Taking place in several cities around the world, the adidas Recode Running Festival is described as a brand new running experience that will change running forever and it was held in conjunction with the launch of adidas’ new running shoes, the revolutionary UltraBoost 19.

Event began at Asian Civilisations Museum last Saturday

I had been invited to participate in the Singapore leg of the adidas Recode Running Festival, which took place last Saturday morning beginning at 7am outside the Asian Civilisations Museum.

So I reached the location on time. Registrations for both guests and media began punctually at 7am, and then at 7:30am, there was an introduction, followed by a warmup session.

I would have liked to try out the new UltraBoost 19 shoes in order to see how these shoes perform, but unfortunately adidas did not currently have these in my size.

Downloading of District App

During the introductory session, we were all told to download the District app, if we had not done so yet.

The key to Saturday’s “brand new running experience” as described by adidas, the District app is a revolutionary app that has taken running, pulled it apart and created something new. Through the app, District hopes to kick off a new urban culture by pushing the sport into a different territory and transforming everything that has come before.

It does this in the form of an urban exploration game where cities across the globe are activated with millions of virtual waypoints. So you need to run with your phone to navigate your city, completing as many challenges and collecting as much points as possible within the time limit. There is no set route, so strategy is key, for this game.

Logging Into District App

My first experience with the District app had been at last year’s District Race. But since then, I’ve re-discovered that the app has undergone several changes in terms of becoming easier to use.

Logging in with my Facebook account and keying in my unique Unlock Code to access the Grid, I had been able to access the game, within seconds. It was fuss-free and convenient, and the process seemed easier than I had previously remembered.

Beginning My Run

At 8am, the first wave, which I was in, was called to the start line, which was just outside the Asian Civilisations Museum. I headed there, and within moments, we began our race.

Knowing that I am not a fast runner, I tried to pick the route that had the most challenges in order to get as high up the leaderboard as I could. This is because the challenges are worth 300 – 500 points whereas crossing the checkpoints are worth just 100 points.

My Route And Obstacles Faced

So at the word go, I headed towards Peninsula Plaza and Fort Canning Park. I came across a quiz question challenge, three different time trial challenges where you had to sprint 100-metres as fast as possible on differing terrains, as well as some scanning challenges, whereby you needed to look out for certain signs or landmarks and take a photo of these to earn the points.

Out of the challenges, the most tricky one was probably the one at Fort Canning Park, where we were required to run 100-metres uphill, as fast as we could.

The slower you run, the less points you will pick up here. But I am quite happy with my efforts, picking up a maximum of 500 points from this challenge.

As a whole, I would say that the challenges were pretty fun, and to some extent, the augmented reality features and interactivity between the app and the real world, had strongly reminded me of Pokemon Go, a game which I play regularly.

Along the way, I also picked up several checkpoints that had been en route.

I then headed back towards Stamford Road and Clarke Quay, ending my race near the Clarke Quay Central before returning back to the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Finishing The Session

In the end, I clocked 6.77km within the allocated one hour and picked up 4,200 points, which I suppose is not too bad for my efforts.

Generally the District App had been very intuitive and easy to use, though I did encounter one bug along the way.

This was where I had been required to scan the painted murals inside the tunnel near Clarke Quay Central mall and there, my GPS had slight issues with detecting my location. It took me several minutes to get it working. 

But that bug aside, the app did not have any other issues in terms of its detection of my location.

Conclusion Of The Session

Overall, I would say I had fun with the District app.

Upon returning to the Asian Civilisations Museum, there was breakfast waiting for us, with goodies that included Acai bowls, fruit juices, crackers, granola bars and cereals. Everything was yummy and tasted good after having the earlier exertion.

There were also plenty of photo opportunities with the placards and standees that had been erected on site, with the most creative photos having a chance to win a trip to Hong Kong.

The session then ended with the giving out of adidas Recode hampers to the top three prize winners, and then this was followed by a quiz where we could win adidas hats and water bottles, by answering a few simple questions. These questions had ranged from specific facts about the UltraBoost 19 to generic knowledge of adidas.

I Had a Blast

As a whole I would say that it had been a rather enjoyable event and that I’d definitely had a blast at Saturday morning’s adidas Recode Running Festival. The concept of the District App is really something fresh and new, and it really does bring a completely new light to the sport of running.

Photo credits to adidas Runners Singapore.