Athletics: 3,700 participants tackle 14km obstacle course at Men's Health Urbanathlon

Participants finishing off the race by jumping off a tower, which was part of the mystery obstacle during the event. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Participants finishing off the race by jumping off a tower, which was part of the mystery obstacle during the event. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A participant clears the mystery obstacle by first doing a leopard crawl, followed by a climb up a tower and finished by leaping down unto a safety mattress. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Participants at an obstacle where they get on all fours to climb up a vertical wall of rope webbing to the top of a truck, turn around and descend the sloping rope web on the other side feet first. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A participant at an obstacle where they climb up a 2m-high tower, aim for the rope that is 1.2m away and leap off, hang on to the rope and lower themselves onto crash mats. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
An obstacle where participants test their flexibility by squeezing their bodies through tyres of different heights and difficulty levels. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
A participant going through one of the obstacles where they have to make their way across a pair of 6m-long parallel bars using your hands and then manoeuvre down a second set of parallel bars, with their hands on one bar and feet on the other. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
An obstacle where participants have to traverse the slackline with a little help from the dangling ropes and swing themselves using the ropes onto a platform at the end of the slackline. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Flag off of the Men's Health Urbanathlon 2015. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
Participants clambering over an obstacle consisting of a vertical wall of rope webbing tied across the top of a truck. More than 3,700 participants pounded through the heart of the Central Business District on Sunday to tackle the Men's Health Urbanathlon. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN

MORE than 3,700 participants pounded through the heart of the Central Business District on Sunday to tackle the Men's Health Urbanathlon.

Starting and ending at the Kallang Practice Track, the gruelling 14km course featured nine obstacles, including a narrow see-sawing plank, squeezing through hanging tyres and traversing a slackline.

A Mystery Obstacle, revealed only on race day, required competitors to climb up a six-metre structure and jump from a two-storey height to end the race.

Participants, aged between 18 and 68, included Minister of State (Trade and Industry) Teo Ser Luck, mountaineer Edwin Siew and "Blade Runner" Shariff Abdullah.

Mr Teo, 46, said: "I had a lot of fun clearing the obstacles. It's unlike any running race.

"The Mystery Obstacle was really fun, especially the part where you jump down. I also had fun at the obstacle where you slide down a rope like a fireman."

This year's individual category was won by Nepalese Gurung Nimesh in a time of 54 min 35 sec. He walked home with over $7,000 worth of prizes.

More than 160 teams, comprising between three and five runners, raced in the corporate category. Team Gurkha came out tops, while the Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force took second and third spots respectively.

In its sixth year, the Urbanathlon is jointly organised by SPH Magazines and HiVelocity, and presented by Tigerair.

Ms Pang Lee Cheng, general manager at SPH Magazines, said: "It's heartening to see everyone having fun, and meet loyal readers and participants who keep coming back year-after-year.

"We'll ensure the race continues to pique the interest of Singapore's running community. The support from our sponsors is also testament to a successful event that provides a platform for all parties while promoting health and fitness."

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