Sept 6, Sunday morning 7 am. The tranquility at Changi Village was displaced by the noise of 6,000 participants all geared up for the inaugural Yellow Ribbon Prison Run.
The theme of the run is Going Beyond the Run. It is about giving ex-offenders a second chance to start afresh and conveying the message that what matters most is not about the fall, but how one gets up that counts. Given that PMC is an ardent supporter of the Prisons Ministry, it is only appropriate that a representation of PMCers participate. Among the 10km competitive run and 5.8km fun run were Poh Kiang, Joan, Edmund and wife, Rufina and I. :)
To say the least, the weather was just ideal for personal bests. Cool, overcast skies, with a drizzle or two, and breezy. The organization was efficient, the route was scenic and interesting, and the highlight - running into Changi Prison itself. A rare sight indeed, to see so many people running into the prison, kind of the antithesis of Prison Break.
For a fuller race report, read on.
Another highlight was the Hanniel's Challenge. Hanniel is an ex-offender who took on the challenge of running 10k below 48 minutes, 48 being his age. I am pretty sure that many younger runners could not match that time. But Hanniel did, a personal best for him. Read more about Hanniel Choong.
What really struck me is not the running achievement, but his ongoing achievement to stay "drug-free". As Hanniel puts it, "[The drug free journey] is a lifelong thing. You don't presume that you are doing okay."
The lesson I take away is that our Christian journey is also a lifelong sojourn. We cannot assume that we are doing okay.
Just as running requires us to be focussed on our objectives and goals, and be highly disciplined in our training, we need to be constantly focussed on Christ and to exercise discipline in our life.
Are we focussed and disciplined? Or are we too diffused in our life's direction and easily swayed by circumstances? Do we have the discipline to stay on course, just as Hanniel has the discipline to stay drug-free?
Hanniel's challenge resonates very deeply with me, and I hope with you as well.
SE
Showing posts with label race report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race report. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
run4COSI@Streetwise Run July 5, 2009
Sunday 3 pm, Singapore River, Grand Copthorne hotel lobby. A group of runners from PMC met in the hotel lobby for the first Angels run4COSI event held in conjunction with the Streetwise Run.
Angels run4COSI is a run organized by the PMC running community to raise funds for the tertiary education of youths graduating from COSI Cambodia. Last month, an awards ceremony was held in COSI for seven graduates. Today, kids from COSI would be doing a synchronized run to demonstrate their appreciation for the support provided by generous donors and enthusiastic runners from PMC.
More than two dozen runners signed up for this event. Andrew, PMC missions chairman was also present with his children to lend us their support. Some PMC runners wore a tag that says "Angels run4COSI: I run for Tola" or "I run for Boran" or some other kid from COSI. This was how some chose to remember why and who they were running for.
After a short prayer, we headed for the start line at Zuok. The sky was dark and gloomy - the forecast was for rain, which would be a welcome change from hot afternoons.
Indeed, less than 1 km into the run, the sky opened with showers of blessing for the participants. It is always nice to run in the rain, but how about a heavy downpour? It's nicer!
By the time we reached the turnaround bridge, it was pouring cats and dogs. It was fun splishing and splashing. The water stations were under-utilized, and supporters had to urge runners to drink! And best of all, the supporters were braving the rain to cheer us on! Talk about the spirit of encouragement. We couldn't help but smile and cheer for the enthusiastic supporters!
Ella (9) was probably the youngest member of PMC to complete the run, chaperoned by Stephanie, Ruf and I. Her sister Alexandra (4) was the youngest to start the race, but her mum wisely brought her back when it rained. We could see that they both enjoyed the race tremendously. So did every PMC runner!
Eric, who was our oldest participant, had this to say, "Many thanks to Daniel who accompanied my 60 year old pair of legs from start to finish. Altho we did it in thirty mins I am convinced Daniel can do a much faster time but he would rather chaperone me to make sure there is no mishap. Appreciate it man." Bravo!
It was a 4 km run, and by the time we reached the finish line, we were all truly drenched. But the heavy rain did not dampen our spirit whatsoever, as you could tell from the following pictures!
Stephanie summed it up well:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TOWARDS COSI! This is the 1st race, and there will be more races in the future - looking forward to running with you all again ;-)
Angels run4COSI is a run organized by the PMC running community to raise funds for the tertiary education of youths graduating from COSI Cambodia. Last month, an awards ceremony was held in COSI for seven graduates. Today, kids from COSI would be doing a synchronized run to demonstrate their appreciation for the support provided by generous donors and enthusiastic runners from PMC.
More than two dozen runners signed up for this event. Andrew, PMC missions chairman was also present with his children to lend us their support. Some PMC runners wore a tag that says "Angels run4COSI: I run for Tola" or "I run for Boran" or some other kid from COSI. This was how some chose to remember why and who they were running for.
After a short prayer, we headed for the start line at Zuok. The sky was dark and gloomy - the forecast was for rain, which would be a welcome change from hot afternoons.
Indeed, less than 1 km into the run, the sky opened with showers of blessing for the participants. It is always nice to run in the rain, but how about a heavy downpour? It's nicer!
By the time we reached the turnaround bridge, it was pouring cats and dogs. It was fun splishing and splashing. The water stations were under-utilized, and supporters had to urge runners to drink! And best of all, the supporters were braving the rain to cheer us on! Talk about the spirit of encouragement. We couldn't help but smile and cheer for the enthusiastic supporters!
Ella (9) was probably the youngest member of PMC to complete the run, chaperoned by Stephanie, Ruf and I. Her sister Alexandra (4) was the youngest to start the race, but her mum wisely brought her back when it rained. We could see that they both enjoyed the race tremendously. So did every PMC runner!
Eric, who was our oldest participant, had this to say, "Many thanks to Daniel who accompanied my 60 year old pair of legs from start to finish. Altho we did it in thirty mins I am convinced Daniel can do a much faster time but he would rather chaperone me to make sure there is no mishap. Appreciate it man." Bravo!
It was a 4 km run, and by the time we reached the finish line, we were all truly drenched. But the heavy rain did not dampen our spirit whatsoever, as you could tell from the following pictures!
Stephanie summed it up well:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT TOWARDS COSI! This is the 1st race, and there will be more races in the future - looking forward to running with you all again ;-)
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