Yellow Ribbon Run2019

Changi Prison

I woke up this morning about 40 minutes after my phone alarm went off. I had decided to sleep in after looking at the PSI reading. It was above 100, at the "Unhealthy" range. When I looked through the window, I could not see outside as clearly as I normally would. Then I realised that it was because I had shut the tinted windows due to the haze. I opened the window to take a look and the sky was quite clear. I checked the hourly PM2.5 reading and it was at the "Normal" level. So I could go for the Yellow Ribbon 10km Run if I wanted to, but I would miss the flag-off. My colleague said on Friday that he would probably get there late as he wasn't planning to win the race. So, being late for the race wasn't a good enough excuse for not being there at all. I arrived at the Singapore Expo at 7am to catch the shuttle bus to Changi Village. There was a huge traffic jam because of the road closures for the race. By the time I got to the starting point, I was behind the 5km fun walk participants  who were flagged off about 1/2 hour before. 

I haven't ran for close to 2 weeks because I was down with a bug. I am still at the tail-end and it made the running this morning quite tough. Coupled with the haze, I could barely feel my lungs. I wonder whether I had completely given back all the mileage that I have been building up over the last 2 months. How was I going to do the two long races that I have signed up for in the coming months? It was silly to be overthinking this. I resorted to walking a couple of time. I read somewhere that there is no shame in walking. Better that than blacking out! The freedom wings that I had on my shoe clearly did not help my feet fly, or perhaps it was because I put them the wrong way round (I sorted that out when I got home so thag I could take a photo for this post). 

Slowly but surely I arrived at the prison complex. I have never been so happy to see Changi Prison. Yet it was a solemn moment when I saw the formidable dark grey walls and the white steel gates, made more dramatic by the dark clouds. Inside these gates are stories of many broken people and broken homes. There is a stark difference between life behind those walls and the outside world. Yet there are people who have to pass through these 2 worlds regularly - the prisoners' family members who visit them and those who work here. I wonder how they reconcile the 2. 

Very much like my run today I am reminded that ex-offenders face challenges getting back to nomalcy.  There can be a lot of self-doubt and overwhelming fears. They have hopes to catch up on lost time, yet they have to be patient and kind to themselves when faced with the harsh realities of life. And so we are all reminded that everyone deserves a second chance in life. We are reminded that ex-offenders should not be made to face a second prison when they have already served their time.

I am also reminded that by the grace of God we too are given a second chance. No matter what our offences or how thick the walls that separated us from Him, God made a way to reconcile us with Himself.