Last weekend, I took part in the Decathlon 7km Run 2022.

The second leg of Decathlon Run 2022

Taking place from 27 – 29 May, this event was the second and final leg of the Decathlon Run 2022.

The first leg was held from 2 – 26 May and was a 5km virtual race that runners could complete anywhere and anytime they wanted.

This leg, even though Decathlon calls it a physical run, required runners to book a time slot in advance when they register for the event. 

However, due to the opening up of Covid restriction in Singapore, the time slots were subsequently scrapped and runners were free to come down to do the run anytime they wanted during the three days, regardless of the time slot they had initially opted for.

Running and time slots

My booking time slot was at 7am on Sunday morning and as I am currently training for the Gold Coast Marathon, I combined the Decathlon Run into the end of my long run for the day, to see how I would cope at running my marathon race pace on tired legs.

The run is on a fixed running route, but taking place throughout the entirety of the weekend, meant that it is not exactly a mass event with a single flag-off for runners. 

Runners who happened to be competing at the same timing could chase each other and compete in their small groups, though.

Due to me doing my long run, I was a bit late for my original time slot of 7am, so there weren’t really people for me to chase when I started my run. 

I did see many of the 7am people beginning the run as I was running towards the start point. I recognised several familiar faces and waved to them.

The goal anyway, wasn’t to chase anyone to get my personal best for 7km, but rather, to run at target pace (5.25 min/km) so that turned out quite ok for me.

Timing via MyRaceGate app

There were no race bibs, and timing is measured through the race app, MyRaceGate. When we were ready to begin running, we would enter our registration ID and fire up the app. 

In that regard, I guess I would consider the second leg more of a phytigal (physical + digital) hybrid run rather than a physical run.

To begin, there was a commentary followed by a 10—second countdown timer before our race could begin. Once this timer ended, it was time to go, with the app providing directions via GPS the entire way.

Race route was easy

The race route is pretty straightforward, beginning and ending at the Decathlon Lab at Kallang. 

It is a pancake flat, out and back course, heading from the shop and running straight towards the Tanjong Rhu park connector and in the direction of the marina barrage.

The app constantly told me where to run, giving concrete navigational directions at each intersection, even at instances when I thought the route had appeared pretty straightforward. But better to be safe than sorry, I suppose.

Target timing and pace

I thought the app was pretty on point and very motivational, constantly telling me that I was on target and I was ahead of my timing. 

I had opted to put in a target timing, a generous 40 minutes for the 7km run. So at every kilometre, the app would tell me how much distance I had completed, and also told me that I was ahead of my target by exactly how many minutes/seconds. I was quite impressed with the feature as it was definitely on point.

As well, interspersed into the app was commentary about the surrounding areas, such as the Singapore sports hub, F1 Pit building and the Kallang area. 

This too, was on point, coming in as I was passing by each iconic landmark. It was pretty informative and educational to listen to this as I was running as I could find out more about the places.

U-turning and heading back

At the u-turn point, there were no marshals; the only guidance was through the app. It wasn’t straight out and back; we were required to do a small loop into the Gardens by the bay and about 100m before this loop, the app forewarned us to listen very carefully to the navigation instructions that were to come. 

I thought this was pretty good. The u-turn instructions itself too, was accurate and on-point and as a result, I found that I did not miss a single turn. I was able to make the turn accurately and head back.

The u-turn area was somewhere before the bridge leading into the Marina Barrage. Though the app was good, runners who may have tuned out or were not listening properly may have missed it.

As such, I do feel that an additional marshal or at least some signage would have helped, rather than just making the u-turn via the app.

I do wonder, if runners had managed to miss the turn, what would the app have said?

After making the turn, the route back was straightforward, following the same route that we had come.

Finish was in the middle of nowhere 

The finish line, I found out, was not at the Decathlon store. It turned out to be in the middle of the park connector, about a kilometre away from the shop.

The confusion began to set in around 6km when the app said I only had a kilometre left to go. Yet it was at least two kilometres to get back to the Decathlon store. I was wondering if the distance had been miscalculated somehow.

Then app was telling me that there was 500m left to go, 400m left to go, and kept urging me to give it all I’ve got, but I was puzzled because I seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and the Decathlon store was nowhere in sight yet. I guess that this was the most confusing part of the whole run.

My finish 

Finally, I spotted the volunteers at the finish area holding up signages for us to take selfies and wefies with, to mark our completion of the race. 

That had been the only indication that I was at the finish line. I would have preferred the race to end back at the Decathlon store, as there was more buzz and hype there.

The app proved to be quite accurate in this instance with regards to the distance and GPS and the distance had pretty much lined up with my Garmin watch. So kudos to Decathlon for developing a great running app.

I had completed my run in an official timing of 37 minutes 43 seconds, well ahead of the target timing that I had originally input.

Picking up my finisher stuff 

After taking a few photos at the end point, I then slowly jogged back to the Decathlon store for recovery, where I collected my finisher stuff from inside the shop.

It is a little bit confusing because you have to walk all the way to the counter at the end of the shop to pick up your stuff. There are no signs inside the shop to tell runners where to collect their items.

But a volunteer at the area outside was constantly telling runners who had finished to remember to put their mask on before entering the store.

This comprised of a finisher badge, a packet of drink (choice of coconut water or orange juice) and some washing detergent. 

The finisher t-shirt, which I didn’t get, had been optional as an add-on extra.

It was fun, but hoping for a mass event next year

After a long run plus a faster marathon paced 7km run, my legs were feeling pretty beat up, and drinking the packet of coconut water couldn’t have been more welcoming.

While this year’s 7km race was quite fun and it was great catching up with friends and a few fans, I do look forward to a mass flag off event from Decathlon next time, with thousands of runners taking part as well as a real racing atmosphere and vibe.