Run London

With THE running event just less than a week away..this blog is dedicated to all those participating in the Singapore Marathon 2005..



15th October 2005

Reached Hyde Park at 230pm to attend a briefing for the Run London event..it's sorta the equivalent of the Nike Real Run in Sg (think it's no more? become NB Run?)

I saw the publicity posters sometime back & went to surf the website..was debating if i should actually participate in the event(pay 35 pounds) or be a helper(be paid 60 pounds).. eventually decided to try my luck & register as a helper .. & if i didn't get recruited, i'll just turn around & sign up as a participant..

In the end, i did get selected..so here i am at Hyde Park..waiting for the briefing..

I reckoned there were no more than 80 pple there..quite few, given the scale of the event..the briefing took less than 5 mins..the intro was done by some rep from Nike...'I have only 2 points - it's "Ni-key", not "Nike" and it's not a "tick" but a "Swoosh"' Short & sweet.

Then we were briefed by our section leaders..i was in the water station unit..for most of u, u would know wat it's all about..so i shan't go into lorsor details..

We were then told to collect our event t-shirt..& the OIC was blur enuf to distribute bottoms to us(only road marshalls needed to wear the track pants)..so i'm now the happy owner of a pair of Nike track pants :)

Anyway, i realised the reporting time was 730am..& it was quite impossible for me to reach on time cos the earliest tube from my place is 645am on Sundays(yes, i can memorise all the tube timings heart ever since i started working at TP) & it takes me at least an hour to get to the venue..contemplating if i should bunk in a nite with JM, an ex-sec schmate staying in the vicinity..turned out she's in New York on business but her bf was taking part in the run..so qiao..in any case, i spoke to my section leader & he was cool about me reporting at 7.45am..problem settled.



16th October 2005

Took the first tube out to central london today..the weather seems quite good today..as usual, i can see the sunrise on my tube journey..this is the main reason why i dun hate getting up early here..nothing beats a splendid sunrise to start ur day..

Reported at my designated area..then went to collect my breakfast..sounds familiar to some of u? Yeah..breakfast is packed for us just like the way it's done back in Sg..the only diff? Instead of cha bee hoon, it's tuna mayo baguette : ) Oh, there's an apple as well..hmm..why is it tat we never gave out fruits at mass events? Do Sporeans not like fruits?

Together with the rest of my unit pple, we walked over to the drinks station which is at the 5km mark..there's only 1 drink pt since it's only a 10km run..soon after, we started work..opening bottles & bottles & bottles of mineral water..& lining them up on the tables..we were given gloves to wear to prevent RSI..but despite wearing them, i actually still got blisters from opening the bottle caps : /

According to the organisers, we're expecting some 20,000 runners this morning..there were 3 run waves for the day..9.30, 10.30 & 11.30..tat's the good thing about running in temperate countries..imagine running at 11.30am in Sg..i won't be surprised if there's more pple at the medical tent than the souvenir tent..

The sun was shining down gently..& i could just feel slightest hint of a breeze..the grass was 'green oil oil'(lu you you)& u could see squirrels running freely on the field..every now & then, the birds can also be heard chirping in the background..quite niao yu hua xiang..this is almost the perfect condition to run in..pity my SSC folks are not here..they would have enjoyed it..

Baaaee...there's the first wave..first to run past us was Paula Radcliffe(she's the regining world marathon champion)..apparently, she's going for the world record(but failed lah)..then came EVERYONE else..i may have done countless sports events before but this is my first time actually handling out drinks for runners..my section leader was also encouraging us to encourage the runners..machiam 'runspirators'..was soaked at the end of it by all the splashing but it's quite fun lah..heh..

By 12-ish noon..the event was almost over..helped to clear the area a bit..then went to sign out..& since i'm there, i just strolled about in the park..huge park(it has to be, if u can have a 10km run inside the park)..found a nice spot & had a little picnic(yes, i packed my lunch before i came out..i pack my lunch everywhere these days)

Maybe it's the nice weather..or the pay(at 60pounds for 5 hours, it's more than double of wat i earn in TP) or maybe it's simply the feeling of being involved in sports..my mood was pretty good tat day..




more pics of Run London can be found at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=tthjh81.ac7tjp9t&x=0&y=-nqiqkc