Running in Singapore
If you are a keen runner then Singapore is quite a challenging place to be based. With daytime temperatures of 28-31C a longer run can get pretty sweaty and it is also a very built up city with 4.5m people living on a small island.
Our apartment is close to the Singapore river and the waterside is a popular place to avoid the traffic. The downside is that the surface is hard - because the whole length down towards the port has been landscaped and smartenup up you are running on pavement - often granite slabs - all the way. the other challenge is tourists as it gets very busy particularly around the popular quays - Clarke, Robertson and Boat - where all the bars and restaurants are.
Running at night or in the rain seems to be the answer as these folks demonstrate. And if you are not by the river there are open spaces - the botanical gardens, the gardens by the bay or the east coast park on the way to the airport. There are also longer off road routes around the various reservoirs as well as the Southern Ridges.
On Thursday 18th April it is the 10th JP Morgan Corporate Challenge. A 5.6km race around the marina area - using the F1 track in places. It is the largest field ever with 16,730 entries. The start is "self seeded" say the organisers - faster runners should make their way to the front with slower ones further back - an instruction totally ignored by the hundreds of runners that fill the bridge at 5pm when the start opens. This makes it quite challenging for 'real runners' like me to dodge large groups of slow joggers after the start before the field opens up.
Otherwise the organisation is very good. A strip in your running number is detected at the start and finish to measure your time and you receive an email as soon as you reach the end with your time! There are plenty of water stops and the processing at the end is very smooth. My only mistake was to head off in the wrong direction at the end for bag collection - not the organisers fault. After the slow start a time of 24:46 is not too bad and surprisingly I am in 246th place - a long way behind the winner who finished in 17:39.
The team at work posing before we leave the office. Oddly it is only me and my team who don't have company T-shirts.