The Death of a Fun Run (updated)

in Finally the day came. Two company recreational clubs (rec clubs) locked horns on their annual sports friendly. One of the 10 events is cross-country. However the victor would be the winning team out of the majority of the 10 games. No prizes for indivitual winners.
This fun run was meant to generate participation & held on the relatively undemanding 3km female route at MacRitchie Reservior. However the weather was less than kind & opened it's gates. Runners were treated to a mud bath on the lower half of their bodies & so will be their shoes. I was reluctant to even start this run. No prize, no glory & all fun.

Off we went, starting half an hour later for the weather to clear, but the ground was still a pig's haven. We started from the parade square carpark. 2 of the opposition team runners took the lead at an easy pace. Once we hid the dirt trails or rather mud trails, I assessed the condition & looked at my pristine shoes. It's only 500m away from the start, I was following the fast pair with ease & I was not even red lining, unlike other similar races. Then I closed my eyes & stopped. No way am I going to risks an injury on the slippery trails or dip my shoes into the mud puddles. I walked back against the flow of runners, who were bewildered at my decision, I just smiled. I've never dropped out from a race before. But wait a min, this is just a fun run & I stopped voluntarily. On my way back I learnt to appreciate nature from a different view.

The winner completed in 18min30sec over 3.5km. I smile again, knowing that I'm capable of 17min-ish. But I'm clean.

Aftermath:
When the results were released, if I came in first (which also meant knocking the other runners down by a position each), both teams would had tied on points. Which goes to show that my team needs me. LOL