My Running Addiction

Men’s Health Urbanathlon  2010 – Let’s take it outside

Date: 31/01/2010

Distance: 12.5k with 8 Obstacles

Flag off point: Marina Square

If there’s ONE word to describe this how I feel about my first running event of the year, the word would have to be AWESOME. (:

For the first time ever in Singapore, Men’s Health Magazine organise the first ever Singapore Urbanathlon 2010, a gruelling 12.5km run pack with 8 different obstacles that is clearly wasn’t a walk in the park for the 1,500 participant who was able to sign up for the event.

Flag off point

Flagging off  point was at Marina Promenade, the event will test the male competitors on their strength, stamina and agility as they navigate through the challenging route along the Singapore River.

Azfa, Sufyan, Adil & me Gearing up for the race

We were flagged off in waves as not to cause any congestion at the obstacles station. I was flag off about 20mins after the initial flag off at 7:30am. We ran out of the flag off gantry in high hopes not knowing what to aspect from the obstacles that awaits us.

The Jumpstart

We soon reach our 1^st obstacle, The Jumpstart which was located beside the Parliament House. Participant had to leap across five rows of 1-metre high road barricades before moving on to the next obstacle.

The Corporate Ladder

Those who had participated in the Sundown Marathon would recall that we had to climb up and crossed the overhead bridge. In this 2^nd Station; The Corporate Ladder; participant had to run up and down 2 overhead bridges.  Participant scale up the first overhead bridge to get across to Fort Canning Park located opposite of Zirca and run a short distance before descending down and then up onto another overhead bridge nearby before continuing to the next station. By this time most of the participant was already winded but everyone still manage keep a smile on their face.

The Wall Street

3^rd Station; Wall Street; this was personally, among the easiest station as the height of the wall had been reduce from 1.8m to 1.5m,  it was located at Zouk car park. Everyone made quick work of the station and carryon to the next station. By this time, I was full of momentum as I was already reaching my desire heart rate. I dash out of the car park and ran towards the next station to the open field beside Riverside Point.

Monkey Business

4^th Station; Monkey Business was the station everyone was waiting for. Participant would have to Swing across the 5m long monkey bars, to get from one side to the other. Upon reaching the station, many were shock to see a long queue of participant waiting for their turn to get on the Monkey bar. As the organiser had only set up 5 monkey bar station, only 5 participants were able to get across at any one time. The queue keeps on getting longer and longer as participant from the different wave caught up with the rest, who was waiting patiently to get across. Everyone waited about 15 to 25mins for their turn. It was clear that this race was no longer about the timing but rather everyone just wants to get the full experience of the run and finish it.

Tunnel Vision

5^th Station; Tunnel Vision; as soon as we had crossed the monkey bar we had to crawl onto the next station, a 5m tunnel, measuring only 1.2m wide, to get to the other end. Most of the participant had already lost their momentum as they waited too long to cross the Monkey bar station. Many participants were running very slowly to the next station after exiting the tunnel.

Tyred Out!

6^th Station; Tyred Out; participant had to run through a row of tyres without stepping on the tyres or skipping any tyres. Tired Out was what most of the participant was experiencing by the time they reach this station as they would have to run a distance of 2km from the last station.

Leap Of Faith

7^th Station; Leap of Faith; Leaping off a platform into a pool of water 0.8m deep and wade 8m through it to reach the other end. Here participant jumped into the mini pool that was constructed and make their way across, shoes, shorts and everything else we all soak in water but these was the least of our concern as the next station would be the worst and also most memorable station in the whole event.

Down & Dirty

8^th Station; Down & Dirty; Participant crawled through a large mud pit that was constructed a short distance away from the Leap of faith station. Since we were all wet from the previous station this station will just be like an add-on to it. Many including myself belly crawl our way into the mud pit and we were fully covered in mud. We made our way across and continue on.

The race did not end after the Down & Dirty; we had to run back to the flag off point at Marina Square which was about 2.2km away. Everyone was covered in mud as we made our way to the finishing line. The road leading to the finishing line was covered with mud left behind by participant whom had passed through.

Finally, I crossed the finishing line. Not the best timing for a 12.5km run but this is exceptional due to the obstacles that we had to go through. Medals were given as soon as we crossed the finishing line. Everyone of the finisher was Tired, Thirsty and Covered in mud from head to toe but still we were all smiling as we had just accomplish something simply unique that only 1,500 men in Singapore had a chance to experience.

Finisher Medal

Overall it was an Awesome event to be apart of. The event was quite well organize event being it was their first time, there were sufficient water point which serve runners with water and 100 plus, the Distance markers were clearly shown for every kilometers and Road marshal were present all around the route to guide the participant.

Possibly some area of improvement they could look into for next year would be to:

• Have more obstacles in the future.
• More station in each obstacle, many participants was unhappy that they had to wait about 10 to 25mins to get onto the monkey bar as there were only 5 monkey station available.
• Most participant felt that the registration fee for this event is slightly too expensive compared to the other running events and that it will be good if a finisher tee is given out along with the medals.
• After the event, participant finds it very troublesome to wash the dirt of them as there were only 2 or 3 hose available at the Marina Square toilet. Maybe a wash up point could be designated in the future.

As a whole, I really enjoyed myself participating in this event. I will definitely look forward for next year.

Urbanathlete - Sufyan & Me

Congrats to all the Finisher, we can now consider ourselves as

an URBANATHLETE!

Check your Result at:http://results.hivelocity.com.sg/index.php

Ipod Power Song: All the Right moves by OneRepublic

Cheers! (: