On 31st Jan, our road relay team were at Hall 3 early in the morning for the race. The team was split into 2 groups. The first (in order of runners), comprised of Wee Leong (unfortunately arrowed by Leslie to join), Chian Yee (aka Legend), Jialing, Yuan Ming (return of the torn ligament!) and Chung Chi. The 2nd team had Cao Xun (China Whipper), Choon Rui, Deng Qiang, Lyanna (our underpaid overworked squatter) and Kian Tiong (Sportsman of the Year). Our reserves of Amirah, Christopher and Harvinder deserve a notable mention as well for making the trip down, in case any accidents did occur, like falling down, rolling over twice and scraping your knees in the process (true story! Just ask the China Whipper..)
We knew it was going to be a tall order repeating last year’s feat of achieving 2nd after some key members of the team either graduated, pangseh-ed and switched halls, fell sick, or had life-and-death matters to attend to, such as going.. to.. teach.. tuition.. The convening hall had also obviously put much effort into planning the event, suggesting a new route just days before the race. Nevertheless, our training time trials had been promising and everybody was determined to give the race their best shot.
The atmosphere was tense throughout as nobody knew what to expect from the new race route, coupled with the very unforgiving weather. One of the girls from Hall 6 almost collapsed upon completing her segment of the race. But the throng of supporters from our hall (all 8 of them) were in full voice and let our runners know in no uncertain terms that they were with them all the way, with 2 full 5-litre containers of 100-plus and water not far behind in tow.
Unfortunately for Hall 7, it seemed that the playing field was very uneven, as every other hall seemed to have a stable of very capable horses, I mean, runners, and the odds were firmly stacked against us. Singapore Pools stopped taking bets and decided to pay out before the race those who bet against Hall 7 winning 2nd again. Eventual champions Hall 6, who were also the defending road relay champions, took an early lead in the race and never looked like relinquishing it.
On a much lighter note, the team still managed a respectable 6th position overall, despite all the setbacks prior to raceday. All of the runners outdid themselves by slashing on average 30 seconds off their time trial timings. Though we could not emulate the success of last year, the team can take pride in the fact that they did the best they could under such difficult terms.. The feelings of the runners were summed up in the words of one of the newest members of the team:
“Next year we must definitely train harder and do better!” said Wee Leong, in emphatic fashion, albeit in an equally cliched manner.
And that wraps up our road relay story.. There’s definitely room for much improvement, and the team will make sure they fill it up by race day next year, with enough inspiration and perspiration to make Thomas Edison proud. Till next year then!
Written By Elis Ong
