Singapore’s parkruns start at 7.30. A fact which surprised me, even though I have run two of them before. Still, it meant that I didn’t have to be up quite as early as I had reckoned on (when thinking it a 7am start), and could have hopped on public transport. Though, word to the wise, the nearest MRT stop, Bishan, has a late start at the moment, though the bus replacements ought to whizz you through the quiet streets in the morning.

I had realised the night before that my hostel wasn’t that near a convenient MRT station, nor that near the park, but an 8km jog isn’t that daunting, so I left at 6.25 and passed plenty of other people taking advantage of relative cool to slot in some exercise. For many people (though not everyone, I’ve seen a few out at midday), if you haven’t been out by 9, you’ve missed your slot.

I was pretty hot and sweaty by the time I got there, with no real chance of cooling down in these temperatures. The runners gather by the finish, a little further on, anti-clockwise, than the start. So long as you’re in the right bit of the park, you can’t really miss them, though nothing much is visible before 7 – you might find a cone with an arrow on, depending on how early they’ve set them up. Attendance was down to 29 after the opening week, which made for a happy group of runners and volunteers chatting together.

The run itself is two loops of the park, plus a little bit to the finish. It’s all flat, and there are no 180 degree turns, but it still isn’t as quick as it might be. I think that was partly the heat, but also just that the park is busy, and you’ll be dodging a few people as you scoot round.

Afterwards I waited around and chatted, then wandered to the MRT to get back. My kit was still soaked through after an air-conditioned ride, so it was some relief to shower and change. Heat, that’s the main thing you’ll experience on your Singapore parkrun, but they are all friendly and fun too.