MacRitchie Run – Marathon Challenge

As what I said yesterday, the entire school (except the Secondary Fours, because they would be taking their O Levels VERY soon…) is going (forced) to participate in the 4.8km MacRitchie Run! This is one of the school’s activities highlights of the year, and so, attendance is COMPULSORY.

I am not really interested in running, because I hate rub-your-tired-legs-with-ointment sessions and time-to-sleep-early days. However, I believe that running, especially in marathons, could improve my stamina and also help to build up my determination inside me.

I woke up as early as 5.30am today, which is the time when I am not expected to wake up during school days. Maybe I was excited about the run and to see how the Secondary Ones who underestimated the 4.8km distance drag their tired bodies along the track path. Haha…. *just being sadistic*

I nearly missed the bus 156, which reaches the bus stop outside Nan Yang Girl High every 15 minutes, as the China scholars told me that there was a shuttle bus for scholars which would fetch us right to MacRitchie Reservoir. Obviously, in the end we were told that the bus is only for ATHELETES running for the COMPETITIVE group. So, we people, who are not chosen to be in the COMPETITVE group, have no chance hopping on the comfortable bus seats.

The marathon started with Mr Teng giving a signal *honk honk*. The entire cohort started to run and I can feel that everyone’s legs are starting to tangle up with others, due to massive movement at the same time. I really hate the starting of the run, as I have experience the sensation of knocking into others when the run starts for two years. You could sprain your angle at any time and you might be even sabotaged by your all-the-way-long rivals.

I ran along the jungle path when I met up with the first standby-cum-slacking squad. Guess who I met up with? Mr Goh! Oh no… his peculiar smile on his face nearly caused me to lose my hardly-built-up momentum.

I was quite familiar with the path so I am mentally prepared when I am approaching a steep slope and when I am going to reach a plateau and so and so. I worse thing about the run is that half of our marathon path is along Lornie Road, which is more than 1km long. The road is somehow build on several consecutive hills so the path is somehow up-and-down type.

What I expected after every hilltop is the entrance of MacRithcie Reservoir where our physicallly-and-mentally torturing marathon ends. However, what is awaiting me after every hill top is another LONG stretch of road, and I really want to give up and start to talk.

Determination is what that keeps me running and not stopping. I was happy after I lapped many COMPETITIVE group runners, who started off 10 minutes earlier before us. I finally reached the ending line and the teahcers thought that I was in the COMPETITIVE group as due to my SMALL built body they expected me to run very slow. Anyway, I am in the top 5 runners of the non-competitive group (which we are not given any prize).

My friends always asked me why I don’t participate in the competitive group since my stamina is better than most of the people. I said that I would get hasty when I am running for the class in the competitive group due to my perfectionist nature, which always wants me to get first in competitions. Since I can’t do anything with the perfection-minded me, the only thing I can do is not to participate in the competitive group. Haha.

Today’s run is really enriching and refrehsing, and let me have more determination in my studies next year and also help me to overcome my Post-Examination Syndrome.

“Quite a nice run,” I told myself.