Race Review: Brooks Run Happy 2016

Brooks Run Happy was the first event in the 2016 calendar with a Half Marathon category. And in my opinion, it did not fail to impress.

Apologies for the lack of race day photos, I'll try to make up for that during March's Green Corridor Run~

Registration (16 Dec 2015)
A straightforward and fuss-free affair. Registered online for HM on the last day of early bird promotional rates. Also purchased the shuttle bus ticket (pickup point Serangoon) when it was made available in early January, for the practical reason of saving on cab fares.

REPC (9-10 Jan)
Held at the Key Power Sports outlet in Velocity @ Novena Square. I went there around 4pm on the 9th. There were no queues, no hype nor buzz. It was business as usual. The availability of sample race singlets for trying was a plus.

Day before Race Day (16 Jan)
Went with my usual daily routine. Part-time work ended close to 11.20pm, it was beyond midnight when I reached home. Staring at the prospect of less than 3 hours of proper rest, I took a quick shower and tried to sleep in as soon as possible while activating alarms on both my iPhones. The last thing I'd want to see happen was to oversleep and miss this race altogether.

Race Day (17 Jan)
Fortunately, I managed to awaken at 3am sharp. Taken bread with half a glass of chilled 100Plus, and started making my way to the shuttle bus pickup point, a 25-minute walk from my residence. Reached the race precinct at East Coast Park's Big Splash around 4.35am, and the race pen opened at 5am sharp.

Started in wave 1 at 5.30am. Knowing my body condition would not be anywhere near to achieving a PB, I maintained a slow 6:20-6:30 pace for the first 10km. Taken the first hydration at the 12km water point, and at each point thereafter. The weather wasn't as humid as I'd expected, and there was little or no congestion throughout the entire route. A pity that I was not able to take full advantage of these positives, and started walking after 17km mark. The last 4km seemed like eternity despite my brisk walk/slow jog combination.

I'm sure many participants had an issue with the final U-turn between 19-20km. It was a muddy patch (not that it mattered, since I was already walking at that point). Shortly after this U-turn, I realised Team Pink Apple's 2 hour 30 minute pacers were right behind me. Thanks to their encouragement and motivation, I pushed on and completed the race with an unofficial nett timing of 2:24:05 as given by the Racetime SMS notification.

While most events had kept to the usual formula of isotonic drinks (think Pocari Sweat Run), Pink Apple ventured into uncharted territories with UFC Refresh as the main hydration sponsor. Personally, I felt the coconut drink's aftertaste was good and kept me going for a little longer, although I'd still prefer 100Plus over this on any other day.

Medal quality was decent, as what you would expect from an ELM medal.

Post-Race Reflections
Sure, it was a 6-minute improvement from December's SCMS (2:30:56). Yet in all fairness, the latter's conditions were far tougher with the Highway of Hell posing a challenge to even the most prepared.

Moral of the story? Don't compromise on quality of sleep the night before race day. It will have a drastic effect on your performance, as I had learnt the hard way. Am thankful to come through safety in one piece, there is always the next race to better your PB!

Overall, Brooks Run Happy 2016 might be one of the most low-profile races I'd participated till date. However, the race experience is among one of the best too. Probably because the runners' turnout was relatively low - when I passed the start point on the opposite side, the 5km run was about to commence yet the race pen was not even half full! There was sufficient hydration at every single water point, though it would be good to provide more water as an alternative for those who didn't like the UFC Refresh coconut drink.

Ratings
- Pre-race: 7.5/10 (smooth registration, scale of REPC is on the opposite end of SCMS)

- Race precinct: 9/10 (simple set-up, water provided for participants who wanted to get a quick sip before the race proper)

- Race: 9.5/10 (the ECP route was wide enough to accommodate all participants even after the 10km/5km runners joined, no issues with hydration though more water would be perfect)

- Post-race: 9.2/10 (decent ELM medal & unconventional design, collection of finisher's entitlements was a smooth process)

Overall: 8.8/10 - A contender for Best Race of 2016 perhaps?