Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Nike Human Race 2009

Last year’s inaugural Nike Human Race was touted as the first worldwide marathon with a million participants in 25 countries. In Singapore, all the 10,000 slots available were snapped up. Having gone for the first run last year (the blog entry of which you can find several pages down), however, I had some complaints.

For instance, giving out the race pack at last year’s race was a nightmare, with the line snaking down Clarke Quay, and the wait lasting a full three hours in the heat. The route was badly planned, leading to bottle-necking along the way and congestions that totally halted the momentum of the runners who had to stop.

This year’s race however, proceeded in a much smoother fashion.

Despite an even faster adoption rate for slots (all 10,000 vacancies were filled within seven days) and late notifications for the race pack collection (the emails only came a few days before the day and the website was abysmally hard to navigate), the collection itself went smoothly, probably due to the fact it was spread over three days instead of two last year and had a much more organised and larger team giving out the packs. Instead of having to wait three hours, I collected my pack in literally under a minute.

The entry price was lower too ($20 for those under 25) and, while the pack did not feature as many vouchers and freebies as last year, the customised t-shirt (with the runner’s individual number printed on it) and the rubber water bottle more than made up for the value.

The race day itself went smoothly too. Admittedly the atmosphere of the crowd was pretty subdued and low-key before the race (much to the chagrin of event MCs Utt and Sonia Couling and the regional live bands performing on the podium, who did their best to raise spirits), probably due to the early start-off time of 7am compared to last year’s 4.30pm but once the run got underway proper, there was generally a cheerful spirit to the event.

The runners, too, seemed different from last year, more concentrated as a whole. While there were several stragglers last year and people who joined just to walk the entire 10km route, most of the runners this year were doing just that - running, and pretty fast too.

The route was modified. The runners took off (and ended) at the Singapore Flyer and F1 Pit building before passing by Kampong Glam, the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Kallang Road before heading back to the starting point to finish off the 10 kilometers.

To top it off, the weather held too, without rains that had plagued different parts of Singapore in the days leading up to the race. In fact, the sun came out slightly too strong, drenching everyone in sweat barely halfway into the run.

Despite the searing heat, however, I enjoyed the run this year more than last. Although I spent much more time walking and socialising with my friends this year (with my final timing taking a huge hit because of that), the race, from the pre-event preparations to the actual run to the post-event bag collections and goodies, was much better organised.

I had a great time and so did, I believe, the other 9,999 runners.

Yorkshire pizza simply the best

Call me a fast-food junkie but I just love pizza. I have to get my regular pizza fix every month, else I suffer from serious withdrawal symptoms (a.k.a. constant cravings). While I’ve been trying out different pizzas from different eating outlets over the past months, I think I’ve finally stumbled on the holy grail of Singaporean pizza.

Ironically, I wasn’t even intentionally looking out for it. Still, the Yorkshire pizza at KPO (which stands for Killiney Post Office, where it is located) the best ever I’ve tasted in Singapore.

The pizza comprises primarily Yorkshire pork, French mustard, basil, garlic and a delightfully thick helping of mozzarella cheese. It has a strong and absurdly hearty amalgamated taste (topped with an appropriate amount of taste-bud tantalizing fragrance) and the thin crust is crispy yet not too hard, providing just enough morsel for the teeth to work on.

At S$25 for a serving that feeds two to three comfortably, it is not cheap but is worth it as an occasional treat.

KPO Cafe Bar
1 Killiney Road
Killiney Post Office

Tel: 67333648

Operating Hours
Mon-Sat: 9.30am-1am
Sun: 10.30am-11pm

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Pendragon

Despite my old age of twenty-two, I’m still a huge fan of teenage and young adult fiction, especially from the fantasy genre. Like most other young adults in Singapore, I’m a huge fan of the Harry Potter series (although Twilight not so much). With that said, though, there’s another seriously under-marketed young adult series that holds a place in my heart.

The Pendragon series, written by D. J. MacHale, is a ten parter urban fantasy series that is easily my favourite book series of all time.

Set against the backdrop of ten different worlds (or “territories”, as it is known in the books), one of which is earth as we know it, Pendragon tells the story of Bobby Pendragon, a normal American teen who’s visited by his eccentric uncle, Press. Press tells Bobby the truth about his real identity - he’s actually a “traveller”, a group of individuals (one per territory) chosen to guide their home territory and keep it from the evil machinations of Saint Dane, an enigmatic spirit who seeks to destroy all ten territories, known collectively as “Halla”. In fact, he’s the lead traveller, tasked to take charge of the protection process.

Each book in the series takes place primarily on one of the territories, with Bobby travelling to and fro territories via an extradimensional transport tunnel known as a flume. Every book takes the form of journals written by Bobby to his acolytes (his earth-bound helpers) and best friends Mark and Courtney and details his adventures in each territory, meeting with the other travellers and the ways he foils Saint Dane’s plans, gradually leading up to a climatic finish in the last two books.

What makes the series so great is the sheer amount of planning that has obviously gone into the books, with intricate plot twists and well-thought out sequences. All ten books were obviously planned together as several books foreshadow later books while the latter often refer back to hints dropped in earlier books.

While some of the earlier books could be read on their own, it is advisable to go through the books in sequential order to get the full development of the considerable storyline.

Despite the heft of the books (each entry in the series is easily close to 600 pages), I have never had to struggle to finish any of them. MacHale’s writing is concise, exciting and the dialogue is believable and at times snazzy. While some plot developments are pretty predictable, the overall story is engaging and gripping and everytime I get a new book, I’ve had to devour as much of it in one shot as possible and I carried it with me everywhere I went.

So, if you’re still mourning the ending of the Harry Potter or are recovering from the saccharine cheese of the Twilight or are just looking for a good read, why not give this series a try? The final installment, Soldiers of Halla, has just been released so you won’t even have to wait for the entire series to come out (as I had to, excruciatingly). I guarantee you’ll love it.