Singapore is a great place to run. There are no vicious or rabid dogs that chase you with intent to rip you limb from bloody limb (Thailand), no crazy taxi drivers trying to mow you down on the pavement (Philippines), no glass on the road to slice your feet open (Thailand, South Africa) - a real problem if you're a bare foot runner like me, no rough tarmac (Indonesia, South Africa). Singapore has parks and park connectors to run in, special paths on the pavements where only the most crazed drivers could vaguely be a threat. Singapore also has a lot of runners.
There are two things about Singapore's runners that make them different to other runners that I have seen in the world. The first, is that they never greet each other. I find this really disturbing. Runners are, after all, a special breed. We forsake the warmth, safety and comfort of our beds to pound the pavements. It stands to reason therefore, that we would acknowledge one another on the roads with a nod, a wave or even a gasped "morning!" After 3 years of running in Singapore I gave up greeting fellow runners because lets face it, there is nothing more insulting than greeting the proverbial brother (or sister) in arms only to be met with an astonished look and stony silence.
The second unique and vaguely disturbing thing that most Singapore runners do, is that when they come to a traffic light (and there are many in Singapore - it is, after all, a great big city) they feel the need to either run on the spot, jump up and down, or run in tight circles on the pavement, as if they've contracted a rare form of mad cow disease. As soon as the light changes in their favour, they're on their merry way again. Very strange indeed. When I run, unless its some kind of race, when I get to an obstruction, like a red traffic light that cannot safely be crossed, I stop running. I normally do so with a sense of relief. If my running time is important to me, I'll pause my running watch. I see an enforced stop as something to be embraced. In fact, sometimes when I'm running I'll be hoping that the next traffic light forces me to stop - then I'll have a valid reason to take a break. I find that when I take a break in the middle of a run, my legs and lungs are the better for it and I carry on with my run feeing slightly refreshed.
This reminds me of a bad movie I saw once called "Crank" starring Jason Statham - some bad guys injected him with something that would slow his heart down to a point where he would die, so he spent the whole movie doing ridiculous things in order to keep his heart beating fast. Actually now that I think about it, it was a Chinese drug that produced this effect ... hmmmm... there are many Chinese in Singapore. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye!
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