THE SAF SCORES BIG AT THE SINGAPORE BIATHLON 2010

Rigid hull inflatable boats and jet skis abound the choppy waters. Waterpoints, route marshals from the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and medics on buggies from the Head Quarters Medical Corps dotted the running tracks.

Food, sports merchandise and game booths, a central medical post, a refreshment area and even a muscle rub zone to soothe those tired muscles were in full view of runners at the finishing point.

This was certainly not the average sporting cum family fiesta. It was the Singapore Biathlon 2010, touted as Southeast Asia's largest swim-run event.

Completing a gruelling 1.5km swim in open waters followed by an adrenaline-pumping 10km run is by no means an easy feat. Couple these with the strong currents out at sea and the sheer number of participants and one will agree that an event of this nature is not meant for the weak-hearted.

Yet against all odds, the biathletes at this year's Singapore Biathlon have risen to the challenge putting their mental fortitude and physical endurance to the test.

Now in its tenth year, the Singapore Biathlon 2010 - jointly organised by SAFRA National Service Association and the RSN - saw a whopping 2,308 individuals taking to the waters off Bedok Jetty and thereafter taking to their heels on the running tracks along East Coast Park in the early morning of 13 Mar.

This year's unprecedented turnout at the Singapore Biathlon was certainly a far cry from the 860 participants who made history with the first Singapore Biathlon in 2001 at Sentosa.

Chairman of the Organising Committee, Colonel (COL) Tan Tai Tiong, who is also commander of the Naval Diving Unit, felt that the public's response to the event this year was most encouraging.

"Over the years, we have built up a strong following with the people coming back. We had to increase the registration figures to cater to this popular support, so we are very happy with the response," said an upbeat COL Tan.

A different race route was among the highlights of this year's "bigger and bolder" biathlon.

"For the running route, we have taken a new route. We found that we could concentrate medical safety resources better and for the overall experience, we provided participants with a more shady route throughout the whole race. We also found that there were a lot more popular eateries along this new route so families and friends could crowd around to give support," explained COL Tan.

"For the swimming leg of the competition, we had a very good layout and setup and navigation was made easy and we also made use of our Navy experience and chose the best tidal window to conduct the swim."

Flagged off at 15-minute intervals from as early as 8:30am, participants were from seven different categories including 23 teams of five from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Home Team.

One of two teams comprising first-time participants and veteran biathletes from the Special Operations Task Force came in first in the SAF Invitational Category with a record of 5 hours 48 minutes and 38 seconds.

"When we come together, it's the togetherness, it's doing it for the unit and the desire to do it which was why we trained so hard. The bonding is very strong from the daily trainings. After training, we would go for breakfast together. When we were not training, we would call each other up to find out how everyone is doing," shared the captain of the team, Major Richard Koh, who has participated in every Singapore Biathlon.

In conjunction with this year's Singapore Biathlon, the RSN has also put together the annual Navy Sprint Challenge (NSC), to foster bonding among members of the Navy family.

For the top team of the NSC, winning the biathlon was sweet success. "Our performance was quite unexpected because of the stiff competition but we took our trainings seriously and the fighting spirit of TRACOM (Training Command) kept us going," said Staff Sergeant Alien Ang, who was manager of the TRACOM team.

With the unusually dry weather that Singapore has been experiencing in the months prior to the event, ensuring the safety of the biathletes was of utmost importance to the organisers.

"Given the long period of dry spell, we were quite concerned whether there was going to be an increase in heat stroke cases, so we paid a lot of attention to that and invested in a lot of mist fans along the route and had more waterpoints than ever before," explained COL Tan.

With an emphasis on safety, even first-time participant Second Lieutenant (2LT) Neo Kai Yuan from the 2nd Singapore Infantry Brigade felt reassured and thoroughly enjoyed his experience.

"Today's event was pretty smooth, with the organisers doing a good job of cordoning off the area so that the route was very clear and it was an enjoyable event because everyone seemed to be having a good time and the spirit was there!" enthused 2LT Neo.

The Singapore Biathlon 2010 also saw Chief-Of-Staff Joint Staff (Designate)/ Chief-Of-Staff Naval Staff, Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng, presenting cheques totalling more than $158,000 to ten non-profit charity beneficiaries including the SAF Benevolent Fund. These monies were raised by the in-service personnel and Operationally-Ready National Servicemen of the RSN.