Date : 5 Dec 2010
Venue : Singapore
Distance : Half-marathon (21km)
My friends were surprised why the heck i registered for half-marathon for this Marathon Singapore. I should have taken Full-marathon for this, worth the money spent & distance to travel down there to Singapore. But this time, i decided to take it easy, just go there ‘lari-lari makan angin’, and it turned out to be really a relaxing, stroll in the city run 😛
Gathered with other Chap Ayam Runners at KL Sentral on 3/12/2010 nite, we departed for Singapore at 11.00pm by night train. Arrived there the next morning, greeted by morning shower at Singapore.
We checked-in at Checkers Inn (http://www.checkersinn.com.sg/), a backpackers hostel at Bugis. It’s a nice & cozy hostel. Each room can accommodate abt 8 persons, with 4 double decked bed, all air-conditioned. Complete with a big kitchen with dining area, 2 PCs for guests to browse the internet. Even there’s free WiFi also for guest to surf the net at the comfort their room. Cost me for SGD30 per day, it’s a cheap & affordable option. Then we off to Marina Bay to collect our race kit.
Made a final preparation for tomorrow’s run, n rest myself at the hostel. Cant wait to run in the Universal Studio tomorrow 😉
Race Day
The half-marathoners, me, Aini & Ecah departed to the nearest MRT station, Little India MRT, will take us straight to Harbour Front station. The starting line is on the Sentosa bridge. Its enough time for us to do some light stretching & warm up. Race started at 6.30am sharp. Can see sea of runners taking part.
The early stage, the route take us around the hilly Sentosa Island. Its my 1st time being there. The best part in Sentosa Island here is of course the Universal Studio. Myself getting so excited upon entering it. The 1st thing I saw was the Far Far Away castle. In front of the castle, stand Shrek & the beautiful Princess Fiona. Some people start to queue to take photos with them, and I follow suit 😛 hhahaha.. so relaxing run isnt it? 😉 Then i saw the Madagascar characters, Woody Woodpecker, Ceylon & others. I just take my own sweet time inside there, nothing to rush coz this is a big opportunity for me to get inside Universal Studio, FOC 😉
Out from Universal Studio, we ran on a basement car park of Sentosa. So stuffy & the air was filled with buses & car smoke. Continue my run out of Sentosa Island, stop here, stop there and take photos. Stop at water stations & take a 2-3mins break there. LOL, i never did a run like this before 😛 really like a stroll in the park kind of run.
Long story short, i’m approaching the finish line at the Padang. Take out the camera, and snap the crowds & celebrations going on there, its so happening. Get my finisher’s medal and gathered with Chap Ayam Runners.
On that evening, we went to Queensway Shopping Centre. There’s a lot of sports shop inside. It’s like Pertama Complex in KL. Can bargain, it’s even on Christmas Sale at that time. I didn’t buy anything, didnt plan to buy anything. Most of the prices there were as same as in Malaysia. Except, not many brand in here i can find in Malaysia.
The next morning, before check-out we headed to Bugis Street & Mustapha Centre for last minutes shopping. We checked out at 12pm. We walked to Bugis bus station to take bus to Larkin. Reached Woodlands checkpoint, we have to disembark from the bus, walk through the immigration lane, then go down, board the bus again. About 5 mins later, we reached Malaysian Immigration, have to disembark again, walk through the immigration check, then board the bus again. Huhhhh, what a tedious process.
We reached Larkin, had lunch there. Our bus to KL will be at 3pm. We reached Bukit Jalil station at 8pm. Took the Star & Putra LRT to Wangsa Maju. Reached home abt 10.30pm. What a nice holiday+run at Singapore with Chap Ayam Runners members.