The run yesterday was in the morning (as opposed to evening the year before) so we all had to get to the F1 Pit area next to the Singapore Flyer for the flag off. We had visited the area the night before just to have a look and it looked great, even in the dark. We stopped by the Nike Partner’s Lounge and snapped a shot before heading off to get our rest (good thing we did when there was no one there, one race day, everyone wanted a shot!).

I didn’t get much sleep because it was past midnight by the time we got back to our rooms at the Swissotel The Stamford (which was very, very nice btw) and I was so afraid I’d miss my alarm that I kept waking up every half an hour. It was still dark out when we met at the lobby at 6.15am and took a cab to the gathering point before flag off at 7.10am.

Unlike last year, this time round the decided to hold the concerts during the run. Malaysian band Estranged were given the honour of flagging off the race with their song so they played their set as everyone waited for the horn to go off. The stage was built over the pit so as we took our places, we managed to say hi to Andy and Rich from the band as they were walking up the stage to perform. I don’t like carrying my phone or camera with me as I run, so I didn’t get any shots from that morning.

I did get a shot of the finishing line though after I was done with my run.

The few of us were invited up to the partner’s lounge after the race was done for some breakfast. We were looking forward to having a nice beer (or three) after the run as a reward. Last year, I think Heineken was one of the sponsors so we got relatively happy after the race was over. However, I think because it was a morning run, there was no booze but a nice hearty breakfast (which was very welcome after the run too!). I liked the plate and cutlery best though, though the sauteed mushrooms were to die for.

From up there, I thought I’d snap a few shots to capture the atmosphere are the event a bit. Last year, I was really amazed by the sea of red – 10,000 people! – and this year was no different. Nike’s really smart in that they actually make each runner’s T-shirt customised with the individual’s running number which means no two T-shirts are the same (what a novelty!) and that everyone would have to wear their T-shirt. Which means that the sea of red would look amazing in some of the aerial shots of the run. This might give you a bit of an idea:

We also saw this later. At first, we thought they were just trying to be funny and have a good time (read: nothing better to do) as they walked towards the end in one row with their arms around each other’s shoulders. It was only when they passed the finish line – they all stopped just before the line and took a step together so their time would be equal – and immediately ushered one of them to a wheelchair that I realised it was a sign of solidarity for an injured friend. *warm fuzzy feeling*

And how did I do? Well, according to the D-Tag calculations – the official ones, and not the one on my Nike+ sportsband – I did my run in 61 minutes and 20 seconds. It’s about three minutes off my time from last year so I was a bit dissappointed. That said, it was my fastest time for this year – a few minutes quicker than my Standard Chartered KL Marathon 10k run. Worldwide (24 cities!), I came in 46,083rd place, which is better than last year, 79,557. Among the runners in Singapore, I did worse though. This year I came in 1,803 compared to 1,336 last year.

My friend Marcus, who flew down to Singapore just for the race, did really well – under 57 minutes! Very proud of him!

Before we left the venue though, of course, we couldn’t help taking a picture (okay lah, it was more me than them). Excuse the caption on the photo – I couldn’t resist the 1Malaysia pun, considering it was technically the Malaysian contingent (I’m sure there were many other runners from KL though!).

From left to right: Richard, Nike Malaysia’s Wong and Menaha, Rudy, myself and Frank.

1.43pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)