Feeling inspired to try some trail running, my brother and I registered for the 26km Unicorn Trail in Penang Malaysia, on the 20th of October. We were not prepared for this.
Firstly, trail running practice in Singapore is hard. The total course elevation gain was 1500m, the highest point in Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill, at 164m. Secondly, we were ill-equipped. Neither of us had proper trail running shoes, and only 1 hand-held light between us. We had (naively) hoped for a sub 4 hour race time, it took us 6 hours and 15 minutes to complete. Having said that, we did get lost twice which added over 3km extra distance. The winner came in at 3:36, so even on a good day sub 4 hours would be very difficult.
The worst part of getting lost though, was that the original course layout was that of a unicorn. Our course layout resembles a unicorn drawn on LSD, that is, recognizable at a squint.
All things considered, it was still very enjoyable and would definitely try some more trails with a bit more preparation and equipment.
Full race results here.
Full run details on Garmin here.
