That's what I'd like to be able to say but the truth is, finishing the Urbanathlon was a real struggle. Don't get me wrong — I fully expected it to be an uphill journey paved with obstacles (and it literally was) and I did not fully underestimate the difficulty I'd face — but I have to confess that even that estimation was quite below the mark. In other words, I expected the race to be really tough, but it still turned out to be a lot tougher than I had expected, if that makes any sense.

Sure, I had been training for all of three weeks prior to the race (watch my interview with Razor TV below), but even I knew that this was hardly enough preparation for someone who couldn't even pass his IPPT 2.4km run last year. That said, I'm really glad I attended all three Urbanathlon Bootcamp with Polar training sessions. Without them, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have developed enough mental fortitude to complete the full 12.5km of the race. After all, I'm embarrassed to admit, I slowed to a walking pace on more than a few occasions during the race. Those lapses in willpower usually happened right after a tough obstacle, like the Corporate Ladder (99 steps up Fort Canning Hill). I was also forced to limp slowly for several minutes upon scaling the Wall Street obstacle (1.5m low wall) as the impact from landing caused my injured right foot (read about this recent existing injury) to erupt in pain.

The Monkey Business obstacle (6-metre monkey bars) literally proved the turning point for me. The wait for my turn to test my grip strength proved to be invaluable rest time, and the obstacle also signalled the halfway point of the route. From here, I knew every step I took would be one that was closer to the finish line. It was the morale boost I sorely needed after seeing most of my colleagues in the Men's Health team pull away beyond sight.