IHG Road Relay 2016

It's great to be back to running and back to racing. However, I was pretty apprehensive about this race. For one, I knew there was a decent field of very strong runners. In addition, having only managed running for barely a month (after three months of pain - beyond physical), I wasn't at all confident of my fitness for this short races. This is quite self-explanatory but running well in short races necessitates short, fast training (on a background of aerobic fitness). The latter I may have semi-had, but the former was lacking.

At NTU's SRC, I finally got to meet my team of runners. I knew some from previous encounters, yet the majority of them were foreign (metaphorically). The relay involved two teams of five runners per hall. Team A (the team I was assigned to) was required to have three guys and two girls, while Team B had four guys and a single girl. All 18 halls would have one runner of each team running concurrently, totalling 36 runners on the field. The total time of both teams in each hall would then be calculated and the eventual rankings would be determined based on this. I was given the bib A3 as I was the third runner of Team A. The route would take runners around the track, before moving along a segment of Lien Ying Chow Drive, Nanyang Crescent, then around the track before relay handover. The estimated distance of the route was slightly past 2.2km.

At first glance (and not unexpectedly), I noted there were a sizeable number of potentially quick runners amongst different halls. While some were slightly more inconspicuous, others did seem to exude an aura suggesting they were speedy.

Just before flag off.

It wasn't long before the first 36 runners were flagged off. They sped off, possibly too quickly, as Russell and I noted that a sizeable number covered the first 200 in 30-35s~ (that is too fast, unless one intended to finish under 7min - which I believe no one did). We were rather concerned for Bert (A1), who was near the leaders. Nat (B1) adopted a more conservative approach and it probably served him well.

Before flag-off, Russell and I postulated that the first runner out of the track would be either very fast or very foolish. The first runner off the track was Andreas (IVP 15-16 Steeple Champion) so he was indeed very fast (and not foolish) as within a few minutes, he was the first one returning to the track and eventually completing the first round. Thereafter runners started stringing in. Before long, Nat returned and transited to Debra (B2), followed by Bert to Ziyu (A2). I started getting nervous.

It wasn't long before Debra returned and handed over to Russell (B3). Thereafter, Ziyu handed over to me and I was off. Probably a little quick at first, but nothing suicidal. I knew I needed to keep the initial pace modest early lest I found myself with too much reserve with too little distance left to expend it.

After a loop around the track, it was a short flight of stairs up before hitting the sheltered walkway towards Crescent Hall. En route, I passed a couple of runners - mostly female - and the occasional male. At this point of time, runners were spread out across the entire route, hence there was no difficulty overtaking.

Marshals were spread along the route, directing runners at appropriate turns. I was particularly adherent to all instructions, making sure that my run had no reason to be DQed. The first half of the route had a net downhill. Thereafter, it was a rather steep incline and it was there that I caught up with Russell. By then, I was pretty uncomfortable, but the race was nearly over. After some technical turns (including dodging of an elderly lady), I finally hit the track.

As I slowly caught up with some runners, I made the foolish decision to run on the inside lane (as we were running clockwise - this was the right side of the track). The mind certainly wasn't functioning too well and I found myself obstructed. Looking back, I certainly should have ran wide. However, it wasn't long before I finally entered the transition zone and handed over to Felicia (A4). Russell had managed to stick with me and handed over to Edwin (B4) at the same instance.

Almost. Credit to Merlin.

Right after transition. Credit to Merlin.

And we burn. Credit to Merlin.

"Gosh that was difficult," I exclaimed, my legs experiencing the burning sensation of short races I dearly missed. It was however, exhilarating that I managed a sub-8. Bearing in mind the technicalities of the route and the lack of speedwork appropriate for this distance (not to mention only recently returning after injury), I had initially intended to simply run a modest sub-9.

The race wasn't over however, as I watched the others race on. Eventually, Hart (B5) and Brandon (A5) started their own legs and finished their relay legs. Team A finished in 47:21 while Team B finished in 46:57 (these were timed by ourselves). The official time of our hall was 94:17, placing us 9th out of 18 halls. Not bad for a debut :)

The Team. Credit to Merlin.

Final standings. We beat Hall 9 by a mere second.

Strava data available here :)

To conclude the events of the morning came the awkward celebration of Nat's birthday. Thereafter, I caught a few words with Jian Jie, Andreas, Jaren and Guan Zhen, before a shower and departure from Pulau NTU.