Great Eastern Women's Run 2014 - Essential Race Information

Source : 

1. http://www.greateasternwomensrun.com/

2. https://www.facebook.com/RunningDepartment

BACKGROUND

The GEWR is the largest all-women race in Asia - THE run that Rachel has been looking forward to participate since early this year. It will be Rachel's last half-marathon for 2014. It will be held tomorrow, 9 November 2014 (Sunday). 

ESSENTIAL RACE INFORMATION

RACE DAY

Date: 9 November 2014 (Sunday)
Venue: Singapore Flyer
Flag Off Time: 5:30am (21km), 7am (10km), 7:40am(5km)

RACE ROUTES

Click link to see detail maps.

HYDRATION STATIONS

Yes, water and isotonic drinks will be provided during the race for all categories. The following are the flow of support stations for each race category. Hydration stations are about 3KM apart.

PACERS

Yes, pacers are from Running Club - Running Departments.

RUNNERS' ENTITLEMENTS

• Event Running Top.
• Exclusive Finisher Medal (All race categories: 5km, 10km and 21.1km finishers).
• Exclusive Event Bag.
• Finisher certificate either softcopy or hardcopy (All race categories: 5km, 10km and 21.1km.
• 21.1km finishers are entitled to an exclusive Finisher Tee

Getting ready to rest for tomorrow's run. It's raining cats and dogs everywhere in Singapore. Hoping for a better weather by the time we wake up. Please~~~the ladies wanna run~~

Singapore Bay Run / Army Half Marathon 2014 Essential Race Information

Source : 

1. http://www.safra.sg/Participate/Singapore-Bay-Run.aspx

2. http://www.safra.sg/~/media/PDFs/SSBR%202014/EventBooklet2014.ashx

BACKGROUND

The Singapore Bay Run / Army Half Marathon 2014 will be Rachel's next 21km run. It will be held on Sunday, 31 August 2014. 

This is another half-marathon to prepare Rachel for her approaching Full Marathon in December. For some personal reasons, I am not participating this time round. My dear wife will be running her own race. 

ESSENTIAL RACE INFORMATION

RACE ENTRY PACK COLLECTION

Date: 22 - 24 August 2014 (Friday - Sunday)
Venue: The Float @ Marina Bay
Time: 11am - 8pm (Fri & Sat) | 11am - 7pm (Sun)

RACE DAY

Date: 31 August 2014 (Sunday)
Venue: Sheares Bridge, Esplanade & Padang Area
Flag Off Time: 5am (21km), 6am (10km), 8am(5km) and 9am (800m Father and Kids Dash)

RACE ROUTES

HYDRATION STATIONS

Yes but distance between water points are not specified.

• 11 Water Points along 21km route (about 2km per water point)
• 4 Waters Points along 10km route (about 2.5km per water point)
• 2 Water Points along 5km route (about 2.5km per water point)

PACERS

Not Specified

RACE VILLAGE

BUS

From SAFRA Clubs to Start Point (Click HERE to buy tickets online).

Updated : Bus Ticketing Status correct as at 26 August 2014 

RUNNERS ENTITLEMENT

Finisher Tee

Army Singlet

Event Tee

I hope SAFRA and ARMY have resolved the issue of human jams throughout the running route this time (as I still remember last year's narrowing of running routes and the dreadful "Army Human Wall" walking).

GCAM 14 (Part 3) : GCAM 14 Race Precinct Location

Our second day in Gold Coast. We have decided to take it easy today. Instead of the usual sight-seeing, we took a 4.5-km (9-km to-and-fro) slow walk to check out the Race Precinct (opposite the Australia Fair Shopping Centre). We started from "The Esplanade" road that is near our hotel. We understand that this is part of the full marathon route as we saw many road closure signage along the way. It is indeed a scenic route.

The weather was fine and shine. We had to remove our coats after a short while.

 

 

It appears that the organiser is all set for the event. The streets are getting more crowded with the influx of runners from other countries and other parts of Australia.  Many GCAM banners and signage have already been mounted on lamp posts.

 

We located the race precinct near the Anzac Park. Wow! The organiser already has all their tentages set up in advance. We could not resist taking some pictures as spoiler for fellow runners.

This is what you can look out for on actual race day.

That's the event stage behind us.

Look at our photos and you will know that Gold Coast has an almost ideal weather for avid photographers. Do go back with your cameras as there are some interesting sights for photo-takings.

 

 

By the way, the temperature fluctuates quite drastically from early morning to late morning. It does get very cold in the early mornings. Be prepared.

 

 

 

(UNOFFICIAL) Quick Stats for Sundown Marathon 2014 Results (Half and Full Marathons Only)

Source : http://www.1xcess.com/result/event/SundownMarathon2014

Having tirelessly seeking data from race organisers (via emails) and receiving no response from them, I have resorted to manual computation for the HM and FM statistics this time - using their official link (trust me, manual computing is not a task for the weak heart....).  I will try to compute the pen timings as and when I am free.

I hope this piece of hard work will help runners determine their positions in the race (since the SDM organiser made no mention on the total number of participants in the various categories of the race.....leaving most of us clueless about our benchmarking).

Half Marathon - 21KM Statistics

6,566 people participated in the half marathon with a total of 6,557 participants completing the race successfully. 

Of which, there were 4,202 (64%) male runners and 2,364 (36%) female runners. 9 runners were disqualified (9 male & 0 female) in this category.

The average timings for both males and females to complete the half marathon were in the range of 3:00 - 3:29hr.

Full Marathon - 42 KM Statistics

6,114 people participated in the full marathon with a total of 6,074 participants having completed the race successfully. Of which there were 5,081(83%) male runners and 1,033 (17%) female runners. 40 runners were disqualified (33 male & 7 female) in the Full Marathon categories.

The average timings for both male and female runners to complete the full marathon remained  unchanged despite the adverse atmospheric and biology condition :

• For Male - in the range of 6:00 to 6:30hr.
• For Female - in the range of 6:30 to 7:00hr.

I hope this simple analysis gives runners a good understanding on where they stand in the race.

A Personal Account on Her First Half-Marathon : 2XU Compression Run 2014, Singapore

I was in dilemma! To run or not to run? See what I had in addition to the pulled thigh muscle last week?

Photo of blisters taken
before we set off from home.

Yes! I had blood blisters on both my feet before the run! Simon advised me to give up as he did not want me to jeopardise my other runs with further injuries. 

I listened. I deliberated. I decided. 

I wanted to run this first half-marathon of my life. Whilst I had thousand-and-one doubts in my brain, my heart didn't want to give up. Not without giving it a try! Somehow, this run meant a great deal to me - consciously or sub-consciously - it signified an important yardstick on my road to recovery from my cancer. 

We had to wake up at 2.00 a.m. due to the early gun time (4.45 a.m.). I always like early gun time. This would allow most runners to cover a substantial part of their race routes before sunrise. 

Simon boiled some potatoes to load his carb. Never a fan of potatoes, I seek comfort in sandwiches and chocolate milk for fuel. By 3.00 a.m., we were ready to leave home. God knew the butterflies in my stomach!

A couple shot before we left home. All geared up!

We arrived at 3.45 a.m. The organisers had chosen a good starting/finishing venue. Accessible by buses, taxis and situated just next to a MRT station. For us drivers, there were ample parking lots in the nearby commercial buildings. We thought we were early, but realised many runners were already there! Had they ever slept at all? 

The brilliant Billboard!

Simon would agree with me that the lighted billboards instructing check-in times for respective categories were brilliant!  Straight forward. No confusion. At exactly 4 a.m., the first wave were allowed into the start pen by the security guards. Dark as it might be, kudos to these guys for scrutinising the bib of every participant before granting access into the pen. 

As it would be another 45 minutes before gun-time, many early birds chose to sit around. Few hardworking ones were already starting to warm-up. Needless to say, Simon forced me to do some exercises too. I was reluctant and chose to take shots with my iPhone after doing some simple stretching to appease him.  

By 4.30 a.m., the starting pen was looking full for the first wave. The emcee started to cheer the crowd on with his humour and encouragements. It would be better if his voice was more powerful. It would wake us up in the early morning! The atmosphere was a tad too serious due to the lack of music.

Runners waiting for gun-time

Simon posing

The crowd's in!

I can assure you that time passes really fast when you hope for it to stop/drag. Before I knew, the race had started and the crowd was fast moving forward. I reckoned it was 4.45 a.m. sharp. 

My oh my! These people ran fast! Within few seconds, I lost sight of Simon too. He disappeared into the sea of yellows and blacks. I was the lonely fighter again. Fortunately, the weather was good and there was wind chill at this hour. I managed to run 1 full km before starting to brisk walk. My first km took about 7 min. Never had I done this speed. That's a stretch for my fitness level! I knew I could not sustain if I were to continue at this pace. Simon's reminder kept creeping back to the back of my mind "Complete. NOT Compete! My dear!". Yeah! I was not there to compete! My objective was to reach the finish line in one piece, and before the 4-hour cut-off time! With this realisation, I re-adjusted my pace and averaged 8 min 30 sec for the subsequent few km. 

All went well until after the loop, on our way back to the new sports hub (probably 4 km mark for half-marathoners?) when I heard a loud siren and saw a rushing ambulance. Runners had to give way to the ambulance. My heart sank as it would only mean mishap. True enough, we heard about the bad news soon. Fellow runner, Mr. Martynn Koh, 45, died in race day tragedy. Being a one-year cancer survivor, I had delayed death in a way. I really feel for the family. My deepest condolences...

Without knowing the real situation, I continued with my run/walk. On the way, I religiously chanted in my heart "Complete. Not Compete"..."Complete. Not Compete". Before the race, Simon shared with me the importance to have 'my own song' during my run to keep my momentum and maintain my pace. So, ~~I want to break free~~ accompanied me silently all the way! It was amazing that I sustained and performed better than my normal training days with this song.

I checked my watch again at 6.50 a.m. and knew that Simon would have finished his race already. The sun had not risen. I was not in a hurry. Let him wait. He couldn't go home without me! 

Few people at the end point when Simon finished his race.

I enjoyed the route for the half-marathon. Spacious and minimum chokage. There were sufficient water points and supplies to keep us well hydrated. The volunteers were cheerful and helpful. What more could I ask for? 

Before long, I was already into the 19 km mark at the Helix Bridge. It would be ideal if we could avoid climbing the stairs. Many had to slow down to make their way up. By then, most runners along my pace were already walking. Me too! 

Walking...Shagged

Beautiful sunrise (after Helix Bridge)

Did I mention that my blisters were triumphing their way during my run/walk? The pain had become almost unbearable. My toe nail turned purple too! Ouch! I had no choice but to slow down significantly after 10 km. Never settle for wrong sized shoes like I did! Mine was half a size too small and I had to pay with endless blisters and pain.

How elated was I when I finally saw the finishing point! By then, my feet couldn't carry me through the finishing line in a run anymore. I walked through my first 21.1 km line. What an un-glam finishing! 

It was really congested at the end point. Many runners were back from all 3 categories (full/half-marathon, 10 km). Whoever thought of giving us an ice-cold towel after the race has to be a genius! That's really a treat! I didn't mind the long queue for the drink/banana/medal/finishing-tee collection because of this treat. 

Long queue at the end point.

Feisty mood after the race.

Simon changed into his Finisher-Tee

My hard-earned medal

Our possessions. Finisher-Tees + Medals

We love the jerseys as well as the medals. All nicely designed. We stayed for a while to soak in the happy ambience before leaving for home.  

I finished my race! I did my embarrassing personal best at 5 km (41 min), 10 km (1 hr 27 min), 21.1 km (3 hr 21 min 05 sec). Ahead of Simon's prediction of 4 hr. He thought that I would barely make it just before the cut-off time. I hope he's happy for me. I abide to his "Complete. Not Compete" motto! 

I have nothing to shout about my finishing time. It is nowhere near a decent timing. But hey! Not too bad considering I was still having my chemo treatments in my bald head this time last year. And that I had never run in my life until 4 months ago! 

The race left me feeling freaking painful on both feet. But, I am happy! Overall, this was a well organised race that had boost my confidence for more runs in future. A fruitful morning. Time well spent!