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
