Held in observance of World Humanitarian Day, Mercy Relief’s ‘Ground Zero – Run for Humanity’ celebrates this indomitable human spirit as we stand in solidarity with the survivors who have inspired humanitarian work around the world.
Our race flag off was at 7:30 a.m. and it was slightly later as compared to other races, however the weather was awesome to start with! Held in East Coast Park, we were simply enjoying the sea breeze and tree shades during our run.
My First Ground Zero Race
This is the very first time I have participated in Mercy Relief’s ‘Ground Zero – Run for Humanity 2016’ in the 10km ‘Race Against Time’ category. This race is very different from the other races that I have participated in in the past. We were all given a choice to do the race with or without carrying a relief pack of 5-7kg for both the 5km and 10km categories.
It was an awesome way to allow all participants to re-enact how relief and supplies are brought to disaster survivors in secluded places. The long distance run of 10km also brought us through stretches of different routes with uphill and sandy conditions which is very relatable to how disasters always take place, anywhere and anytime.
The third and also the latest addition was the 500M Dash For Humanity. This is open to children ages 3 to 12 and parents. Despite their young age, these survivors are often sent as representatives on behalf of their families to obtain relief supplies.
In this challenge, each parent & child team was be given a relief pack weighing approximately 1kg that they had to carry across the finish line. Through this meaningful, family-friendly event, the young are educated do their part in disasters.
Huge posters and boards along the route of pictures of disaster stricken areas and the aftermath were always a constant reminder that humanitarian relief work is so important. What would it be without their aid to disaster? It reinforces compassion and empathy for our society especially to the people in need.
During the course of the race, looking at those participants running next to me with a relief pack was a huge motivating factor to push myself to run as fast as I could!
A Meaningful and Fulfilling Race
There were many fringe activities after our race this included a photo booth and game booth where participants could win a cute panda plush!
Overall, I enjoyed my run and learnt the importance humanitarian work which set myself thinking on how I could volunteer my service in the future in times of need.
