The MetaSprint series kicked off this morning at the Palawan Beach, Sentosa, with the Aquathlon event. This had comprised of a 750 metre swim and a 5km run, though there were also shorter distance categories available to cater to the youths and kids.
Click here to view the photo gallery for the MetaPrint Aquathlon 2017 event.
Billed by the organisers as “the ideal way to get into multi-sports”, the MetaSprint series consists of an Aquathlon, Duathlon and Triathlon event, with the aim of slowly easing newcomers into multi-sports events.
Participants thought the event was well organised
Many participants who had taken part, had thought that the event was very well-organised. Said Zoe Natasha Bowden, 17, a student from a British international school in Phuket, Thailand, “It was a very well-organised event with lots of international people and overseas triathletes coming. It’s such a great way to bring the multi-sports community together, not only in Singapore but also those from Malaysia, Thailand and even the United States.”
Agreed Murray Higgs, 47, a Physical Education teacher at the Australian International School in Singapore, “It was really well-organised. The location was beautiful and the event was family friendly. This is my third MetaSprint event and I love the series.”
Swim was calm apart from the occasional jellyfish
He added, “The swim was very calm, but as I was in the 45-49 age group, the was a lot of very slow swimmers ahead of us so I had to slow down. I think for future races, MetaSprint could consider sorting out the swimmers according to their previous times rather than their age – then it would be the first multi-sports event that does this, and it would make them different. But besides that though, there were a couple of jellyfish but that’s ok, you would just ignore them.”
Zoe had also shared Murray’s sentiments about the jellyfish in the water. She said, “Apart from the sea bugs and some jellyfish, the water was calm and warm. It was a hot swim, but I am used to the weather here, with the training in Asia. But I got stings all over my body and face as well, I think!”
Murray however, had enjoyed the run. He said, “The run was good. It was fast, flat and shaded and I enjoyed it.”
Water was a bit murky
However, Clare Wijeratne, 39, a Global Policy Analyst, found that the swim had been not quite what she had expected. She said, “The water was murky and hard to judge whether you are swimming fast or slow, and where you are in terms of the group. It felt like swimming in the blind, but that was ok. The water was fine though and not choppy.”
Clare didn’t enjoy the running leg so much though, as she admits that running has never been her strongest leg. She said, “The run was hard work but I am glad that I made it to the finish line! I am a terrible runner, but the route here was pretty scenic and there was some shade, which was really nice. I don’t usually run here. We live around Keppel Bay so most of my runs are around Labrador Park.”
Run was fast and flat
But Zoe had begged to differ though. She said, “The run was flat. The route was smooth and fast, made for fast racing. I thought it was pretty good. Everything was well organised and it was a good run. But the transition from the swim to the run was harder. For every transition the body has to adjust to the mechanics of a different sport, and at the same time your stomach is churning and you are tired and simply hoping to finish. My legs were wobbly and cramping and there was tightness. I had to dig in and run through the pain, to finish it.”
Emile Feddal, 38, a Project Manager at a local bank, had felt that the run was depressing. She said, “You see people coming back but you still had to run all the way down before you can make a u-turn. It may have been nicer to have a loop course or else to make the run more challenging by going up the hill.”
The race was nice and scenic with good weather
She added, “But that aside, the race overall was quite nice. The weather was great and the course location was very scenic. It was a well organised event.”
Haytham Elansary, 38, a Mechanical Engineer in the oil & gas industry, said that he didn’t have any improvements to the latest edition of the MetaSprint Aquathlon. He said, “It was well-organised and I do not think that they need to improve anything. The logistics were great and the location was easy to get to. Everything was well laid out. It was good.”
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