Founded on 13 November 2014, the aim of the Gei Gei Running Club is to bring fun and laughter to the local running community.
Participants gather together before the run starts.
Running is a healthy activity for people from all walks of life
For the club’s committee members, running is a healthy activity that is meant to bring fun and joy to everyone – and so they achieve this by organising recreational runs, such as the Chinese New Year Run, Kung Fu Run and the Despicable Minions Run, which had all been organised earlier this year.
A briefing before setting off.
These runs are suitable for everyone to take part in, regardless of whether you are an ‘elite’ runner or a weekend warrior. In fact some local elites have taken part in Gei Gei Running Club events before, such as Singapore’s current top female marathoner, Rachel See.
Latest fun run took place at Labrador Park yesterday
The club’s anniversary run took place yesterday at Labrador Park – the site of their very first run. Participants completed an out-and-back 8km run, beginning from the Labrador Park MRT station and heading towards the Labrador Nature Reserve before crossing the bridge and U-turning at Keppel Island.
A simple out-and-back route at Labrador Park.
While the scenery was beautiful and running past the large ships in the harbour was really idyllic, the main feature that always attracts me to the Gei Gei Running Club is the social bonding while running with like-minded people. And yesterday’s run attracted a record turnout of more than 170 runners.
This had certainly been a far cry from their inaugural run, which had featured only 20 participants and definitely shows how much runners enjoy the club runs now.
Runners soak up the beautiful scenery.
Photos to immortalise the run
Photo-taking is an integral part of any event organised by the Gei Gei Running Club. So at the anniversary run yesterday, there were plenty of photo opportunities. Along the 8km running route, there were seven different ‘photographers’ taking pictures. And I found myself watching out for them each time I spied a camera in the distance.
Runners taking a break.
Of course, we also shot quite a few photos too, when we had a short water break at Keppel Island. Who could resist, with the lovely backdrop?
An engaging tabata performance
When the 8km fun run finished, the festivities were far from over, though. There was a very engaging tabata workout performance by Esmond Choo, whose very solid performance had resulted in plenty of claps and cheers from everyone present.
Who could forget Esmond Choo’s amazing tabata performance?
A female runner even walked up to him and stuffed a $2 note into his shorts! This was greeted by a chorus of laughter from many of the others.
Lucky draw with attractive prizes
A lucky draw was also conducted, thanks to sponsors such as Key Power International and Sports Relief Therapy, which had provided attractive prizes such as 2XU Compression Tights and vouchers for sports massages. Unfortunately I hadn’t been lucky enough though, to win a prize. Oh well, next time, I suppose!
Yet another group photo.
Delicious buffet spread
And not forgetting the food. There was a lovely buffet spread at the end, comprising of catered food such as bee hoon, siew mai, samosa and fried wantons, as well as home-cooked food courtesy of Lily Bimmo, who had woken up at four o’clock in the morning to cook. Her delicious pasta and chicken wings proved to be very popular amongst the runners.
Siew mai, anyone?
A Birthday Cake
Of course, any birthday anniversary celebration must come with a cake too, and one had duly arrived on cue, with us singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the committee members and anyone who happened to have been a November baby.
Happy birthday to the committee members.
Overall Comments
As a whole, yesterday’s event was just as enjoyable as all of my other previous events with the Gei Gei Running Club, and I certainly am looking forward to their running events again next year.
Yes, we all had so much fun.
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