While some choose to wake up late, throw a party or go for a holiday on their birthday, I chose to participate and run the SubUrban North East Run with one of my best friends; Aliff.
Organiser : HiVelocity & North East CDC
Date : 15/03/2009
Route : Sengkang East Drive -> Oasis LRT -> Serangoon Secondary and back
Category: 10k Competitive Men/ Female Open , 5k Category& 2k Fun Run, Team Run 10k & 5k
On 15th March 2009, HiVelocity and North East CDC organised the SubUrban run which was held in Sengkang East Drive. This was the first ever ‘Two-In-A-Team’ race category.Runners took part in the race with their best friend, parent, child , brother or sister or even their neighbour.
Everyone waited patiently at the starting point. Runners from all around Singapore had gathered together to run the race. Aliff who stays in the west had to leave his house at 6am so he could make it in time for the start of the race. The day sure was a good for getting a nice sun burn.
Flag off was at 8am for the 10k category. They made their way from Oasis LRT station followed by a U-Turn near Serangoon secondary and back to the starting point at Sengkang East Drive. The run was a relatively easy one as the route consisted of mostly flat even surfaces with some uphill and downhill. Road marshals were stationed every 500m to guide runners. Water points were stationed every 2.5km serving 100 Plus and mineral water to the runners.
At the end of the race, runners gathered at the finishing mark to collect their finisher medals, sponsor caps and bananas. The organiser had setup several carnival booths. Among them was an archery booth. The prize giving ceremony was held last.
The Good :
Personally I felt that the organisers had taken great care planning this race. Certain roads were closed and there were road marshals and paramedics stationed at strategic locations along the route to assist runners. For an urban run,I was pleasantly surprised to find some parts of the route to be scenic. All in all it was a wonderful Sunday morning run. Water points provided 100 Plus to runners which I felt was good considering the blistering heat. The race pack for the event was good as well. Participants definitely got value for their money. I also greatly enjoyed the carnival they set up.
The Bad:
As the event was held in Sengkang East Drive (2mins walk from Bakau LRT) which is one of the remote places in Singapore, many runners had difficulties locating the venue. A good number of runners actually started late for the 10k category as claimed that they missed the shuttle bus or were delayed by a long queue at the baggage deposit area because they booth was too small and there were too many people handling it. Based on feedback I received, some runners felt annoyed when they had to queue up more then 20 mins after the run to collect their finisher medal and belongings. Some felt that organiser should have started the race at 7am instead of 8am in order to avoid the heat.
My Rating:
Difficulty : 4 (1- Beginners 10- Superhuman) – everyone should at least give it a go. Most of the route is on flat surfaces.
Organisation : 8 (1 – stop organising 10-Encore plz) – Overall it was well organised, other then the problem with the queue and collection of baggage everything else was awesome.
Will I run this run again? Definitely! I had an awesome experience being that this is my first ever two man team race. I had fun running the race with my best friend on my B’day.
My Power Song: “Afraid by Yellowcard”
Although I started late because of the queue I managed to conquer 10k in 64mins. I had an awesome time despite getting sunburn.
What’s next? Greatest Charity Run, 24 April 2009 Temasek Polytechnic
Photos
Race Pack Collection 07/03/2009 – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81834&id=634451274
Race Photo 15/03/2009 – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=81834&id=634451274#/album.php?aid=83246&id=634451274
(: Cheers!
My Running Addiction 