KidsDash(es)

The 1st time we took part in the children's "marathon" organised by Standard Chartered Bank called KidsDash was in 2004. It was held the same morning the 'real' marathon was run by the thousands of men and women. I remember that the KidsDash that year was sponsored by the Southeast CDC, so it was coyly termed the Southeast Dash. It was flagged off by our then-newly appointed Southeast CDC Mayor.

That year, we had registered only WY for the event. We knew WF would refuse to run (much less 'dash') with so big a crowd of children, so we didn't register him. R had a tough time carrying WF all the way from the flag-off point to the finish line, first on his arms, then on his shoulders and then on his arms again etc. Many other fathers had their toddlers sit on their shoulders, too, but I remember noting that somehow, the ang-mo ones looked much more relaxed than R and others. Hahaha, lack of training, lah.....

WY was such a darling. He tried his best and completed the 750m dash although there hadn't been any prior training. I remember that I had to keep looking out for him as I struggled to keep pace, pausing so very often by the roadside to catch my breath. Woah, it was probably tougher than a 'real' marathon, I thought. The only reason I hadn't simply walked off the course was that WY kept looking back to check that I was still within his sight. (So, I die die also must continue, lah!)

It was more a sense of relief (than achievement!) for me when WY collected his 1st KidsDash medal and certificate just next to the drinks station.

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Then, the following year, both WY and WF were registered for the KidsDash. The sponsor that year was 7-Eleven. So, the participants' t-shirt was almost like one which 7-Eleven staff would wear: with 7-Eleven logos front, back and even on the sleeves! Hahaha....

WY, having gone through the 1st KidsDash and so knows what to expect, became more confident and eagerly sped off the moment the horn was sounded. As was the arrangement the year before, R was in charge of taking care of WF. I cannot remember clearly now whether WF ran at all.

Armed with the camera and all the children's barangs (eg change of clothes) stuffed in the grey carry-all bag which in those days I always had to lug around, I had stood metres ahead from the starting point. The moment the horn was sounded (this time, by the CEO of 7-Eleven), all the children just darted forward! Other parents and I also sprang into action and started to snap away busily!

I tried very hard to see if I could spot WY amongst that sea of racing children (and adults). It was really crazy, I remember, trying to take pictures whilst being on the move myself! I felt like a siao-lao-bu ('crazy mother') through and through, man! I gave up the photo-taking after a while because I saw WY speeding away and out of my sight. Hahhaa....

It worried me a bit when I couldn't catch up with WY. What if he had reached the finish line but saw neither R/WF nor me? Wouldn't he start to panic, too?! So I pressed on, panting and sweating like anything.

At last, as I turned into St Andrew's Road after the Cricket Club, I saw WY waiting by the roadside. From afar, I could see that the moment he spotted me, he turned to race on and headed for the City Hall where the finish line was. It was another 2-3 minutes or so before I joined him there.

R and WF came in later, by which time, WY was already enjoying his well-deserved cold 100-plus. WF was thrilled that he could have his fill of the icy-cold drink and was not at all bothered by WY's "protests" that WF had not run the entire route!

Both WY and WF collected their medals at the Collection Booth as we walked towards the other side of the Padang. (The certificates were sent by the organisers by post later that year.)

Later that evening, WF showed off his medal to Father, Mother, CP, YP and BK (who ran the marathon that same morning) at dinner that evening. I remember this was at a restaurant. WS and WP were curious how WF got the medal and finally agreed to join us at the following year's event.

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Last year, WS and WP joined in the KidsDash, making it a very much more exciting event for WY and WF.

The sponsor was, once again, 7-Eleven and so all the boys donned the white-and-orange t-shirt. Only WY had to use the previous year's t-shirt because R had mistakenly ordered the XS of the children's sizes for WY and only WF could fit in that size. (For the year before, only adult sizes had been available and so only WY could fit the XS then.)

WS and WP had stayed over at our place the night before, so we all went for a light breakfast at Funan McDonald's early morning before strolling to the starting point outside Esplanade Theatres. We had some difficulty getting across because most parts of the roads had been blocked and eventually, we had to cross some underpasses in a hurry after making some detours here and there.

BK was waiting for the boys at the starting point. He had completed his race, and was there to give support to the boys. WF 'promised' to run on his own like the older boys, so we all tried to find a 'comfortable' spot to wait for the flag-off.

Having learnt my lesson about photo-taking, I decided to take only some posed photos before the horn was sounded. After about 2-3 shots, the boys got a little irritated because the sun was getting a little 'scorchy' and too glaring for comfort.

It was quite a relief when the race finally started. As was agreed in the previous events, R was to take charge of WF. I went off to the mid-point of the race route by walking through the underpass etc once again. This was much easier than trying to run alongside the running children. Heeheeee....

WS, WP and WY were very soon out of sight because they had gone way ahead. I didn't see them even as I reached the mid-point outside the Victoria Concert Hall. But I was less anxious than previously because this time, we had agreed with the boys that we would all meet at the drinks station located after the finish line after the race.

As I waited briefly at the VCH, I saw WF came in on R's shoulders! Ha?! Then, I proceeded to move on and when he saw me, he started to run on his own to 'catch up'. Before long, he was perstering R to once again carry him. BK, who was strolling with R then, kept encouraging WF to run on.

I cannot remember how much more WF ran after that or if R carried him most of the way after that. I was busy trying to get myself to the finish line so that I could meet up with the boys. But alas, as I reached St Andrew's Road just outside the City Hall, I found myself being joined by the deejay. That crazy man kept pace with my jogging (I was really quite worn out by then), 'suan-ing' me all the way till I crossed that finish line! Woah lao, man! Siao DJ!!

When I finally crossed the finish-line, I saw only WS and WP. WY was nowhere in sight! I got a little worried especially when WS said he hadn't seen WY since finishing the race. WP said that he had seen WY around but he had no idea where WY went after finishing the race.

After we were joined by R, WF and BK, we walked towards the Collection Booth. Then, it dawned upon me why I couldn't see WY - there was no drinks station anywhere near to the finish line!! Later, we found out that the drinks station had been relocated to some other spot further away!

So, as BK and R went looking for WY, I ushered the boys to collect their medals and then have their drinks. Unlike previous years, there were many more barriers and we ended up at a 'holding area' for several minutes.

BK returned to say that he couldn't see WY anywhere at all. Then, WP spotted WY walking towards us. WY explained that when he did not see us at the finish line, he thought he would go and get his drink first, and so he had moved on to the drinks station to wait for us - that was our agreed place to meet, afterall, mah.

Sigh, anyway, I was so relieved. We all strolled back to the car after a while and headed home as it started to drizzle.

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I have already registered WY and WF for this year's KidsDash. It will be held on 2 December. I hope all will turn out fine again.

The day I successfully registered online, i smsed YP to remind her to register early if WS and WP intend to run again this time. Then, to my shock, she replied my sms to say that WS may have tuition that day! Ha?! So I cheekily smsed her again to ask: 2 Dec 2007 leh! Tuition for Sec 1, ah?! YP didn't respond to that, lah, in case anyone is wondering.

Last Saturday, I asked WS and WP if they would be keen to join in the Dash again. WP said he was ok to run again, but 'see if GorGor wants to run or not, lor'. So I asked WS. WS was nonchalant about it, concluding with a 'maybe not' in the end.

Perhaps I will try asking them again in 1 or 2 weeks' time. Afterall, KidsDash is for children below the age of 13 years and it won't be long before the oldest of these boys of ours cross over that age and become a teenager - a major milestone, no doubt.