Round Island Relay 2022

Kick Off The New Year, Literally

11:55PM, New Year’s Eve

As Singapore braced in anticipation to welcome the new year, a small group gathered at the island’s iconic, albeit heavily vandalised landmark: Lamp Post 1. Located at Tuas South, Lamp Post 1 developed a reputation as a pilgrimage site for cyclists during the pandemic. For this gathering of individuals however, Lamp Post 1 served as the start point of a journey to circumnavigate Singapore on foot via a 202.2km course.

The Round Island Relay (RIR) first commenced in 2020 as a way to strengthen ties within the running community during a period of weariness and uncertainty. By organising an event that championed teamwork, TRIBAL Singapore sought to foster connections between runners of diverse backgrounds. United by a shared goal, the pioneer batch of runners completed a 140km relay around Singapore in under 11 hours.

“We might have fallen short of our grand target of 150km yesterday,” reflected the organisers, “Nonetheless, it was a gutsy effort by a team of 16 runners assembled less than two weeks ago - who each ran their hearts out despite the heat, rain and obstacles that threatened to derail plans - and in the process, setting a fun new local record.”

Spurred by the relative success of RIR 2020, RIR 2022 was conceived with ambitions to make it bigger and better. The relay route and number of participants were expanded in tandem.

RIR 2022 also had a secondary objective made known only to the runners: to average no slower than 4:30mins/km throughout the event. A novel record for a novel event. Could it be done? When posed this question during the pre-event brief, several runners sheepishly answered that they would “do their best, but no promises”. Others gave bashful replies. Well, only one way to find out!

As the seconds to flag-off ticked by, Adrian (Runner 1) took a final glance at the Suunto 9 Baro strapped onto his wrist. The flagship timepiece of the Finnish outdoor company displayed the route that runners were meant to follow and also doubled as the relay baton.

GPS routes are notoriously difficult to accurately track in real-time, but Suunto’s latest Snap to Route feature overcame said issue by ‘snapping’ a pre-set route over the actual route traversed. By tracking progress on the former rather than the latter, Snap to Route eliminated GPS-derived inaccuracy.

The watch wasn’t the only piece of high-tech equipment donned by the runners. On their feet were the On Cloudstratus; Swiss-engineered road shoes specially designed for long distance running. Featuring two layers of HelionTM-enriched CloudTec® for increased vertical and horizontal cushioning, the Cloudstratus delivers maximum cushioning for maximum performance.

Journey From The West

12AM - 4AM

At precisely 12am, New Year’s Day, Adrian set off at a tempo pace, gliding over the pavement with his shoes barely scraping the ground before propelling off. Two stray dogs barked excitedly as the lone runner passed.

The journey from the west to the north of Singapore took the relay runners through a series of undulating terrains. To complicate matters, bad weather on New Year’s Eve resulted in the roads being covered with moisture and grime. It was challenging for runners to maintain a fast pace whilst having to avoid puddles and slick, algae-ridden footpaths.

Unfortunately, the weather worsened at 2am and started pouring. Yu Rong (Runner 4) nevertheless surged past Jalan Bahar Road at a breathtaking 3:50mins/km pace. Evidently, even bad weather could not slow the runners. Kilometres flew by under the unrelenting pace.

Road cyclists are generally familiar with Lim Chu Kang Road and Neo Tiew Road. The former offered an uninterrupted stretch of asphalt famous for lung-bursting time-trial attempts, whereas the latter is known for its series of rolling hills. To race through both Roads in succession is a test of mettle even for hardened cyclists.

So imagine what it was like for Giacomo (Runner 5), who not only had to maintain a 4:30mins/km pace, but also had to do it in the middle of a rainstorm at 3am in the morning. The Velominati has a list of esoteric Rules for cyclists, two of which are apt for this particular situation; Rule V: ‘Harden the F**k Up’, and Rule IX: ‘If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass.’ What better way to encapsulate Giacomo’s experience as he challenged the weather and himself?

From The Northern Tip To The Eastern Edge

4AM - 10:30AM

Rachel (Runner 6) paced up and down Kranji Dam as she anxiously awaited Giacomo. Incredulously, she only checked her route just hours before and was nervous about navigating the series of turns ahead of her. Fortunately, the Sunnto 9 Baro delivered turn-by-turn navigation alerts in real-time, and thus ensured safe passage even in unknown territory.

By 4am, the rain had slackened and the air was fresh. Tycen (Runner 8) started off at a conservative pace owing to initial reservations about the Cloudstratus being “not designed to run at race speeds”. He surprised himself by averaging 4:13mins/km and later regretted “not going out faster” - a testament to the shoe’s comfort! With every passing kilometre from Yishun to Punggol, Tycen nudged the pace ever so slightly quicker.

Lester (Runner 9) approached his segment through Punggol Waterway Park as a test of speed. “To compensate for the relatively shorter distance, I resolved to push hard,” he recalled. Alas, Lester averaged 3:52mins/km and, like Tycen before him, was surprised by how the responsive the Cloudstratus felt at faster paces. “Keeping a high cadence was easier than I expected,” he shared, “this might be my favourite On shoe to date!”

Eastern Singapore is generally known for its magnificent airport and picturesque beaches. For athletes however, two locations stood out for their long stretches of straight road: Tanah Merah Coast Road and East Coast Park. For Arif (Runner 12), Vanessa (Runner 13) and Chin Chee (Runner 14), these places represented opportunities to go ‘full gas’, leaving not an ounce of energy in reserve.

Southern Beaches And Western Parks

10:30AM - 1:30PM

Andreas (Runner 16) literally ran into an unexpected problem: COVID-19 restrictions at Resorts World Sentosa had blocked off a section of the relay route. “We had to do some quick thinking to get back on track and on time,” he recalled, “luckily, the Suunto 9 Baro provided some directions that were able to relief my fears of getting lost.”

Traversing Sentosa on foot is no mean feat; the island featured multiple climbs and full exposure under the blazing sun. Undeterred, Andreas ran on clouds with the Cloudstratus. “The shoe was

light, comfortable and fast, gently edging me forward with each step through its innovative design,” he fondly remarked, “both flat roads and hills were not a problem!”

Navigating through Labrador Nature Reserve was tricky and Xue Wei (Runner 17) relied on the Sunnto 9 Baro for turn-by-turn alerts. He noted accurate changes in elevation and weather conditions through the watch’s built-in barometric altimeter. As the footpath straightened at West Coast Highway, Xue Wei also observed that the Cloudstratus “doesn’t feel heavy when running despite the weight specification. The shoe provided good ankle support, and I can definitely get the miles in without feeling fatigue in the leg.”

As the blistering heat intensified, Xue Wen (Runner 18) knew that he had to moderate his pace carefully. Along the route, he took periodic glances at the watch to ensure that he did not overexert himself. With timely alerts for navigation, Xue Wen could fully immerse himself in the run. He too, shared positive sentiments about the Cloudstratus: “There was not much of a break- in period required for the shoes and I didn’t get any abrasions or hot spots during the run!”

There And Back Again

1:30PM - 3PM

“I almost puked!”, exclaimed Valerie (Runner 20) as she recounted her RIR experience, “started way too fast, then I died at the hills.” As the final runner, Valerie’s goal was to finish the relay at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). As an NTU Alumni, she knew all too well that steep climbs awaited her. In her excitement however, Valerie did not pace herself and was left at the mercy of NTU’s unforgiving hills. Even so, she persevered and arrived at NTU’s Sports & Recreation Centre on schedule, watch in hand.

At 3pm, the Suunto 9 Baro beeped for a final time. The numbers ‘202.2km’ flashed brightly on the display and cheers erupted among the small group that had gathered to witness the event’s conclusion. “It was a fulfilling experience to get a run in with my fellow team members and have a positive start to the new year,” reminisced Andreas. And what an event it was!

Oh, and what was the average speed of the relay? 4:23mins/km. It is as people say:
Teamwork makes the Dream work!