The Nike Human Race was on yesterday, overall I can say it’s a rather pleasant race with a few exceptional quirks here and there. The Nike Human Race is one of Nike’s comeback races in Singapore after the long discontinued Nike Realrun previously, which was subsequently renamed to the Hometeam Newbalance Realrun from almost 4 years back. This one is particularly no exception, with a world record in mind and 26 countries participating at this event at a given one time no wonder this race was such a big hit.

Sorry I do not have much pictures of this post as I did not have my phone with me during this race.

Pre-race
I believe everyone have their own unique story of their feat in getting to the event. Let be commute by MRT, etc you should have more or less, be caught in the heavy traffic leading to the event area. This is unlike most races held early in the morning from 5.30am to even 7am where traffic is significantly lower, traffic around the area was a typical one you can expect form a weekend on Sunday afternoon, especially with the Comex IT show on it’s last day. No wonder the whole Marina Boulevard area was bumper to bumper during the event. The road closure at Chinatown was something to boot about as well so that added quite a fair bit of diversion if you are commuting there by bus from the west or south.

Passing by the area at 3.30pm, workers can still be seen rushing to set the area up, presumably with the tight road closure schedule. Carparks are all full in Marina square as well as Raffles City and Suntec, so commuting a very much a viable option unless you are prepared to park multiple blocks away. The large crowds at the event are expectant, not to mention the waves of similarly dressed participants adding to the whole authenticity and integrated feel of the race, just don’t tell anyone you are meeting at the event that you are “wearing red”.

There was a race pack collection point as well as a race band dispensing point for people who missed their collection on the race expo day itself. I did not get the race band, so a quick pop to the counter got a fresh band strapped on in less than a minute. Baggage deposit was crowded, but otherwise rather fast moving with all counters open.

As only half the esplanade bridge was open, runners have to make their way to the holding pens through the esplanade front entrance. Even the concrete barricades erected for the upcoming F1 race didn’t prove much of a challenge to the horde, who all easily pushed their way into the starting area like flood waters through a burst levee.

Holding pens
There were 2 flag offs, planned at 15mins apart, the 1st flag off took 8mins for all the red and blue tag runners to clear. I was told that even runners with green tags who made and squeezed their way to the front can start off in the 1st. To much of runners dismay, the 2nd flag off was thereafter extended to 30mins after the first wave, which thereafter was shortened to 25 minutes. At that given point, the running pens were all so full, the running crowd stretched all the way to the tip of the raffles-one cross junction. Security personnel were seen pulling people not dressed in red out of the pens.

I was in the 2nd wave, so that was quite a long wait after warming up for the 1st wave. It was quite a challenge to stop yourself from cooling down in the breezy weather, which threatened to rain at some point at the start of the race (there was a short drizzle). Many of us will choose to prefer to keep on stretching while waiting in the pens, but the space constraints there proved to be rather quite a challenge. Rod and the crew from class 91.3 were there as well, though you can only hear them and not see them, the chatters on the PA kept most of us sane in the human sardine tins, which made the wait more bearable.

Flag off
Despite being at the front third of the 2nd flag off, it took about 2-3minutes before we finally get to touch the start line. The crowds were horrible at the start, with the route so packed, speeds average about 7km/hr on the esplanade bridge leading to the DBS center. There were many runners running together in a group and some waiting by the side of the barricades waiting or looking for their lost group of friends which added more to the congestion. Things started to clear up alot by the Singapore Conference hall, where average speeds start to pick up to 10km/hr with an occasional ’12km/hr burst and brake’ for overtaking slower runners given the opportunity. For this stretch from Collyer quay to Raffles quay, 2 lanes were only opened for traffic, I believe this is knowing that this stretch of road is notorious for double yellow line parking, it’s quite a fix to question why they should open more lanes for the event.

The race
The good thing was that the congestion problem was quite a thing of the past into the Marina bay area, one of the few better bands were playing there on their mobile truck stage which really kept runners going past the 2km mark. Strangely the organisers are already tearing down the start line and clearing up the bridge even when some late comers are just starting the race, that proved to be rather puzzling to look at. The first bridge of the route was the Cavenagh bridge leading to Boat Quay, the organizers were good in putting up blue rubber mats on parts of the route which runs over slippery drain covers and railings along the UOB building area. There, there was another band (percussion) on a floating stage. Running through boat quay with many dazzled tourists looking and cheering runners on was a rather unique experience by itself. Few particular choke points I noted for this part currently was the ramp part coming out of the tunnel from The Riverside towards Central mall.

The route was still largely a straightforward route until the central mall area where another Oriental stage performance event going on at the Central Mall, creating quite a crowd which proved to be quite a pedestrian hazard for runners. Runners will see themselves largely snaking in an out obstacles around the Swissotel Merchant Court area before passing The Riverside point (Orchestra stage band). Thankfully from the organizers, the strategically positioned bright orange cones not only clearly demarcated the boundaries of the route but were really good in helping running avoiding obstacles such as barriers, potted plants and lamppost, which all always seem to pop out of the sudden out of no where, well so as I thought.

Compulsory waterpoint stop at Liang Court?
This was one of the biggest no-nos of the race, a major choke point greeted runners opposite the liang court (near merchant loop) before the ord bridge. This was really a funnel of death- no runners can get out and marshals stationed at this area directed all runners (though there were some smart ones who sneaked behind the water points) into the pavement which leads straight on into a 2m wide space with half of it taken by runners drinking water and the Singapore river on the right, we all have no where to go! Here was a painful long stretch at 1.8km/hr for afew long minutes before picking up the pace again. Some runners going “off road” on the wet grass, coupled with the residual water after the waterpoint made the blue rubber mats running away from the area thereafter really slippery. And man was I flying thereafter.

The run to the finish
It was not long when the route saw a U-turn at the 7.2km mark at the Alkaff_Bridge, the second bridge to be crossed on the race, getting up and off the bridge saw runners through a little merry-go-round chokepoint at the bridge ramps, which will tempt any runners to jumpe the railings. Come to think about it, I have not seen any more distance markers after the 2km distance marker at the marina bay, if I didn’t have my watch to keep pace and distance, I do not know where and when to speed up. With less than 3km to go, it was a viable option.

The route snaked it’s way through many bridges and underpasses, but those expected tunnel congestion points do not proved to be expected choke points as the traffic through all of them was still smooth and steady. The one at the Liang court and Alkaff bridge were all completely unexpected ones though. Before I knew it, I was running right trough Clarke Quay and under the Coleman bridge and speeding to a big open area after the Parliament house right into the Padang area and past the finishing line. The race was over.

Post race and miscellaneous
The marshals were prompt on chasing lazy runners right into the concert area after the race, that helped in clearing rest benches and finish line hoggers who do not want to leave the runner’s exit pens or waiting for their friends to finish. Marshals were also there to direct runners to the first station they know will visit right after the race- Drinks and Massages. There were ample 100+ canned drinks as well as ice-mountain water to go around, not to mention mini bags of snacks offered outside the finisher’s bracelet collection point.

What I can say the race marshals for this race were really on the ball, presumably mostly volunteer student helpers and not “arrowed NSF” in AHM or less than enthusiastic employees of commercial races. This race is definitely set in a different light, almost like the organization of the Standard Charted marathon. Baggage collection (which also doubles are a drink point as well) was fast and smooth as well, waiting times are almost non existent. There were just than adequate toilets to go around, though I didn’t have a chance to use them, noteably are toilets lined along the route as well, though you won’t be needing them if you know of toilets already located in the buildings along the route.

The race is overall a rather pleasant and well organized race, also one which offers a constant nice nice view and scenic route along the Singapore river to boot- one we all know off but never really took the gesture to appreciate till now (well I know I did now). I have not much complains with the exception of the mentioned route congestion, but knowing all that for charity only makes it feels better after all- for the causes we all pledge our human race on the day 31.08.08.

The Singapore Sheares bridge/Singapore bay run/Army half marathon was on this morning. The promise of the new route across the Marina Barrage is well, promising as it sounds and I believe the key selling point of this year’s race. I believe with so many new developments sprouting up around the Marina bay area, it’s just pleasing to know that every annual race from now on will be bolstered with something new.

The race conduct
The race generally started smoothly, with the waiting pens dedicated to their respective categories. In other words, only after the 21km runners are off, the place is not swarming with the 10km participants, allowing the 21km latecomers to join the race fast and smoothly. So as I come to know after starting the race late myself. Though the staggered race timings have something to do about it, I remembered a different situation last year, with many runners from other categories taking up the waiting pen area. I started off slowly at about 8km/hr on my calibrated watch (update: this is on a Polar RS400SD, thanks Sean for the heads-up I missed on this part) as I felt a stitch from breakfast not too long ago and bumped by to 10km/hr when it cleared upon touching the ECP.

The starting at esplande bridge

The open lanes of Sheares bridge

Check!- Distinctive circular object

First time ever, with the new widened ECP highway, especially the stretch by the Sands resort, it’s now it’s possible to have up to 3 lanes opened up for runners, with up two 2 lanes only opened to traffic. The result? A large and open overtaking area for runners alike and there was no crowd of choke zones even leading up towards the Sheares bridge, with 2 lanes open to last year’s one.

Things are not so picture-perfect given the confines of the east coast park, especially when runners start walking on the pavement, that proved to be quite of an obstacle for many runners- you can often see the whole group of runners slow to a jogging crawl especially on the return stretch after the U-turn. Runners have to squeeze through the walking pavement or go on the muddy grass to overtake, orange barricaded lined along the 2-way route evident near the U-turn point made overtaking harder in the crowd. On the contrary, the street side festivals were nice, I think CSSOM has the nicest booth, with the MPs taking the next best. Interesting to see many units using pressurized water jet guns set on sprinkle who serve as shower/mist points now, beats the used of the pump action bottle canisters many times over.

Is that an off-road trail I see?
Fort road will usually greet you again after east coast park, thereafter comes the route pointing into the usual “out of bounds” construction area which was opened for the event. This route is a gravel laid service road which serves as an entry point for construction vehicles serving the barrage construction and future developments. The trail area was very unexpected though, I saw the combat engineer’s banner on the top stating about a challenge route, but never know the trail conditions would be so bad- it was uneven and muddy, especially from the rain the night before.

The unexpected trail areas

The marina barrage

The barrage main complex and visitor center

There were many puddles and caked mud (which reminds you much of the Mizuno wave run at Bedok Reservoir). You can almost call it will a prelude’s prelude of the NBRR (New balance real run) trail run! Apart from the new route, what I can say is that overcoming this trail area would be the deciding factor for those looking to beat their 21km PB, especially if you are looking for a clean level race throughout, you will be quite out of luck with this new route.

Noticeable were the many marshals stationed on many points throughout the route, not to mention demarcated meeting points for casualty extrication, even on hard to reach areas like the Sheares bridge and the trail route, this is definitely an improvement of safety coverage from the organizers this year.

A brief highlight of the race was the run on the marina barrage which not only links the reclaimed lands of marina east and marina south, but damming it and turning the Marina Bay and Kallang Basin into a new downtown freshwater reservoir. The Marina barrage goes very much in line that anything we built here in Singapore as an icon should have it’s own building and visitor center attached to it. The barrage is no option either is a the plaza area is huge- a perfect place to complement the upcoming gardens by the bay attraction.

Photo happy
In all the race went on rather well for me, I finished on an estimate of about 2hr 40mins for this year’s race, (about 40mins longer than last year) with a bulk of the time on the barrage itself. Anyway I was not running for a PB this year and was shutter happy on the barrage. Nevertheless, took some good pictures on the views from the barrage, I even got a photostitich treat (and possibility a first) of the barrage, check it out!

Singapore’s Marina Bay Marina Barrage

A 360 degree paranomic photo was shot at mid-span of the pedestrian bridge which sits ontop of the barrage itself, showing the view of the central business district and the out lying open waters of the southern straits. Note that the ends of the picture overlap by a little.

So far the race had been quite flawless, with regular water points and no considerable shortage of water or 100 plus (unless if you are a runner who started late). Striking distance markers are evidently at placed at 1km intervals throughout the route, with the last km split into 2x500m intervals towards the finish.

Post race
Contrary to many, the event do not end after you’ve crossed the line, there is still alot to do before you are done with he event. Noticeably is the ramp at the finishing line, because of the concrete F1 barriers in place, a ramp platform have to be erected to bring runners over it into the padang which is sadly very much a mud bath itself, but that’s something beyond the organizer’s control either. Maybe getting the various NSFs to gather out of the Padang will help much in the crowd management. There were ample drinks to go around, even after all the 100 plus were exhausted. There were plenty of seating areas within the runner’s pens for de-chipping, though many of use would have already got it off right after the finishing line.

This year, there are no tents stating clearly the baggage points as well as the runner’s post race admin and medal collection area, you will be quite lost if you do not know the padang floor plan of the event beforehand, but there were many army helpers you can always reach out for queries.

Inside the plaza area of the main complex

The run finishing crowds

Speedy baggage collection

Speedy baggage collection
An army-manned locker area is a new introduction this year, but I went for the baggage deposit as such services usually come standard and can either make or break a runner’s race experience. Even when I knew where the baggage collection was, I actually spent sometime getting to it from the padang- the 21km competitive collection points are located far right on one end of Connaught Drive, which not only made my deposit quite a pain to walk from the Padang entry point where everyone came from, but after the race through the mud pool as well.

Thankfully when you finally reach the point, baggage service was a breeze, not only there was no queue, I got both my bag deposited and retrieved in less than a minute. Jokingly, I remembered asking the baggage handler before the race what are their plans when it rains (as there is also no visible shelter over the baggage area besides the locker area), they said “just let it rain” (presumably as the items are already all cable-tied and water tight, or say, ground sheets will do the trick as well).

The only area for baggage I see can be improved is the location but nevertheless still a good thumbs up for the organization, this definitely beats the “dump in tonner” baggage collection back in the 2005 race. I can’t deny that AHM baggage collection are getting better and better each year.

Met up with SGrunners, saw Sotong, IMD, brokenrunner (brokie) and few new faces, as usual for the 2nd year running, I missed the photo taking again haha. Didn’t know it was so long till we last met, even brokie mentioned that it was a long time since she met Sotong, for me, it was even longer! Elrick my SP track and field senior who was in the Commando’s half-marathon team ran about 1 hours 40mins for his race, with his team coming in champions with their fastest runner at clocking in at about 1 hour 20mins.

Sorry for my dated entry. Been rather caught up with work back to back projects. Nevertheless found time to update this very much dated entry which I should last week.

The Poly 50 was on, well last week, the 6th August 2008. This year’s race was my third one in the running in SP and it was infact the only one I didn’t get prepared or actually seriously trained for. Neverthess, all our teams did very well- Our current student team came in both champions as well as third placing. My team participated in the alumni category and given on our side, all we know running the race this year from track and field are our 3 active student teams together with 2 teams from the alumni side. Later do I know that our even more senior track and field alumni elder were in as well, coming in 2nd on our category with my Alakazoom team on third placing, so technically you can say that all top 3 places of the Alumni category are from the track and field! And we have the Challenge shield for Track and Field to keep for another whole year!

Poly 50 Track and Alumni

The Champion student team

Another Group shot!

The race have it’s both ups and downs for me. I’ve not trained specifically for the event, which I pretty much still set in LSD mode, and not the sprint-stop sprint-stop demands for this type of race. Moreover, neither did I actually did a full dry run for this year’s event, as opposed to my previous year’s race in the active team. No wonder I felt rather light-headed midway in the race- No wonder one of my team helpers notice I was rather pale at one time- I ran myself out during the first half of the race. Then for the 2nd half, I was not panting crazy like what I did initially- a bad sign that my lactic is building up and my muscular endurance cannot meet the demands of my Cadrio- no wonder I started finishing my laps rather relaxed, but heavy footed. Constant stretching before and during the race kept any potential cramps and pulls in check. As usual David Goh was around with his hailer shouting at anything that moves. Our Principal, Mr tan was on the field himself as well, cheering runners along, never saw a principal so down to earth before remarkable!

After the race, we celebrated for the night with a planned steam boat dinner at Bugis’s popular street of Steamboat restaurants. It’s at this restaurant called Xian de lai (which laughingly reads “lazy to come” in Chinese). Reservations were made courtesy of track mate KC (whom I always share his police stories on my blog), so we were already more of less prepared to party for the night, whether we win or not. So it turned out to be a bonus celebrations for us. Together with big Leslie, we kinda raided the joint with continuous orders of seafood and meats. The placed remained open even till late 11pm+, so there was not issue of being chased out.

Ah Xian de lai!

Celebration steamboat!

Pile the plates!

Looking back at how this rag and bone team emerged champions- my team was formed under the leadership of Eric, who is also my fellow DSTA scholar. I was the team captain for my last few year’s of poly 50 races, but so given my lack of time and commitment I have last month, Eric was the best person fit and experienced enough to take on the role of captain for this year and he did a rather good job in getting all us ex-trackers back together whether it’s email, msn or cold calling.

I went with the follow as a member as good to be a follower once and get together for this “leisure race”, little do I expect anything but a finish, but there’s more.

And so my team “Alakazoom” was formed, well if that didn’t strike any bells of it’s similarly to a harry potter spell call, this name actually dates back to even way before the potter frenzy took place together with the other team name “Zoom” which track and field always used.

The team was not totally the best of a team you can expect, comprising of a mixed set of trackers with some serving national service, some working and we were not always all present for training on the weekends. But I can say, the thing evident in each and every one of us is the bond and spirit for running which we all shared during our active student days, flourished over countless races all together.

I guess that’s what made us run, and win the alumni third place. Go Trackers! Go Runners2