CNY "4-Hills Run" -- Recce and Route Guidance

The CNY 4-Hills Run will be coming up on Saturday the 9th of Feb. So far, there has been an encouraging response with more than 20 people indicating interest. I'm writing this post as an informational for runners.

Program in brief:

Meet, Warm Up and Store stuff: 6.45am

Run Starts: 7.00am

Distance: 24k to 27k through KR Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, Mt Faber, Telok Blangah Hill and NUS Prince Georges Park (PGP)*, 4-5 Hills, depending on whether you take in the PGP Loop.

Estimated Finishing Time: At 6:30 to 7:00 pace, plus water/toilet breaks, will be between 3-3.5 hours run time, finish @ NUSS between 10-10.30am

Immediate Post-Run: Wine and New Year Goodies at finish line. Shower at NUSS facilities

Post-Race Makan: NUSS makan places open at 12noon, except the Bar which opens 11.30. Depending on when we finish showering: a) Retreat to bar first for coffee/finger foods, then to restaurant, b) Head down to Cheese Prata joint or Taiwanese porridge and makan there, or if finish late, c) Head straight to restaurant, and maybe d) Drive somewhere else.

Main Route Below:




PGP Extension for 3km:

Route in Detail:

1) Start point is NUSS Guild House





Down to Heng Mui Keng Terrace, turn left at Pasir Panjang Road heading towards Haw Par Villa.

2) Keeping on left side of road, run towards Haw Par Villa, pass Science Park 2 on the left (1km), continue along Pasir Panjang Road past HPV. There is a bit of construction here but its only a short distance.



3) Reach PP Road/South Buona Vista Road Junction. West End Restaurant is at this location (2.3km). Turn left into South Buona Vista Road.



Continue running on left side of road. As you reach Zehnder Road vicinity, cross CAREFULLY to the right. Continue to the base of Kent Ridge Park Hill (3km). This is the infamous Vigilante Drive. Its a STEEP gradient and fairly long, so take it easy and walk if you have to.





Top of the climb is Rest and Orientation Stop 01 (3.2km).

4) Continue along Vigilante Drive in an easterly direction until you reach the KR Park canopy walk (4km).


The canopy walk can be treacherous and slippery. Run slowly, or better still, walk!

5) At end of canopy walk, you have reached the Reflections at Bukit Chandu Museum. Turn to your LEFT and run down Pepys Road. It is a winding road and steep. The bottom of Pepys Road connects with Pasir Panjang Road. Turn left at this junction to head towards Labrador Park. Passing the PSA building on the left (6km), you will come to the Alexandra/Telok Blangah Road junction. Wait for the lights and cross.



Look for signage on your right after you have crossed Telok Blangah Road, you will now be entering into Labrador Nature Reserve. At the left side of the entrance of Labrador Villa Park is a small little food centre. You may want to take a Drink Break Here

7) Running into Labrador Nature Reserve, continue along Labrador Villa Road and Port Road first, DO NOT climb the hill yet. You will come to the carpark near the Old Fort entrance(7.2km).



Run to your left towards the Dragon's tooth gate, loop back to the Old Fort entrance and climb the hill to the top near Olive Restaurant (Rest, Drink and Orientation Stop 03) (8km).

Pic

Run down the hill and exit Labrador Park along Labrador Villa Road. You will hit and cross Telok Blangah Road. You will be running to the right towards Morse Road.



Turn up left into Morse Road up the beautiful and scenic Mt Faber. You will be running up Morse Road --> Pender Road --> Mt Faber Loop. Its a tough hill so if you aren't very used to hills, don't feel embarrassed to slow down or even walk. The will be a fork in the road where Mt Faber Loop meets Mt Faber Rd. The Hill Bistro is here with a toilet and water. This is (Rest, Drink and Orientation Stop 04) (11.8km). Ok we're HALFWAY!

Pic (Hill Bistro)

Continue along Mt Faber Road and descend the hill. Going down hill can be treacherous on the knees, so don't do it too fast. Also, the sun will be coming up and perhaps traffic will be getting busier. Do keep aware of your surroundings and run safe. We will exit Mt Faber at Telok Blangah Rise (13km) , taking a short staircase down. At this point, there is an opportunity to bail out by hailing a cab. If you have hurt yourself or are not very well by this point, do consider it, no shame.

8) Continue along Telok Blangah Rise --> Telok Blangah Way, passing SAFRA MF on your left. Cross Henderson Road and then turn left, and quickly right up Telok Blangah Hill. Near where Telok Blangah Green forks into 2, could be Rest, Drink and Orientation Stop 04 (15km)

9) Take a staircase down the right side of Telok Blangah Hill (as you are facing to the peak), this will bring you to a carpark structure alongside Depot Road. Turn left at Depot Road, which will bring you back to Alexandra Road (16.6km).



Turn left at the Depot Road/Alexandra junction, and head towards AH.

This is where the detailed guide ends. The rest of the route goes like this;

Alexandra Road --> Left into Queensway at Queensway shopping centre --> Climb short flight of stairs up Portsdown flyover --> Turn left and cross Portsdown flyover --> Enter Science Park 1 via Technology Crescent (Drink Stop) (19.6km). Head up Science Park Drive --> South Buona Vista Road (Divergence point for a) main NUS route, b) extra 3km PGP Loop, and c) Shortcut back to NUSS) -->

a) Turn right South BV Road --> left into lower Kent Ridge Drive --> right into Kent Ridge Crescent --> left into Clementi Road after UCC --> left into Kent Ridge Crescent --> right into KR Drive --> Finish NUSS (approx 24km).

b) Turn left South BV Road --> Continue South BV about 1/3rd way down, cross and descend into Science Park 2 via staircase --> SP2 -- Science Park Road --> Heng Mui Keng Terrace --> Prince Georges Park (PGP) --> Join back South BV and continue as a) (approx 27km).

c) Turn left South BV and quickly right into Kent Ridge Road and then left down PGP to finish at NUSS (approx 22km).

Run Participants so far (06 Feb 2008):

1. dkw 2. Brokenrunner 3. shortlegs 4. DO 5. Jasonlow? 6. hophlng 7. DeepCruiser 8. ultraman 9. prata 10. Dreamrunner 11. JiaJie 12. Richy 13. Roadrunner3 14. sportventurer 15. stardust 16. Freddy 17. Sling Runner (tentative) 18. lohyks 19. Bug 20. tarepanda 21. runfree 22. Rory 23. Sarah (atomic's wifey) 24. MF Runner 1 25. MF Runner 2 26. MF Runner 3 27. MF Runner 4 28. MF Runner 5 29. xdd 30. tktan

Good Luck all! Enjoy the run.