Sundown Marathon, the biggest night race in Singapore was held for the fifth time with the theme 'Light up the City'. Held in Changi Point for the past four years, this is the first time the race was held in the city with a huge turnout of 28,000 runners.

One of the highlight for the sundown event was the carnival and the organizer aims to make it bigger this year. Movie screening Tower Heist, X-Men: First Class and Mr Popper’s Penguins kept supporters and runners entertained on mats that were provided. Supporters and runners were able to get refreshments from food vendors in a sheltered area. Sponsor's booths had games and contest to spice up the atmosphere. There were plenty of banners and boards showcasing interesting facts, Sundown Ambassador's photos and past year's recaps.

This is my second participation in Sundown and a first as a pacer. The pressure of obtaining a good timing was translated into another of maintaining an optimal pace to assist as many runners obtain their desired timing as possible. This little stress came in useful and acts as a form of focus during the 5:30 hr, reminding me not to speed up while pushing on when the weather was not being favourable.

10km runners starts at 10.30pm on Saturday while both half and full marathon runners started the run on Sunday, 12.30am. Compared to previous year, the run started much later and there were rising concerns when both the half and full marathons were taking off at the same timing. The runners were actually more concerned over the route change 2 weeks prior the run as runners were supposed to run past West Coast instead of the usual East Coast Park route. Somewhere, somehow the route was inevitably changed back to the East Coast Park route, causing a huge outrage. But most would agree with me that this new route wins over Changi Point anytime.

Being a 5:30 hr pacer, we were flagging off from the second wave and it actually took us more than 15mins to cross the starting point. There wasn't much excitement when flagging off and we came to a conclusion that the noise reduction was meant to not disturb those sleeping in the neighbouring hotels. The route was congested as expected till the 14km mark when the runners split. There was a point runners had to stop for a minute to give way to vehicles to drive past, something that was really unexpected.

Running into East Coast Park at the 14km mark, we could feel the strong, cold breeze and predicted a heavy downpour. The rain came at the 17km mark and we were drenched but it did drown the earlier humidity. It was a blessing to many who was struggling with the humidity earlier. The cold wind and heavy clothing (due to the rain) didn't make the run any easier but runners pushed on.

There were hydration points at every 2km mark but there wasn’t enough volunteers to serve the water causing huge crowd at water points. 1.5 litre bottles was given to runners at some point causing plenty of wastage and probably insufficient water for the slower runners. Only one word to describe the hydration point - Disaster. Gel stations were well positioned while banana stations were well placed too but we were the last lucky batch to receive the bananas as the runners at the back were deprived of the additional energy for the race.

Supporters along the path were very supportive and the rain seems to bring their enthusiasm up and the cheering were suddenly back. There were food and ice drinks given out too which really shows the support rendered needed in the running community.

Runners was simply stamping their feet onto the waterlogged ground at the final few clicks and that was when all the shouting and cheering came from us pacers. The front pack of the 5hr 30mins pacer had a couple of minutes to spare to do the encouragement and that was when runners started their motor once again which was encouraging.

We crossed the not-very-obvious finishing lines with plenty of runners approaching to show their gratitude in giving them support in achieving their targets. It was heart warming and I was glad I completed my job in good fashion. The volunteers distributing the finisher shirt and medal went the extra mile by putting the medal into the plastic containing the finisher shirt for us to take easily. The little things that make a big impression! 

The early carnival was no longer as active when we came back but the most welcoming booth was the massage booth. The bathing facility was still around but the big screen was removed. Photo booth was gone too which was slightly disappointing.

I was satisified with my pace as I was keeping at a very consistant pacing. A job well done by me!