This morning, the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2014 took place. Billed as the largest Women’s Only Half Marathon in the region, this race comprises of three categories – these are the 21km, 10km and 5km events. I participated in the 21km race this year.

The GE Women’s Run took place this morning.

All set and ready to begin, despite the weather.

The 21km run started on a wet note

Flagging off at 5.30am, the 21km run had started on a slightly wet note, as it was pouring with rain earlier before the race. However, by the time flag-off approached, the rain had already died down to a light drizzle, so fortunately this didn’t delay the start of the race – and despite the wet conditions, all the participants doing the 21km run, were certainly raring and all pumped up to go.

As I knew I was going to get sticky and sweaty during my run anyway, I didn’t bother using any precautions against the rain, but I did notice that quite a few runners were wearing ponchos. There was even one runner carrying an umbrella! I really do wonder how she had managed to run the entire race with this!

A very cooling race due to the earlier drizzle

And because of the earlier drizzle though, it was definitely a rather cooling race and I must say that I felt pretty good and I thought that I had been able to maintain a pretty good pace for most of the distance – until my right foot seized up during the final quarter of the race. (Fortunately this didn’t last too long though, and it rectified itself after a while).

Rolling around in these cute balls are just one of the many post-race activities for runners!

As the morning wore on, the drizzle had cleared and eventually gave way to some sunshine. But by then, fortunately, I had almost finished – so I didn’t get baked in the sun, during my run.

Scenic route and a great way to see Singapore City

The race route this morning was also rather scenic, starting at the Singapore Flyer and passing through sights such as the F1 pit garages, the Esplanade, the Marina Barrage and the new Singapore Sports Hub – before finishing at the Float @ Marina Bay – for the post-race carnival.

With the cute Great Eastern Live Great mascot!

I must say that it was definitely a great way to see Singapore city – on foot, as it is something that one certainly does not get to do every day. It also helped to motivate me on, to continue running, when things had started to get tough.

Spotted some of Singapore’s top runners blistering past me

As I ran, I also spotted many of the top female distance runners in Singapore, at the various U-turns along the race route, blistering their way towards the finishing line, including Mok Ying Rong, Rachel See and Vanja Cnops – and gosh, these girls can certainly run! But rather than letting them affect my concentration, I simply focused on my own race and that seemed to worked.

Free hotdogs, anyone?

Plenty of motivation along the route

During the race, there were also plenty of people motivating us along the way. These comprised of the official event volunteers, as well as ‘unofficial’ cheerleaders and photographers, from running groups such as the Running Department and the New Balance Runners.

I had thought it was really thoughtful, of these enthusiastic male

Yes, I love Nando’s chicken!

runners to provide such invaluable morale boosting support, while their female counterparts were taking part in the race.

These groups also offered food to the tired runners – and I am really grateful to the guys from the Running Department, who were generously giving out that milo-flavoured sng bao, around the third quarter of the race! It was so delicious and refreshing and really helped me with the extra motivation that I had needed, to run on and complete the race, at a point when the going was getting tough.

Getting into the festivities at the post-race village

A runner tries her hand at making rainbow loom bands.

After about two hours and five minutes of consistent running, I crossed the finishing line of my 21km race. It felt good to be able to finish my run – because this meant that I was finally able participate in the post-race festivities at the race village.

What had awaited me at the finishing point, was plenty of complimentary food items, such as muffins, apples, hotdogs, ice cream, Nandos chicken, chocolate milk and even Subway ham sandwiches. I must say that this generous food feast is usually one of the highlights of the Great Eastern Women’s Run post-race carnival.

And out of all these yummy items provided this year, my favourite one was probably the chocolate-coated tiramisu flavoured ice cream – because I have such a sweet tooth! As well, it feels great to be able to indulge after a run, too – as you would not feel the guilt as much, after burning off so many calories during the endurance exercise session!

The cute bouncy castle!

Photo booths were also available – and I really had a field day striking poses and taking post-race celebratory pictures with a friend, who had also run in the 21km event. And I am sure that she enjoyed herself just as much too – based on the smiles and the joyous mood that she had been in.

Other components of the post-race festivities had included a massage booth and powder room for the runners, as well as some kids’ activities for a family day out – such as a bouncy castle, Rainbow Loom crafting station and a shooting range.

All in all, it was definitely a great running race, followed by an excellent morning of fun and festivities – at the Great Eastern Women’s Run 2014.

Our 21KM race route for the Great Eastern Women’s Run.

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