SINGAPORE — Eliminating 17 competitors, Mr Toh Wen Sheng completed a two-hour race by climbing almost 700m, or about 2.5 times the height of UOB Plaza in Raffles Place.

One might have thought that the 27-year-old had trekked up a mountain range overseas, but he was competing in a highly unusual race last Saturday (July 29), near some condominiums in the Upper Bukit Timah and Hillview area. 

In this “never before seen” race format called “The Xterminator”, competitors would line up at the top of Lorong Sesuai and run 350m down from near the Syonan Chureito memorial to the end of the junction with Old Jurong Road.

They would then turn back to run uphill again, ascending an elevation of 40m at an average gradient of about 11 degrees. 

The last runner to run across the finish line at the top of this arduous 700m loop that runs alongside Bukit Batok Nature Park will be eliminated, or “exterminated”, as race organisers called it. 

The remaining runners will then have three minutes of rest from the time the second last runner comes in, before the next round begins.

This will go on, with one runner being “exterminated” each loop, until the last runner remains, and he will be crowned the winner. 

This is the second time the race is being held, with the inaugural event taking place last year.

It is the brainchild of Mr Ben Swee, founder of running event organiser Running Guild, which primarily organises ultramarathons here. 

Mr Swee, who is an ultramarathoner himself, said that what inspired him to make Lorong Sesuai the location of the brutal challenge was because he had run up and down the road before. 

“I ran more than 100 laps here over 24 hours,” he said, as if describing a normal weekend run.

“After that, it dawned on me an idea to do something crazy and fun and challenging, where the last runner (up this hill) will be exterminated.

“I thought it would be something different (from) just running around a specific route," he added. 

The sign-ups for the race started in March through Running Guild’s Facebook page, and 20 participants were accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. 

There was no sign-up fee and there were no prizes in this event that Mr Swee said was like a gathering of friends. 

EVENT ALSO FOR NON-RUNNERS

The run started at about 3pm on Saturday when temperatures hit 32°C. A group of runners and their supporters gathered and were briefed by Mr Swee before the race began. 

The 18 competitors — several had dropped out at the last minute — were a mix of men and women, seasoned ultramarathoners and people who consider themselves as “non-runners”.

Their ages ranged from 20s to 40s. 

The race started off slowly, with runners striding 350m downhill and then making their laborious trek uphill after that. When there was one person who was far behind, the runners in front began to walk to conserve energy. 

During the short three-minute breaks, runners sat on the ground or on chairs while being fanned by their supporters. 

Mr Loi Chii Lek, 28, who considers himself a “non-runner”, surprised himself by making it to the fifth round before being eliminated. 

The software engineer, who was introduced to the event by his wife, who also took part, said that he had expected to last only about three rounds at most. 

“I was thinking that I’m definitely not one of the fitter guys here, but perhaps if I could 'bomb' the downslope, I could make up some time for the upslope, but towards the last few rounds, I felt like the downslopes were killing me as well,” Mr Loi said. 

“I thought as a non-runner, I could stand a chance of knocking out one or two of the faster people, but this was clearly not the case.” 

Among the people who outlasted Mr Loi was his wife, 25-year-old Toh Wen Qi, who is also the sister of Mr Toh, the eventual winner. 

Ms Toh, who made it to the 10th lap, said that even though women have a physiological disadvantage compared to men, she still had fun at the event. 

“There are no prizes, so it’s just fun to me,” the software developer added. She was pleasantly surprised that she beat some of the men, who she felt were stronger than her.  

“Being a bit heavy puts (some of the men) at a disadvantage, maybe it’s advantageous for me because I’m a bit smaller, even though I’m not as strong.” 

Mr Loi added that the event was inclusive as well. Unlike an ultramarathon, which can span many hours or days, this event was uncharacteristically short, lasting just two hours. 

“I think it’s really fun. The pain you feel is over a shorter period of time, compared to long-distance runs, which are long and painful,” he said.

“There’s a lot more of a ‘fun’ element to it.”

A SPRINT TO THE FINISH

As the race wore on, the speed of each loop began to increase as the number of runners whittled down. 

During the first few loops earlier, many of the competitors walked upslope. Towards the end, the remaining few were running most of the way. 

Soon, it was 35-year-old Niro Ariyaratne’s turn to call it a day, as he was eliminated on the 11th loop. 

The 3D-printing engineer, who was introduced to ultra-running during the Covid-19 pandemic through some of Mr Swee’s events, said that even he was not ready for how quickly the pace increased as more people were eliminated. 

“The fourth lap onwards was when people really began pushing themselves up the hill, and that’s where the intensity started increasing,” he added. 

“It’s also a play on the mind, when you see the entire field in front of you while you’re lagging behind.” 

Before long, it was down to the last two runners — Mr Toh, a mechanical engineer, and fellow ultramarathoner Chris Timms, a deputy head teacher at an international school here.

As the pair were flagged off, Mr Toh sprinted down the hill and held a commanding lead, and Mr Timms could only watch as victory slipped away from him. 

As Mr Timms made the turn and began running uphill, Mr Toh already had a strong lead.

He powered up the hill, not once looking back, crossing the finish line with a blazing final lap of 2 minutes and 24 seconds, before lying on the floor in exhaustion. 

Mr Timms, 42, who is well-known among ultramarathoners in this region, jogged in with his children running by his side to claim second position. 

The pair had run a vertical distance of 680m. 

Mr Timms, a British expatriate who has taken part in many ultramarathons in Asia, said that watching Mr Toh sprint away downhill mentally “broke” him.

“I was going to go all out, but his all-out was quicker than my all-out,” he conceded.

“It was clear from the first 10 seconds of the last loop that he had a lot more left in the tank… In my head, I saw that he was going to win this.”

Mr Timms added that he had never come across an event like this before despite being part of the ultra-running scene for the past seven years. 

“I sign up for many events and this is the first where I’ve been, like, wow, this is really unique.”

Speaking to TODAY after the race, Mr Toh, who had won the event when it was first held last year, said that despite being a seasoned ultramarathon runner, the challenge of running up and down the hill was no less challenging than a 100km race, for example. 

“Every distance is difficult in its own way, and for this race, the intensity is really high.

"As someone looking from the outside, the breaks might be a good thing, but when you are taking a break, your competitors are also taking a break, so the next lap starts very fast.”

Mr Toh said that he has nothing but respect for the runner-up because he knows that Mr Timms has achieved faster timings and race results than him in other events. 

“I thought he would have blown past me on the last lap, but turns out, I managed to hold him on the downhill and I think he kind of gave up,” Mr Toh added. 

“But maybe if he was in a better state of mind, he could have gotten closer or beaten me.”

Mr Toh attributed his familiarity with the slopes of Lorong Sesuai as an edge that he had over the rest of the competition. 

“I live pretty nearby and I train here quite often, so I’m quite familiar with the slope... I just keep coming back, because I really like this place.”