Venus Run 2013

A race for the ladies. After a hiatus last year, this fun ladies only race organised by the SAA is back. The race at the Marina Barrage and Garden by the East required the ladies to run a short 5km out and back route. Weather was kind to the ladies and I could see the ladies had fun.

To add some spice to the event, Running Shots as the Official Photographer, held a contest for the most creative and outrageous attire and the ladies responded enthusiastically with many of them coming as fairy and angels. I guess it is not in the ladies nature to dress as something evil:)

These are just some of the ladies in fancy attires that I shot.

For more pictures, hop over to facebook/runningshots.sg

TNF City Race 2013

The last time I ran a distance above 35km was in December 2008. Since then, the longest distance I clocked was 25km and weekly mileage average around 30km. So what madness made me sign up for this event? 

When I first heard about this race, I thought the concept sound interesting. A no fixed route sort of like an "Amazing Race" type of race. And when some good friends proposed to form a team to do this, I thought why not? But of course since it was going to be a fun thing, I didn't really put in any effort to train for it.

So on top of the lack of mileage and fitness, on Saturday, the day before the race, I got an attack of the "runs'. I had only 2 small bowls of porridge the whole day and even though I am not a great believer of carbo loading, that certainly left me in a most unsuitable position to do a long run. But the thought of  DNS and letting down my team mates kept me going and so on Sunday morning, I found myself together with a few hundred others hunkered down at Millennia Walk studying a map!

The thing about this race is that there is no fixed route. There are a total of 5 checkpoints which the runners have to reach. The previous day, there was a post circulating around listing the "route" which I thought was far short of the 40km that our route was supposed to be at. So we were all excited to know what was our actual route and when we got our early awaited map, the tension eased but the pressure now starts as we had Singapore Quarry and Kent Ridge Park to navigate!

After some discussions and with tips from friends, we decided to go to Singapore Quarry, the furthest checkpoint first. We decided to go there via Orchard Road so that we can go to another checkpoint at Ion Orchard. So after the flagged off, everybody rushed off. Most I believe had the same thinking and went along Bras Basah or Stamford Rd to reach Orchard. We decided to enjoy the air con a bit more and went down the City Link underpass much to the amazement and amusement of the early shoppers in the mall!

Our team dashing through City Link Mall. Photo courtesy of Kelly Lim

We reached Ion Orchard, about 3 km away in around 30 minutes, pretty slow time I think. From there, we went under ground again into Ion Orchard and crossed over to Wheelock Place  before exiting Orchard Road into Nassim Hills. Running along Nassim Hills was very "enriching" with all the good class bungalows and embassies lining the street. Too bad nobody came out to offer us a drink or a house tour:)

1st Eastside Run 2013

It hasn't been easy to find a time to organise another Eastside Run. And frankly despite the East being the running oasis of Singapore with the long breezy sunny East Coast Park, we have been there, ran there and it isn't easy finding a route to make it interesting to warrant organising a special run.

Nevertheless, every time I meet some runner who is acquainted with me and staying in the East, their first question after the customary greetings will be "When is the next Eastside Run?". So it was with this in mind and to celebrate the Chinese New Year that I decided to hold another Eastside Run.

After some thoughts, I settled on the Pasir Ris/Loyang/Selarang route. Not that because I stayed in Pasir Ris but because at the Pasir Ris Sports Recreation Centre where we start and end, there is locker and shower facilities and it is conveniently located next to the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange. 

Slightly over 40 runners registered their interest in running but in the end, just over 20 turn up. At least the number was manageable not too big a group and not too small. We had the customary group photo and off we went.

There was a brief stopover at the Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple for those who wants to seek some blessing and then we continued into the Selarang Loop. The highlight of the run was a much longer stopover at the Johore Battery where the ladies had a lot of fun swinging on an swing with an ammo hanging on one end!

The next Eastside Run will probably be in somewhere like another 2 or 3 months time. Those who are interested can look out for information on this blog.

Venus Run - Running Shots Photo Contest

2 years ago, the sidekick participated in the first Venus Run at Bedok Reservoir. I was there too and from the expression on all the ladies face, it was an unanimous consensus that they enjoyed the run. Unfortunately, for some reason, it was cancelled last year but it is back this year at a new location, the Marina Barrage. More details can be found here. 

Running Shots has been appointed the official photographer for the Venus Run and in conjunction with this, Running Shots will be holding its first ever photo contest. 

 Ladies, sign up for the race, come dress in your most outrageous, funky, sexy or creative attires. Get 'shot' by Running Shots and be voted our "Princess of the Run" and stand to win one of the 3 prizes on offer.

 

So ladies, this is one race where you can win a prize without having to run too fast and trying to get podium. So quickly sign up now. Registration closes very very soon in face on 28 February 2013. Don't wait any longer!