A Thrilling Race To The Finish Line
By Rashida S. Arsiwala, Photos credit to Nike SG
As an international student in Singapore, running was my best option to stay fit. Cheap and easy, I decided I’d do it every day but that just didn’t happen. Then came the Nike 10 km run. I was determined to participate, but, not having trained for it at all, would I finish? Read on and you’ll know soon enough!
After barely three and a half hours of sleep, I awoke at 4.45am to catch the first of the trains to reach City Hall MRT.
Anticipation started building right from the time I got into the bus, by the time I reached City Hall; the station was a sea of black and green!
At the venue, the atmosphere was electric. The emcee announced that a 20,000-something-strong crowd was running that day!
I was elated to be amongst the 20,000, but also apprehensive about whether I’d finish the race in the stipulated time (75 minutes maximum, if you wanted to be counted as having finished the race in legitimate time and would be entitled to the Finisher’s T-shirt)
At the start line, I waited excitedly to start. People were charged up, speakers were blaring music and everyone was gearing to go. As soon as the countdown was over, people began running; among them was me.
The first kilometer came up in four minutes! I was surprised yet I felt a surge of confidence. As time passed and the run continued, I found myself lagging. That’s when I came up with a new strategy. Like the other participants, I plugged in my earphones and played all the fast music tracks.
Before I knew it, I had completed seven kilometers and in good time too! That proved to be the biggest confidence booster and I ran with more energy from then on.
Finally came the welcome sight: ‘9 km’. With just one more kilometer to go, I ran with my last surge of energy and encouragement by the helpful and friendly volunteers along the way.
As I crossed the finish line, the clock read 1hr 17mins, but given that I had started 15mins after flag off, it meant I had completed the race in 1hr 2mins!
The timing is nothing for seasoned runners, but it was a considerable achievement for me. It was amazing to be one of the people who had successfully completed the race. But the credit for this is not mine alone – it was also due to the thrilling atmosphere, enthusiasm of others around me and their spirit of sportsmanship that encouraged me to push myself to get to the finish line.
