6km of Road, 1.6km of Sand, 2.4km of Trail

Yes, that was what the organizers promised and that was what we had to run on such a fine Sunday morning in an idyllic island setting that is known as Sentosa. The New Balance Real Run 2005 aka the "Ultimate X-Terrain Challenge".

Running along 1.6km of beach was punishing on the legs and mind. What kept me going was the desire to overtake as many participants as possible. Indeed, a lot of the participants simply gave up and walked the stretch. This boosted my morale and motivated me to complete the whole stretch without stopping.

Ultimately, though, I was competing with myself. The mind was willing, but the flesh was weakening. Every step I took sent pain up from my legs to my nerve centre. My knees were screaming at me to stop, but I kept on going. As I ran past the last distance marker, nothing in the world was going to stop me from reaching the finishing line. Surprisingly, I even manage to muster strength to sprint for the last stretch. Almost entered a trance-like stage where there is only me, my feet and the finishing line. Finished the run with a slightly better timing than what I had last year, and also with two knees throbbing in pain.

My knees still hurt now and I guess the pain will be around for a few days. Meanwhile I will just have to walk slower and maybe limp a bit when I am climbing or descending staircases.

The World Today in History:
On Aug. 28, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.