By Les Tan/Red Sports
The start of the 8km competitive run. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Sengkang East Drive, Sunday, July 12, 2009 – 15-year-old Aldrich Lim surprised some veteran runners when he hit the tape first in the 8km race at the POSB Run for Kids event.
Aldrich, of Naval Base Secondary, came home in a time of 29min 12sec and led from start to finish.
“The best part of the race was running uphill,” said Aldrich. He would be a good bet for a cross-country medal but Aldrich said “my school has no cross-country team”.
Aldrich also competed in the Singapore Biathlon earlier this year and came in 7th in his age group.
Devathas, who came in third, was surprised at the pace at which Aldrich started the race.
“I was wondering who he was and whether he could keep it up!” said Devathas, who finished in 31min 40sec, just behind Steven Lim who clocked 30min 45sec.
In the women’s category, Cheong Tsui Ying finished first in 33min 46sec.
“I’m not used to the Singapore humidity,” were her first words when she had caught her breath. Tsui Ying had just come off a personal best of 1hr 31min for the 21km category at the Gold Coast Marathon.
Rain and lightning threatened before the start of the race but cleared up to give the 3,500 runners a perfect overcast sky for running.
Michael Palmer, the MP for the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, also ran the race and came back in about 40 minutes.
“It was quite fun and we had perfect weather,” he said.
Actress Tan Kheng Hua was also on hand to run and lend support to the cause.
“One of the things I like about running is seeing place and I got to see Sengkang! Never been here in my life!” said the veteran stage and television actor who is now into directing these days.
“The highlight was watching the kids dash winner. The look on his face! The grit! We need more of that in Singapore,” said Kheng Hua, who loves spending time outdoors running.
The event also raised S$250,000 for underprivileged children in the Sengkang community. The funds will go to the Singapore Children’s Society and an education welfare fund for primary school children that will be managed by the Pungool Central CCC.
The deputy prime minister of Singapore, Teo Chee Hean, flagged off the races and penned best wishes on a public board for the Singapore athletes for next year’s Youth Olympic Games.
Koh Boon Hwee, the chairman of DBS Group, said “As the bank that has nurtured generations of Singaporeans, POSB is very much a part of the fabric of Singapore. This is an especially meaningful event as we have our staff, customers and the community coming together to help the less privileged children in our midst.”
Picture story to follow
Aldrich Lim leads the race on the return leg. (Photo 2 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Steven Lim passes in second place… (Photo 3 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
… while Devathas comes by in third. (Photo 4 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Cheong Tsui Ying on her way to winning the women’s category in the 8km race. (Photo 5 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Aldrich Lim hits the tape first in the 8km race in a time of 29:12. (Photo 6 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Runners hit the road along Sengkang East Drive. (Photo 7 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Sengkang East Drive was closed off to traffic to give runners free reign. (Photo 8 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
The race is not over yet… (Photo 9 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Actor Tan Kheng Hua (in blue top) ran the 8km race. (Photo 6 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
@renuka – you’re most welcome : ) I didn’t do the event in the end. Heard you are an amazing runner. Hope to see you in action sometime!
Hi there . it was really nice to be covered for running, one of my loves, rather than acting! for everyone who loves to keep active and to run – keep it up guys. And thanks Les!
@tan kheng hua: Hi Kheng. Thanks for dropping by the site and it was great to see you running : )
Congrats Devathas! And thanks Leslie, for the report. I’ll have to watch out for Dev when I’m back. That 31:40 is awfully close to the 31:16 i did in a 8k here a few months ago. Factor in the opressive humidity there, and you’re miles ahead. I’ll think of this at trg tomorrow and work harder (:
have fun at the triathlon if you’re doing it, Les!
Hey Leslie, it was great talking to you at the event. Was pleasantly surprised at the sight of a Redsports team. It just seems wrong to have a race without a team of roving reporters down, and to have one that’s known for writing creditable articles no less – you guys really brought the event to greater heights!
It was indeed a well organised run with ample water points and well placed distance markers. I believe the kids had fun as well with the various categories open to them.
Perhaps this truly is the future of Singapore sport; a prophecy of things to come – a convergence of excellence and participation into a one-size-fits-all event. If it means more up and coming Aldrich-es, I say it could only be good for the scene : ).
I hope to see you around in future events! (there’s a Nanyang Poly biathlon this Saturday at the venue itself, and OSIM after that)
Cheers
@Devathas: Hi Devathas, good meeting you in person and thanks for updating me on the results!
Are you taking part at the Nanyang Poly event? It’s a short race and I was thinking of doing it…
Yup, @les is absolutely correct.
Terminology
The word actor refers to a person who acts regardless of sex, while actress refers specifically to a female person who acts; therefore a female can be both. The Oxford English Dictionary states that originally “‘actor” was used for both sexes. The English word actress does not derive from the Latin actrix, probably not even by way of French actrice; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, actress was “probably formed independently” in English. As actress is a specifically feminine word, some feminists assert that the word is sexist. Gender-neutral usage of actor has re-emerged in modern English, especially when referring to male and female performers collectively, but actress remains the common term used in major acting awards given to female recipients and is still common in general usage.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor
@lol: An actor is a person who works on stage, in movies and on television. It is gender neutral and is commonly used to refer to females in the industry as well.