This morning, a Coney Island Fun Run took place.

This leisure run, which had been organised by the Northern Kia Runners (NKR) running club and the Canberra CSC, had started and ended at the Punggol Jetty and brought runners through the Punggol Waterway Park before entering the gates of Coney Island.

Starting at roughly 7.00am, this 8.5km run had been graced by Dr. Lim Wee Kiak, Member of Parliament, Sembawang GRC.

For the fun run, we had all been divided randomly into two groups for the run, so as not to clutter the paths too much. I had been part of the first group. And after some simple mass warm-up exercises, we started running.

Supposed to be a relaxing run

It was supposed to be a relaxing run and based on the event’s Facebook page, the targeted running pace was meant to have been roughly around 7.00 to 7.30 kms per hour. So I had been looking forward to an easy run. But I was not prepared for what was to actually come.

That’s because the actual targeted pace was much faster than what it had been supposed to be! I think that the leaders were probably running at about 5.30 to 6.00 kms per hour! Fortunately, we stopped to catch our breath and re-grouped after a couple of kilometres, though. I must admit that I had been really grateful for this break.

Following that though, the rest of the run was fortunately completed at a slower pace! And we stopped again after about 5km to take a group photo at the gates of Coney Island before running through the island.

At the same time, a few of us also took our own photos so that we could have something to remember the morning run with.

Coney Island was a real getaway back to nature

Running through Coney Island had truly been a real look back at nature for me. Though I have come here a couple of times before, it’s a place that I think I can never get sick of – not for the time being, anyway. Somehow, going to other nature spots, such as MacRitchie Reservoir or the Bukit Timah Hill doesn’t seem to have quite the same rustic feel as Coney Island does, probably due to the slightly higher pedestrian traffic at these other locations. Or else, maybe that could simply be because Coney Island is still a new attraction – so it’s quieter!

I really enjoyed the 2km run through the island, moving along the main pathway and simply allowing myself to get lost in the act of running.

And no, I didn’t manage to spot the famous “Coney Island Lone Cow” – which has been hyped up by the media. So far, during the few times that I have visited the island, it has eluded me.

Cold drinks and food at the end point

Upon exiting Coney Island, we ran about another 1km to get back to the Punggol Jetty where we had started the run.

I was really grateful for the ice-cold water available for us at the end point. Besides water, there was also isotonic drinks and bananas, but I think that I was more thirsty than hungry at that point in time. I don’t know how many bottles of water I must have polished up.

Breakfast was also served – fried beehoon with egg, sausage and fishball. This was good, as it was a light and simple meal that satisfies you and at the same time, doesn’t really leave you feeling stuffed up.

A talk about kinesiology taping

Following the run, when everyone had returned, there was a talk given by one of the kinesiology tape manufacturers on applications and usage of sports taping. As our bodies were wet and sweaty, it may not have been the best time to stage such a talk – as the tape didn’t stick very well on our wet skin.

But nevertheless the information still had been quite useful and beneficial.

An fun and enjoyable morning

Overall I must say that this was definitely a fun and enjoyable morning spent with some like-minded running kakis.

Other blog posts

What to see and do at Coney Island?

Coney Island Trail Run comes to Singapore

Exploring Coney Island with Running Department