Organised by MetaSport and the Civil Service Club (CSC), the 2018 edition of the CSC Run by the Bay took place yesterday at the Gardens By The Bay East.

Click here to view the CSC Run By The Bay 2018 photos at the photo gallery.

Touted as a Sunset Run, this running race took place in the evening for the first time this year, and the aim of the event was to promote a healthy lifestyle amongst both public service officers as well as the general public. 

Several Race Categories 

And to achieve this, the 2018 race had featured the standard 21.1km Half Marathon distance, as well as a 6km Fun Run and a brand new 12.8km distance.

The 12.8km distance was quite meaningful because it reflects the distance of the waterfront course that follows the edge of the Marina Reservoir as a way of celebrating the Marina Reservoir’s 10th anniversary.

Ran in the 21.1km race

I opted to take part in the 21.1km category because I had wanted to do a longer run instead.

Reaching the event site

The 21.1km race was scheduled to flag off at about 5.15pm. So I was at the Gardens by the bay East about 20 to 25 minutes before that, in order to deposit my bag and chat to some of my friends who were present at the event, before the race.

Dropping my bag had been a very easy and fuss-free affair. There were baggage counters for the different race categories and we only needed to rip the baggage tag off our bib in order to drop our bags. There had been no queue as well for both dropping and retrieving my bag and this felt good.

However when I got to the race village, I could already feel the heat and the humidity sapping my energy and so I knew that I was going to be in for a rather tough run ahead.

Going into the start pen

At about 5pm, I headed into the starting pen. There had been several pens and I had been allocated to Pen B, based on my estimated finishing time.

I felt that the entrances pointing to the various starting blocks had been a little confusing though and that the signages were not as clear as I would have liked.

In the start pen, I met up with a few friends whom I know from running circles and we wished each other luck for the run ahead.

Flag Off

The race flagged off on the dot at 5.15pm. But due to the small number of runners participating in this event, the waves were only separated by a couple of minutes.

Heart Rate climbing 

As I began running, I realised that my heart rate was climbing pretty fast, even though I was running at what should have been a comfortable pace for my standards. 

For instance, I realised that my heart rate quickly rose into the Steady Zone quite soon after I had started, but at that point, I tried to maintain my pace though, hoping that the rising heart rate could have been due to the pre-race adrenaline.

However it turns out that this was not the case after all, and I found that sometime after the halfway mark, I had to slow down in order to keep my heart rate and breathing under control. 

It had seemed it as though I had underestimated the effects of the searing heat and humidity on my body. After all, I don’t usually run at 5pm in Singapore unless it has been raining or else it is a cool day so I am not accustomed to running in such hot weather. 

And apparently the heat had sapped up my energy levels quite a lot too, and had also caused my body to work harder than I had expected.

It also didn’t really help too, when I got a bit of stomach cramp around the halfway mark of the race and I had to try and manage this all the way to the end, aiming to merely just complete the distance and not think about timing.

Race Route

The first part of the race route took runners to the Marina Bay Golf Course and the East Coast Park areas, before heading back towards the Gardens by the bay East at the 8km mark. 

However, on the way back to the Gardens by the bay East, I had been quite surprised that the race route took us up the footbridge at East Coast park. This is because there is a clear permanent signage in front of the footbridge to state that no mass events are to be permitted on this footbridge.

After returning to the Gardens by the bay East, the 21.1km runners then followed the same route as the 12.8km runners, taking us in a loop around the Marina Reservoir.

Management of traffic 

Most running races usually require the closure of some roads, so I had thought that it was quite interesting too, that more than 80 per cent of the CSC Run By The Bay route took place on the park connector networks, and with marshals stationed at the traffic junctions to control the traffic too.

I thought that overall, they had done a pretty good job in managing the heavy Singapore evening traffic, but at the Tanjong Rhu area, when we crossed the road from the park connector leading to East Coast Park towards the Gardens by the bay East, I felt that it was quite annoying to have to stand and wait for several minutes for traffic to pass before I could continue running. 

This had upset my running momentum to some degree and it took me some time before I had managed to get into a rhythm again.

Besides keeping the traffic at bay for the runners, I also thought that the marshals and volunteers also did well, in managing the pedestrians at the Marina Bay and Esplanade areas and making sure that the paths were clear for the runners. 

There were also cones that had clearly marked out the running routes too. So at least I had been able to run properly and that there was no need to weave in and out of the crowds, which was good.

Race Hydration 

The hydration stations along the way were excellent. There were more than enough of these along the route, and they were well-stocked too. 

And furthermore, there were also large signages about 200m before every station to warn runners in advance, so that we could prepare to, for example, take a gel if we had required it at that point in time.

I thought that the race hydration was very well managed, and owing to the high humidity levels, I made sure that I took at least a cup of isotonic drink at every station, in order to prevent myself from getting dehydrated.

I noted that at some of the stations, the isotonic that I had was ice-cold, but at others, it seemed to be either chilled or served at room temperature. I admit that this had been slightly disappointing.

Race Signages 

Along the way as I ran, I spotted regular kilometre signages and I felt that these were quite accurately positioned according to the readings from my GPS watch. These had been combined signs for both the 21.1km and the 12.8km races.

What I had liked about the signages was that besides the distance, these also had messages to spur runners on to keep going. 

For example, one of the signages that I particularly remembered had said, ‘Remember, you PAID to do this’ and this one was located somewhere around the final third of the race. It was funny and had brought a smile to my face.

But apart from the kilometre markings, I did not spot any race signages to indicate which direction to take along the run course, for example, whether to turn left or to go straight. But I did not get lost, because I was basically following the runners in front of me.

I saw my running coach, Ben Pulham, from the heart-rate training programme Coached, somewhere around the midway point of the half marathon. 

It was nice to see that he had come down to cheer on the runners. He had also brought his adorable twins with him too.

Slightly Dark Areas

The final part of the race then brought us past the Singapore Sports Hub en route back to the Gardens by the bay East.

And as the sun set and day grew into night, my surroundings became darker and when I was running, I found that I had to watch my step more carefully. 

Part of the running path had also required us to run on the grass, too and this was quite uneven, so I found myself slowing down at this point so that I would not trip. 

Perhaps some of the lighting along the route could have been improved.

Counting down the kilometres 

I found myself counting down the kilometres as I approached the final third of the race. Despite having to slow down quite a fair bit, I was still breathing quite heavily and my body was feeling pretty fatigued, possibly from having to battle the harsh sun in the early part of the race. 

But then again, I told myself that every step I take would bring me closer to the finish line, and sure enough, I soon spotted the Gardens by the bay East up in front of me, and the finishing arch was there too.

Crossing the Finish Line

I was more relieved than anything else when I finally crossed the finish line. My time had been slower than my usual ones, but considering the weather conditions, I suppose that I can be happy that at least I had made it to the end point in one piece.

Collecting My Entitlements 

I spent a few moments catching my breath before making my way to collect my finisher entitlements. These were a finisher medal, finisher tee shirt, a can of H-Two-O isotonic drink, an ice-cold towel and a banana. 

I particularly loved the towel because after a hot run when my body was sweating profusely, this had felt very refreshing when it was placed onto my skin.

A young boy had slipped my race medal round my neck when I passed by, to collect it.

It was quite nice of the organisers to present our race medal to us in this way, rather than simply handing it to us in a plastic bag. It feels more special and personal to have the medal put around your neck, just like how national athletes are presented with their medals on the podium.

The medal itself seemed to be pretty light and the only indication that I had run in the 21.1km race was the distance written on the lanyard, with nothing else stated on the medal itself.

Post Race Village 

After the run, I had been soaked to the skin with sweat and feeling quite shagged, but there were tons to see and do at the race village – so I did not really want to leave the event site, so soon. 

There were several food and drink booths at the race site for runners to replenish their lost energy levels after the event; some had been selling items such as nuts, chips and cookies, but there were also those sponsor tents that were giving out free items for us to eat and drink such as ice cream and fruit juices, if we, for example, placed a ‘like’ on their Facebook page. 

I got an ice cream to cool off after the humid run. This had tasted particularly delicious, cool and refreshing, so I finished it quickly.

As well, I could also see plenty of photo booths for runners to take photos of their race memories with their friends, as well as a Latin and a Hip-Hop stage performance by local group DanceVault. 

I stayed back for a while to watch these performances, and I must say that I had been pretty amazed by the talent displayed by the performers.

Though I was feeling quite drained and tired, their energy and enthusiasm had almost made me want to sway along in time to the upbeat and catchy music, too.

And for the kids, they were not left out either, as there were also plenty of things to do at the Kids Corner and these included clowns, balloon sculptures of animals, face painting and a jumpy castle, amongst other things. Even though I sometimes consider myself to be a kid-at-heart, it felt quite paiseh to take part in these activities, so I admit that I didn’t really look too closely at the Kids Corner.

It was good to know that entire families – not only the adults, had things to do at the CSC Run by the Bay this year.

Event Programme was delayed 

But the race programme had been delayed and it turned out that the schedule of events did not really follow what had been published in the race guide. 

For instance, according to the programme, the prize giving ceremony of the 12.8km race was supposed to begin at 8.15pm. But the race organisers ended up giving out the prizes for this category at 9.30pm.

There was also supposed to also be a lucky draw to conclude the evening, but due to the numerous delays, I did not stay behind for this. I wonder whether I had won anything, though?

But in lieu of the delayed programme though, I later found out that the event organisers had extended the shuttle bus times that were supposed to take runners from the race site to the nearest train station, Stadium MRT. 

The buses were supposed to have ended at 10pm but services were extended till 10.30pm. So exhausted runners would at least not have to walk about two kilometres to get to the train station.

I had fun

Despite some shortcomings with the event and a major challenge caused by the weather, I would still say that I’d had lots of fun at the CSC Run by the Bay this year and that the spread of the post-race food and festivities available to runners, had been quite good.

But I missed the Milo van, which had been present at one of the earlier editions of the CSC Run by the Bay that I had attended a few years ago – but has unfortunately not made a re-appearance at this race since then.

Thanks MetaSport for the race slot.