the new balance real run, singapore

The hubby was real lucky to be on a business trip to Singapore at the same time this race was happening.  Oh wait, scratch that... he intentionally searched for a race that would coincide with his business trip and he was luck to find the New Balance Real Run.  This happened last 17th of October, and it was the first out-of-the-country trip we've had as a married couple (enter *squee*).  Oh, by the way, thanks to our friend Acid, for helping out with the registration!

I would've posted earlier but I wanted pictures.  The photos are from my LC-A camera, so it took a while to have the film developed and scanned.  The digicam we brought decided that it liked Singapore so much that it chose to not come with us to the trip back home.  I digress.  On to the photos and the race.

We got to the race area before the sun even came up.  Before that, we were in a cab that got lost.  But the driver was kind enough to give us a discount because we literally went in a huge circle before we got to our destination.  There were already a lot of runners assembling.  And we feared that we wouldn't have enough time before the race gunned off.  Well, mainly because nature called and well, this was the queu: 

Then the announcer started counting down and pee'd or not pee'd, runners started darting for the starting line.  Soon, the area was cleaned out save for some moral-support givers as myself.  The thing about the race in Singapore vs. here in Manila is that I was surprised by the scarcity of finish line waiters.  I suppose that either those who support these runners support by actually running with them, or well, no one had much patience for waiting.  That aside, I perched myself by the finish arc and waited.

After over an hour, finishers came heading back.  The sun was already up.  It was darn hot and dry.  However I chose to keep the jacket on for fear of making my tank-top-tanline any worse than it already is (I've come close considering doing the finish-line-waiting in a bikini top).  Chips clocked in at 01:37:07 for the Men's Open.  It was honestly difficult spotting him because he kind of looked like he was a local.  It's mighty easier making him out out of a running crowd here in Manila.  Some post-race photos taken while the hubby falls in line for his goody bag:

Since the roads were closed for about another hour or two, we decided to follow all the other finishers out to get a cab somewhere else.  Where that was, we didn't really know.  We ended up walking for like 2 more kilometers, with practically no cab in sight.  Virtually lost and tired, we boarded a bus with some other runners (it seemed to be headed back to downtown Singapore).  The bus driver was really kind enough to point us to the right stop and when we thought all hope was lost, we finally got a cab.

 

It was a great experience, out last day in Singapore.  Back at the hotel, all we had to do was pack and grab a hearty lunch before heading off to the airport.  Another good job, Team Chips!