Yesterday school finished at 2 pm. But it was not the end of the school day. There was english Oral. Actually there was a letter to parents stating the oral exam would be on 2nd Aug Thursday. Don't know why it was changed to friday. At 2.30 pm we were ushered into the classroom to be quarrantined. But someone was missing so the rest of us had to wait. He finally appeared at 3. 05 pm. I tried to ask the teacher to let me start first but she said no. The first number to be called was index number 31. I was 34. I was finally called at 3.30 pm. And i still had not had lunch!
The topic given was about luck. Well i certainly am not lucky. Stuck in school when i wanted to go running in a competition later... My mind was on that and nothing else...
I was supposed to be at Boon Lay MRT at 5 p.m to meet up with my running club mates.Our club had signed up 6 of us to run in the NIE Directo'rs Relay Run. It also paid the registration fee for us ($180 for 6 runners - i think it is very expensive). But the proceeds of the registraion would go to charity. It was MINDS- movementod for the interectually disabled - Jurong Garden Special School.
The race was schedule to start at 7.15 p.m. As it was a relay, there were 6 runners. Each runner had to run 4.5 km. over a specific route in the grounds of NIE. The timings of all the runners will be counted and the teams with the fastest timings win.There were various categories. Mens open, women open and mixed open. There was also men schools (below 16 years) I was in the team mixed open . In my category there were 9 teams.
I felt very happy as this is the first time my club has invited me to represent them. At the same time i was also scared as i was afraid that i might not perform...
I was late so i went straight to NIE. It is near Boon Lay MRT station. As everyone knows, NIE is the present day teachers training college. It is located next to NTU, which is in Jurong.
I met up with my club members- Uncle Kalai , Uncle Chua, Uncle Hei, Aunty Roda, Aunty Josephine, Uncle Bernard. Uncle Yeow Seng and Uncle Sean also came to cheer us on.
This is a photo of the finishing area. Also there is a mat as Championchips were used. The clock is behind the men.
This is a view of the triangle within NIE. It is located at the admin block. Doesn't the grounds look beautiful in the evening? Time then was 7.30 pm. I had not run yet.
A view of the stage,,, The them this year is "A special run for special people" . The newspapers said that something like 500 students and staff turned up to support the race.
The first relay runners of each team were flagged off at 7.15 pm. Everyone was waiting for them to come back... At least 15 mins of waiting... They were 20 -30 teams competing. In open mixed there were 9 teams... The phot shows the start and finishing point (the mat).
This is my number tag. I was the third runner on my team. My number is a very nice pallindrome, isn't it?
The organisers were very thoughtful. They even had a buffet dinner for us free of charge. I think it was at the student hub. But how to eat? I have to wait until after my race .... First time anyone ever provided food for a run... The NIE director is very kind...
Aunty Roda was the first runner. She came back in 19mins. Then Uncle Chua ran. Uncle Kalai gave me last minute instructions. Then away i ran. It was 7.58 pm then. Darkness had already fallen. For once it felt very cool. It was not hot at all. I enjoyed running down out of the triangle, down the drive way and onto the road separating NIE and NTU. I ran behind the student hostels. Was it a mirage? But the distance felt shorter from the daytime when i ran to practice. I met no one along the way except for the few road marshalls but i ran as fast as i could. The strreetlamps shown brightly as i sped along. I then turned into Nanyang Ave , passed the NTU blocks an ran up the slope again. Yes the NIE/NTU campus is on hilly ground with steep slopes. When i turned into the admin block at NIE, i just sped the last 70m onto the mat. I almost collapsed at the finishing point. The time: 18m 45s before Aunty Josephine undid the ankle strap from my ankle. The ankle strap contains the championship...
This is my best timing so far. i was so happy when i finished. I had hoped to go below 20m but i went below 19m.. Wow!
After Aunty Josephine ran, it was Uncle Hei's turn. He also ran 18m. Here you can see Uncle Kalai placing his strap with Uncle Hei walking away... It was Uncle Kalai 's turn to run.
Our team finished fourth with a timing of 1 hr 57min. Well done. Congrats to the NIE/NTU team for winning the mixed team open....
The person on the right is the Director himself Prof Lee Sing Kong. He is handing over the cheque to Mr Keh of MINDS. It was a cheque for $40,000 . Then it was mentioned that the amount raised was more. It was actually $45,000....
This was our maiden debut as a team. Uncle Yeow Seng said that we had done well... I was very happy that we were not last...
Another photo for the album -this time with Uncle Yeow Seng and uncle Sean...
I got this tshirt for running.... Doesn't the t-shirt look nice? Especially when it is sponsored and i paid nothing for it...
It was truly 'a special run for special people'. For me the run is memorable and special because
a. it is the first time i ran with my club as a team in a running competition
b. the race was run at night
c. i ran a pb 0f 18m 45s. The club had encouraged me towards breaking my own record...
d. The Director himself, Prof Lee spoke to me after the event. He was surprised that a young boy was running in the open category and he enouraged me to work harder to become even better...
It was midnight when i reached home, tired but very happy!!!
Hopefully they will invite me for more competitions again...
In my goodie bag, there was:
1. 3 cans of H- two- o
2. Free sample of clinique's 3 step skin care system
3.Pen from Community Chest
4. Mobile Phone strap from Community Chest
5. Organizer from Siemens
6. A paper bag from the traffic Police
Final comment: This is one of the best races that i have run. It also came with free food and the commaderie of my running club mates. They taught me how to run the race and how to work together as a team.
A special treat for my readers:
Here is a video i took before i ran my race. NIE certainly looks very nice at night. Enjoy!!
