Barring any injuries, a sub-4hrs finish will definitely be my target next year. I will have to work even harder to achieve this target.

Congrats to all runners who had finished the race, see you next year! Let’s get the party started!

This year’s full marathon race route was very similar to last year, except for some minor changes along the route. The initial 5km was not a pleasant run at all, what with the throngs of runners squeezing into some narrow roads and literally running into tight corners inside the CDB area. Another sore point besides that was at the half and full-marathon merging point, which got lots of complains last year for the “human-wall”, which impeded running, was the same as last year. It was disappointing that there was no improvement made there.

This being my third full marathon run, I was much better prepared than the first two, and I went with a target in mind – to better my marathon personal best. Now let me share with you some pictures of the carnival at the end-point.

That was me posing with my hard-earned finisher tee at the “Run For A Reason” wall.

4 weeks to go till the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011 comes around, it will be my 3rd marathon race. I’ve been training progressively but having done my last race in early September, one concern is the ability to keep my race sharpness intact.

The reason I run is to better my marathon PB, I am not sure if I can achieve it but I’m aiming for a sub-4 hr race this year. We each have a reason to run, so what’s yours?

As this year was the 20th anniversary of the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon, there were many “Firsts” ranging from a refreshed running route, to a first “Father and Child Challenge” category. The 21km running route took runners past 20 of Singapore’s iconic landmarks, including Marina Barrage, Bay east at Gardens by the Bay, Old City Hall, Anderson Bridge, to name a few.

After exiting from Marina Barrage, we ran along the Gardens by the Bay that connects to Tanjong Rhu View. This section of the route was similar to that of Marina 21K run which I did back in July, and which I dislike due to having to run on grass patches in the dark, as well as on uneven footpath. Other than this little inconveniences, the running route was refreshing, and the myraid of colourful street-side performances at various locations along the route certainly provided the runners with much welcome relief.

My timing for this 21km run was 1h 40mins. I had an enjoyable time during and after the run, congrats to the organizer for a well-organized race and all the volunteers for their hardwork! Now it’s time to let some post-run pictures continue the story.

The race distance was 16.8km with the start point on Esplanade Bridge and finishing point at the Padang.

Coming on the back of some rather disorganized races earlier, this adidas kotr was a very well organized race, befitting this global sporting brand that is Adidas. The route, which brings runners past many icons in the Marina Bay area, was adequately marked with huge visible distance-marker, and water-points were long to accommodate the massive throngs of thirsty runners. Overall, I had a very satisfied race experience, and I’m sure most, if not all of the runners, local and overseas will agree with me.  Let’s take a photowalk of the post-race carnival.

I finished the race in 1h 17.05m, and was mildly surprised by this result.

The event site was rather inaccessible, somewhere in Tanjong Rhu area.

The scenery at the start point was indeed captivating, and was a welcome change to the usual start point set in the city center.

For the 1st km, runners were treated to the above scenery of the Marina Bay skyline, after that, my race experience started going downhill. If last week’s Tri-Factor Run was a disaster as a result of insufficient route marker and lack of race marshals at critical junction, leading to some runners eventually taking the wrong route, this Marina 21K was not any better.

The flag-off time of 10km run was a good 2hrs ahead of the 21km run, and this created a human-traffic jam at the clearly insufficient baggage deposit counters when 10km finisher and incoming 21km runners converged, which I believed many 21km runners were caught in the queue and were eventually late for the flag-off.

The route (sans the first km) was clearly not meant for a road race, much less a half marathon. In many stretches, runners had to run on grass patches, poorly-lit and uneven footpath and cutting across pedestrian path in the Tanjong Rhu residential area. The lack of distance-marker was really a sore point for me.

I’ve never been so critical of races I had taken part in, but the organization of Marina 21K bordered on being amateurish and my race-experience was at a low never felt before. With that said, I was glad to complete the race in 1 hr 48mins (gun time).

The race course was not as flat as the Sundown Half Marathon, it was a tough course with several up slopes, and many twist and turns along the route.

To make matter worse, the 21km route was poorly marked (I only saw one distance marker), and some runners missed a turn and ran extra distances before realizing their mistake! I felt sorry for them, especially those going all out to better their PBs, their race was ruined by confusion of the route.

I finished the 21km run in 1 hr 46 mins (gun time) and here’s me in my finisher’s pose:

Here’s a closer look at the finisher medal

My time of 1hr 42m, placed me in 42nd place in a field of 3500 men’s finishers. I did not manage to better my PB, but all in all, I can’t complain considering I took part in the Passion Run 25km race just a week earlier!

The certification of appreciation was also available for download and here’s my copy.

The Sundown half marathon route was relatively straight forward with minimal turns, and the course was very flat. A major distance of the route was the same as last weekend’s PAssion Run 2011, thus it was fairly deja vu for me.

The flag-off time for half marathon was 8pm, but I arrived an hour and a half early to take in the sights of the runners’ village.

Although it was a night run, runners still had to endure a very humid run. I finished the race in 1hr 42mins. Here’s me posing with the finisher medal after the race.

Here’s a close up shot of the 21km Finisher medal

Before the runners of 25km were flag-off, the 500m kids dash took place with great fanfare and shouts of encouragement from the parents!

The throngs of runners eagerly anticipating the flag-off for their 25km run.

Here’s me posing with the finisher medal. I took 2hrs 20mins to complete the race.

Here’s a picture of the finisher medal, finisher-Tee, and the race singlet

Let’s take a closer look at the finisher medal, which feels like a key-chain to me!