A 30-kilometre race on the 30th of October. How timely. It’s going to be one hell of a breeze – couldn’t help with the cliché utterance there – this Sunday as the Newton Challenge happens yet again along the coastal borders of East Coast Park. Let’s put it this way. You can’t go wrong with this location. Besides the scenic views across the straits and the consistent greenery that lines itself throughout the stretch, the ‘relaxed’ vibe of this popular weekend getaway is certainly a draw away from the stresses of urban living.
Okay, enough of the philosophical stuff. There will be two competitive distances, 30 and 18 kilometres, split into the Men’s and Women’s Competitive category respectively. That means we’ll have four, not two, batches of runners. Although the official flag-off time is at 7am, the organisers have introduced a second one at 7.15am. Our guess is it’s to separate the elite roadies from the others. That’s our take anyhow. Everyone, regardless whether you’re 30, 18, Men, or Women, you all go off with the “gun”. Just a note on race etiquette: If you know ‘speed’ isn’t your forte, then drop the act and head to the back. *ouch*
If you’d have a look at the map below, the purple/orange route’s for the 30-kilometre peeps and purple, the 18-kilometre striding pack. ‘Loops’ galore we say but unavoidable we suppose. Runners should take note of strategic points such as the National Sailing Centre, Bedok Jetty and the western “no man’s land” just off Playground@Big Splash. Oh yes, we didn’t mention that the Start/End point is there.
Courtesy of Pink AppleFrankly, we’re pretty impressed with the amount of medical and hydration points along the route. Good job Pink Apple (race organiser)! Four medicals and 11 hydration stations. You can’t. You simply can’t go into dehydration mode! Don’t even think about heat stroke. What we also love is the 2nd Surge Gel and Pocari Sweat that’ll be made readily available at the Athlete Support Station. A quick nutritional update: 2nd Surge Gel is specifically formulated to delay the onset of both muscle and brain fatigue while Pocari Sweat (a familiar sight among National Servicemen) is absorbed 2.3 times quicker by the body than normal water – talk about efficient fluid recovery.
Notwithstanding the showering wrath of Mother Nature, RunSociety’s looking forward to a beautiful heart-pumping Sunday morning out at the beach. All the best to the runners! Drink up loads and let’s have an incident-free race…
