This is one of the running events in Singapore that I always look forward to. Cos it is held at night! Well.. you prolly know why la I prefer night event kan. hahaha...
Flew to Singapore on Friday after work. I almost got a heart attack cos my flight with JetStar was at 9.20pm and I reached home at 7.10pm due to the bloody jam at MRR2. Luckily I already packed some of my things the night before. Changed my clothes, did some last minute packing and off to the LRT station by 7.30pm. Just as I reached the platform, the train arrived. That train was truly my savior! Cos I reached KL Sentral just in time for the 8pm ERL to KLIA. ERL to KLIA only took 28 minutes so I reached KLIA at 8.28pm, and managed to get my boarding pass before the check in counter closed. Pheww!!!
My sister didn't manage to register for the event so I went alone, and met her friends who arrived earlier.
Great Singapore Sale had just started so we wasted no time and went shopping. Bought some sports attire at Queensway Shopping Centre and then off we headed to Orchard Road, my favorite place in Singapore!
But I felt the sale wasn't that great this time. Perhaps they saved the best for last cos I was there when they had just started. :(
Anyway, we went carbo-loading at our favorite restaurant, Ayam Penyet Ria at Lucky Plaza!
This is my must-go restaurant everytime I visit Singapore.
Ayam Penyet!
Or in English, they call it Smashed Chicken.. sounds quite funny ey?
Also, I would not go back to KL without buying supplies of this!!
Cornery popcorn. I prefer them to Garrett.
OK, back to the marathon story. I registered for the full marathon category and the event was to be flagged off at 12.30am. So by 5pm we were back at the hostel to sleep.
We went out from the hostel at around 10.15pm and took the MRT to the event area. They changed the venue to the open field, next to Nicoll Highway MRT Station this year. I had no objection, cos it was easy for the participants to reach the place.
We reached the venue around 10.45pm. Hmm.. still very early so we just killed the time by walking around the race village.
Got ourselves this photo!
It was free! Courtesy of I forgot the sponsor.. haha..
We headed to the starting area just after midnight. The half marathon and full marathon category started at the same time so it was very crowded. Nevertheless, I loved it cos I knew I wouldn't be lonely on the road.
at the starting line ... gosh, my huge arm! T_T
The starting line was separated by runners' estimated finishing hours; 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours and 6 hours. Me? Of course I knew where I stood so I was wayyyy at the back till I couldn't even see the Starting arch. Seriously, I was so far behind that I only got to step on the starting mat half an hour after the gun time. Even so, there were still a lot of runners behind me. Just showed how strong the crowd were.
We started at a different venue but eventually we ran at the usual route, passing by some of the prominent landmarks such as Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands and Esplanade. Well... where else can you run in Singapore right?
The half marathoners were separated from us at KM15 or so, and not long after that, it started to rain!!! It was just drizzling at the beginning. I loved it cos it made the night cooler. But then, as we were running towards the East Coast Park, it started to get heavier and continued for hours!
Can you imagine running in the rain at 3 in the morning? Luckily I could stand the cold. I saw a lot of runners stopped and sheltered themselves under the picnic hut. Some even stopped for a hot coffee at the nearby McDonald's!
Though it was raining all the way while we were there, I especially loved running at the East Coast Park, prolly cos I've never ran there. And also, we ran by the beach! Too bad it's dark and it's raining heavily so we couldn't enjoy the view.
The rain never stopped till the end. Even as I reached the finishing line, it was drizzling!
But I was happy to finish my third full marathon, well within the cut off time.
I braved through the rain. And yes, I beat the sunrise!
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