The Green Corridor Run

The Green Corridor - the former railway line that ran from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands, then to Malaysia and even Thailand. A lot have been written and said about the railway line: political, environmental and national security issues. For me personally, this was the railway line I used to take to Malaysia, more specifically to Pahang to climb Gunung Tahan. I did that mountain 3 times, Gawd!!! Taking the train was a unique component of the expedition itself. The last time I took the train with some Hwachong Tahan trekkers, we didn't pay for a single ticket, we just sat (and slept) at the canteen benches for the whole journey!

To cut the long story short, the railway tracks have been removed and there remains a long (about 20km) stretch of "green corridor" from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands. This is a clean and green transport route through the heart of Singapore and a heritage to us Singaporeans.

So somebody proposed to have a running event there and call it The Green Corridor Run, from Tanjong Pagar station to Bukit Timah station, about 10.5km. The route is generally flat, otherwise how would the train travel. There are still many muddy patches and some areas filled with pebbles, but it's still a relatively easy trail run, although the mud and puddles mean wet and heavy shoes. A good trail race to start the year.

It was drizzling before my wave started. The moment the announcer shouted "Go!", the sky promptly took the cue and poured down on us.

At the start line when there was still sunshine, minutes before the rain poured down.

The first few kilometres were hard due to the soggy ground but also refreshing to have rainwater falling onto your face. Somehow the 500m distance markers seemed nearer and there were many water points along the way, that's very motivating! 

Somewhere along the way. 

 Bumped into 2 ex HC OAC girls along the way.

Me: Hello are you from OAC? (Coz I forgotten her name)
Girl: Hi Mr Tan!

Such nice students. :)

With 2 ex OAC girls. 

 One of the location landmarks would be the mrt track. I would think that in the past when the railway train passes under the mrt train, that would have been quite a sight! Theme of Old and New, Tradition and Modern, you know what I mean?

A mrt train passed us by just as we were running under the track. 

If one of the agenda was to encourage the public to take photos of the plants and flowers along the way, it failed badly. We were much more concerned about the mud and the puddles along the way. There were only a narrow dry path along some stretches and everyone was crowding along them and walking, the only way to run.....on the puddle! Splash splash! It's a trail race right?! 

Overheard a conversation along the way: 

"Next time I won't join this kind of race anymore!" said walker. 

Yes please join the Std Charts or Nike runs, where it's clean and safe, don't crowd the trail with us. 

Btw it feels good to be overtaking people even when I'm just jogging....coz almost everyone else is walking. 

10.5km isn't a very long race, soon it was nearing the finish. 

Selfie at the Finish.  

Check out the mud! 

And the puddles! 

With the gals. :)

And James, who ran more than 20km by starting from somewhere near the end point to the start line and back to the end point. 

With Chiew Ling and Jialin. :) 

The end of the race wasn't the end of the road for me, because my car was parked at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, about another 1km away. But it's 1km of clear non-muddy trail. :) 

Will surely be back next year. Hope this is a good start to a fantastic trail racing season! 

Next up, The North Face Singapore....