HDB estates.

Photo from Nathan

Happy Running. 

My Unconventional Shoes

I constantly tell people to wear proper and suitable shoes when they run but when it comes to myself, I never ever follow my own advice. Take this 2 pair of shoes for instance.

I bought the Puma Mobium on impulse at the Puma Factory outlet in December 2013. Back then I knew nothing about the shoes and the only reason I bought it was it cost less than $100.00 and it was orange in color. True be told, it wasn't a really great shoe. It was a tad too rigid for me and I was always afraid the Mobium band will break. But slowly I got used to it  In fact, I worn it so often that I managed to clock more than 700km in it and all from runs of not more than 10 km. I still couldn't bring myself to run longer distance in it. And the Mobium band didn't break. In fact, it was the upper that finally tear and force me to retire it. So it has been a pretty good shoe after all and certainly good value for money. But not a shoe that I will recommend to anybody.

The Skecher shoe on the right of the photo is the Skecher Go Run 2. I got this in the 3rd quarter of 2014. It was on sale as the Go Run 3 was already out. Since then it has been in its box till this week when I finally took it out to replace the Puma Mobium. And these 2 shoes wouldn't have been more different than night and day. But more about the Skecher when I run substantially enough to form a proper opinion.

So these 2 pair adds on to my collection of unconventional and non main stream running shoes which so far have included the Altra Lone Peak (still in use); Terra Plana Evo (one of my favourite and now retired); Tyr booties, Pearl Izumi SyncroPace; Zoot UltraTempo (another favourite) and my current daily ride, the Puma Faas 300. How many of these names do you recognize?

Run Safe

Recently there was a press report of a case in 2013 when a lady jogger was attacked and raped by a man while out on a night run. I think a lot of people were shocked. Surely Singapore is the safest of all place? But like the police slogan, low crime doesn't mean no crime and this is not the first time a lady has been attacked while out running. In 2000, a lady was attacked and rape while running in Bukit Batok Park. She died a few days later from her injury. And for those who thought MacRitchie Reservoir is safe, in 2003, a lady was sexually assaulted while running there.

Singapore is generally a safe place to move around but like in any other countries, there will be sickos around. Here are some unsolicited advices:

1) Don't run at night. The best time to run is early in the morning but I know it is easier to sleep late than wake up early. And with everybody's busy schedule, sometimes the only time available to run is in the night. So if you must run at run, try to run earlier and end by 8 pm rather than start after 9. But if you really cannot avoid running later in the night:

2) Get someone to run with you. The hubby, the boyfriend or girl friend, neighbour or even a child. There safety in number. But if there is really nobody to run with you:

3) Avoid running in dark places. For some reasons known best to Nparks, our parks are not well lit at night. Even places like East Coast Park is poorly lit and the park lights are switched off after a certain time. So if you must run, run along the roads or in brightly lit areas. Or if there is no other option, run only in the brighter areas within the park. Do loops around the brightly lit area rather than run the full distance along the park trail. Some parks with poor lighting to avoid:
 - Area A and area G of East Coast Park
- Pasir Ris Beach Park especially the middle section between Sungei Tampines and Sungei Api Api
- Fort Canning Park. The lighting here is atrocious. Many stretches have no light or they are switched off at random
- Bukit Batok Nature Park - the place with the most incidents
- The Green Corridor. Avoid running alone at all cost and this applies to the guy too!
- West Coast Park
- Garden by the Bay East. The lights here are generally ok but it is too quiet. Keep to the waterfront and not run into the park ground.

4) Wear bright clothing. I am always amazed at the number of people who wear dark apparel to run. Not only does it absorb heat it also attract mosquitoes. And in an incident, it is easier to see something bright moving/struggling than something dark. Beside, other road and park users can see you if you wear brighter clothings and minimize the chance of a collision or being scared out of their wits!

5) Carry a small panic button, the phone and identification. The panic button is useful in situation where you need to attract attention. The phone? To call for help not just for attacks but in case of accidents. And ID - for identification purpose.

This is a rather useful panic button. Can double as a key chain too. You can get this from Sim Lim and other electronic stores or buy online. A panic button is more useful than a whistle as in an emergency, chances are you have no opportunity to blow the whistle

This ID band can be purchased online but you can also make your own ID band like what I did

6) Let someone know. Where you running and what time you be home. This will help if you go missing and people need to search for you. Or if you fail to reach home in the expected time, help can come earlier.

So that about it. Run happy and run safe.

Merlion Run

Group run is fun when you are running with a group of great people and there is no competitive element, no time pressure, no stress and no need to worry about being named and shamed for taking short cut ahem... diverted route.

So after a long absence of group run in 2014, I ended 2014 with a group run and started 2015 with another group run. This time round as a sort of informal and unofficial SG50 event, a group of us decided to run to the five official Merlion.

We started at the Seah Im carpark at Telok Blangah and went to the first Merlion on our list at Sentosa. But enroute, we found another Merlion. A multi-colored Merlion in fact.

Photo Credit Lionel Cheng/Neyton Tan via wefie

But this is the official one that we came to see

From Sentosa it was on to our next destination at Mt Faber. Unfortunately not by cable car though. We had to run there up the 100 metres or so "high" hill. Poor me legs.

Fortunately it was all downhill from here although our very fierce leader made us run from here all the way to Orchard Rd where we sneaked into the Tourism Board office for this group photo with the very malnourished looking Merlion.

We also discovered there are actually more than 1 Merlion here.

But we have to move on to the last 2 Merlions. The anak Merlion and Papa Merlion in the background.

Photo credit Lionel Cheng

And here is a better view of Papa Merlion

Group run can be real fun and there always one going on organised by one group or another. For those just starting out running, this is a great way to get started on running, make new friends and get tips and see places. So if you are free, look out for such events on FB and why not join one?

A Letter to Nparks on MacRitchie Reservoir

Dear Nparks,

Thank you Nparks for thinking of our welfare and safety.

Thank you so much for putting in more fine gravels and providing such nice mini steps so that our precious feet in our expensive running shoes will not be dirty and we will not trip over those sharp ugly rocks and roots and injure ourselves.

Since Nparks place such premium on taking care of us who visit MacRitchie Reservoir park, can I request for more?

- How about providing a shelter throughout the whole trail. That way, rain or shine we can visit the beautiful park and be in tune with nature. And no need to worry about falling branches injuring anyone.

- Also our weather is rather hot most of the time and it can get pretty hot and stuffy under the trees. So maybe when building the shelter, Nparks, you can consider like put in air con. Maybe enclosed the whole shelter, put in air condition and while we at it, maybe a travelator like those at the SEA Aquarium. Then really, rain or shine we can visit the park. No need to get wet. Our expensive Nike shoes won't get dirty and best of all, the filthy monkey can't get our lobster roll.

- At every 500 metres, provide drink vending machine. As you know, it is rather hot in Singapore and I am sure you don't want us poor park visitor to get dehydrated. And of course I am sure you know that we Singaporeans are so gentle, we don't have strength to carry water bottles so a drink machine every 500 metres will help us fill our hydration needs.

And oh I noted that you are doing some major renovation works at the Male shower area for the past months. It looks like very major since it is taking so long. I am rather excited. I hope Nparks instead of having stupid open shower, can you provide jacuzzi and onsen instead. Those smelly fellas who want to bath can bath inside the shower stall. The rest of us after walking around the park, will surely enjoy a nice soak in the jacuzzi or onsen. So please do take your time to do up the place nicely. 

I am so looking forward to the air con sheltered trail walk, the jacuzzi and the onsen. Thank you in advance.

Your most loyal MacRitchie Reservoir visitor.

Running 101 for Newbies Part 2

Continuing from previous post

The competitive world of running is divided into 3 main type of races - track & field, road runs and trail running. As the name implies, track & field refers to events that are held on a track, more specifically a stadium running track. Events are mainly the shorter distances like the 100 metres to 800 metres race, relays like the 4 x 100 metres or 4 x 400 metres or hurdles and decathlon. These sort of events are held at competitive level in schools and for major meets like SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympics Games. Generally, here in Singapore, it is generally safe to say that once out of school, people do not participate in such races unless they are elites and representing running clubs and country. Most recreational runners will not be able to meet the qualifying times to even get on the starting block.

The most popular type of running races is the road race. These are generally held in public areas like parks and public roads and distances varies from 5 km to a full marathon. Generally the most common distances for a road race are

5 Km Race - Locally there are very few 5 km road races. Most are fun events as the logistical cost of organising a short race is equal to that of a longer distance races so I figure organiser probably find it more beneficial to their pockets to have 5 km races as fun events where every Ah Ter and Ah Kor can take part. Some clubs do organise occasional 5 km time trials for their members but if you are wondering how to take part in such time trials, likely you have not acquire enough running experience and contacts to qualify for one.

10 Km Race - First thing first. A 10 Km race is not a 1/4 marathon! A marathon is 42.195 km. 4 quarters of a 10 Km race is 40 Km. 2.195 km short of a full marathon. So please do not go round saying you ran a 1/4 marathon. There is no such thing.  10 km road race is the most common road race here and dare I say the whole world. In term of challenge, the distance is sufficiently long enough to make it a good workout and yet short enough for almost every runner wannabe to take part in. A person can walk the whole 10 km and still finish in a decent time of say 2 hours. So if you are a new running convert, this should be the first race distance for you to try before stepping up to the next level.

Half Marathon - A half marathon is half the distance of a full marathon i.e. 21.0975 km. In term of level of difficulty, it is consider an endurance race but it is an achievable distance for most runners. Running a half marathon takes an average runner about 2 hours or so. Walking a half marathon (not encouraged) will probably take 5 hours. So take part in this only if you has sufficient training and is able to run 10 km or more distances comfortably. People have died from trying too hard in a half marathon even here in Singapore so do not do this unless you have trained sufficiently and got used to our hot and humid weather.

Full Marathon - A full marathon of 42.195 km is the ultimate road race for most runner. It is the holy grail of running something to check off the bucket list. The average runner in Singapore will takes more than 5 hours to run/jog/walk the full distance. A full marathon is not for newbie. It is an endurance race and only those who have trained sufficiently should do this. In theory, a runner needs to do an average weekly mileage of 60 km with long runs of up to 30 km before he/she can do a full marathon. People who thinks it is a walk in the park as in, that they can simply walk the full distance will be in for a rude shock. Walking 42.195 km is not akin to walking 8 hours in the shopping mall where you have air condition, coffee breaks. In our hot humid weather, walking the full marathon 100% of the way will most likely take more than 10 hours. Those who do a slow jog/walk will need to take at least 7 - 8 hours if not more by which time, the water station may have ran out of water, the sun is high up in the sky and one can easily get cramps, dehydration and heat stroke. Do this only if you have at least 1 year of running experience and is able to complete a half marathon comfortably in under 3 hours. Most prudent and responsible race organisers will set qualifying time, checkpoint and race cut off times to weed out the unfit and reduce their logistic nightmare of catering to the mass of marathon souvenir collectors wannabes.

Ultra Marathon -  Officially, any distance that is more than a full marathon is considered an Ultra marathon but most people recognise ultras event at certain regular distances like 50 km, 84 km, 100 km, 100 miles, 160 miles and so on. Ultras are not for the faint hearted. It can take anything from 5 hours to complete a 50 km ultra to more than 36 hours or even days to complete longer distances. For this reason, most ultra organiser will require participants to provide evidence that they have completed certain distances in a certified race before they can sign up. So if you have never run a half or a full marathon, don't even dream of doing an ultra. 

Of course in between all the above, there are the quirky distances like 15 km, 32 km and so on. These distances races are good and useful for those training for the half and full marathon and can serve as good training races.

Trail Races - Trail races are the equivalent of road races except that it is held mainly on trails in forests and jungles. Here the level of difficulty rises due to the different terrains, ground surface, inevitable hills and climbs. Special equipment like trail shoes, hydration bags, torches, headlamps will be required for longer distances. For those who are new to running, trail races should only be done after familiarising oneself with the trail and getting the feel and hang of it. If you do not like mud, uneven surfaces and is worried about snakes bites, bees and other creepy crawlies, trail running is not for you. And if running in the dark alone in the forest at night is not your idea of a night out, forget about running a 50 km or even a 42 km trail race. 

There you have it. Running 101 for the newbies. See where you fit in and join the correct races. That will help you to improve your running competency, reduce your chances of getting injury and provide a good experience and a chance to shout out that you ran all the way without walking!

Running 101 for Newbies Part 1

Came across this article in the press recently. And saw this little bit.

I must admit I do get a little bit peeved when people use the wrong words but most them if they are not runners and get the terminology all wrong, I just shrug it off but when people who are doing it gets it all wrong, I go grrrr...........

So I guess it time for a little refresher in layman terms:

JOG - This is my pet peeve. I absolutely hate it when people asked me whether I am going for  a jog. Yeah its an ego thing but I don't jog. I run. A jog is when you put on a pair of running shoe, go downstairs or walk to the neighbourhood park and do a slow slow run of not more 20 minutes. It is done at an easy pace where you don't break into a sweat, you can talk and laugh and noticed all the little things like the chio bu doing her stretches. And some people can walk faster than your jog. And after you finish the jog, you can just sit at the park bench and chill or hop straight into the car and drive home. No need to change or cool down because you never break a sweat.

RUN - I run. I don't jog. At least not yet. Maybe when I hit 60 and the joints and bones start protesting louder. Meantime, when I put on a pair of running shoes, it is to run. A run is when you break into a sweat. You try to run faster than the previous time and you wish the traffic lights will be in your favour every time you need to cross a ppedestrianised crossing. And when you see a runner in front of you, your thought automatically turns into whether you can outrun that fella. You don't notice the kingfisher in the trees, heck when you in the mood to run, you don't even notice your friend on the other side waving to you. When you finished, you all sweaty and smelly and you need to cool down. Not hop straight into the car and drive home. 

And running can be more complicated than science. Ha ha ha. There are easy run, tempo run, fartleks (no its not something you do silently in the elevator although most runners are prone to it), intervals, long distance run. An if you don't know what these are, it simply means you are not yet a hardcore runners. No worries. You will learn soon enough. And then we have pace. We measure how hard we run by the pace we ran which can get pretty complicated. Your hard pace can be the easy pace of someone else, your long distance run can be a short run for another person and a climb for you is just a gentle incline for somebody else. For a totally non-scientific analysis of pace read here. And all these don't apply if you just jogging.

That is the difference between a jog and a run.

Of course, once you get hooked into running, you will want to join events. And nowadays, events are a dime a dozen. And there are so many events of different distances and themes that you go all blur blur. Here are a run down of some of the main characteristics of each event and what it is meant for.

FUN RUN - This is usually a short distance "running event" of not more than 5 km although there are some which are longer at 10 km. Generally, participants are welcome to walk, jog or run. There are no prizes to the top few finishers and no completion timing will be given. There are also no "Finisher Tee" although some events may give event tee, certificate of participation and a medal. Fun Run are usually organised to raise funds for charities, promote a cause or as a side attraction to a main run to attract more participation. Fun runs are suitable for everybody from children to senior citizen of all shape, sizes and fitness.

COMPETITIVE RUN - As the word implies, this is a competitive run. Prizes are given to the top finishers (usually top 3 or in some cases up to top 10). Runner's timing are captured through timing devices attached to shoes or bibs and read by sensors at strategic points along the route. Serious runners who takes part in these runs to i) win prizes ii) get a good time and ranking iii) get a personal best (PB). Not so serious runners join to measure how they fare against other runners or mostly to assess their own standard of fitness. Most organiser will give an event tee or singlet, a medal, a certificate with the timing printed on it and for some events, a finisher tee. Competitive run are suitable for people who have put in efforts to train for it. Of course, there is nothing to stop fun runners and those who never train to take part in competitive run but the experience for them will be much better if they train for it.

Competitive run comes in various distance though and runners should learn to sign up for the appropriate distances according to their ability.

To be cont'd

Light at the end of the tunnel?

I was at the URA Centre when I saw this exhibition. The first thing that strike me was this long long building model.

My immediate thought was shit, they gonna build buildings over the Green Corridor!

But on closer look, there was these small little signs place.

 Hmmm definitely something interesting here. So I took a closer look at the exhibition.

This is the Skyland for the Future Exhibition that is currently ongoing at the URA Buidling at Maxwell Road. Basically what this is about is building upwards and separating the living area from the "transport area" by building on top of roads and other open spaces. In another word, creating more land/space for the future. Maybe to meet the 6.9m population?

I don't know enough about architecture and buildings to comment more about this vision but I am excited that there is now some sort of official mention of biking/cycling. It will appear that the authorities have accept that there is space in Singapore for cycling and this is the blueprint for the future. Hopefully in a few years time when this pan out, Singapore can really be a cycling city.

So for my cycling friends, look like there is light at the end of the tunnel after all and one day, you might just be able to cycle all the way to work without having to brave the traffic.

An Apology - Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014

In my previous post, I made a claim that some people were taking a shorter route during the SCMS and included in the post were photographs of some individuals and their timing results. That post has attracted a lot of attention including calls from reporter and even a lawyer purporting to act for one of the individual in the post.

Since then, it has came to light that these individuals may have been diverted by the race organiser to take the shorter route. Below is the full statement from the SCMS. The link can be found here.

Public announcement about SCMS 2014 results

Spectrum Worldwide is aware of the online article referencing marathon (42.195km) runners who were photographed at Gardens By The Bay East during Sunday’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

To clarify, a number of diversion points were positioned along the marathon route. If any runners had not passed a diversion point by a specified time, they were diverted on to a shorter route towards the finish line. The diversion points were planned with the safety of runners in mind, as the closed roads had to be re-opened at a specific time in accordance with the requests of the authorities.

One of these diversion points was located at approximately the 13km mark of the marathon. From 7.30am, all marathon runners who had not crossed this point were diverted (removing the entire stretch of East Coast Park) and had their race distance reduced by approximately 17km. This diversion allowed them to comfortably reach Marina Barrage (35km) by about 8.15am where some may have been photographed in the referenced online article.

As highlighted on the official event website and handbook prior to the event, all participants who were diverted are still entitled to receive the Finisher’s T-shirt and Finisher’s Medal upon crossing the finish line. However, they will not receive the Finisher’s Certificate and their official race timings will not be recorded.

One of the reason why I wrote the earlier post is that as a regular runner in the local running scene, it irk me a lot to see runners who are totally not prepared attempting the full marathon. And everywhere there will be many people who do so just for the finisher tee and medal like the infamous incident last year. My intention was to highlight these incidents and hope that the running community as a whole can come together to condemn such behaviour and build a better running environment and community. In penning the post, never in my wildest dream would I ever think that the SCMS itself, the organiser of a Gold Label race will actually ask participants to take a "shorter" route. The correct practice adopted internationally I believe, is for participants who failed to meet the cut off to board the sweeper bus and not be allowed to take a shorter route to the finish line! I will address this again in a separate more detailed post in due course.

In any event, it appears that because of this, I have jumped to the wrong conclusion and wrongly accused these people. I know no words can take back what has been done but still I would like to offer my sincere apologies if the post has caused any one of these individuals any embarrassment. Nevertheless I have decided that the original post shall remain but with some amendments and the deletion of the photos and names. Hopefully, the post will generate more discussion on this issue and if it serves as a wake up call to running community at large to tackle this problem, the post will not be in vain.

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014

Note: When I penned the below post last night, it was without the knowledge that the organiser of the SCMS had actually asked runners who failed to meet certain unspecified time at unannounced designated points, to be diverted to run a "shorter route". Since the publication of my post and following media queries,  the organiser has made a public announcement on this here.

I would therefore like to offer my sincere apologies to the individuals who were included in the post below for any embarrassment that I have caused to them. While I have decided to keep the post, I have deleted the photos and any references to the identity of the individuals. I know no apologies or words can right whatever that has been done but once again I would like to tender my apology.

Well I was at the Garden by the Bay East on Sunday taking photos of the runners doing the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. (SCMS). This was roughly at the 35 km part of the race. The first runners came by around 7 am roughly 2 hours after the flag off. Those were the elites. A rough back of the envelope calculation - the average 4 hours runners will reach this area around 8.20 am and indeed the 4 hours pacers came pass me at 8.19 am.

But way before that I had already noticed a very unique hi usual thing. As a regular runner and active photographer for the past years, I can recognise a fair number of the local runners who can do sub-4 and there aren't really a lot of them here in Singapore. And even if I don't recognise them, I can tell by the way they run that they are seasoned runners and used to that type of timing. But what was interesting this time was that I could see many unfamiliar faces and people who pardoned my saying so, do not look like runners who are capable of doing this type of timing. Now I know looks can be deceiving but it is kinda difficult to believe that these following people can run sub 4 marathon.

And more over as I came to find out later, runner with orange bib are self declared sub 5 hours runner and starts in a much later wave. So they couldn't have been so fast to reach 35 km in just over 3 hours!

And true enough, my instinct was right. A quick search at the event site and these are their race splits. Looks like all of them skipped the distance between the 10 km checkpoint and the 30 km checkpoint slashing a cool 20 km off the total distance. 

And everyone seems to be doing it. Not just the not so athletic looking people but the young folks like this guy

And foreigners as well

And even the very athletic looking guys are doing it. The type that looks perfectly capable of doing this sort of timing but look at the splits

And there are more, too many for me to list them all here.

Looking at the splits, almost all of them turn off after the 10 km checkpoint which is somewhere around the  Sports Hub. I believe after coming out from that area, instead of going towards Fort Road and East Coast Park, they simply turned right on Tanjong Rhu to Garden by the Bay East and continue on from there. I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they got lost but I really really doubt it is the case. 

And again I like to think that the weather was too hot for them and they decided not to continue on but turned back. But they should then do the right thing and not cross the finish line but in all cases they did which leaves me with only one conclusion - they just want the finisher tee, medal and the bragging rights that come along with it and are not interested at all in completing the distance!

Me think it is high time race organiser takes steps to weed out these sort of behaviour. It is not good for a "gold class" event and a waste of resources and hinder the genuine runners. For starter, I think event organiser should stop giving away finisher tees at the finish line like  what many overseas races do. I am very sure that the event won't be so attractive to the non-runners if there is no finisher tee for them to wear around town to show off. Race organiser should also ensure strict compliance of race rules and barriers and marshals should be deployed at vulnerable junctions and points along the routes to reduce such inAnd last but not least, get the timing system working properly so that their status is stated as DSQ and not "Finished".http://runeatgossip.com/2014/12/standard-chartered-marathon-singapore-2014.html/

End of the Road - Tampines Mountain Bike Trail

On 1 December, the Tampines Mountain Bike trail officially ceased to exist. To make way for another housing estate to house the 6.9m population.

I first discovered this place right in the backyard of Tampines town way back in 2008. Back then, it was one big place with some challenging knolls, some small streams to cross and many many small trails criss crossing the places. Although not technically very challenging, it was a worthwhile alternative to the crowded MacRitchie. The only problem then was that it was a very rugged place without any toilet facilities and shelters. 

You can see more photos of the original trail here when we did a Eastside Trail Run.

Then in 2010, it was split into the Tampines Mountain Bike Park and Mountain Bike Trail for the Youth Olympic and 3/4 of the place was taken away from non-mountain bikers. Still there was a good enough 5 trail with a challenging 1 km narrow jungle trail complete with mud pool and stream, a small climb and breathtaking scenery.

When I moved to Pasir Ris, I ran there more often as it was just a 10 minutes run from my home. It was literally a run in my own backyard. But last year, the government announced plans to redevelop the area for Tampines North estate and that sounds the death knell for the place. After a short reprieve, the Bike Park closed last month and this month, the Bike Trail closes too. I managed to do a literally final run there on the morning of the closure. As I came out of the trail, the workers were putting up the fencing at the trail head. 

Here are the final photos of the place. 

The 1km stretch of jungle trail that is permanently muddy and wet. I have a video of a run I did there sometime ago in the mud and water. Rather long and boring but if you don't mind taking a nauseating ride through the choppy video, the link can be found here

There are lot of wide open field like this with narrow trail

The view from the top of one of the small hill

This is my favourite part of the trail. Running under this canopy of trees

The death knell. Closed and gone but cherished with fond memories.