Up till now, I haven't been paying much attention to the route as there was nothing new, same old roads I've seen for U RUN, 2XU Compression Run and recently, RUN 350. Then as we emerged out an underpass, the most retarded thing happened. Two road marshals, who were about 500m ahead of us, suddenly stretched a rope made of reflective vests tied up together to block the road, to let some vehicles past. It was all so sudden and we had to stop for one minute.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me! Singapore's the only country who does this shit in races." An angry Caucasian exclaimed, many agreed with him, but after that one minute, we took off again. 14km - for my fellow team members of the EXCO. And just as I realized who this 2km was for, we entered Marina Barrage, it wasn't well lit, but the perimeters were clearly marked out. It was a first time for me, as I usually run on the opposite side, the new route was a plus! I whispered each EXCO's name once and dedicated about 2 minutes to keep them in my mind and relive some memories, just then I heard a some human voices over a speaker.
Shanmugan, the head coach of Team RunFanatics
21km runners go straight ahead, 42km runners turn right! This message was repeatedly played over three speakers, and it was time. I think there was 6km more to go at this point, I don't know how or why, I started to pull away from the 2:00 HM Pacers and went ahead, I was telling myself to go all the way till the end and not regret this decision later on. So slightly ahead was the gel station, I took it and drank it on the go, as Maxifuel Gels are highly water based.
16km
Yes, I was feeling tired. Then I did something I always did when I was tired, motivate others, when you motivate others you just get the extra push to keep going. I can swear that every single volunteer I saw in the last 6km, I shouted and motivated them, and thanked them. It's just like a boomerang, these volunteers have great spirit, if you shout at them, you get a shout back instantly, it's very encouraging, and even if you wanted to, you won't be able to stop. I drafted this Caucasian couple for a couple of KM then overtook them, was gunning for a strong finish! I kept the concourse in sight, the 20km distance marker flashed past, this was it!
I gave it all I got, and powered up the last incline up Nicoll Highway and sprinted downhill for a last burst. While running down, I high-fived every single supporter I saw, it felt ust like the Boston Marathon in SBR's video. Simply overwhelming. As I crossed the finish line, I jumped and punched the air in delight. :-)
I crossed the finishing line at 1:53:34
The HM 2:00 Pacers arrived at about 1:56, I owe a big thanks to all of them for helping me achieve my target. I was elated, and now it was time for me and the rest of Team SBR to cheer the rest of the runners on!
