Story and pictures by REDintern Teo Zhijia.

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#90178 and #90273 smiles as they approaches the last 200metres while #90154 shields himself from the scorching sun. (Photo 1 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)

National University of Singapore, Sunday, August 17, 2008 – 1,200 runners endured a challenging hilly route at RunNUS 2008 yesterday morning in a route that took runners down Pasir Panjang Road before the competitive runners continued on to Kent Ridge Park and returned to the NUS Stadium. There were three categories in this year’s event: a 10km competitive individual run, a 2km competitive team relay and a 5km run.

"We weren't expecting so many people to sign up for this event. The number of participants we had this year was twice as many as last year. In addition, we also have runners coming from all walks of life - one Thailand marathon winner and thirteen from the US navy," said Project Director Mr. Edwin Tan, a Year 4 undergraduate from the School of Computing.

Due to the overwhelming response, organizers were rendered short of helpers and had to act as marshals too. Nonetheless, it was a great sight at the stadium as students, friends and families came together to participate in this event. Good weather aside, the prevalent chatter of runners as they warmed up accompanied by the upbeat music added to the atmosphere around the stadium.

However, there were some challenges. For one, runners had to run on the pavement during the race as the roads weren't closed. Another challenge was the uneven and hilly terrain of the NUS campus.

"There were too many slopes along the route," said Jonathan Lim, an undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological University who came in first in the first wave of the Men's Open. "I felt happy to take the lead as I know there would not be any pressure on me at the latter stage of the race. I feel that the marshals were not ready and I was led the wrong way a few times. I hope this does not affect my timing," he added.

Jukka Miettimen who came in first for the second wave of the Men’s Open and who eventually won the category with a timing of 43 minutes 34 seconds, echoed the same sentiments. "I knew the latter half of the route would be hard so I started slowly. I didn't like the way the route was planned out" he said.

13 years old Bryan Yong agreed. The Victoria School student who won the men's youth category felt that there were a lot of slopes along the way and the entire race felt more than 10km.

However, while some runners lamented about the way the race route was mapped, others felt that the race route wasn't really that badly planned after all. "The whole race route was very challenging because of the slopes," said Elaine Lim who won the Ladies Open with a timing of 52min 4sec. Chua Kok Peng a student of Raffles Institution felt that the race route was well planned and very challenging. "It trains me mentally as well as physically," he said.

Indeed, as Kok Peng rightly pointed out, though the race route may not be the most friendly race route for most runners, it does provide runners with a different type of running experience. Kudos to the organizers for they not only managed to integrate the NUS uneven and hilly terrain into the race route but also incorporated a heritage trail which took the runners past the Masjid Tentera Di-Raja Mosque, the University Cultural Centre , Kent Ridge Park before finishing at the Reflections of Bukit Chandu along Pepys Road.

The individual 10km competitive event also featured the men’s and women’s veteran categories. Roda M Ramos, who finished the 2008 Shape Run in fourth place, clinched first place this time with her timing of 58min 36sec while Tony Seakins crossed the finish line in 47min to claim first place in the men’s veteran category.

RunNUS2009 anyone?

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Jonathan Lim finishes 1st in the first wave of the competition . (Photo 2 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Gary and his kids gave the run a miss citing time constraint as the reason. (Photo 3 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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“Yes! I've made it!” is what this runner seems to be conveying. (Photo 4 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner warms up. (Photo 5 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Chua Kok Peng warms up. (Photo 6 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Jukka Miettimen, winner of the Men’s Open. (Photo 7 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Elaine Lim, winner of the Women’s Open. (Photo 8 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner makes a good start as his Dad keeps a watchful eye on him. (Photo 9 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A wave for the camera. (Photo 10 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner finishes his run, beating much younger runners along the way. (Photo 11 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Runners in action. (Photo12 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner lifts his hand in jubilation as he enters the last 200m of the race. (Photo 13 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner prepares to take off for the last 200m. (Photo 14 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Awww… (Photo 15 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner plays it cool. (Photo 16 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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"I'm doing fine!" A runner gives a thumbs up gesture. (Photo 17 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Bryan Yong embarking on the last 200m of his race. (Photo 18 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Bryan Yong, winner of the 10km youth category. (Photo 19 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Chua Kok Peng finishes his race. (Photo 20 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner looking good. (Photo 21 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner from River Valley High focuses on the remaining 200m. (Photo 22 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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An ACJC runner looking very relaxed. (Photo 23 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner determined to complete the race. (Photo 24 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Two runners sharing some light moments. (Photo 25 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Two runners posing for the shot. (Photo 26 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner makes a dash for the finishing line as another tries to catch up. (Photo 27 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner lies flat on the ground while a fellow runner looks on. (Photo 28 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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An ACJC runner takes a rest. (Photo 29 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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A runner readies herself for the team relay. (Photo 26 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Runners taking a rest as they wait patiently for the prize presentation to commence. (Photo 27 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)
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Another runner poses for the camera. (Photo 28 © Teo Zhijia/Red Sports)

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