Run NUS! 10km Competitive Run & an introduction to Kent Ridge

Today was Run NUS! It was held at Kent Ridge Park. Kent Ridge Park is just behind NUS National University of Singapore).

This is a banner advertising the event at the car park of Kent Ridge park.

A brief introduction to Kent Ridge Park:



This was wherethe final and one of the fiercest battles for Singapore was fought in February 1942 before Singapore fell to the Japanese. The old name of Kent Ridge was Pasir Panjang Ridge and the last battle was fought on this ridge (see photo below). With the fall of Pasir Panjang, Singapore fell to the Japanese. I learnt a lot when i went around the park... It was very interesting...

A machine gun pill box on display at Kent Ridge Park.

A map of Kent Ridge Park

At the hill-top, there is a commemorative plaque. The front reads:

Battle for Pasir Panjang

It was erected by the national heritage board on the 50th anniversary of the end of world war II.

The plaque desribes the battle for pasir panjang in february 1942...

There is a canopy walk to Bukit Chandu. On th e way i saw the rubber wood tree.

The walk to Bukit Chandu (above )was about 400m away from Kent Ridge Park on the other other side of the hill.

It was at Bukit Chandu on 14 February 1942 when only 4 men survived the battle against the Japanese. The next day feb 15 1942 Singapore surrendered.

The treetop canopy walk is 16m above the ground.

The park looks very beautiful with the fir trees right?

A view of the fir trees against the sky...

Kent Ridge park is very near the sea, on the hill top. The view of the sea from the top of Kent Ridge Park...

This is the start and end point of the 1o km competitive run.

The run was organised by the NUS sports club.

This is the area where they kept the luggage. Out of bounds to everyone.

The Run NUS! Kent Ridge Heritage Run Stage area.

My number tag...023...

Early in the morning there were carnival stalls being set up.

Another view of the start area.

Competitors queueing up to register.

The competitors before the start of the race.

The race was tough. I had to run into NUS and up the steps to the Central Library before I u-turned back. I then ran along south bouna vista road. At the bottom of Kent Ridge Park on south bouna vista road it was time for the vertical ascent- something like 800m. But i made it...

The time 47m 20s. i was very happy....

Registration for the 10km competitive race also came with 2 games coupons. I threw darts and won some prizes. Mechanical pencials, erasers and highlighters- not bad...

In my goodie bag there was

1. 2 packets of milo 3 in 1

2. packet of UIC liquid laundry detergent

3.packet of nestle fitnesse wheat cereal

4.amore $30 spa voucher

5. amore complimentary one day fitness pass

6. 30% off Reebok apparel and footwear voucher

7.nivea deep pore control cream sample

8. nivea deodrant for an

9. nivea sun protection lotion

10.Hanaplast insect repellent spray

11. my secret book for recording workouts and food log

12.the look magazine

13.pen with post-it labels from sdu

14. marker with post it labels from sdu

15. reusable bag from nutrition park

My Run NUS! 2007 t- shirt. Look what it says on the back:

COMPETITOR

The organisers had the word ORGANISER on their backs. Those who came and volunteered to run the carnival stalls and help to road marshall had the words VOLUNTEER on the back of their t-shirts.

i enjoyed myself. Too bad that after the race the heavens poured..... It was 10. 50 am then...

Till my next run!!!

Running on Sunday at East Coast Park

Today i woke up early as i wanted to go running with my club. The run today was at east coast park. Here we are outside mcdonald's. It is 7 am.

There is also a pub at East Coast Park. I noticed the signboard which read Dublin 7024 miles. Wow! Dublin which is in Ireland is more than 7000 miles away! I didn't know that....

Today many runners came. About 20 of us came together for the phototaking. Uncle Chua was there, Uncle Tan, Uncle bernard, Uncle Kalai, Uncle Hei,Uncle Hei, Uncle Tan2, Uncle Darryl, Uncle Jo and his wife, Aunty Roda, Aunty Josie,Aunty Cindy. Some i don't even know... Uncle Han wee also came. So did Dr Bala, Prof Azhar, Mr Ow, Mr Azman. It was good to see them again. I have not seen some of them for 3 0r 4 months.

Here we are standing together as a group before the run.

It was a bright sunny morning. There was a group of people practising tai-chi by the beach.

There is even a man- made lake further up, about 800m away...

The man- made breakwater. Actually East Coast Park is on reclaimed land and stretches from Tanjong Rhu to Changi- about 15 kmlong and very very flat.

I ran about 6 km and went all the way to Bedok jetty before i u-turned back. After the run, i went to the beach and noticed this bird walking along the beach near the water..

Singapore is a sunny tropical island with coconut trees...

Some ships faraway at sea...

Some people are walking out on the jetty below.It was low tide so no fishing.

Talking together after the run...

Running on the sand...

We also enjoyed ourselves walking on the sand.

We spent more than 2 hours together.

East Coast Park is very lovely. I enjoy running there, with the sea breeze blowing. It is so cool.

National Day Celebrations

Yesterday was National Day, a public holiday. So my father drove us to town. We were on Sheares Bridge near Marina Bay before 6 pm.

This is a picture of the Singapore Flyer, which is still being built. This tourist attraction will be open to the public in early 2008. Here you can see that only a few cabins have been attached to the wheel.



Happy Birthday Singapore! Singapore is 42 years old.

For the first time in 42 years, the National Day parade was held at Marina Bay this year. This is the view from Sheares Bridge. A floating platform was built for the occasion. Here you can see the sea of red. The spectators were wearing red and white, the colours of our national flag.


A group of spectators on the bridge with a bird's eye view of the parade grounds.

I then went home and watched the parade on tv. I enjoyed it especially the fireworks display. It was breathtaking beautiful against the night sky...

NIE Director's Relay Run 2007 (4.5km x 6 runners) total 27 km

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.

Uncle Kalai ran 16m 55s. Yes he is good...

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!!