MacRitchie in the rain

Yesterday morning it rained - like crazy. My plan was to run the 11 kilometer trail around Lake MacRitchie. Jakeb and I have run there a couple of times in the rain and frankly it is fun. So I was not going to let a little rain (or a lot as the case was) stop me from running one of mine and Jakeb's favorite places in Singapore.

I should have known it was not going to be a typical run when the traffic was stopped on Farrer because the cars could not get off on the flooded Bukit Timah exit. It was still dark outside when I got to the park and people were standing under the cover of car park waiting for the rain to stop so they could run the trail. I got out of my car and put my key in my shorts and started running immediately, excited to get to run in the rain. I got a couple of strange looks.

As I ran past the pavilion where the food and bathroom are there were more people standing under cover watching it rain. I ran by - more strange looks.

As I entered the trailhead and started the first short climb I was running in a river of water that was looking for the lake. It was ankle deep and there was nowhere to run where water was not.

The trail continued this way - river for a while then sloshy mud for a while. I felt like a little kid and I had the trail completely to myself. A refreshing change since MacRitche is normally crowded on a Saturday morning.

On the backside of the lake the water got kind of deep. It is the lowest part of the trail and there is a 2' high wooden bridge without handrails built over the swampy jungle. Water was running over the bridge. The walkway to the bridge was mid-calf deep and when I took the steps up onto the bridge it was over my ankles. The problem was that it was muddy water and since there are no handrails I could not tell were the sides were. Not wanting to fall off of the edge, when I got the chance I bailed off onto a nearby golf course (there were no golfers either).

I finished out the run with more of the same - rivers of runoff and mud while the rain came down. I was soaked, my shoes were soaked and full of mud and sand. It was awesome.

This morning I ran MacRitchie again. It was not raining and the trails were as crowded as I have ever seen them.