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.

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3 Reasons why Unfit Runners will never participate in a Triathlon

Triathlon... An activity that the Unfit Runners will definitely not participate. In fact, the term is quite alien to us that we have to google to look for more information on the effort involved in the run. A triathlon requires a participant to run 16km, cycle 65km and swim for 2km. While reading through the website of Singapore International Triathlon, 3 reasons came to my mind immediately why we will probably never participate in a triathlon in our entire lives.

Reason 1: Cannot Cycle

 

Two of our members have not picked up cycling. In this age of crowd sharing bike, you may be surprised that there are still many people who have not learned cycling yet. Lazy girl will only get on a bike with a double sharing option, with the poor front cyclist doing most of the work. Meanwhile, Big boned guy has challenges with any sports that require balancing and that includes bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, hoverboard, in-line skates.

Reason 2: Cannot Swim

While Singaporean guys have the privilege of learning how to swim via forced drowning during their national service days, the ladies don't have these privileges. Other than a casual dip in an onsen or spa, asking them to swim 2km is as good as trying to drown them. The best way to make Singapore a swimming literate country, it will be great to introduce a short national service stint for the ladies whereby swimming is taught to them.

Reason 3: Bad Knees

Since all of the unfit runners are in their late 30s going on to 40s, many of them are running into knee problems which are limiting the amount of distance they can run. As much as hard core runners will shout at us saying "It is mental!" or super-positive people start quoting motivation quotes from Tony Robbins, we have seen enough cases of our more hard core sporty friends go for knee surgeries and concluded that we like to keep our knees and forgo that shinny triathlon medal.

Now if you are not scared off by now and is still inspired to go ahead with this triathlon madness, check out the Singapore International Triathlon. Go ahead! I challenge you!

Meanwhile, do check out Durasafe Store, who is the sponsor for Singapore International Triathlon for their sporting equipment. Nope, we are not getting paid or gotten any sponsorship goods from Durasafe Store and we are just doing a friendly shout out. In any case, we like the wide variety of sporting goods available from lesser known international brands. Maybe, It's time to give other products a try other than the usual sporting brands.

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Mizuno Ekiden 2017: A Cooperative Run with a Festive Mood

Mizuno Ekiden Run is back and this popular event is now in their 3rd year and the event will be held on 19th Aug 2017. For those who are unfamiliar with what Ekiden is, here is a short write-up on what an Ekiden is:

"In Japanese terms, Ekiden refers to a relay-styled long distance running and that is exactly how the Mizuno Ekiden 2017 will work. Runners are set to compete against the clock whilst unlocking milestones as they transmit from one station to the next within a specific time."

The cool thing about the race is that you can actually monitor the progress of your friends through the use of a race app, while slurping down a bowl of ramen at the waiting area.

We also brought along a bunch of board and card game and entertained ourselves, while complaining how slow the current runner is. Great fun.

The race village also have a host of events that you can participate and free food and drinks which you can collect from. There are sports clinics and demos which you can participate in which can improve your knowledge in the area of health and fitness. The medal is also very cool as you can fit the design together to form a "super medal"

The biggest complaint we have about the event is the position of the tables relative to the sun. As the event starts at 4pm, a portion of the event grounds will be baked in the sun, and the waiting runners often have to move the furniture towards the more shady part of the event ground which forces the tables to be squeezed together to a small shady section. Also, if you are looking to reserve a table for your team, you will need to arrive earlier else you will not be able to get a table for all your eating, gaming activities.  

So if you prefer a race that has a community feel, where you can spend time with you friends and getting a work out at the time, Mizuno Ekiden is a race you can consider. The Mizuno Ekiden registration is now open with the early bird offer closing on 30th April. You can also get a 30% off Mizuno products if you sign up as a participating runner. The final registration will close on 27th July.

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Event Alert - Income Eco Run 2017

The SG Unfit Runners are a group of long time friends who joined, Green Project, an environmental awareness club, during their high school days. We became the Garang Guni (A Singaporean slang for used goods collector) of the school and often engage in the less glamorous activities of recycling used goods for the school.

Seems like the Green movement has come a long way since than with now a run with a focus on environmental friendliness.

Income Eco Run 2017, which will take place on 30 April 2017 at the F1 Pit Building, will
continue to drive the green message amongst runners and people in Singapore at large,
calling members of the public to take to the run to show their pledge for green practices.
In fact, Income will up its ante on its green commitment next year by embarking on a detailed
‘green’ audit partnering Green Future Solutions, which helps organizations address
environmental challenges and identify green opportunities.

To hit home the message on reduce, reuse and recycle, Income Eco Run 2017 will introduce
the ‘ Zero-Waste Runner’. As a ‘Zero-Waste Runner’, participants will not receive a finisher
tee and race medal to help reduce wastage from producing race entitlements. The
registration to be a Zero-Waste runner is limited to the first 1,000 participants. They will be
recognized as ‘Zero-Waste Runner’ with a special silkscreened symbol on their race tee and
given a BYO bottle.

For more information, please visit www.incomeecorun.sg

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Pocari Sweat Run 2016 - The Rise of the Demon Lord

It started with a bout of flu that put me unfit for the Pocari Sweat run. Probably that is the result of a combination work, stress and junk food that put me out of commission. It is also an omen of that is left unheeded by the Unfit Runners that the clouds of doom that will descent upon us during this Saturday evening.

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Bocca Del Fuoco Run - A Night Run in Venice, Historical Glass Workshops and Red Wine!

The Island of Murano, Venice, Italy

When we were first contacted by the event organizer of the Bocca Del Fuocco run on helping them spread the world of their run, we were intrigued by the request from Italy. Even though SG Unfit Runners do go for random self-initiated runs in various parts of Europe, we have not covered Italy and Venice yet, with the bulk of our readers coming from Singapore. However, we were assured by the event organizer that our blog is well regarded among the international running media community and our courage to share with the world about our daily slice of running life has made our blog a personal favorite of the organizer.

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Mizuno Ekiden Singapore 2016 - Great Goodies, Hot Run, Festive Village, Beer Galore!

SG Unfit Runner Team!

By Lazy Girl
 

Finally, I did it! Completing a half marathon (21.1km) run… but with the help of three friends. Yes, as you’ve most likely guessed it, it’s a relay race organized by Mizuno where each of us covers a distance of about 5+km. But no matter, it is still a half marathon (even if it’s only in name) and I’m very happy to have done with my friends.

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How to use Beer to Motivate Unfit Runners to Train

After our Unfit Runners run at City Hall area and chilling out YaKun feasting on halfboiled eggs and kaya toasts.

PES E,"Lazy girl is unable to come for run again! She says she too stressed from OT at work! We have to relook at our Mizuno Ekiden Running arrangement again!"

Mizuno Ekiden Run is a relay run for 4 people taking turns to run 5km each. The order of the run is: Big Boned Guy, Fang Tai, Lazy Girl, PES E

Big Boned Guy, "Well, nobody complained about the running arrangement during the time I registered, so it shall stay!"

PES E," But at the rate that Lazy Girl is slacking! She will take an hour or so to finish the 5km run! I have to wait for a long time before my turn to run! How did you come up with the running order in the first place?"

Fang Tai, "I heard it has something to do with the availability of beer at the waiting area."

PES E, "Wait! WHAT? You guys joined the Mizuno Ekiden Run because there is beer available!!??"
 
Big Boned Guy, "OF COURSE! There is no greater motivation than drinking ice cold beer after a run! And I read somewhere that drinking beer after a run is beneficial!"

PES E: <FACE PALMED>

Big Boned Guy, "So, I arrange the running format based on how much beer each person can drink. And since you (PES E) are allergic to beer, you are the last to run since you can't enjoy the beer anyway!"

PES E, "Well, we can reverse the order of things and you can drink your beer before your run!"

Big Boned Guy, "Do you want me to puke beer as I run! Besides, beer saps stamina and is best taken after the run!"

PES E wails, "So you guys going to sip beer and chill while I have to wait for Lazy Girl to stroll back!?"

Big Boned Guy, "Well, you can encourage Lazy Girl to turn up for our weekend runs more often..."

Fang Tai, "You can't outvote us on the running arrangement anyway since I am with BBG on this!"

PES E, "Okie, time to tell Lazy Girl that she is getting fat from missing out on all the weekend runs! That should get her motivated!"

That is how beer manages to motivate a couple of Unfit Runners to workout and at the same time, motivate them to get other slackers to train.

Running organizers can maybe consider getting more beer sponsors in.... 

To find out more about the characters in SG Unfit Runners, visit this link

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Rejoice! Fans of Descendant of the Sun for the Army Half Marathon is Here!

It was the year 2002.

I was in my second year of my 2.5 years of military national service, we were offered an irresistible deal at that point of time. Volunteer as the company representative for the army half marathon and you will get off days for training and recovery. Being stuck on the remote island of Pulau Tekong was not that pleasant at that point of time as the nearest shopping mall is an 1hr ride by boat and bus and getting home was usually an epic journey worthy of Frodo's adventure in "Lord of the Rings". Imagine taking day offs on Fridays where you can spend a solid 3 days at home without wasting too much traveling time each week.

Unfortunately, I managed to clinch the representative spot for Army Half Marathon. As an ex school representative gymnast, I was pretty fit on all fronts except for running and stamina sport. My IPPT results were usually straight "A" with exception of 2.4km run. That was my Achilles heel and I saw the half marathon as a chance to buff up on my running ability as well as to earn some Off days.

I started to train and all was well until I hit the 10km mark and my ankle started to hurt. As a result of reading too much Slam Dunk and Dragon Ball manga whereby willpower is the path to success, I pushed on, only for the pain to multiply exponentially for every 100meters I run. I gave up at 12km and spent the next 2 week hobbling around in camp.

After recovery, I started running again and this time, on top of ankle pain, my knees started hurting and I just could not over-come the 10km mark. With little hope of completing the actual half marathon, and potentially embarrassing myself and my unit in front of the entire Singapore Armed Forces, I dropped out of the race and I convinced myself that I was not destined to run... ever.

At that point of time, there was no professional trainers who were there to advise on proper running techniques, shoes or what so ever. I was also born a natural super flat foot using a heel strike running technique, which put a lot of stress on my knees and ankles.

I did not know about this until I started Unfit Runners 12 years later, which ignited my passion for running.

In 2013, I managed to take my revenge on the Army Half Marathon by completing the 10 km run

For some reason, I did not blog about the whole experience but other than the usual walking and shuffling at the starting point and certain choke points at Helix Bridge which is usual for any large scale running event, the event was well organized with lots of fun and interactive activities and freebies at the end of the race.

So if you do not mind the crowds of a large scale running event, the Safra run and the Army Half Marathon is one of the most value for money organized run in Singapore with special discounts for NSmen (which is like the entire male Singapore residents), SAFRA members and their family members.

$13 for 21km run and $9 for the 10km run along with all the usual entitlements of running singlets and medals.

For the ladies who recently finished watching Korean hit drama Descendant of the Sun and is looking for their special one in the military, this is probably one of the best chance to see our Army boys in action!

 
Details of Army Half Marathon
Date: 28th August 2016
Routes Available: 5km, 10km, 21km
Registration closing date: 21st July 2016

Details and Registration can be found here

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Mizuno Ekiden Singapore Run - 16th July 2016

SG Unfit Runners are contemplating taking on a 21km run, after conquering the 10km barrier a couple of years ago.

No, we are not going to cripple ourselves by running 21km individually, but we are contemplating to run 21km in aggregation using the Ekiden method.

Before you go, "What is Ekiden?" which is my first reaction when I read about it, here is a brief explanation of the origins of the word.

The first ekiden race was held in 1917, in conjunction with celebrating the anniversary of the moving of the capital to Tokyo. The ekiden race was held over three days between the old Japanese capital of Kyoto and the modern capital of Tokyo with the total distance amounting to 508 km.

The original concept of the race stems from Japan’s communication and transportation system during the olden days, in which stations were posted at intervals along the road. The word Eki. “駅” means station and den “伝” represents transmit. 

So it practically works like a baton passing run, just that it is spread over 21km and 42km. However, one of the short-coming of an Ekiden is that the last runner will have to spend some time fiddling on their phone while waiting for their running partners to complete their respectively leg of the race.

On top of that, the race starts at 4pm and there is little doubt that some of the SG Unfit Runners will complain about the heat.

Let's hope they have tons of isotonic drinks and water along the way!

Fees are $45 for the 21km run per pax and $50 for the 42km run per pax.

For more information about Mizuno Ekiden Singapore Run, click here

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Pocari Sweat Run - 23rd July 2016

One of the key running event that shaped the experience of their running experience is the Pocari Sweat run. If the readers have noticed, we have participated almost on an annual basis since the launch of Pocari Sweat run and it all started as using the run as a mile stone goal to train up for 5km during the starting phrase of our group. Another reason for picking the Pocari Sweat run is due to Alcoholic and Big Boned Guy's obsession of the free flow of Pocari Sweat after the run. Usually, Alcoholic does not join us for runs but he makes exceptions for his love of Pocari Sweat...

This year, Pocari Sweat Run decided to change their format from the typically unearthly early morning run to a night run and they decided to theme it "Let's Run to the Moon".

Here's their official press release:

The POCARI SWEAT Run returns for the fifth consecutive year; this time with a special mission to complete. On 23 July 2016 at 5pm, runners will combine their efforts to complete the final leg of POCARI SWEAT’s journey to the Moon at The Float @ Marina Bay.

Similar to the concept of ascending to the Moon, POCARI SWEAT is calling out to runners to join the brand in completing the journey and running together in this year’s edition of the Run. In the four years that the POCARI SWEAT Run has been held in Singapore, runners have covered a total of 300,000 KM, which is more than 75% of the distance between the Earth and the Moon. In 2016, with a remaining distance of 80,000 KM, participants can make history by taking part in either the 5KM or 10KM category, with each step contributing to the journey to the Moon.

The marketing effort is a marked departure from their usual "Hey, come run and drink Pocari Sweat for a reasonable running fee!" and some efforts have been put in putting together a theme and backstory to the run. Well, it's not fantastic, but than again, you can't compete with other runs with already a strong back story like One Piece Run or Hello Kitty Run. Sign-up fee is $50 and $60 for the 5km and 10km run which is a $2 increase from last year's fee.

Interested runners who have somewhat a similar unholy love for Pocari Sweat drinks, you can sign up for the run here. 

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Green Corridor 2016 Run - Mud, Rocks and a Bad Sorethroat

6th March 2016

Ahh... The legendary Green Corridor Run. The run that destroys running shoes, turning it from pristine white into muddy brown. For some reason, it rained almost every year during the the run and Big Boned Guy who participated during one of the wettest Green Corridor Run in history, had to discard his SAF shoes. This year, he volunteered all of us to participate in this run, so that we had a chance to enjoy the muddy mess and an excuse to throw out our old running shoes.

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Running Events in China (feat Nonsense Reviews by Unfit Runners)

SG Unfit Runners was approached by 42race.sg a couple of weeks ago to help them spread awareness of the various running events around the world. 42race is a tour agency that specializes in organizing tour packages for runners to participate in runs for Singaporeans who are looking for an overseas running experience. We have agreed to help them spread the word on a Pro Bono basis as we see the value of them taking the hassle out of helping lazy people like us who always wanted to fly overseas for a run but couldn't find any scapegoat to volunteer to do all the dirty work. We have been talking about participating in Penang Marathon for the longest time but no one stepped up to do the organizing, so we can see the value of what 42race is doing.

This article is contributed by 42race.sg on popular running events in China.  

There are many reasons that China is the world’s popular destination for tourism – rich culture, natural wonders, amazing architecture, and many more. China is so culturally different from countries outside of East Asia and has many of the most amazing sceneries in the world. If you are looking for an exotic adventure, packed full of new sights and experiences, China is the place to go. Here are 3 races in China that you may join this year to experience all of it:

Chengdu Marathon

Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Race date: 27 March 2016

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Reebok Spartan Race - Not for you if you are Unfit (Freebies Alert!)

I was recently approached by the organizers of Reebok Spartan Race to give a shout out for their event.

Now I know why it is called the Spartan Race. You literally have to run through fire, crawl through mud, throw a spear and charge half naked into the welcoming arms of King Xerxes

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Singapore Stanchart Marathon - 3rd Time a Charm?

by PES E

I must admit that I am jinxed, when it comes to Stanchart Marathon. I had to sit out the last two Stanchart Marathons for the past 2 years...

When we first started out as Unfit Runners 3 years ago, we aimed to participate in the most prestigious marathon in Singapore which is the Stanchart Marathon. At that point of time, the thought of covering the minimal distance of 10km was inconceivable for all of us. We could barely cover 3km, not to mention a mission impossible 10km run (10km is an achievement for all the Unfit people!).  Slowly, over the years, we aimed to take part in 5km runs, and it has been only recently that during the Pocari Sweat run in July, all the regular members of SG Unfit Runners managed to complete a 10km run. I have achieved the 10km benchmark 2 years ago, but a knee injury took me down to a feeble 1km and the slow recovery continues to plague me till today. During 2013 and 2014, I signed up for the Stanchart Marathon run but did not attempt them as my knee injury took an awfully long time to heal. At this moment of time, I can probably cover 6-7km before my knee starts to act up and this year, I am optimistically hopeful that I did not sign up in vain... again...

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Pocari Sweat Run 2015 - Running with Upset Stomach is Not Fun!

by Big Boned Guy.

I woke up at 5 am in the morning, still a little bit groggy after a late night out drinking with PES E and Alcholic, guzzling beer and whiskey. In order to purge the harmful effects of the alcohol to prepare for the Pocari Sweat 10km run the next morning, I downed one litre of water when I got home and promptly went to bed at 12:30 am. Lazy girl was the first (surprise, surprise) to greet us in the morning at 4:59 am in our Whatsapp chat group. She was taking the chartered bus to the start point and didn’t want to miss it while Fang Tai made her way to the Sports hub via the first train. We were all taking part in the 10 km run so we had to be at the start point by 6:30 am. For Lazy Girl, doing a 10km run is considered as an epic achievement, because she barely survived the Pocari Sweat 5km run a year ago. Meanwhile, PES E was downgraded to the 5KM run due to his knee injury. 

I replied “Morning” and proceeded to the bathroom for my morning routine. However, there was a queasy feeling in my stomach and so I sat on the throne for a couple of minutes, tried hard, but achieved nothing for all that effort. I took a quick shower, put on my running gear and left home. When I reached the MRT station, I realised that I was too early for the first train, and so I sat down to wait for another 20 mins on the deserted platform, unwilling to fork our $20 bucks for a cab ride down to the Sports Hub. Meanwhile, Lazy Girl and Fang Tai messaged that they were already at the start point.

I am going to be soooo late for the run...

The only consolation was that I noticed more and more runners clad in Pocari Sweat blue, started to gather on the MRT platform. At least there would be a bunch of other runners who would be as late as I. When the first train finally arrived, more than half the passengers were runners and I plonked myself on a seat and tried to catch more sleep. When the train finally arrived at Stadium MRT station, it was already 6:26 am, leaving only 4 minutes for me to dash to the starting point

My stomach was still not feeling well. Was it the deadly mixture of hamburger, beer and whiskey the night before? As I followed the stream of blue past the underpass and towards the start point, I contemplated going to the toilet first. However, I could not spot any nearby ones at the Kallang Practice Track. 

“Heck it, just run first and if it gets unbearable just run to the nearest toilet.” I said to myself.

I started my run around 12 mins after the initial wave was flagged off,  and so there was already a sea of blue in front of me, taking their own sweet time, probably planning to stroll for the entire 10KM. 

I sped up and overtook the walkers ahead. 

As I neared the 1 km mark, I saw mobile toilets set up along the route with short queues and was tempted to join the queues. However, since the uneasy feeling was still bearable, I shouldered on.

The route took us through the Nicoll Highway, Singapore Flyer, Helix Bridge, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Barrage and back to the Kallang Practice Track via Bay East Garden. As I got into my “running rhythm”, the desire to interrupt my run and visit the loo started to abate. After all, the faster I finished my run, the faster I could relieve myself. 

But something unexpected disrupted my plans…

While running along the jogging path at Bay East Garden, my Nike+ app dutifully informed me that I had covered 9 km with 1 km to go. However, I knew that there was still quite a distance to the finish point which was also at the Kallang Practice Track. Could they have shifted the finish point? I got my answer 1 km later. The 10 km marker was placed at the bridge leading towards Singapore Indoor Stadium with no signs of the finishing point anywhere and I was made to run another 1.5 km, with the contents of my last night's debauchery threatening to burst open.

I was cursing under my breath as I willed myself to finish the last 1.5 km around the Singapore Sports Hub and to the finish line with a good timing of 1:08:24, which was quite an accomplishment considering the suffering that I was undergoing during the run.

After collecting the finisher tee and medal, I proceeded to drink copious amount of Pocari Sweat since I heard that isotonic drink is a good treatment for an upset stomache. PES E, who started at 7 am for the 5 km run, came back first, followed by Fang Tai and Lazy Girl. All commented that it was a relatively good run, except for the summer heat and the extra distance.

As I grabbed another cup of Pocari Sweat before heading for breakfast, PES E warned that I’ll “Lao Sai” (Hokkien word for diarrhea)  for drinking so much Pocari Sweat on an upset stomach…

And he was right.... 

PES E 5km route

BBG 10km route

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Bizad Charity Run 2015

Run date: 10th Jan 2015

I have not participated in any paid runs, ever since my Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) injuries 2 years ago. I have some what recovered since than to be able to run 5-6km without much pain to my outer knee. I decided to try out a 5km Charity run organized by NUS Business School to test out the recovery of my knee.

I should have picked a easier run.  

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Hello Kitty Run vs. Great Eastern Women Run

by Fang Tai Tai (芳太太）

Couples and frenzy fans waiting in anticipation

Hello Kitty Run: Rain Rain Go Away...

It was never my initial intention to join in the Hello Kitty Run (HKR) to celebrate the iconic kitty (girl or cat)'s 40th birthday on 1 November 2014. After all, my unfit runner gang of macho men does not belong to the department of cutesy affairs. They would rather run for SAFRA.

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Stanchart Half-Marathon: Short Interruption to my Running Career

The last few weeks, have been quite a depressing affair for my running career. First, I injured my knee during one of my routine Sat run during the end of Sept. I thought resting for a 2 weeks before my Europe trip will give it time for my knee to recover. I tried a short run just before my Europe trip but my knee starting throbbing after 1km. Than I forced a run at Amsterdam doing about 2km. Knee hurts but not that bad. During the next run at Dusseldorf Germany, I forced an even further run of 5km. My knee gave way at 3km. I hobbled my way from Hamburg to Berlin to Paris for the rest of the trip, cursing at every European staircase that confronted me.

After I got back from my Europe trip at the end of Oct, I thought that a good one month rest should be enough for my knee to recovery for the Stanchart Half Marathon. A week before the race, I strapped on my shoes and tried to run. My knee started to throb after hitting the 1km mark. I started to feel pain after 1.5km. I have little choice but to abandon the Standchart Half Marathon.

This is depressing. I wonder when my knee will heal...

A few days after the Stanchart Half Marathon, I came upon this piece of news whereby an unknown Singaporean runner who won the local title for Stanchart, was disqualified. He ran for 6km, felt a pain in the knee, probably went somewhere to drink some coffee before walking back to the finish point and "accidently" clinched the first place. He also revealed that he cheated not only once, but thrice, just because he wanted the finisher T-shirt and the medal.

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Pocari Sweat 10KM Run. 2013

Marina Bay... Before the Haze!

It's a glorious Sunday morning. Why do I say that, it's because this event might have been cancelled, if the haze from Indonesia breached the air space of Singapore just a few days earlier. The air quality started to deteriorate sharply from Monday onwards and for the first time in the history of Singapore. Our PSI level (indicate how polluted the air is) hit the 400 hazardous level. Almost all outdoor events were cancelled for the week, and we were very very lucky that the Pocari Sweat Run is held on this very weekend.

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