Recently, Pocari Sweat organised a 2.4km competitive run. 

There was the choice of either a virtual race or an on-ground race consisting of six loops at the Kallang Practice Track.

Part of national fitness test

The 2.4km distance strongly resonates with us Singaporeans, because the 2.4km run is part of the national fitness test during school and national service. 

I remember my school days when our physical education classes were delegated to training for and running the 2.4km around our school compound.

I never trained regularly for running then.

Now that my fitness levels have improved significantly since then, I have been rather curious at whether I can improve my 2.4km timing from my school days.

My previous 2.4km attempts 

Since taking up running regularly, I have attempted the 2.4km distance once. 

This had been in 2019, just before Covid, when I participated in it as part of the Great Eastern Women’s IPPT. 

This is because I am usually more of a marathoner and I generally gravitate towards the longer distances. 

On-ground race

For the Pocari 2.4km, I took part in the on-ground race.

I reached the Kallang Practise Track in good time, with about 20 mins to spare before my wave flag-off time.

Arriving  

On arriving at the site, I registered myself at the check-in counter where I received my race bib and a Pocari Sweat singlet. 

I was scheduled to be in section three of my wave, meaning the third group to run. 

Raining heavily 

However heavy torrential rain came down about ten minutes before our time slot was scheduled to start. 

This came together with a lightning alert, which delayed the flag-off. 

At this point, we were all told to seek shelter immediately and wait for further instructions regarding whether we would be allowed to carry on with the run. 

I was fervently hoping that the rain would ease and that the lightning alert would go away. 

Rain eases 

We were very fortunate. 

After about half an hour of waiting, the lightning alert did indeed go off and the rain eased.

Then it eventually stopped, giving way to breezy, cool weather. 

It was perfect conditions for running. 

Section one was flagged off first. 

Due to time constraints, sections two and three were combined.

Checking in

I checked into the athlete’s start pen where I received my lane number. I was to be in lane one. 

We were lined up at the start according to our lane numbers. 

After a quick briefing, it was my turn to start running. 

Time to run

Then the gun sounded and we were off. 

Eager to see how fast I could go, I bolted off from the beginning.

My race

I took the lead at the very start, but quickly realised I was running at a pace I wouldn’t be able to sustain. 

So I slowed down slightly.

For the rest of the race, I was running in the lead pack together with a few others. 

Most importantly, I was on target to run sub 10 mins. 

As each lap passed, I forced myself to simply hold onto the pace.

My first sub 10

In the last 200m, I was overtaken. 

I eventually finished the race in 2nd place amongst my group.

My official timing was 09 mins 57.54 sec. 

Personal best. 

Sub 10.

I didn’t think I would actually be able to run sub 10 for 2.4km.

This is because my previous best timing for the distance is almost two minutes slower. 

So I really surprised myself.

After the finish 

I took some time to catch my breath before collecting my medal and a small tube of Tiger Balm courtesy of the sponsors. 

Then I headed to the photo booth to get some official pictures taken.

Conclusion

This had been a fun little event organised by Pocari Sweat Singapore and I must say that I enjoyed running in it.

I am looking forward to the next event.