What’s better than a single Singapore running race? Running four of them, of course. You’ll have opportunities to participate in a year’s worth of weekend events that span your 2018 calendar: 11th March, 1st July, 22nd September and 18th November.

But you must be prepared to bring your A game because each of these events gets harder and harder—which is why you must get tougher and tougher.

About the Big 4

Leg 1: High Flyer (11th March)

Venue: Pasir Ris Coast Industrial Park 6 (Near Lorong Halus Jetty)
Flag off Time: 7 a.m.

Rated a single star on the difficulty scale, the High Flyer is going to introduce you to this series by giving you an opportunity to get your footing via a 10km that’s composed of 30-percent trail and 70-percent road. Because it’s the introductory run, you’re going to find plenty of neophytes at the start line, so you won’t be alone if this is also your first trail race.

Leg 2: Rugged Seeker (1st July)

Venue: Macritchie Reservoir Vista
Flag off Time: 7 a.m.

As summer kicks into high gear, you’ll appreciate the balance you find at this 3-star-rated trail race—The Rugged Seeker on the difficulty scale that surpasses the High Flyer you undertook in March. Organisers have set forth a change-up on the proportion of surface material you’ll cover: This 10km race tests your mettle as you travel over 80-percent trail plus 20-percent road.

Leg 3: Pathfinder (22nd September)

Venue: Pulau Ubin
Flag off Time: 2 p.m.

As the only Saturday run in this series—the others are staged on Sundays—you can expect to pick up your pace as both the distance is increased by nearly twice (18km) and the run’s difficulty rating is boosted to 4 stars. You’ll cover 70-percent of this contest by running over trails and the remaining 30-percent over roadways. But as the Pathfinder, you can do it because you’ve been preparing for this race since 11th March!

Leg 4: Trailblazer (18th November)

Venue: Macritchie Reservoir Vista
Flag off Time: 7 a.m.

If you’re the superstitious sort, you could consider a run on the 18th day of 2018 to be a fortuitous one, despite the fact that this final event is going to push your endurance and stamina to the limit. The Trailblazer consists of a 25km distance on terrain that’s 80-percent trail and 20-percent road. As you can imagine, this final chapter in the King of the Trails saga earns the max number of stars (5) on the difficulty scale, but if you’ve committed to the entire series and maintain your training regimen, victory can be yours!

Sound like your kind of race?

Don’t let the name of this event fool you into thinking it’s to be a celebration of testosterone, Ladies. You can be Queen of the Trails if you push yourself to train wisely and thoroughly so you’re able to meet each level of competition with so much confidence, you leave “Kings” in your wake.

Registration deadlines are staggered between January and November, but you’ll save enough cash to buy new running shoes if you buy the entire series bundle at Spacebib, https://www.spacebib.com/events/view/king-of-the-trails-2018-leg-1-high-flyer-312, no later than 28th February.

This championship series takes you through Singapore’s natural landscapes, mixing turf with pavement to push you even harder. It’s an ideal choice to make if you love trail running, have a crazy-busy schedule and only have time to commit to a staggered series of runs that take you through the year.

Rewards are bountiful

If you’re all about saving money, the biggest perk of all is your ability to snag that discounted rate for the entire series, but your rewards certainly don’t stop there. You’ll help protect the environment by honouring the event’s BYOB policy since plastic bottles are verboten, and you'll collect a rainbow of four colourful t-shirts. Complete them all and collect an awesome jacket, impressive medallion, and bragging rights.

Cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers of each leg will be handed out, while the most outstanding runner—a man or woman who has the fastest finish time at the end of all four legs—will be crowned King of the Trails 2018 and handed a $2,000 cash prize. If that turns out to be you, what would you buy with that money?

Finishers of all 4 events in the series will be rewarded with a “The Trail Conquerer” Medallion and an exclusive King of the Trails Jacket.

Up your chances of success

Participate in training events staged to help you maximize your performance by registering for three unique workshops that can boost your personal conditioning programme because you’ll learn invaluable trail running lessons. The first focuses on trail running gait improvements, instructs on how to manage hills, slopes, and uneven trail, includes obstacle-clearing techniques, plus safety and injury prevention tips.

The second training session instructs you on the Starfitness holistic running method that expands your skills so you’re mentally and physically up for these events. The final workshop covers everything from attire and gear to the mental prep you must master to become a winner. Each of these sessions is taught by seasoned trail and ultra runners who know what they’re talking about, and here's the best part: their only goal will be getting you ready to conquer all aspects of this series!

Does running title excite you enough to fight for it? If not, why did you participate in a competitive race?