Junior Spartan Race 2015

With limited obstacle races available for both adults and children, we welcomed the inaugural Spartan Race to the racing calendar. Started in 2010 in the United States it was quickly franchised internationally finally reaching the shores of Singapore this November.

Our Little Leaguers Trinity, Justin and Leo had their first taste of an obstacle race in May when they completed the 1.5km and 3km Energizer Obstacle Race. Six months on and they were super excited about another opportunity to climb, crawl and run their way through another course. This time they were joined by siblings Emmanuel and Stephanie and our littlest princess, 4 years old Michaela.

Split into age categories Justin at 8 years had to complete the full 1km course. Trini, Emmanuel and Stephanie were in the 5-7 category who completed the 1km as well but not the full course. They raced the 0.5km course by completing it twice. Michaela and Leo at under 5 were joined by their mummies, Angela and Michelle (the only category that made parent participation compulsory) to complete the 0.5km course.

All the kids were in the morning sessions, taking off at 20min intervals in their age specific category. Michaela and Leo were first off the ranks. A bit of mayhem ensued with large numbers of children and parents tackling the obstacles when somewhere along the way a parent was injured falling off an obstacle. We couldn’t understand why the parents had to participate in the obstacles given that they were designed for children’s sizes and not adults.

   

 

Whatever injury was sustained by the adult, it took a while to get him off the field thereby delaying the following waves by 15 min. The 5-7 age category had parent participation as optional but given what happened with the previous category, that option was scrapped. All along my daughter thought one of us will join and in the last minute we had to explain that she was doing this race by herself making her a little scared at first.

Couldn’t miss her in this field of orange.

As John and I made our way to the side of the course to get a better view of our girl we were grateful she chose not to wear the race tee as she was easy to spot in the distance and easy to follow on the course. She was doing remarkably well in conquering the obstacles, grinning ear to ear.

The course started off with quite a lengthy prone crawl exercise, followed by a couple of A-frames and then onto climbing cargo-nets. The next three obstacles consisted of “Over-Under-Through” series of obstacles in which the kids had to first climb over a wall, then under a wall, then through a square hole placed in a wall finishing off with a final sprint.

Justin’s course was slightly different in that he had a couple of extra obstacles after his prone crawl exercise and longer distance to run. He had to carry a sandbag for a distance, followed by another prone crawl through what might have looked like a black tunnel. Whilst the sandbag obstacle tired him out somewhat, just like any kid who loves crawling about once he resurfaced from his tunnel he was off and running at full speed again.

   

   

  

Within a couple of hours they were all done. With finisher medals in hand, it was time for some much needed lunch and then off to collect the Santa Run for Wishes race pack.

 

As adults we can be more judgmental about the disorganisation of an event such as the mess up with the scheduled waves, race tees for the kids missing and inappropriate location for the race pack collection. The tees had to be collected on race day waiting in appallingly long lines in the rain. However, as Michelle put it the kids had a lot of fun with it and whilst a bit messy and disorganised she would let them do it again. I happen to concur. Hopefully by next year the event organiser will have ironed out the kinks for a smoother operation.

Trinity also wanted to capture the essence of her race in writing and have it published like her mummy. So below is her take on her experience, in her own words (except mummy fixing spelling/grammar errors).

My Spartan Story

It was today, November the 15th.

I was the only purple tee kid there. I loved the Spartan race because of the obstacles. You had to crawl under ropes and you had to climb over a fence and over spider ropes. You also had to climb over a straight fence, then through a window then crawl under another fence. You had to do two laps of this race in my group to get your medal.

After the race we had lunch, got some ice cream and then came home.

Trini and Justin

Discovering our Child’s Racing Preferences

When I registered my daughter and husband for the Mileage Father’s Day race, I had all best intentions. It would be an event the two of them can share and the finisher medal will be a tangible item for my daughter to remember this year’s Father’s Day as a special event she shared with her daddy.

The morning started off well enough; excited and ready, glad we didn’t need to travel far we showed up at Pasir Ris Park with sufficient time to relax and enjoy the quiet atmosphere.

When their category started I waved them off for their 3km route around the beautifully manicured park and waited at the finish line, looking forward to their story and some pics.

Not the best race but they can still
enjoy their finisher medals.

What we didn’t anticipate was Trinity’s lack of enthusiasm during the race, indicating she was bored and basically giving up from even trying to run the race. It surprised and disappointed both John and I and it took the Jurrasic World movie to get us all out of the funk we were in.

It took us a couple of weeks before the right opportunity came up to quiz Trini who is only 6 with the right kind of questions as to what happened. Interestingly we had some revealing answers which helped us first realise we made a mistake entering her in a 3km race that had little to stimulate her and was small as an event.

First surprise was that she liked the larger races such as the Standard Chartered Kids Dash not only because of the energy such a large crowd draws but also the 800m snaky route. So what we learned here is sprints and stimulating routes are a criteria.

SCMS 2014

The second surprise is that she’s not opposed to long distances but the constant opportunities to stop and engage with animals makes the 6km Safari Zoo race a thumbs up and “not boring because there’s lots to see”.

Safari Zoo 2015

Third surprise is that night runs are super fun because they are at night and instead of sleeping she gets to run. This was her explanation of the forthcoming Sundown Fun Run that starts at 8pm. Thankfully she’s a night child and we won’t have to worry too much about her getting too tired.

The final criteria is any race that includes obstacles such as the Energizer Obstacle Race because as Trini explains it they are “totally fun because you get to climb stuff and have lots of challenges as part of the run”.

Energizer Obstacle Race 2015

So the Father’s Day run may have been a disappointment on that day but it was a blessing in disguise as it brought forth our daughter’s interests in certain types of races not just any race that is listed. I guess that’s not that much more different than her own parents. As we participate in more races, it has become more apparent to the types of races we also enjoy. Our criteria is much the same as Trini’s; night races, obstacle races and interesting routes.

The lesson here is not to assume that just because a race or event is available for a child that they will like it, but to ensure that it is the right type of race that stimulates and excites the child to want to keep participating and engaging in these sporting activities.

The Next Generation of Runners: Kids Races

In the last 18 months Team Costa has participated in multiple running, cycling, swimming and multi-sport races. We enjoy the atmosphere, the challenges, the accomplishments and accolades from our friends and families.

Somewhere in the middle of 2014 the idea of exposing our kids to sports took hold and Little League was born. A parents organised sports games day held in our condo. At Little League the kids learn sportsmanship, winning, losing (although they struggle with the losing still), athletic skills whilst hanging out with their friends.

As time passed greater challenges were needed for some of the older ones and in came the racing world. A recurring contingency of five Little Leaguers have tackled running races, obstacle races and swimming races.

The distances are increasing. Where once they raced in 750m dashes some of them have already worked up to 6km races.

Here are some highlights of our Little Leaguers’ journey in the world of racing for the last 12 months.

Cold Storage

An annual race completely geared towards children only, it is a sell out within weeks and much anticipated by children, especially those who have done it in previous years.

Besides a race pack full of goodies it is also a timed race for the individual category with prizes awarded to the top three finishers in each category.

   

Jurong Lake Run (JLR)

The largest running event in the western region of Singapore, JLR’s running route is nothing short of spectacular. The 2.4km winding path whilst often narrow is easily overcome with the fun and non-chalant spirit of a child. Running through Japanese and Chinese inspired gardens, past pagodas and across arched bridges is a visual feast to any participant.

   

  

SAFRA Run

Where else can you join the armed forces as a foreigner other than on a running field. How about a bonding session in the Father and Child 800m category with matching tees.

My daughter often requests her daddy to wear the SAFRA Superdad tee whilst she’s wearing her Superkid tee when participating in Little League.

 

Standard & Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS)

An event of gigantic proportions it drew more than 53,000 participants in 2014. Adults aside, the 800m kids dash (which is actually closer to 950m) is a one way smash from the Esplanade Bridge via the Fullerton Hotel and all the way to the Padang.

Unless the parent is joining the child in the run it gets a bit dicey to manoeuvre the kids to the start line and get to the finish line before the kids do in order to collect them. Due to the size of the race extra alertness is necessary to ensure the child does not get lost or separated from the parent. Part of it can be mitigated by giving the child tips on what to do should they end up lost.

 

Safari Zoo Run

A massive 6km run for any young child (most of our Little Leaguers are under 8) but the opportunity to run through the Night Safari during the day, followed by the Singapore Zoo is a chance not to be missed.

A super cool finisher medal, tee, zoo towel and free entry into the River Zoo on the day makes the trip to Mandai and the registration cost value for money.

We packed in animal observation in all three zoos, waterplay and the race of course into one day. Who says kids aren’t tough enough to survive an action-packed day.

     

  

Marina Party Dash

A great afternoon out. Bring a picnic to enjoy the surroundings and family focused carnival. Lots of prizes can be won at the carnival games and the water pistols are part of the race pack.

Wind your way through the garden paths and fire your water pistol on unsuspecting pistol bearers. Hide behind trees and spring out shooting with all your might. Stealthily sneak up and fire at close range all the while making sure you’re getting wet whilst pretending otherwise.

 

Energizer Obstacle Race

A 3km race interspersed with nine obstacles on trail grounds. Since the Little Leaguers were ready for something more, this race gave them: hurdles to jump, tyres to hop through, angled ropes to climb through, a grid of ropes for prone position crawling, a mighty slide to tackle and finish off with a high net crawl. This is like the kids version of the Urbanathlon.

Filled with multiple physical challenges it would have been easy to choose not to complete an obstacle. With patience and perseverance however, each completed obstacle was a notch on the confidence belt. Watch the child shine from within when he/she knows what has been accomplished during that time.

The only disappointment is to the spectator. Given it’s trail location in Mandai, the spectator doesn’t see any part of the race including the finish line as the rail guards are fixed too far away from the Start/Finish line. Lucky hubby had the camera with him to capture all the great shots I was able to share in after the race.

  

   

  

ISCA Run 

A 750m kids dash, the race was the first opportunity where my daughter (6) and her friend Justin (7) were running their first race completely solo. Given that it was at Big Splash it was basically our backyard and familiar territory for the kids.

The race organisers started off well directing the kids, dividing them in appropriate age groups and directing them who to follow during the race. Expecting a looped race so that they may cross the finish line and return to their parents we were somewhat surprised and disappointed to find out that the route was in one direction and ending at Parkland Green (the route was not mapped on their website nor in the paper leaflet and no indication was given that the children would be having a one way race). When I asked how are parents supposed to collect the kids and do they all know, the volunteer just shrugged his shoulders. My husband along with our other participating kids’ parents had to run the race as well.

By not looping them back to the finish line the timing chips on their bibs were never activated. This could easily have been a timed race for the kids and a successful event had they considered all the elements of the children’s safety. Justin who came in first could have been a recipient of a first place prize just like the adults. If children are to be the next generation of runners then they should be treated in the same manner as adult races. They learn by example then we should lead by example.

Given that the kids ran back and the finisher medal was their target to keep them going they ended up completing 1.5km instead of the official 750m. Thankfully, they had a ball and mostly unaware of the disorganisation.

I wouldn’t write this race off. It is a great location and it’s small which is nice when compared to some of the behemoths out there. However, I would hope the organisers find a way to ensure the children’s route is better laid out.

   

   

 

Finisher’s Medals 

Whilst the display cabinets, hooks or drawers are filling up with finisher’s medals and the cupboards with tees, the highlight for these kids are the shiny, gorgeously designed medals they proudly wear after each race. One day the children will move elsewhere or return to their home country and may never participate in races in the way they do here but the memories will remain in the medals they treasure and the photos that are taken.

So to wrap it up here are the highlights of medals so far proudly worn.

   

   

See you at the next kids run the Mileage Father’s Day race in Pasir Ris Park. Cheers.