Aaron Chong
Trail, sand, gravel and road were soaked with more than 10, 000 people’s blood, sweat and tears during the New Balance REAL RUN 2009 on Nov 8.
The ultimate X-terrain challenge pushed even the most seasoned of runners to the brink of exhaustion. Even Dev Kumar Rai, a Gurkha (they’re known for their courage and stamina), admitted that the race route was harsh.
“I think that the race is very challenging, especially the muddy area. It’s lucky that it didn’t rain before the race, or it would have been very difficult.”
Held at the Changi Exhibition Centre, the enthusiastic joggers were flagged off by Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law & Home Affairs and current president of HomeTeamNS.
He provided words of encouragement to the runners like, “You can do this!” before waving the starting flag and was waiting at the end to cheer on the runners as Alex Melly breezed past the finishing line.
Alex, at a prime age of 26, proved to everyone why Kenya is dominant in long distance athletics with a convincing finish time of 32:48 minutes in the 10 km Men’s Open Category, more than 2 minutes faster than the second placed runner.
When asked about the race, he said, “I like the route, its very good.”
Up and coming runner, Rui Yong Soh, second year student from Raffles Institution is promising to be the next Mok Ying Ren with his first place finish in the 10 km Men’s Junior Category.
Call it déjà vu, but there are similarities between the 2 mentioned runners. Both have won the same running category and are sponsored by Nike.
Just 2 words from this young talented runner summed up the New Balance REAL RUN 2009, “Very tough”.
(All images taken by Pramod Gurung)