Sunday, September 26, 2004
ARMY HALF-MARATHON / SHEARES BRIDGE RUN
12KM ROUTE
START: Esplanade Bridge (just outside the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay)
1. Collyer Quay
2. Raffles Quay
3. Shenton Way (turn left at the Singapore Conference Hall)
4. Maxwell Road
5. ECP / Benjamin Sheares Bridge (leave the expressway immediately after the Waterplace condominium)
6. Tanjong Rhu Place / Suspension Bridge outside Singapore Indoor Stadium
7. Stadium Road (under Merdeka Bridge)
8. Kallang Riverside Park
9. Sir Arthur's Bridge
10. Kallang Road
11. Crawford Street
12. Republic Avenue
13. Marina Promenade (past Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, then under Esplanade Bridge, where the End Point is)
I probably transformed the Army Half-Marathon aka Sheares Bridge Run into the New Paper Big Walk - the T-shirt that I wear to the company's meeting point proves it, for I am wearing the 2001 New Paper Big Walk T-shirt.
Anyway what the hell: we didn't do warm-up (nobody could be bothered to perform aerobics on the steps of City Hall), and our feet failed to recover from the intensity of two days' worth of topography (where we brisk-walked most of the torturous distances just to cover a few checkpoints) and last Thursday's final AHM training - a run of 5km. Besides, when Teo Chee Hean flags us off, there are so many people (the emcee announces a crowd of 60,000 at the time we are running) that it takes ages for us to get started. Even as we begin moving, 60,000 people cramped into one single lane is as good as manoeuvring about the horrific mass of people in the Orchard Road underpasses. Some people are running; some jogging; others taking a nice Sunday morning stroll like Zhiwei and myself. You'll find that the runners will weave in and out of the slow walkers just to be able to get forward. It's very scary; you'll never know when somebody might collide into you - you can't possibly turn your head back constantly to watch if there is anyone tailgating you, or attempting to overtake you. I got elbowed in the waist by one runner - either he didn't realise what he had done, or he was too busy running to even be bothered, let alone reply to my muttered curses. I have experienced an ever worse accident during one of the National Cycling events in the past. As a filtered left on the Esplanade Bridge, another cyclist from behind failed to anticipate my actions, and crashed into me as I made my move. I fell off; the bicycle dropped onto the road and missed me by inches; my spectacles were broken into a clean half; blood leaked from the burst skin on my knee. Even today, I have had several near-misses, including tripping over a broken barrier on the Sheares Bridge that was left lying against the railing of the bridge with no warning signs for the runners - or walkers.
Along the way, there are water points run by various units from differing formations. These units design their stations in the most creative - and sometimes outlandish - fashions. Nevertheless, they are quite fun, and are a welcome, except that we arrive too late to catch the cold water and the Gatorade, the latter which we drink only at one station. I can't remember which one had the oceanic theme - they had a 3D mural of the underwater landscape. They created the background out of some kind of net. They used inflatable toys and those Mylar balloons to represent the sea creatures. They even have personnel dressed up in costumes to cheer us on. Another one, whose mascot is the cobra, had a huge, painted statue of a cobra just before their station. In fact, lining the road up to their water point at the Marina Promenade are large Chinese fans and blossoms, making you wonder if you'd run into the Chinese Garden by mistake.
We find ourselves being one of the last few already by the time we arrive back at the Esplanade. The crowd at the back is thinner; everyone has gone ahead and finished the whole thing. By the time we run past the Esplanade towards the bridge where we had started, there are people milling about carrying goody bags. Even by the time we reach the Padang, Teo has finished giving out the prizes and everyone has fallen out already.
At the end of the day, my calculations have been correct. 10 minutes per kilometre. We finish with a time of two hours and twenty-minutes by pure walking, with the exception of a kilometre's worth of jogging.
¶ 9/26/2004 04:54:00 pm 12KM ROUTE
START: Esplanade Bridge (just outside the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay)
1. Collyer Quay
2. Raffles Quay
3. Shenton Way (turn left at the Singapore Conference Hall)
4. Maxwell Road
5. ECP / Benjamin Sheares Bridge (leave the expressway immediately after the Waterplace condominium)
6. Tanjong Rhu Place / Suspension Bridge outside Singapore Indoor Stadium
7. Stadium Road (under Merdeka Bridge)
8. Kallang Riverside Park
9. Sir Arthur's Bridge
10. Kallang Road
11. Crawford Street
12. Republic Avenue
13. Marina Promenade (past Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, then under Esplanade Bridge, where the End Point is)
I probably transformed the Army Half-Marathon aka Sheares Bridge Run into the New Paper Big Walk - the T-shirt that I wear to the company's meeting point proves it, for I am wearing the 2001 New Paper Big Walk T-shirt.
Anyway what the hell: we didn't do warm-up (nobody could be bothered to perform aerobics on the steps of City Hall), and our feet failed to recover from the intensity of two days' worth of topography (where we brisk-walked most of the torturous distances just to cover a few checkpoints) and last Thursday's final AHM training - a run of 5km. Besides, when Teo Chee Hean flags us off, there are so many people (the emcee announces a crowd of 60,000 at the time we are running) that it takes ages for us to get started. Even as we begin moving, 60,000 people cramped into one single lane is as good as manoeuvring about the horrific mass of people in the Orchard Road underpasses. Some people are running; some jogging; others taking a nice Sunday morning stroll like Zhiwei and myself. You'll find that the runners will weave in and out of the slow walkers just to be able to get forward. It's very scary; you'll never know when somebody might collide into you - you can't possibly turn your head back constantly to watch if there is anyone tailgating you, or attempting to overtake you. I got elbowed in the waist by one runner - either he didn't realise what he had done, or he was too busy running to even be bothered, let alone reply to my muttered curses. I have experienced an ever worse accident during one of the National Cycling events in the past. As a filtered left on the Esplanade Bridge, another cyclist from behind failed to anticipate my actions, and crashed into me as I made my move. I fell off; the bicycle dropped onto the road and missed me by inches; my spectacles were broken into a clean half; blood leaked from the burst skin on my knee. Even today, I have had several near-misses, including tripping over a broken barrier on the Sheares Bridge that was left lying against the railing of the bridge with no warning signs for the runners - or walkers.
Along the way, there are water points run by various units from differing formations. These units design their stations in the most creative - and sometimes outlandish - fashions. Nevertheless, they are quite fun, and are a welcome, except that we arrive too late to catch the cold water and the Gatorade, the latter which we drink only at one station. I can't remember which one had the oceanic theme - they had a 3D mural of the underwater landscape. They created the background out of some kind of net. They used inflatable toys and those Mylar balloons to represent the sea creatures. They even have personnel dressed up in costumes to cheer us on. Another one, whose mascot is the cobra, had a huge, painted statue of a cobra just before their station. In fact, lining the road up to their water point at the Marina Promenade are large Chinese fans and blossoms, making you wonder if you'd run into the Chinese Garden by mistake.
We find ourselves being one of the last few already by the time we arrive back at the Esplanade. The crowd at the back is thinner; everyone has gone ahead and finished the whole thing. By the time we run past the Esplanade towards the bridge where we had started, there are people milling about carrying goody bags. Even by the time we reach the Padang, Teo has finished giving out the prizes and everyone has fallen out already.
At the end of the day, my calculations have been correct. 10 minutes per kilometre. We finish with a time of two hours and twenty-minutes by pure walking, with the exception of a kilometre's worth of jogging.
