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It was a flurry of event, ranging from the kids sprinting for 1000m around the 288m track at Kallang, to the veteran men gracefully flowing through the 10km race, to the women taking an early afternoon stroll in the park for their 10km race (of course it's considered slow to them, but to us mere mortals, they were speeding..). There were also a bunch of slalom skaters with their own set of events to add to the carnival atmosphere. Many of the local skate shops also showed off their ware, including some 2005 models, which of course brought many a curious skater who were in touch with the international scene of skate sales.

Yes, I am referring to The National Inline Speedskating Meet 2004.

As it happened, the first event of the day turned out to be a Men's Open 5km Heat, since the race director considered there to be too many (17) skaters for all to be in one race, along the small track. The 17 men were separated into 2 groups, according to their number tag order. Darn... What am I doing in the stronger group? I better work hard to qualify, since only the top 5 from each group qualifies for the final 10km race to be held later in the morning. Oh my goodness, the Korean skater, Cody Winter is in my group. Are we all going to be thrashed by him? By God's grace, I was the fifth to qualify from my group. Though my 2 other team mates have better timings than the 5th skater in the other group, they did not qualify because selection was based on position and not timing - that's too bad.

So, it was on to the veteran (Above 40) men's race... Fred dominated from the word 'GO' and never once had to look back at him competition. In fact, by the end of the race, I think he had managed to lap them by at least 2 laps. Viruses wise, 003 did well to keep the TSV flag flying high, by putting in a gutsy effort.

Next up was the Junior Men (13-17) and Women's Open race, each with 5 skaters. From the gun, it seemed that the women were definitely much stronger skaters, being led by 2004 Athens to Atlanta First Runner Up, Kim Ames. However, when Kim attacked, as could be expected, none of the women replied, resulting in an overall slow down of the pack's pace, since no one wanted to excessively take the wind. The 'gentlemanly' Viruses, Jenn and Ethel, took their share of the wind, each leading the pack for about 2 to 3 laps.

However, when it was the turn of another team's skater to take the wind, it seemed that she was not very willing, resorting to tactics such as drinking from her Camelbak or simply standing up straight. Bet no one has seen skaters not pushing at all during a race. So, the Viruses, either had to be content with the 'snail's' pace or take up the lead. So they employed a mixture of both tactics. When it came to the final lap, it was exciting nonetheless. As Ethel sprinted off, leaving a big gap between herself and Jenn and Jasmine, it became obvious that TSV was going to take second place, behind Kim Ames who had long been skating on her own around the track. Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs at the finish line, when TSV Jenn and Hyper Jasmine dashed neck to neck across the finishing line. Jenn manage to beat Jasmine by a wheel's length.

Back to the Junior Men's race, it was more exciting all the way through, with the excitement being provided by Hvper-Fila's Alan, with his constant attacks on the pack. Fortunately, in this race, there was a lot more gentlemanly lead taking and lead changing. In the final sprint, TSV's Kim Teo, with his wonderful cornering technique, tore the pack apart and came in first, with Skateline's June and Hvper-Fila's Gerard coming in second and third respectively.

Next up was the Fitness Men's race. Though the race was not won by any Virus, the Viruses still did very well in doing their best, with special credit going to Albert who tried so very hard to chase the pack down despite taking a spill in one of the corners.

Next was the Junior Boys' (Under 12) 1000m race. Given the short distance, it was a mere all-out sprint for the finish line. It was won by Baby Virus, Sean Lim, with a great performance.

Finally, it was the Men's Open race. "Eh... What happened to the Women's Fitness 5km Race. You will get your answer at the end of the Men's race." On the line, were the ten fastest men in Singapore, or is it the men who just happened to be free to be in the race? Anyway, with the whistle from race director, Jonathan, the race started. Many tactics came into play from the start, from attacks by Sandy, to catch-up attempts by your truly as well as fantastic drafting tactics from other teams' skaters. As the race wore on, it became obvious that I was going to skate the last 14 laps on my own, with no one to draft, with the wind in my face.

Fortunately for me, I had the support of my entire team behind me!! They were great in motivating me towards the finishing line!! As Hyper Eddie attempted to catch me with his powerful double push from 130m back, all I could hear on every lap from my teammates were "Eddie just behind, Eddie coming", which was of course helpful in pushing myself beyond my limits. Credit given to Eddie, who managed to bridge the gap significantly. Unfortunately for him, the finish line came too soon. Eventually, Sandy took first place, I got second and Eddie finished third. Almost as quickly as we finished our 10km race, the rain also just a quickly came pouring down, resulting in the Fitness Women's race to be cancelled, due to wet and slippery conditions.

It was time for the prize presentations and it became so obvious that God was indeed blessing TSV. With so many events challenged and won by TSV, all I can say is "THANK GOD".

The Singapore National Championship for Men's Open went to Daryl Chan, that's me (Team SpeedVirus) and for Women's Open, it went to Ethel Lui (Team Bont Singapore / Team SpeedVirus).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my teammates, who have been with the team, through thick and thin, through the storms and the breeze. May God continue to bless this team as we continue to glorify Him with our skating.

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