The Run!

My running kit just arrived yesterday. I'm so excited though I'll be running a short distance of 7.7km only. 3 days to go before my first competitive run since 1993. Hmmm, that's like 17 years ago! Damn! Ironically, that was when I was 17 years old, running the cross country for my Sports House for a distance of 5.6km (or is it 6.5km, I can't really remember).



The nice part is, when it comes to annual cross country affair, teachers and fellow House mates will look up on me as one of the hopefuls to score not just one or two points, but to break into top 10 which carries lots of points for the House. I remember in form one and form two, I was just a regular runner, scoring 1 point each year for finishing within the qualifying time.

Then in Form 3, I managed to finished 7th or 8th in Junior Category (combining Form 1, 2 and 3). That was a breakthrough year for me and people started to recognize my ability to run middle and long distance. In Form 4, I was contesting in the senior category with the Form 5s. Didn't put much hope, especially knowing there are some good runners from the older batch but in the end, I managed to finish 7th, which I consider an outstanding achievement.

In my final year in 1993, the rules changed - there were 5 categories, one for each Form. I didn't train at all prior to the run and still not sure whether I would run or not until that very morning when I said to myself, just put on your gear and run, regardless where you'll finish at. That year, I also finished 7th among the Form 5s. And that was the last time I ran competitively.

So, come this Saturday I'll be doing something I haven't done for the past 17 years. I kind of worried because I haven't been able to practice on the road as I wish and I only did around 5km on treadmill these few days. Thinking of how am I going to finish a 7.7km run already made me nervous. Anyway, my target is just to finish the race within 1-hour and to get the certificate. And if I managed to get a medal, that'll be bonus!