The 2019 edition of the Safari Zoo Run took place this morning.

Click here to view the Safari Zoo Run 2019 photos.

Click here to view the Herbalife Marina Run 2019 Photos.

A Conservation Theme 

Originally conceptualised in 2008 to commemorate the Singapore Zoo’s famous matriarch, Ah Meng the Sumatran Orang-Utan, the Safari Zoo Run is an event that encourages family bonding while at the same time, empowering runners to support wildlife conservation.

So conservation themes had been reflected throughout the race, with runners being required to bring their own water bottles for hydration en-route and choosing to pledge their run to one of three teams – these were Team Ah Meng & Team Chawang to raise awareness on deforestation, Team Sunny to raise awareness for cleaner air and to reduce our carbon footprint, and Team Canola to pledge for the reduction in terms of usage of single use plastics.

Three Categories Of Runners

Organised by Pink Apple this year, there had been three different event categories to cater to athletes of varying abilities.

These were the 12KM Safari Zoo Challenge for the competitive runners, the 4KM Safari Zoo Dash targeting the leisure runners and walkers, and the 2KM Safari Zoo Junior Dash that was tailored for the children.

Ran The 12KM Safari Zoo Challenge 

I was invited to take part in the Safari Zoo Run 2019 and I chose to participate in the 12KM Safari Zoo Challenge.

Reaching The Zoo

As my category had flagged off at 7am in the morning, I dragged myself out of bed at the early hour of 5am and cabbed down to the Singapore Zoo, which was the starting location of the run. 

While there had been shuttle bus tickets available for purchase, this was not an option for me, because the shuttle bus did not stop anywhere near my house.

I reached the Zoo just in time, at about 6.30am, and took some time to get my bearings and calm myself down before I made my way into the start pen at 6.45am.

There was a baggage deposit service available but I did not utilise this.

Emcee Jerald Justin Ko, who is more commonly as JK, was there to hype the crowd up and he also interviewed a few random runners while we had been waiting for the minutes to tick by.

While listening to these interviews, I also spent my time doing a few quick warm up stretches while I was in the start pen, to get my body ready for the run ahead.

Flagging Off

Ah Meng had been part of the flag-off party for my 12KM event.

And our race began pretty sharp at 7am and it started on a downslope.

Keeping Pace Under Control

But while all the runners were dashing out at breakneck pace right off the blocks, I told myself to keep my pace under control.

This is because based on my previous experiences doing this run, the Safari Zoo Run is generally a pretty hilly route with constant upslopes and downslopes along the way. So I did not want to tire myself out too fast.

A Two Loop Course

The race route turned out a two loop course that took us through both the Singapore Zoo and the Night Safari. 

While it had been hyped up prior to the event that the Safari Zoo Run 2019 would take runners through the River Safari, this privilege was only extended to the 4KM runners – and it had made me wonder, for a fleeting moment, whether I should have signed up for both the 12KM and the 4KM events so that I would have the chance to traverse all three parks (Singapore Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari), while getting in a good run at the same time!

It had been a pretty loopy course with plenty of outs-and-backs, but I thought the organisers had done a good enough job, with the placement of plastic cones to cordon off the sections that were not part of our running route, as well as marshals being stationed at the strategic corners to point runners in the correct direction, too.

Pacers

For the first time, I also noticed that there were pacers at this running event, with their target pace printed in big writing and pinned to the back of their running shirts, making it easy for runners to see.

While I did not follow any of the pace groups, I feel that this is a good idea to help runners to achieve certain timing goals.

As I ran, I slowed down slightly when I reached the upslopes so that my heart rate didn’t get too elevated, and then speeding up again when I went downhill, in order to make up for some of the lost time.

My target for this run had been to take it easy, with the aim of enjoying the journey and soaking up the sights and sounds of the Zoo.

It was quite fuss-free to run and continue to keep my pace going, despite the fact that I thought some of the paths had been a little narrow, because the number of runners taking part in the 12KM race had been kept pretty low. So this had been a good thing.

Posing With Animal Mascots

A few of the Zoo’s animal mascots were also out along the course to take photos with the runners and I took the chance to take pictures with some of these as I ran past them.

Race Hydration 

There had been several hydration stations on the course and true to the organiser’s word, these had comprised of large plastic bottles for runners to refill their own bottles. Paper cups had indeed not been provided, so I was glad that I had carried my own Simple Hydration Bottle with me.

There were more than enough of these aid stations to go around for a 12km run, though I noticed that they seemed to have been all serving water rather than isotonic drinks. 

Having a sugar kick would have been good, in order to give me an extra boost while running.

Seeing The Animals 

Along the way, too, there were quite a few animals for the runners to see, such as the giraffes, lions, elephants and zebras, and I stopped a few times to admire them as well as take pictures with a few of them. Several of the other runners did likewise, too.

I had thought that seeing all of these animal exhibits were quite interesting and they had really helped to take my mind off the slopes and hills as well as the monotony of the running, too. 

Unfortunately I did not manage to see, pose with or take photos with any of the orang-utans, though. I admit I would have liked to, considering that the Singapore Zoo’s most famous animal is an Orang-Utan.

Still though, the presence of all the animals definitely set this run apart and made it different to most of the other running events around Singapore.

Beginning The Second Loop

So as such, the first loop passed by all too quickly and it was then time to embark on the second route.

Volunteers were, once again, stationed at this critical u-turn junction and constantly telling the 12KM runners to stay on the left to finish and to go to the right to begin their second loop, so I did not have any problems at all, with staying on the right path.

Because I already knew what to expect in terms of the hills, I tried to pace myself accordingly for this during the second round. 

Getting Tired

But I could feel my pace slowing down a little by this point, because my body was beginning to now feel a bit shagged and tired, primarily due to the clocking of high mileage in recent weeks in preparation for the Nagoya Marathon which I will be running in about two week’s time. 

As well, it also didn’t help my cause too, that I’d got less than five hours of sleep the previous night.

But instead of letting the tiredness get to me, I focused on the external factors to propel me forward, such as the kilometre marker signages and the animal exhibits that I was passing by. 

Final Two Kilometres

These helped, and soon enough, I spotted the 10KM marker up ahead. At this point, I told myself there was only 2KM more to go.

Yet another out-and-back segment, the final two kilometres weren’t the most exciting portion of the run, but the main thing is that I got it done, and completed the race. 

The End Point

Seeing the finish line looming right up ahead of me, couldn’t be a sweeter feeling…

…Until I had realised that the finish line was actually on an upslope.

I had thought this was a pretty sadistic decision on the part of the organisers, but I pushed myself up the short slope and finished the run.

My Garmin had clocked 11.66KM when I crossed the line, which had been at the entrance of the Night Safari. However this short overall distance may have been due to GPS inaccuracies at some points along the course.

Collecting Race Medal

It had been a short walk from the finish line over to the area that we would collect our race medals, following which runners were directed to walk back to the Singapore Zoo, where the race village was being held.

There were a few photo opportunities along the way, where runners could pose with statues of various animals such as the crocodiles and orang-utans.

The Milo Van

Though I had been feeling a bit tired and sleepy by this stage, there was one thing that had spurred me on to take the walk back the race village…

…and that was the green Milo Van, which I had spied out of the corner of my eyes.

Last year’s Safari Zoo Run had not featured the Milo Van, so it was a particularly welcoming surprise for this year’s event. 

Tiredness suddenly forgotten in that fleeting instant, I made a quick bee-line for the Milo Van and then claimed a few cups of Milo for myself, to satisfy my craving for the chocolate-malt energy drink which I love. 

Fortunately the queue for the Milo was not very long at this point yet, mainly because the throngs of people from the 2KM and 4KM events were not yet around.

Race Carnival

After that, I took a look around the race carnival to see what else was available. I noted the presence of a merchandise stall selling Zoo themed plush toys, A4 folders, magnets and keychains, amongst other things. 

For the merchandise, runners were entitled to 10 per cent off, simply by showing their race bibs. But I did not feel the need to purchase anything. 

Also, there were also a couple of game booths for kids and families but I didn’t really take a closer look at these.

And I caught the flag-offs for both the 2KM and the 4KM races. I thought the kids taking part in the 2KM event were really cute.

I noted that different animal mascots had formed part of the respective flag-off party for these categories, for instance, Canola had been the mascot on stage for the 4KM event.

Cute Zoo Mascots

As well, I also queued up to pose for a photo with two of the Zoo mascots, Ah Meng the Orang-Utan and Sunny the Hornbill, too, over at the main stage.

Visiting The Singapore Zoo

Because my race bib had entitled me to entry to the Singapore Zoo without any extra charges, I decided to head inside to take a look at the animals at a more leisurely pace, before departing the Zoo premises. 

And I also had a quick look at part of the new Dragons & Beasts exhibit inspired by the popular Game Of Thrones TV show, posing with the life-sized statue of the Night King’s wight dragon, Viserion, too.

As well, I took a closer look at the animal exhibits that I had passed by earlier during my run, too. 

Earlier, I thought it had been very interesting to see what the various animals were up to.

While some, like the pelicans had been strutting their stuff and happily posing for the camera, others, like the lions, were hiding and trying not to have anything to do with us humans. And the little Meerkats were just preening themselves and minding their own business, not caring whether people had been watching them or not. The animals obviously have their own personalities and moods, too, just like people do.

An Enjoyable And Smooth Experience 

Thinking back to how my run had went as I departed the Zoo and made my way home following the event, I have to say that I’d had a great time and that it had been an enjoyable and rather smooth-going experience… even though the Singapore Zoo isn’t really the most accessible or nearest of locations to get to, for me.

Nonetheless, I’ll love to be back for future editions of the Safari Zoo Run.