Exultant

The slight drizzle pattered gently upon the runners as they huddled at the start line, grim and tense. I stood in the midst of the closely packed runners, fingers gently resting upon the watch held in my left hand, prepared to start the time. Nervous, yet inwardly calm, many different thoughts ran through my mind in the moments before the start of the race. The official finished his briefing, and shouted "On your mark..." The runners visibly tensed, those in front bending forward in preparation. The horn blared, and we were off.

Amidst much jostling and pushing.

Today was the Singapore Athletic Association X-Cntry Championships, the first race of the year, with our Men Under-20 race of 5.3km starting at 4.30pm. This year, there was a marked difference. In J1, having recently joined cross-country, (31st October 05 was my first training, I remember it so well because it was just after HCL 'O's) I knew that I was quite slow then, and for any races I took part in, I was almost always unranked. Yet I persevered, and one year later, I finally know enough about the standards of other schools to make a comparison. This year's first race was an interesting and exhilarating experience for me, a revelation of sorts.

You don't have to be a bastard to run a race well, but it helps. Seriously. At the start of every race, if you are exceedingly courteous, and give way to everyone who runs past you, chances are high that you won't do well. Every race, there will be much pushing and cutting across others, especially with narrow trails like McRitchie (at least at the start). I didn't do any pushing (except for one part where I gently nudged a guy aside =P), but I was careful not to give way as well. Every bit of ground you give up means a potential block further on. Suffice to say, it was extremely crowded and packed at the start, and being boxed in, it was impossible to run freely. I had to maneuver around many people throughout the race, but especially at the start.

I went at a comfortable but fast pace at the start, evening out my breathing as I ran. Soon many people started overtaking me, but luckily, they were mostly the Men's Open category (Men's Open is damn shen. Top guy got like 16.40min for 5.3km.) Ground conditions were very bad due to the rain, but we splashed through the mud, unheeding, each of us concentrating on the runner in front. (Fyi: After the race my shoes were an interesting shade of yellow, not to mention my calves and the back of my shorts as well =)) Though there were many people in front of me at the start, I went at a comfortable pace (as I did not have high expectations of myself). Surprisingly, over the course of the race, I overtook many people, and only one guy overtook me near the end. The trail was quite narrow, so I paced myself with the runners in front of me, and whenever there was an opening, I just grabbed it and followed through.

After finishing the forest and going onto the road, I found Alvin and Melvin quite close to me. Surprising. Even more surprising when I overtook them. After encouraging them, I proceeded on through the rest of the race, and at the end, naturally speeded up. Finishing with a time of 19.16 (average of 3.38 per km), I was exultant when I later discovered my position was about 15th or 16th. Totally unexpected, but welcomed. I shall check the SAA website later for the exact results when it is posted. RJC Team 1 got second place in the teamings. I was in Team 2 (if I was in team 1, RJC would have gotten first lol. but that's totally out of point. RJC Team 1 is all made up of good runners, better than me in fact. I respect them a lot, including Melvin, our captain. And I applaud their performance today).

This race today was a totally new revelation for me, and a great boost to my formerly low self-esteem. I realise now that getting top 20, or even top 15, is not totally unattainable for me. I shall continue to work hard, and achieve my best. And, I would like to thank our coach, Mr Quek, our teachers in charge Mr Tay and Ms Lim, and our captain Melvin for pushing me on, encouraging me to achieve my very best. I'd also like to thank everyone who supported me, or wished me luck. Last but not least, my shoes. My new racers. Not joking. They're very light, and though it's the second time wearing them, it's allowed me to do such a good run. (I felt vaguely apologetic for muddying them, so I spent about 45 min washing both my shoes and socks). This season is the culmination of the training that I've gone through so far, a good start to the season. This is just the beginning.

PS Double RoR and BoT rocks.