HK 20th Anniversary Marathon (42km) (17 Jan 2016)
The 20th anniversary of the HK Marathon. We were lucky to register two slots (fast fingers) and run the race together. It was a wet and cold run on race day, and we saw some runners turn around and did not even start the race. 3:57h.
HK100 (23 - 24 Jan 2016)
Still my favourite-st 100km race, simply because the HK100 was my maiden 100km undertaking in 2012. The 2016 event saw a freak hail/ice-storm in HK that iced up the last section on Tai Mo Shan, where we slid and skidded our way down the last 5km. A most eventful race. 24:41h. (Race blog)
Marin Ultra (80km) (12 Mar 2016)
Marin County across San Francisco, where one gets a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean from the trails. Alas, it was raining the entire day, which brought the temperature a few notches down from the stated 12C. Wet, windy, foggy, chilly. 13:21h.
TNF Washington DC (80km) (9 Apr 2016)
This was a flat course through the Algonkian Park, DC, so I thought my timing should be pretty decent. Alas, it was a wet and cold day. The trails became all muddy and we sloshed our way through the slippery gooey stuff. The race took us along the Potomac River and past the scenic Great Falls, which made the run worthwhile. 12:25h.
TNF New York Bear Mountains (80km) (May 2016)
The Bear Mts course was one of the tougher ones in the TNF Endurance series, with fairly technical climbs and descents and a tight cut-off. I almost did not make it, being the last runner through one of the checkpoints before it was closed. Whew! Finish it, I must! It was also my first time in a technical trail race without using my trekking poles, and I definitely felt it in my knees post-race. 13:27h. (Race blog)
Mt. Denali (6,190m) (14 May - 7 Jun 2016)
One of the highlights in 2016 was definitely my expedition to Mt Denali, the highest peak in N.America (6,190m). It was an experience of a lifetime, I had never had so much snow and ice before. We landed directly on the glacier in full climbing gear, and I had my first trial at sledding my equipment across the snow fields. My 25 days of arctic survival included getting hemmed in by fierce winds and snow and forced to count days slipping by and our summit window narrowing, a 16h summit attempt followed by long descents towards basecamp through the 'night' (for the sun does not really set in summer), and then being stuck at basecamp because the glacier planes could not fly in. Few Singaporeans have climbed this mountain... precious memories.
MR Marathon (42km) (12 June 2016)
Back from NYC in time to run the MR marathon. Alas, cramps set in on the 3rd loop and my placing dropped from 5th to 9th. But it was good fun to be reacquainted with my favourite playground and fellow trail runners. :) 5:00h
TNF Lavaredo, Italy (119km) (24 - 26 June 2016)
119km in the gorgeous Dolomites mountain range & valleys, north-eastern Italy. Total elevation 5,850m. Cutoff time 30h. It was my first attempt at a distance over 100km, and it felt a lot more like a trekking trip than run with all the climbs, river crossings, and some technical descents. The scenery was breath-taking and some climbs fairly brutal. It was also my first time running close to 30h. I remember crossing the finishing line and wondering why I signed up for the upcoming UTMB... Eeeks! 29:33h.
TNF Ontario, Canada (50km) (16 July 2016)
TNF Ontario set in the lovely Blue Mountain Village, a quaint ski town resort area north of Toronto. My most blur race ever. (1) Misread the race elevation profile - change of 3,640m and thought it was gain. Mentally psyched to climb and wondered why we were not at the peak of some hills. (2) Confused by the loops and aid stations and thought I had 10km more to go. So convinced that I missed a turn somewhere, I was prepared to DQ and skip the finisher medal as I crossed the finish line. Then realised that I had misread the aid station distances all along - read the 50mi instead of 50k markers. Ah ha! Oh well, the slight DNF panic during the race made me run... It ended well. 6:56h.
Laugavegur Trek, Iceland (55km; 2 days) (Aug 2016)
Attempted a solo trek on the famous Laugavegur trekking trail in Iceland. A typical trip would take took 3 - 4 days, and I compressed it within 2 days. It is also the same trail route for the Laugavegur ultra-marathon, so I figured that a fast hiker should be able to cover that distance in 2 days in good timing. I was also lucky to have long summer days up to 9pm, which allowed me to cover more distance each day. I There were four river crossings in fast flowing freezing waters which numbed my toes and threatened to sweep me off sideways. In return, I was rewarded with vast endless nature and beauty which no photos could do justice to. Hearts.
Reykjavik Marathon, Iceland (42km) (20 Aug 2016)
Reykjavik Marathon (20 Aug 2016). After a week of drizzles, the weather cleared up to a nice 13 - 17C, with sunshine along the way. Flag off 8:40am, self-seeded time zones. Icelanders were out in running vests and shorts, soaking in the sun. This is a fairly popular race with Europeans, Canadians and Americans, and I also heard some Cantonese and Mandarin. Pretty strong runners, many were chatting while yours truly was trying to keep pace. The 21km and 42km started together, and split off at 18km. It was relatively packed for the first 5km (though not sardine packed like in other major marathons), and then spaced out after the split. I was happily following the pacers' balloons until they went off with the 21km. Oh well...
The course was largely along the Reykjavik coastline with some gentle rolling slopes and bridges, and a teeny weeny bit of dirt track. We were treated to expansive views of blue waters that touched the blue skies, Mt Esja (highest peak in Reykjavik 914m), the Grotto lighthouse (where wildlife resides), and even a mini "waterfall" feature. I ran alongside an elderly gentleman wearing a "Everest Marathon" vest, who kindly shouted out for me to run on the inner lane; "it's shorter", he said. At the 41km point, he got caught in a random fishing string on the ground and took a slight tumble, but then caught up and overtook me. Inspiration! All in, one toilet break, two Gu gels, three refills of bottle, and a 3:47h time. No BQ, no PB but heaps of blue skies and fresh air.
UTMB, Mont Blanc (170km) (26 - 28 Aug 2016)
THE trail race of the year, 10 year in the making. 170km, 10,000m elevation. From clocking qualifying points from races just to get a chance to ballot for UMTB, to lead-up training races, toeing the start line, experiencing sleep deprivation and hallucination, receiving generous cheers and support from friends, to finally crossing that finishing line.... it was a dream come true. An epic race and experience, difficult to repeat. 44:11h, and maybe the 2nd SGP female finisher. Gasp! (Race blog)
Chicago Marathon (42km) (9 Oct 2016)
Last year, I clocked my PB and BQ timing at Chicago. This year, I decided to run it again to see how I would fare. Chicago is known for its flat and fast timing. The race did not disappoint. I managed to clock a BQ of 3:42h, just 3min within the timing for my age-group. Hopefully this timing will get accepted at Boston 2018. Fingers crossed.
Philly Marathon (42km) (20 Nov 2016)
My second time at the Philadelphia marathon. It was a super windy race day, with wind chill bringing down the temperatures to 0C. At times, there was helpful tail wind, but for most parts, the wind was just blasting in our faces and swirling up leaves and twigs on the ground. 3:48h.
MR Ultra (12h cut-off) (18 Dec 2016)
Again, I got back to Singapore just in time for the MR Ultra, my final race for the year. It was a nice cool day because of the overnight rain and cloudy skies. I stayed conservative and tried not to over-push so that I would not get cramps. The race went well and I was in the 1st - 2nd lead, until I did a superman spectacular flat-face fall near the Jelutong Tower and suffered a deep cut (two stitches) above my eyebrow. The first-aid and subsequent medical checks cost me a good amount of time and I was lucky to be able to regain a steady pace on the next few loops. Managed a 3rd place with 8 loops (80km) in 11:36h.
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