the night runs, sleepless nights, and the true colours

the sundown marathon, singapore biggest night race of the year attracted 30,000 participants from over 80 countries. for the first time, the 10km/21km and the 42km race categories were held over 2 different nights. the running tee and finisher medal truly reflect the new tagline “show your true colours”, with the introduction of 3 new colours to the usual black/white/read drab.

the trio ambushed the runners at garden by the bay on the first night. the top 3 HM men were dominated by foreigners, while our local girl bagged the first prize in the women category. i was alone on the second night, and managed to find a safe and comfortable spot along marina boulevard.

i was expecting a kenyan or of south african origin in the FM, and was surprised when a caucasian took the lead. he had a good lead ahead of approximately 9 minutes before our local runner came by. four singaporeans made it to the top three of both the men’s and women’s FM.

i seem to have grown haggard overnight, for the late nights spent supporting my friends and to capture the moments of the other runners. my 3rd attempt on night/flash sports photography turned out to be OK, with improvement to the white balance in the ultramarathon. focusing was erroneous towards the end of the race on the second night, probably due to the lack of the flash blasts’ from my comrades or i was falling asleep behind my camera…

a word of advice to the runners – avoid dark attire if you are to run in a night race. one for the safety, and two, to increase your chances of getting captured on film. night sports photography is a little tricky, more so in low light conditions.