The first 7km or so to the first turning point was uneventful. My legs were still heavy having just woken up and I had a few near misses from tripping over my own legs. I hit the first 10km in 36:10, at about 3:37 per kilometer. A systems check showed that I was more awake and running smoothly.

Upon hitting the second turn at about 15km, I was secretly happy to be able to keep my pace for 50% of the distance! Not so bad after all. At this point, the sun was just about to rise and it was a great feeling to be putting in a run on this beautiful Sunday morning. During this return trip, I was able to spot several of my friends running and it was good fun.

My lead cyclist Christina, however, did not have a good time. She had to shout at the top of her voice every 10 meters to get runners ahead to make space for me. She did an awesome job and I was able to keep up with my target pace.

Upon hitting the final turn, I was 10km from the finishing line and I was starting to feel the fatigue. For the past 15km, I had been unable to get any water from the water points due to the crowd. My legs started to feel a little heavy. A quick check of my watch showed that I was still running at a decent 3:37 per kilometer. A small voice in my head told me to chill off a little to avoid any unwanted consequences such as illness or injury. As I just wanted to meet my target, I slowed down and eased off in the last 5km.

When I crossed the finish line, I was elated that I had put in a good effort in the race to meet my objectives, finishing the race in 1hr 49min.

Post Race
I immediately started refueling with loads of Pocari Sweat at the water station while waiting for Sia to return. I managed to catch up with several of my friends who did the 30km and 18km challenge as well. The sun was relentless and I think many runners had a challenging time towards the end of the race.

Summary
The race organizers Pink Apple did a great job but perhaps better route planning can be done to avoid the 30km runners clashing into the 18km runners at certain areas.

For me, I had a good race, met my objectives and I think I am ready for the Singapore Marathon in December.

See you at the starting line.

Results (Top 3)
All timings are gun time
30KM Men’s Competitive
1st Mok Ying Ren — 1:49:13
2nd Ang Chee Yong — 1:57:10
3rd Ong Seng Lee Alex — 1:57:29

30KM Women’s Competitive
1st Susanna Zappia — 2:18:00
2nd Neo Jie Shi — 2:21:02
3rd Stella Lee Yp — 2:25:23

18KM Men’s Competitive
1st Samson Tenai — 1:04:53
2nd Dev Kumar Rai — 1:06:03
3rd Laxmi Kumar Limbu — 1:06:08

18KM Women’s Competitive
1st Mok Ying Rong — 1:20:11
2nd Melissa Keong — 1:24:18
3rd Lin Qintan — 1:27:45