Inter-Constituency 4.3 km Road Run (31/07/2010)

Reported by Pramod Kukanur

Marissa Sng Rui He - A Story on Resilience

In the recent Inter-Constituency 4.3km Road Run, held on 31st July 2010, Taman Jurong Constituency won the championship by obtaining 55 points. The first runners-up for the team event was procured by Potong Pasir Constituency, which had a total points of 94. With 108 points, Yio Chu Kang Constituency came in third.

 In the Inter-Constituency Road Run, what was very striking was, Marissa, from Bendemeer Secondary School, did her school and her constituency proud by coming in overall 7th in the Women's Open individual section with a time of 20min 06.72sec. Pauline Elizabeth Mulroy came in first with a time of 18min 14.09sec. Second position and third position was Phua Hua Qin and Winona Howe, with a time of 18min 47.23sec and 18min 54.27sec, respectively. In the Men Open section, Giriber Swaminathan, came in first with a time of 14min 14.97sec.

 In the National Schools' Cross-Country Championships 2010, Marissa shares her bad memories of how she was disadvantaged and in this Inter-Constituency Road Run she proved to everyone that she is a force to be reckon with, from her recent successful performance.

Picture 1 - Marissa Sng, beaming with smile with her recent performance (7 pos) by being the youngest to come in top 10 in the Women Open individual section.

I interviewed her mother first before interviewing Marissa.

An Interview with Jenny Sng, the mother of Marissa.

How did your daughter fair in this competition?

I am happy with her progress so far. It is a breakthrough for greater achievements to come. I think she is right on track in her training programme and I am glad she is gaining ground for all her hard work.

What are your feelings about this competition?

During her last National School Inter-school Cross Country 2010, she was blocked by a competitor from one of the top cross-country school, from start till nearly the end of the competition. The officials were thinly spread throughout the route and were not able to witness this. It is sad that the girl could get away with cheating. Marissa could have done well if these sort of unsporting actions were not present. Marissa told me that she has seen this girl running near Alexandra Road.

In the u14 boys' race, it was also surprising to find that another boy from her school also encountered elbowing at the 3km mark by another top school, wearing brown kind of singlet. I think for the good of Singapore athletics, teachers and coaches should guide and emphasize the core values of sports namely sportmanship, excellence and friendship in their athletes.

I am satisfied and happy with the way the competition was conducted. As a parent, I feel that the Inter-Constitutency competition was ran/conducted in a fair manner. My daughter enjoyed the race a lot.

An Interview With Marissa Sng Rui He
What was your position for the race?
My position for the race was 7th .

What was your timing for this race?
My timing was 20min 06sec.

Which category did you take part in?
I took part in the Women's Open category .

How was the weather like during the race?
It was really hot!

What is your age now?
I'm 15 years old now .

Did you enjoy the race?
Yup, I enjoyed it (:

What position did your team get?
1st runner up

Are you happy with your result?
I'm very happy (:


How did your family felt about your result?
They were very proud of me. They congratulated me on my achievement.

Do you have anything to say about today's race?
In April, in the National Schools' Cross-Country Championships 2010, I was actually blocked by a girl, from the start of the race to nearly the end. In fact, I know the girl and the school the girl is from. In the past, I was really sad for not doing well as the girl did not make me run fairly. I trained so hard and this was what happened to me. With the Inter-Constituency Road Run 2010, I am erasing all my bad memories of the past. I am really delighted to know that I am the youngest in the Women's Open section by getiting seventh position, in the top ten category. My team was proud of me as they took my timing and we won 1st runner up for the team category. My team is Potong Pasir Constituency.