Race Report: Twilight Ultra Challenge, Singapore, 29th March 2014

Phil Tan sent us this report on the Twilight Ultra Challenge:

Currently in her 4th edition, the Twilight Ultra Challenge 2014 welcomed 260 challengers to the first ultra-marathon of the year on this little tropical island of Singapore. Pitting themselves against the gruelling heat with humidity hitting over 95% in the night and temperature soaring above 30 degrees Celsius in the morning, participants ran along a 10km route at East Coast Park either as an Individual or in a Team to clock as many loops as possible within 16 hours. The evening sea breeze offered a great relief to the heat as runners trotted along a scenic coastline accompanied by swaying coconut trees and a melody of crashing sea waves.

3 support / aid stations offering a variety of fruits, sandwiches, sausages, chips & drinks were located along the flat graphite route for runners to rehydrate and refuel themselves. Participants were also allowed to deposit their personal “special needs” bags at the main support station containing their own “perk me ups” to give them that extra edge. In the name of “Going Green”, Twilight Ultra Challenge continued her tradition of encouraging runners to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle). This year, every participant was given a complimentary reusable collapsible cup to reduce the usage of plastic cups.

While most of the participants were satisfied with clocking 70-80km, a new course record was set at 145km in 15 hrs 45 mins by defending champion Ong Kai Wei while the strongest female contender, Neo Lay Peng, covered 110km in 15.5 hrs. All finishers were treated to a well-deserved ice bathe and Hammer Nutrition recovery drink at our Recovery Station followed by a sports massage rubdown. The Twilight Ultra Challenge 2014 concluded with a buffet breakfast to celebrate the successful transition of many endurance runners to that of an ultra-runner.

The Twilight Ultra Challenge will return in 28-29 March next year in Singapore. Up next will be the Craze Ultra 100 miles challenge in 20-21 September where runners will pit themselves on an out and back route of 80.5km in Southeast Asia longest single stage ultra-marathon to date.