With The North Face as the key event sponsor, the Force Of Nature Ultra made its debut this morning with three race categories to cater to runners of differing abilities – the 12km category as an introductory distance to trail running, the 23km category which is targeted at half marathoners who want a new challenge and exciting race route, and the 64km category for seasoned trail runners who want to push their bodies to the limit.

Click here to view the Forces of Nature Ultra Trail Run 2018 photos.

Advertised as offering a new race format compared to other trail races that have previously taken place in Singapore, the Force Of Nature Ultra was flagged off at Dairy Farm and the race finished at MacRitchie Reservoir – this is a first for trail races in Singapore, which typically both start and end at MacRitchie Reservoir.

Intrigued by the concept of the Force of Nature Ultra and wanting to see what the run was all about, I took part in the 23km distance which had flagged off at 7.10am this morning.

So this meant that I had to drag myself out of bed early to get ready for the race. I eventually reached Dairy Farm at about 6.40am. 

But due to a lack of sleep the previous night, I admit that I had initially been tempted to push the snooze button, when the alarm went off – I am only human, after all!

At the starting line precinct, there had been water for runners to hydrate themselves and fill up their bottles, packs or flasks, as well as food such as apples, bananas and cookies for runners to load up with energy before beginning the run. As I had not eaten breakfast yet, I took a packet of the Famous Amos biscuits for myself.

As the Force of Nature Ultra was also a Bring Your Own Bottle race, I had come prepared, carrying my Simple Hydration bottle with me. Most runners were also likewise equipped with their own hydration.

Said Alison Richards, 36, a stay-at-home-mum, “The organisers were pretty forthright that you needed to bring your own stuff for the most part, so if you read the pamphlet that they gave out in the race pack, then you were able to prepare for it.”

For me, I didn’t actually need go to the bathroom prior to the race, but Alison, who had needed to relieve herself prior to the run, said, “I think there could have been more bathrooms at the start line area. I could not find any at the start.”

The race had begun on time. However I have to point out that there had been some confusion at the start line though, as it was not made very clear as to which category was supposed to be flagged off each time. Although the organiser had been using a megaphone to make the announcements, the sound was very muffled, so we could barely hear anything.

It also did not really help that all of the three categories were beginning at almost the same time, being just a few minutes apart.

Agreed Alison, “There could have been a PA system at the flag-off so that people could hear which group was being flagged off and when it was their turn to run, rather than a megaphone.”

As a result of this, I myself ended up running with the 12km group at the beginning, and when I realised this mistake roughly about three minutes into my race, I stayed and waited for the 23km runners to come by. Fortunately for me, the first few hundred metres of the route was the same for all of the categories, so I did not actually need to backtrack.

I was not the only runner who had made this mistake; I later heard that Jenny Huang, one of the elite female runners in Singapore, had signed up for the 23km run like me, but she had mistakenly ran the 12km instead. As such, she did not qualify for the prizes and so she was understandably upset about this.

In fact, I must point out that quite a number of runners had apparently ran in the wrong category, because in the first three minutes when I had been running, I had actually noticed several 23km runners who were running alongside the 12km runners. The category that runners were taking part in, had been stated quite clearly on their bibs.

The race route had brought runners though old, dense forests and challenging technical trails deep within the central catchment reserve of Singapore and concluded on the rolling cross-country trails of MacRitchie Reservoir. About 90 per cent of the route was trail, with the rest of it being tarmac and asphalt.

I would definitely describe it as a challenging yet scenic and enjoyable route, with the constant uphill and downhill running, as well as quite a fair bit of mud. 

Due to a couple of overseas trips as well as work commitments over the past few months, it had also been some time since I had last ran on the trails or rolling hills, so this had added to the challenges that I had faced during the run this morning, too.

Said James Lyon, 43, a CEO at a digital advertising company, “It was enjoyable and the course was good. It was fairly challenging and quite hard.”

Added Auke Boersma, 47, a Digital Advertising Executive, “The trails were perfect. I would have liked more rain and mud as well as a bit more elevation, but overall it was a lovely trail run though.”

Quite early on during the run, I had made the decision to take this race easy, not wanting to over-exert my body. As such, my only goal for this race was to complete it before the rather generous cut-off time of six hours for the 23km category.

So I walked the uphills and then jogged again when I came to the downhills, constantly alternating between walking and jogging through the whole way. As I ran, I also found myself gazing at my surroundings, admiring the beauty of the trails and how peaceful and serene the nature around me, was.

I reached the first checkpoint quite early in the race, after what had felt like just a few kilometres of running. There was water available as well as packets of mini Oreo cookies and nuts, for runners to refuel. Wanting some sugar, I helped myself to the Oreos.

In fact, all the checkpoints throughout the 23km race had been equally well-stocked with water and food available for the runners. So I topped up my supply of food and water whenever it was necessary.

Agreed Alison, “The hydration points were good and very generous.”

Some other 23km runners, however, mentioned that they would have preferred to have isotonic drink rather than water at the checkpoints, but they had said that isotonic had not been available though.

Overall, I had counted three checkpoints along the 23km route too, which I had thought was adequate enough for my category. So this was quite good on the part of the organisers, in taking care of the fuelling needs of the runners.

But some runners though, had felt that there could have been one additional checkpoint located between the 12km to the 23km point of the route.

However I must point out though, that the signages along the route were not clear. According to the event website, there were supposed to be route markings as well as marshals to point runners in the right direction. 

But despite what had been advertised, some of these signages appeared to have been lacking on race day. 

So as a result, there were a few times when I found myself having to stop along the way at the junctions, and wait for the runner behind me to catch up, so that I could check with him or her whether he or she knew what the correct direction was. This was quite disruptive to my running momentum as a result.

As well there had been some generic signages too which had pointed the direction to go, but did not actually state which category the direction was for. I had thought that these were a little bit confusing as I was not really sure during these times, whether I was still on the 23km route. So I could only guess, and hope that I was going the right way.

Said Alison, “There were a couple of direction arrows that I was unsure of. I think that they could have had a couple more people out there to point the runners in the correct direction.”

It was also because of the lack of these signages that Auke admitted that he had ended up running an extra 2km. 

He said, “I took a wrong turn so I ended up struggling towards the last 5km of the run, because I did not anticipate having to do two extra kilometres. So I ended up running almost 25km so I was really happy to see the finish line.”

James also ran slightly longer than expected, for the same reasons. He said, “The course was not particularly well marked, so myself and three guys ended up getting lost. I did an extra 500 metres.”

There were also no kilometre markers at all along the way. For me, I had my GPS watch to notify me of the distance that I had run so that I could pace myself accordingly, but for runners who may not have been wearing any watch, the lack of distance markings may have affected their pacing strategies.

As I had continued with my 23km run, there had been a few junctions along the way when I saw a few of the 64km runners passing by. 

It was quite inspiring to see them still running strongly even though they were probably hurting and in pain inside, and their efforts likewise, had helped me to keep pushing on, and reminded me not to give up. So even though my body was beginning to feel the fatigue as the race wore on, I just kept pushing on.

I also saw a few of the ‘famous’ MacRitchie monkeys along the way too, but because I was not eating anything at the times when I had spotted them, they were minding their own business and did not disturb me, thankfully. Sometimes though, I have heard that these monkeys like to steal runners’ gels or other foodstuff that they may see runners carrying, if they are feeling naughty.

The final few kilometres of the run were the hardest bit, though. This was because when we exited the MacRitchie trails we saw the finish line just up ahead, but instead of heading straight to the finish, we then had to climb a long upslope. 

This segment had been quite mentally draining and demoralising and it took plenty of strength and willpower on my part, to refrain from simply crossing over to get to the finishing line – and calling it a day.

Agreed Alison, “This part at the end was the most challenging bit of the run. Though there were a lot of hills along the way, that one at the end was the hardest part, because you could see the finish line, but you had to keep on going up.”

It definitely felt like the longest upslope in the entire race, and for a moment I thought that it would never end. So it felt like sheer relief, when I saw the arrow that marked the u-turn to head back into the trails to complete the race.

On the way back, I saw another runner who had been done with his race, and when he saw me pass by, he helpfully told me that I was just a few hundred metres away from the finish. That had given me a renewed sense of determination and spurred on my tired legs and body to jog – instead of slowly walking to the finish.

And soon enough, I spied the finish line right up ahead. Seeing it, was the best feeling so far this morning.

I crossed the finish line well within the cut-off time and collected my finisher’s medal immediately afterwards. 

Then after taking a few photos at the race site with my medal, I helped myself to another packet of Oreos as well as a custard sponge cake to munch on, as I was feeling rather peckish by then, after the exertions of completing a 23km trail run.

Besides the food, there was also water and 100PLUS for runners to refuel themselves after the run, as well as kinesiology sports tape on sale. 

Though there was plenty of water when I had reached the end point, I later heard that the organisers had run out of water earlier, so they went to buy some more.

Apart from there, there were a few photo opportunities for runners at the race village as well as a message service for runners who needed to relieve their tired muscles. It was a simple, but functional post-race village with the runners’ basic needs being taken care of.

On my way out of MacRitchie Reservoir, I also spied Mohammad Shariff – who is also known as the Singapore Blade Runner because of his prosthetic running blade. He was just beginning his climb up the long hill en route to the finish line. 

So I called out to him and wished him luck for the final few kilometres of his run and he had seemed to be quite happy to see me.

As a whole, my thoughts are that the Force of Nature Ultra was a rather challenging but enjoyable run and I felt that it was nice to be running on the trails, to have a change of scenery from my regular training ground at the pancake-flat East Coast Park.

Said Alison, “I loved the run. It was good – a very enjoyable and scenic run.”

But that said, there are improvements that the race organiser can consider for future editions though, most notably putting better markings along the route so that runners do not get lost and end up doing extra distance, as a result.

Added Auke, “Overall it was a perfect race, with plenty of water and food and a massage at the end, but though it was perfectly organised, the signposting on the trails could have been better.”

And agreed James, “The race was organised well; it started efficiently and everything was put together quite well. The biggest issue that I had though, is that the organiser needed to have marked the course better.”

Jemaine Goh Wins her first ultra at Force of Nature Ultra [64km]