Pink Ribbon Walk and Run 2010

This year's Pink Ribbon Walk and Run on 2 Oct, Saturday was my second in consecutive time. The difference is last year men can only participate in the walk event and for the first time this year, the organisers viewed supports from the men should be encouraged too, thus the run category was opened to the men. The walk and run event was held in the same venue as last year at the former Big Splash along East Coast and the distance, 5km for both run and walk respectively.

The flag-off was scheduled at 8am for the competitive run and 8.45am for the walk. In bid to go green, I decided to cycle instead of driving, left my house at 7am which took me less than half hour to reach the venue. I was warmed up enough by the time I reached, parked my mountain bike near the guard post and then proceeded to place my haversack at the left baggage tent. It was still early, some 20 mins before the flag-off. I slowly made by way to the start-line and hoping to catch some familiar faces but no luck.

This being a Pink Ribbon event, ladies typically should form the majority and by my reckoning, some 70% come from the fairer gender. There were no more than 1,500 runners in the competitive run event. The guest-of-honour Grace Fu and some VIPs were up on the rostrum 10 mins before flag-off at 8am ready to blow the horn. At exactly 8am we were flagged-off to the applause of the crowd.

To my liking, the weather was fine, wasn't humid - fortunately. I was moving in a steady pace, not wanting to accelerate though it was only 5km. As it is not possible to completely close the entire running path in East Coast, we had to watch out for joggers from the opposite side and even cyclists too. The route took us from former Big Splash to the direction of East Coast Lagoon. Before reaching the chalets, we made a U-turn (2.5km mark) back. At that point, I decided to accelerate a little, past some runners who had earlier started ahead of me. The route has been a familiar site to me thus I know where exactly I should accelerate and finish on the high. The finishing was near with 100 metres or so and in my typical fashion, I accelerated faster and faster. I looked up and saw the clock showing 23 mins plus before touching the tape. By my standard, it was a good time. I gave a 'first' sign to the crowd, raised my cap in acknowledgement and walked to the finish tent for my drink and wet issue. No medal was given to all finishers though top 3 finishers walked away with good prizes. I didn't bother to find out for I knew I was not the top 3 finishers. I should be happy if I finish among the top 5%.

I spent some time walking around, had a cup of milo and hot milk and found a good spot to catch a breather. After retrieving my haversack, I took my bicycle and cycled home. That was how I spent my Saturday morning but in my little way, I felt tinge of satisfaction supporting the Pink Ribbon cause. This run is dedicated to all the cancer survivors - kudos!