6.1KM for SG61: Inside the RDRC x Naked Run Together

Six point one kilometres. Sixty-one years.

On Sunday 9 August we shut the shop floor to shopping, opened it to runners, and ran out of 108 Sims Avenue in a sea of red and white. The RDRC x Naked SG6.1KM Run Together was our National Day morning, and it turned into one of the best community runs we’ve hosted.

 

No timing chips. No finish arch. Sixty-six of us, pacers included, one shared distance, and a route out to East Coast Park and back before the sun got serious about it.

A shop full of red and white

By 6.45am the store looked less like a running shop and more like a void deck party. Flags up, bunting across the ceiling, and a dress code that people genuinely committed to — full red, full white, and a few outfits that deserved their own category.

Everyone who turned up in red and white went home with a 150ml Instinct soft flask, handed out at the front desk alongside the bag drop. Small thing, but it meant a lot of first-time community runners left with something they’ll actually use on their next long run.

Zen and Michelle of RDRC (wo)manning the registration booth, both with big smiles to kick off the morning. Image by Delon Ho.

 

Then, just before flag-off, the room went quiet and we sang Mahjulah Singapura together before reciting the pledge. Right fists to chests, a shop full of runners, 7am on National Day. It’s the kind of thing that sounds corny written down and doesn’t feel remotely corny when you’re standing in it.

6.1 kilometres, down the river and back

The route took us southwest out of Sims Avenue and onto the Kallang River, then down the water past the National Stadium on the far bank before turning at Kallang Riverside Park and heading home. Pacers went out across a spread of speeds so people could pick a group and settle in rather than spend the first kilometre wondering if they’d gone out too hard.

Runners at the ready! Image by Delon Ho.

 

It was humid, obviously. It’s August. But an early start and a flat route out east meant the heat stayed manageable, and the stretch along the river was worth the effort of getting up.

Every pace, every age

This is the part we care most about. The field ran from people training through a marathon block to people who hadn’t run 6km in a while and came anyway. Families ran together. Kids ran in matching tees and beat a fair few adults to the turnaround.

A community run only works if the slowest person still has company. That’s the whole brief, and it’s why we keep putting these on.

Flying high! Image by Delon Ho.

Back at 108 Sims Avenue

The finish was the shopfront, which meant the post-run bit happened where it should — on the pavement, in the shade, with everyone still sweating. BIX Recovery (in lemon) kept the electrolyte mix flowing, and it disappeared quickly.

 

Jeri Chua, founder of RDRC, handing out BIX Hydration in BIX Lemon Recovery fuel to recharge recovery for runners after their workout. Image by Delon Ho.

 

Then the lucky dip, and the prize everyone had an eye on: a Naked Running Band in Snow. If you haven’t run with one, the Naked band is the belt that finally solved the bouncing-phone problem — it holds a phone, gels, keys and a flask flat against your waist without shifting. Plenty were on show that morning.

Pacers Archer and Wini with Dave of RDRC (who is also rocking norda running shoes complete with rainbow Caterpy laces). Image by Delon Ho.

There’ll be another one

We don’t have a date to give you yet, but there will be a next one — there always is. If you missed this one, the easiest fix is to make sure you hear about the next before it fills up.

 

Sorting your kit before the next one? Have a look at the Naked range. And if the humidity is what’s been slowing you down, our guide to preventing chafing in Singapore is a useful read before your next long one.

Photos from the morning are up at My Sporting Moments by photographer Delon Ho— go find yourself.