10 Things that Get Me Pissed

Don't you just hate it when you are running and

1. You get nasty cigarette smoke wafting into the nose - why go to the park for fresh air and spoil it all by smoking all those cigarette?
2. Ang Moh cyclists who think they are doing the Tour de France charged down the path cursing and screaming at you to get out of their way
3. Group of cyclists/pedestrians/runners who ride/walk/run across the whole path forcing you to go onto the grass verge
4. Parents and people who allow their toddlers and dogs to run all over the path without looking left or right and forcing you to take evasive actions to avoid knocking into them
5. Runners who spit or throw their balance water without checking whether there is anybody behind or next to them and getting the spit and water onto you
6. Cyclists who comes up behind you and expect you to jump out of the way for them
7. Cyclists who ride illegally, like across overhead bridge, failing to stop at pedestrian crossing and still scold you for blocking their way
8. The sight of isotonic bottles, cans, gel packages lying along the paths or trails, obviously left behind by fellow runners/cyclists giving runners/cyclists a bad name
9. Runners whom you do not know tailgate/draft you so close you can feel his breathe on your back
10. Runners who think they are God's gift to the running community and keep dishing out unwanted advises and "encouragement" when all you want is to be left alone to do your own run

Never Stop Exploring - Beyond Woodcutter

Last year one of the highlight of the TNF Trail Run series was the Woodcutter Trail, a place which has reached mystical reputation for its swamp and easy to get lost trails. I ran there once but failed to make it for the official run. Read the account by Brokenrunner here. Since then, none of us has been back there until last week when we finally decided to hit the trails again.

We started at the usual place from Upp Peirce and went in. All was fine and dainty. Except for giant mud pool that keeps wanting to eat our shoes, everything else was exactly the same and looks unchanged. The fallen trees were still there. The overhanging vines, the protruding branches, the web of roots everything that nature can throw at us humans to stop us from desecrating their grounds. But what is a few muddy shoes, some broken skins compared to the joy of hitting the trails? Anyway, we reached where we wanted to go, did our u-turn to go back and that's where we got itchy and decided to detour from the known path.

Our first detour brought us up this narrow path to a place with a big red sign warning of helicopters maneuvering and to keep out, Did not stop us? Of course not, we went right in hoping to catch a glimpse of helicopters but alas all we got was a big open field.

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So the helicopter place is not very happening. We went off in double quick time and continued our way until we came to another fork. We took the one less travelled and went up and up cutting our legs numerous times on the sharp leaves of some ferns on the narrow trail. For our blood and sweat, we reached another big open field. Our GPS showed that we were now nearer to Seletar than Peirce but how to go down? A quick look around the place didn't show any other path other than the one we can up on. Reluctantly, we made our way back swearing to come back with more experts to figure out the route.

Fast foward one week later and we are back! This time determined to unravel the exit point from the big open ground and surmising that it could be from Seletar, we decided to start our exploration there or at this spot to be precise.

See the red sign there? Did that stop us again? Of course not, in we go with 2 new members but unfortunately after bashing through thick vegetation for 800 metres and taking almost half an hour for that, we decided to give up and retract our steps to fight run another day! What a downer!

So anyway, to the trail runners who know how to run from Seletar to Peirce, this is an appeal - can help help a bit and show us the way? Email me or pm me on FB, SMS, Whats App, Viber, ........(if you know me personally. Arigato Dozamasu!

Banana Relay 2012

Into its 5th edition and I still haven't got round to participating in it. But that didn't stop me from going all the way to Woodlands to kaypoh a bit. 

This year the number of participants were noticeably lesser probably because of the faraway location and also because there was another race, the Mizuno Mount Faber Hill race on the same day. The format of the race was the runners were randomly formed into group of 3 and has to run 3km each, with them holding a banana as a baton and passing it on to the next runner. The team with the fastest time win. Because of the random choosing of the runners in the group, some group ends up with 2 runners, some end up with all female runners or all male runners which means there was an unfair advantage for some of the team. Correct? Wrong. Because although the top team was a all male team, the all female teams also didn't do too badly with one of them coming in top 5 if I am not wrong. If I am not wrong, the 2 runner team also did well.

Anyway, the Admiralty Waterfront Park is quite hot with very little shade but of the 3 past relays that I attended before, this one got the best scenery with the Johore coastline in the back. 

Micah True aka Caballo Blanco

Micah True, ultra-marathoner extraordinaire. 10 November 1953 - March 2012. God bless his soul.

For someone who loves running so much, it must be the ultimate way to go. Doing something he loves. But to die alone and in the wild for so many days before he is found. Not a very nice way to go in the end. 

How did someone who run so much just drop dead from running? The autopsy said he died of cardiomyopathy or an enlarged heart. Should runners be scared? The Runners World has a explanation for the condition here

Read the account of how he died and how he was found here

For us mortals, run easy, run sensibly. Run with a friend especially in the wild away from civilisation. To the naysayers, it is still safer to run than be a maid or a cyclist!