Nearly half the distance of the race was in the Geylang Park Connector and Tanjong Rhu area, reminiscent of last year’s Marina 21K route. The entire Run350 route has nothing to shout about, but the logistic aspects of the race was very well executed. Not surprising really, and rather expected of an event organized by NTUC.

I’ve run passed the floating platform in various races last year, but this was the first time I’m running a race that has its Start/Finish point right at the floating platform. The location was convenient and the CBD skyline scenery was second to none in Singapore. Finishers and supporters were treated to the magnificent beauty of the new downtown Marina Bay skyline.

At the Finishing point, runners and supporters were treated to many fringe activities like a mobile rock wall, and the kids 350m dash were the highlights of not just the kids, but many excited parents!

All in all, Run 350 2012 was a very well organized event, which have many activities suited for the whole family to participate and enjoy together. Being my first race and half marathon of 2012, I wasn’t expecting much from my timing and had targeted a 2 hours finish. To my surprise, I finished the race in 1hr 46.20min (gun time)! The official timing will be released later in the week, in the meantime, I’ll leave you with my finisher pose, finisher medal and finisher T-shirt.

Unknown just a couple of weeks ago, New York Knicks latest sensation, Jeremy Lin, has made the city’s basketball diehards and novices alike intoxicated with “Linsanity”.

Here’s a video highlights of the game where Jeremy Lin hits the game-winner to lift Knicks over Raptors for their sixth straight win.

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.

Combining Balinese cultural ambience with African Savannah, Bali Safari and Marine Park is home to hundreds of amazing animals representing more than 50 species, including some rare and endangered species. The park, which features the Sumatran elephants, Sumatran tigers, white tigers, leopards, komodo dragons and cheetahs, is officially designated as a wildlife conservation park, dedicated towards preserving endangered species through education and research programs coordinating with other zoological institutions around the world.

Hopped onto the safari bus and went for a 30-minute safari tour where some animals came right up to us, even the lions and tigers!

After the close encounter with the wild, we wrapped up the hot day by cooling off the heat in the waterpark.

As a result, we catered for, and spent an entire day at a water park called WaterBom Bali. With 22 exciting water slides that slice through 3.8 hectares of landscaped tropical parks providing hours of fun and entertainment for the young and the young at heart! It is the perfect water themed park for the whole family!

A rather non-descript entrance opens up to a world of exciting and fun-filled water activities set amid a lush tropical garden.

There are 22 exciting rides that cater to different thrill-level. Very popular rides that have long queue are “Climax”, “Boomerang”, and “Superbowl”.

If thrilling rides and slides are not your cup of tea, you can choose to while your afternoon away in the lazy river, constructed and decorated to make visitors feel like we are meandering through an amazonian river!

For wholesome family fun, WaterBom Bali is a very good attraction to spend a fun-filled day.

Totally unaware that Bangkok would eventually be inundated by the great flood, booking of air tickets to Bangkok, Thailand, was done in early September. As the situation got worse in late October-early November, a “window” was opened to change our travel destination. Bali was a no-brainer and our eventual choice. We have never been to Bali, so we were looking forward to this trip.

The island of Bali consists of too many exciting spots for us to explore with just 4 days in Bali (23 – 26 Nov). For this trip, we stayed in Kuta region, an area famous for its long sandy beach and great surf. The tropical weather made sure we had a scorching time during our stay.

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?

In the month of October, I’ve been caught pointing my iPhone towards the sky one time too many, and here’s sharing some of them with you: