Rainbow, Torch and Harmony

Torch for Harmony World Harmony Run was held for the very first time in Singapore at MacRitchie Reservoir, Time: 7:30am; Date: 18 June 2005 (Saturday); Distance. Guest of Honour – Ms Eunice Olsen (Nominated Member of Parliament and former Miss Singapore). It was 5:30am. I was awakened by the rumbling thunder, not my mobile phone alarm. It was one of the “aw shucks” days. I peeped through the window. Confirmed! It was drizzling. Why the weather was not cooperative?! I came all the way from KL for this? Anyway, I slid myself out of bed, picked myself up from the floor and reaffirmed myself that I would be running for world harmony. I had run in the rain before, so what’s a little drizzle gonna do to stop me? In the drizzle, I hailed a cab on front of my hotel after having a light breakfast of a Bread Talk rooster bun and a cup of Campbell Instant Chicken Soup. “Wah! Raining also go jogging, ah?” The taxi driver seemed a bit surprised to see me in my running gears. I smiled and told him that there would be a World Harmony Run at MacRitchie Reservoir. I prayed for the rain to stop. In 10 minutes, I reached MacRitchie Carpark B. The taxi ride cost SGD 7. The rain seemed to subside but the sky was still dark. It was about 6:45am. I waited while listening to my iPod. The organizer was busy setting up the stage and registration counter. I was given a sticker after registration. The runner’s turn out was small compared to the Singapore Marathon. It was the rain perhaps. While waiting for the run to start, I spotted The Lonely Runner (TLR) near the stage. I went to introduce myself, as I am a fan of his blog. His blog was featured in Singapore national paper, The Strait Times before. Later, TLR introduced me to other fellow Singaporean bloggers – Penguin, CT and Kevin. It was nice meeting them. (Insert smile here). We waited patiently for the VIP to show up for the torch lighting ceremony and speeches. Miss Eunice Olsen arrived with her family about 7:30am. Sweet and gracious, she addressed the runners in a speech. The torch was lighted and passed to the runners, signifying humanity's burning aspiration for world harmony. (Insert clasped hands and closed eyes here)