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HomeSports & RunsNew Balance Realrun (NBRR) 2007 Runner's Post-race Comments

New Balance Realrun (NBRR) 2007 Runner’s Post-race Comments

New Balance Realrun 2007, runway route

The New Balance real run 2007 had just ended and this puts one more race this year being held in the East (and so to the dismay of my people living in the west but to the joy for those in the east). It’s so given the usual centralised Realrun event venue (gateway carpark in Sentosa) being permanently closed for redevelopment by Genting Resorts World, so technically speaking we are looking at a whole new place to run and possibility areas where the organizers can afford to mess up, how do they fair in this year’s race?

Pre-race management & Transport Options
First off, Having an event in such a remote part of Singapore requires some serious thought into getting the horde over, that was well planned with multiple direct shuttle bus locations all around the island (AMK, Jurong, Kallang, Outram, Tanah Merah & Woodlands) for a modest fee of $3, similar to that used by SCM as well. There was ample parking space for those who drive, with a whole aviation carpark worth of space, only that you have to be in by 7am or you have to park at the nearby Changi Beach carpark and make your way to the start line by foot.

There was free direct shuttle bus service from pasir-ris MRT itself for those who prefer to commute themselves and forgo the $3 direct shuttle. The interesting and commendable thing was that shuttle services was even extended to 7am, contrary to the last bus at 6.45am, which came very much as a welcome and relief who thought they “missed the last bus” and had to take public transport. Similarly for those who drove in late, the drawback for shuttle buses arriving after 6.45am was the need for the runners to make their way 3km towards the startline due to the roads already being closed at 7, further making them late and missing the start. Buses can’t go in either for safety reasons, despite them being all clear and being serviced by SCDP trucks as well.

Recognized was the organisers effort was for this category, but they would score top marks for transport if they could take up one lane for last minute service buses, so runners do not need to rush their way to the start in order to begin the race.

Other noticeable pre-race events would include the usual preludes and race pack collection were on for runners. Which all served their purpose and went on well.

The Route View Lonely Runner’s GPS Route Map
The route started with runners all set to conquer the long runway stretch. To my disbelief we actually had 6 full running lanes which was really spectacular for a flag off, though the obvious bulk and horde of runners, space was very adequate and there was plenty of room for overtaking. The runway kept on for slightly above 2km to space and distribute the crowd up to take on the bottleneck into a one way tarmac pavement on the first left bend along Changi Coast Road, which many transition in quite smoothly only that overtaking became more of a feat and space greatly reduced.

The return trip after the U-turn along Changi Coast road was sufficiently big and open again, very good running route with good shelter from the rising sun. Most of the trail area was covered and shady as well, except for some areas around the sand route where it gets really seawater musty and hot. But that will not beat the last 2km runway stretch being the ultimate runner’s mental test back to the finishing line without any shelter at all.

The organisers took effort into ensuring that the race route was fully understood by runners with maps and information besides the training run, with distinctively marked start and finish gantries so there won’t be last minutes shocks and changes to the route like the Mizuno wave run this year.

Terrain
The relief is generally all flat throughout, except for some minor gradient visible on the runway straights, all other parts of the course are perfectly flat, even the beach had some flat sandy areas on the bank tops where all the runners ended up running along too. With the exception of weather, the Sentosa course was very much more difficult to run than at Changi, especially being faced with hillys ups and down, not to mention large open beaches on the sand part- the Changi route was simply much more “soft” to be called an “ultimate cross terrain challenge”.

NBRR07 10km runners flagged off
10km runners flagged off
NBRR07 the start line
The Start Line
Large open spaces
The vast spaces

Post-race management
The post race was excellent, the whole changi exhibition center was booked for the event and air-conditioning was turned on all round – a perfect and open place for all runners to cool down after the scorching finish. There were lots of outdoor shelters and 100-plus umbrellas for those who wanted to acclimatize for awhile after finishing before entering the air-conditioned environment.

Race carnival
All the race carnivals and race booths are all situated in the exhibition center itself, with ample space for crowds without any congestion, and was space not an issue here – with the total floor area of few aircraft hangers, need more space and head to the back of the center where you will be greeted by a long big empty air-conditioned space to your hearts delight. No nearby food hawkers? Hungry? everything is cater for, all you need to do is to show the greens.

The exhibition center stage

The lucky draw was held a the the central stage and 91.3 DJS Suzanne walker and Joe from the Morning show were there to keep the crowd chirpy and entertained, though being DJs they tend to talk more than what they usually should do, but that didn’t stop the crowd from staying till the end of the lucky draw with all prizes drawn out on the day itself to the crowd content, contrary to the rather disappointing “single draw or direct donation to charity if no takers” during the 2005 event. Glad they didn’t do this this year.

Collection Points
I finally came to understand why the 10km start time is pushed to 7.30am instead of 7.45am – having the 15km at 7.30am and the 10km 7.45am as opposed previously will only add to the congestion at the finish and possible large surge in crowds for the 2 events possibly converging and finishing together, (since only with a lag time of only about 10-15mins for the top runners). Having the 10km starting safely earlier will ensure all these runners clearing their league of the race first so there won’t be bottlenecks at the finishing line and bag collection points, and since that 15km runners will definitely come later than their 10km counterparts, everything will be clear and ready for the next 15km wave to be accommodated when they arrive.

I personally did not deposit any baggage, but heard baggage collection was fast and breezy having the need to pay $1 to deposit your bag, so it’s very much like having an ERP charge which definitely kept the numbers of bags down.

Goodie bag collection was a great breeze too and just like every year there were no long queues at all, it’s like dash and go, no matter when you finish. Maybe Mizuno waverun can learn a thing or two from the Realrun too, also given the fact that this is a new venue with lots of opportunities for things to go wrong, glad the organizing committee saw that through.

The exhibition center
Exhibition Center
Our Prize winners!
Our Prize winners!
My SGRunners Achievement Certificate!
My SGRunners Achievement Certificate!

Prizes
Top timings go to “superman” a Malaysian for 15km in just 52min. And for 10km opens, it was like 32mins. Results wise, 4 of our SP track and field runners came in within the top 20 of the Men’s Junior category and Brokie from the SGrunners presented me with my events certificate of achievement today as well! Cheers to the SGrunners, Yoke Thye and GuetPing who were there too.

Heading Back
The roads only open up after 10am, this is a technical and safety limitation so anyone who wants out before that have to make their way out by foot which quite a few runners were seen doing, otherwise the carparks and shuttle bus services towards Pasir-Ris will start at 10am sharp when the roads are re-opened. While those who drove will only be greeted by an oven hot car to head back home, there was a healthy flow of air-conditioned shuttle buses for those who needs a free lift back to Pasir-Ris. The buses kept up pretty well with the horde of crowds heading back, even at the end of the event- waiting time for buses never went past 5mins on a single wait, not only people were queuing up for buses, the buses were also queuing up to be boarded as well, well done!

Overall 8.5/10 (Highly Satisfying Race)
Good race! The Realrun team never disappoint with this year’s run, despite all the challenges with a new route and venue. Logistics to transport were all thought through. Commendable!

Running Mileage for last week
SP Gym 3 Sets Weight Training – Thursday
Ulu Pandan Canal Route: 9.58km – Thursday
Ulu Pandan Canal Route: 11.00km – Friday
New Balance Real Run 2007: 15+2km – Sunday
Total Mileage for week: 37.58km
Total 2007 Accumulative Mileage: 873.7km

23 COMMENTS

  1. I attended the New Ba;ance Real Run toay.

    Overall i’m very impressed by the way it was organised and executed. Nothing short of excellent =)

    Route was well managed with good distribution of medical points. My only point of curiosity was why the advertised the Runway portion as 1km when in fact, its actually 2+2km? Hahaha. And the trail, i was kinda expecting it to be running on grasslands etc, but in fact it was just a track in and around trees.

    Post race –

    I was infact rather surprised that i managed to get out of Changi Expo in less than an hour, being able to eat a plate of nasi lemak and collecting my goodie bag as well as cooling down…

    The queues esp for bag collection was efficient ad fuss-free, the goodie bags were even better, no long queues, no fuss. just take and go…even when the 15km runners came in, the queues were fast and breezy.

    Location thsi year was good, i liked the big open spaces, didn’t give you that tight cramped feeling of other races such as SBR or worse..the MWR. Lol

    Will definitely look forward to next year’s NBRR. =)

    Overall a great running experience.

    Everything went well and smooth. Logistics, Event management, Location, route, goodie bags baggage collection. Definitely tops for me this year =)

    Good Job on the webbie too!

  2. First of all congratulations to all who managed to completed the realrun successfully & without any incidents this time round.I would say this event was neatly organised but definitely not as well as the AHM.

    The reason being is that the flag off time was at 730/745am for the 10km/15km races.For those who took the $3 shuttle bus services know that the 1st shuttle bus service started as early as 5am,but with the 1st flagoff to start only 2hr30mins later,wouldn’t it too early.Well i don’t know about the rest,but for my case whereby i took the shuttle bus at outram park which leaves at 530am i managed to arrive at the venue in less than 30mins which is not even 6am.I ended up waiting for the race to start but fortunately i had my friends along with me and we chit chatted near the sea beside the exhibition hall.

    Well there were advantages & disadvantages for arriving early.Advantages are you do not have to rush for this & that,plenty of time to get yourself ready by going to the washroom & doing sufficient warm up.Disadvantage,like i said was having to wait for the race to start.

    Now moving on to the race route.Like shaun said,the 1st 2km route was wide & more than sufficient for runners to run on their own pace & overtake other runners.But between the 2km-6km(i think) was kinda of narrow and makes overtaking difficult as the grass on the side wasn’t flat.It kinda of remind me of my experience during the mizuno wave run back in bedok reservoir in July but i was thankful it didn’t rain the night before or on the morning which makes the difference. Onto the bench part whereby we took on the sand route was a wonderful experience for me as it was the 1st time i officially run on sand.Seems to me alot of runners did not like running on the sand & switch to running on the outer part of the sand route which was more flat & easier to run on. As i wanted to experience how was it like running 1km on a sand & test my physical endurance,i stayed on running on the sand.

    During the last 2km was really a test of endurance as there was no trees or any form of shelters to shield us from the blazing sun.Alot of runners were unable to bear by running under the heat and therefore started walking towards the finishing point.

    Baggage & goodie bags collections were definitely a breeze,unlike the mizuno run whereby people had to experience extremely long queues.One thing i don’t understand is that why should we be paying $1 for the bag deposit whereby we already paid $30,which is alot,for the event?

    Another thing was that the new balance t-shirt which was in the goodie bag was quite big in size & cutting.The t-shirt i took was almost 2 size bigger.Luckily i managed to exchanged for a smaller size.This also reminds me of a unpleasant experience by my friend.The size he took was kinda of baggy and therefore i accompanied him for a exchange.When we reached the goodie bag booth the guy told him that he cannot exchange for a smaller size because he have already opened up the plastic which contained the t-shirt.We explained to him that he have to open up the plastic at least to check whether the shirt fits or not.

    The guy argued that upon collecting the goodie bag my friend should have check out the “sample shirt” which was displayed on top of the booth to check whether it fits or not also they have told the participants they cannot do any exchange if they have opened up the plastic which my friend was certain that he wasn’t told such details.The thing is that,how many people can tell whether a shirt fits them or not by only able to look at it? Furthermore there was no size measurements given and the shirt sizes wasn’t even close compared to the usual shirt sizes you will get outside.The organisers should be more flexible and allow people to do some form of exchange or if not,at least put up a “big” notice to let people like us know that no exchange is allowed.For me i think that putting up the size measurements for the shirts would be the most effective method,just like the upcoming SCM.

    Last but not least i was pleased with the organisers for having shuttle bus services to pasir ris mrt which made life much easier for alot of us.

    Well done to the 4 guys from SP track & field for making the top 20 in the junior catogory! To all 5 more weeks to the ultimate test! 42.km full marathon!

    • Hi Claudio,

      I think the organizers have the right to reject any T-shirt which its packaging has been opened. What do they do with the T-shirt which has been opened up? Put it back to the goodie and give to other runners? Moreover, not all runners want to receive T-Shirt with packaging has been opened up.

      At least the organizers have put out a sample T-Shirt for runner to find out their sizes. I never come across this before in SCM or AHM. Runner also should check the size themselves by asking the guys at the booth whether it is asian size or america size. Or, by default, NB is as an America brand, the size should be america size.

      Cheers.

      • Hi Kea,

        Thank you for your response.I do understand that organisers do have the right to reject any t-shirt which its packaging has been opened.I personally also do not wish to be one of those who receive a shirt which packaging that has been opened up as well.But take the recent AHM race pack collection for example,i have seen alot of people do a shirt exchange after they found out that the shirt doesn’t fit them nicely and the organisers allowed all of them to do a exchange.But I will have to accept this is a case by case basis incident.

        But let me ask you this question,how certain are you to know whether a shirt fits you nicely or not by only able to look at it? I dare to tell you most of people would not be able to do that.I also dare to say that many people got the wrong sizes which doesn’t fit them nicely but they were either hesitated to make a exchange or were rejected by the organisers.

        The best solution to prevent all this from happening,the organisers should put up a size chart to indicate all the shirt measurements which would be the best information for the runners.After all,we did pay $30 for this event and i think we deserve to get our money’s worth.

        • Hi Claudio,

          What I did on last Sunday (Real Run) is asking few runners (who had wore the T-Shirt) with around the same build as mine, the size of the T-shirt that they were getting. They were happy to show me their size of the T-Shirt.

          This is suggested another way of confirming the size of T-Shirt that will fit us.

          I am also confused the dimension of size chart… armhole, back length,etc. The dimensions stated are really out of the range comparing to the dimension of T-Shirt I wear. In fact, I had a hard time confirming the size of T-Shrit when I was registering for SCM.

        • Well,if you have a hard time confirming the size of the t-shirt when you registered for the SCM,i had a hard time too trying to see which of the t-shirt fits me in the realrun.In any case,the best possible method is to put up a size chart indicating the chest and length measurements.
          And by the way,it is not accurate by asking people who has the same build as yourself.That’s what the some people told me when i visit some shops to buy clothes as well and on some occasions i had to went back to the shop to do a exchange because it’s either too long,too short,too baggy or too tight.

        • Yes… that is why the organizer put up the sample T-shirt of each size in front the counter. I think the helper will be happy to let the runners try on the sample T-Shirt if they request. I also saw the runners who took the effort to look at or try on the sample T-shirt and they were happy with the size they got on that day. BTW, if you buy a can of normal coke from store and pull its ring, then you realize that you actually wants a lime coke, can you go back to the store and ask for exchange? This applies out situration here.

          For size chart, if we observe, it is normal put up on the form or web page when we need to indicate our size during signing up, like SCM and passion run. Nowsaday, most of the household do not have measuring tape to do the measurement. This ends up lots of exchange for size during race expo but is rejected.

          As for AHM, if we look on the quality of the T-shirt, it is not as good as real run’s or SCM’s. But the registeration fee is not cheap…$25 …and real run is $30. They can have lots of stock for exchanging.

          The bottom line…. since the organizer has put in the effort to have the sample t-shirt of each size. It is the effort too for the runner to confirm the size without exchanging. So the organizer should not be blamed for inflexible just because they reject the exchanging of tthe T-shirt due to the runners who do not take the initiative to find out the size.

          Furthermore, I think it is more practical and cost effective to confirm the size from the sample t-shirt than from the size chat.

          BTW, dose anyone there out go shopping for clothing by selecting his size from display set or size chat?

          No hard feeling, I am focuing on the situration here.

          Cheers 😀

        • Using buying a can of drink is obviously a bad example.A can of coke has the printing on the surface which indicate what drink it is.If someone do buy it and only to realise it’s lime coke then i would simply say that someone is either blind or plian stupid.

          And i would say obviously that both of us has different sets of views which i have to say none of us is either right or wrong.You believe what is the best method while i have another set of solution which i think is most suitable & convenient.

          And for your information,no one go shopping for clothing by selecting his size from the display set or size chart.But do you know that there are some such shops in singapore that doesn’t allow their customers to try on the clothes & only tell them to come and do an exchange if the shirt doesn’t fit?I would tell there is one such shop in queensway shopping centre.

        • I don’t blame the organisers for not being flexible.In fact they already did a great job for this event.It’s a small part they missed out by not stating “more” information for the shirt.What i think that they should put out all available information regarding the shirt.
          As for measuring tool,even a simple ruler will do the trick.If not just go get one.If someone chooses not to get one,then there’s no one to blame and it’s down to luck whether that person get whatever he/she wants.

  3. great review!
    i enjoyed the run overall. definitely lower level of difficulty (as u mentioned) as compared to Sentosa. the tree shades in most parts is a welcome relief considering how hot it was yesterday. i made a right decision to ride instead of drive. the traffic going in is a pain for most drivers….
    the aircon hall is a great relief, gift pack exchange is fuss free.
    overall, one of the better organized run in sg.

  4. Yes it does.If you check out your goodie bag you will see a leaflet stating that you can purchase your race photos from the race official photograher.Check it out at http://www.sportsphotox.com not now but a few weeks later.For example,the AHM photos were uploaded 2 weeks after the event.Will keep u all informed.Just a note that you will not definitely find your picture there if your picture wasn’t taken.

  5. And by the way,the reason why you did not see the organisers put up a sample shirt for the SCR and AHM is,AHM organisers allowed people to do a exchange even through alot of people have even tried it on on the spot(as i have done it myself too).
    As for SCR it’s even better.The organisers put up a size chart of the singlets and shirts on the website and advise the runners to make sure the sizes fit before confirming their shirt size.

  6. I purposely name the example of lime coke and normal coke. It is because both outlook look quite simple with red coloured can. One may accidently take one can of coke by mistake in hurry.

    As for the shop in Queensway Shopping Center, perhap it does not have changing room. I do know the situartion when we are not allowed to try the T-Shirt, especially for ladies, they are not allowed to try on white T-shirt for most of the time due to their makeup. But we are always allow to bring the T-shirt near to our body so that we can judge the lenght or width with our size. That is why the Sample T-Shirt is for.

    • I don’t know how’s the coke example is like cos i don’t drink coke.As for the bring the shirt near to our body is only able to judge the length of the shirt.As for the width it’s not as accurate as it seems like i said earlier before it as happen to me on several occasions.Let me give you few examples of my shopping trips.

      Case 1: I went to this shop in queensway and i wanted to buy a piece of shirt but the shop doesn’t allow their customers to even overlap it let alone trying it on.The sales person then said,”That guy is getting the same shirt as you & he looks the same build as you,so i think you can fit on what he’s getting.”In the end the shirt turned out to be a size bigger.

      Case 2: Again at queensway,this shop doesn’t have any fitting room but luckily they allowed their customers to overlap the shirt.The guy told me judging from my build,i should be wearing size M,but after trying it on by overlapping,it turns out size S is more than suitable for me.

      Case 3: Together with my friend,we visit a well known local boutique.As the changing rooms are packed with people,my friend just did the “traditional” way by putting the shirt i wanted on my body to check whether it fits or not.Although it looks like it fits nicely,it turned out to be too baggy after i tried it on in the changing room.

      Although the organiser put up the sample shirt on display,i did also saw that some people trying it on even though they are still sweating all over their bodies.If i remember correctly,there’s only one sample shirt on display for each booth.For hygiene purposes,i don’t think it would be a great idea for everyone to try it on to check whether it fits ot not.So overall,i still believe that the best solution is to put up a size chart.

  7. I think i might have figured out why the run was flagged off at 730am/745am.Those who had participated in the run should remember that some parts of the running route had no lightning.Example,between the 2km-6km route although there was street lamps along the road,it seems not good enough as we had to run along the pavement beside the road which i think was dangerous due to poor lightning because the grass had lots of potholes and there was a slope alongside it as well.

    Another area is of course the bench where there was no lights provided and we had to run on the sand.Poor lightning will make these two areas dangerous for runners.

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