Mizuno Ekiden 2017: Unfit Runners United!

by Big Boned Guy

We were invited to the Mizuno Ekiden 2017 for the second year running. Thanks to Mizuno, SG Unfit Runners run as one again! This time I’m running first, PES E second, Fan Tai third and Lazy Girl as the anchor because the girls wanted to avoid the afternoon sun.

We were afraid that it might rain as some parts of Singapore were raining when we made our way to The Promontory. The sky was slightly overcast when we reached there, but it doesn’t look like it would rain. We went over the Mizuno booth to chit chat and get some water while waiting for the run to start.

At around 4:15pm I made my way to the start point eagerly anticipating the flag off. Hopefully the run would not be as hot as the previous edition. The run flagged off shortly and people ran out orderly, there was no pushing and shoving as the runners started running. My pace was steady as I ran towards Gardens by the Bay.

As I ran into Gardens by the Bay, the sun came out. It started to get warm and I started to slow down after the halfway point. “Pokémon Go has ruined my run timing.” I thought as I struggled to keep my previous pace. Ever since Pokémon Go was released in Singapore, I had been using my weekly runs to clock egg hatching distances and catch pokémon. As a result, my endurance suffered as I tend to run multiple short distances with rest stops in between rather than one continuous long distance during my runs.

I started walking due to the heat and unfitness. I tried to continue running, but soon came face-to-face with the next roadblock: the dreaded upslope at Bayfront Bridge! I decided to listen to my body and walked upslope instead of “chionging” up and suffer the aftereffects later.

The next portion of the run took me past Esplanade waterfront and Jubilee Bridge. There were many tourists milling around and I had to slow down to avoid bumping into them. As I was running towards the Merlion statue, I saw a message from Lazy Girl that Fang Tai and her were at the One Fullerton Starbucks (!) and asked me to look out for them. I tried but didn’t manage to spot them as I ran past.

As the run was coming to an end I sprinted to the Transition area looking for PES E. I managed to spot him with his distinctive bandana and passed the sash to him. I then collected my Lucozade and water and slowly walked to Starbucks to look for the girls. They were sipping iced coffee and enjoying themselves under the shade while waiting for their turn!

We raced as four, and completed the run as a team. PES E managed 4 km despite not running regularly for the previous two months before his groin and knee gave him problems, Fang Tai had a good run with consistent timing and Lazy Girl enjoyed her run/walk in the cool evening.

There were fewer bottlenecks in this year’s route but the final 2 km running past the tourists could have been better planned as I saw many tourists trying to take photos but were unable to do so because of runners running past. Overall I could have done better and I need to start running seriously instead of catching pokémon!

Check out some of the other event highlights from Mizuno Ekiden 2017  and see you next year at this running festival!