Running Routes: To Mandai, and Le Grand Route

My previous running routes post was on Rifle Range Road.

In it, I mentioned an offroad trail that links up to the Belukar Trail on the eastern edge of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Today, I will mention a very popular offroad cycling route that is incidentally, also good for runners.

The aforementioned Belukar Trail is an offroad cycling trail and it links up north with the Chestnut Trail. The Chestnut Trail proceeds beneath the Zhenghua flyover and from Chestnut Avenue, into the deep woods. It eventually links up with the Gangsa Trail near the Gali Batu flyover and joins up with Track 15. Track 15 connects to Mandai Road, near the Singapore Zoo.

This trail is well-known to bikers in Singapore. You can read more here and here.

Notes:

If running, always be aware that you are sharing the trail with cyclists. That means that for safety reasons, you should be mindful of your surroundings. Ipod runners need not apply.

Belukar Trail connects to Zhenghua Park near the Zhenghua flyover. To get onto the Chestnut Trail, you must turn onto Chestnut Avenue and proceed until you reach the trail head at Meeting Point 4. Ignore the asphalt track that leads into Zhenghua Park and continues on to the Bukit Panjang Park Connector.

The W(ood)cutter's Trail, a nature trail, starts near Meeting Point 4. [pardon the leet, as this is meant to forestall would-be animal/bird trappers].

The Gangsa Trail is remote. It's best not to run (or cycle) alone if you are single and a female.

The Gangsa Trail is also long, and not particularly easy to run. It's meant for *bikers* after all. Bear this in mind if you are a casual runner.

You may encounter wildlife during your runs. Act sensibly. I have seen both monkeys and jungle fowl on my runs [well, it could just have been a regular rooster, but I didn't see any farms nearby].


And now, for what I term rather grandiosely (or pretentiously) Le Grand Route.

Taken together with all of my previous posts on the running routes that I have documented, what we have now is a remarkable result.

It is now possible to traverse as much as one fifth of the island contiguously on foot, running mostly on off-road trails, park connectors, quiet roads and estates. Only a small portion of the running routes requires running on pavement alongside heavily trafficked major roads.

This area that amounts to a fifth of the island stretches as far west as Jurong Birdpark, northwest to Dairy Farm Road, north to Mandai, northeast to Thomson, and southwards to Harbourfront.


To recap from my previous posts:

Jurong Birdpark is linked to the Chinese Garden via the Jurong Park Connector, which in turn links to the Ulu Pandan Park Connector at the PIE near IMM (see Running Routes: Buona Vista to the Chinese Garden).

The Ulu Pandan Park Connector extends into the Bukit Batok area, connects to the Hillview Park Connector, Dairy Farm Road and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is linked via Rifle Range Road to the whole of Macritchie Reservoir Park, and east to Thomson (see Running Routes: Rifle Range Road).

As mentioned above, the Belukar Trail of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve can extend as far north as Mandai Road through extensions on the Chestnut and Gangsa Trails, and on Track 15.

At the other end of the Ulu Pandan Park Connector, the park connector wends behind the International Business Park, through the Clementi/Sunset Way area, then wraps back upon itself at Buona Vista MRT Station (see Running routes: Buona Vista Loop).

At Buona Vista MRT Station, runners can take the Dempsey Loop which encompasses the Holland V. and Tanglin V. areas, with possible extensions to the Botanic Gardens (see Running routes: Dempsey Loop).

Alternatively, from Buona Vista MRT Station, runners can easily reach nearby Biopolis, exit from its rear onto Portsdown Road, which takes runners directly into Wessex Estate (see Running routes: Wessex Estate).

Exiting Wessex Estate from its southern end, runners can then cross (via an overhead bridge) the AYE to reach Science Park I, Technology Crescent, and then enter Kent Ridge Park, gateway to the Southern Ridges (see Running Routes: Southern Ridges).

Running Routes: Rifle Range Road

I mentioned Rifle Range Road in Running Routes: Buona Vista Loop.

Rifle Range Road is a rather special road for runners (and cyclists). If you look up Rifle Range Road in the street directory, you will see that it ends in a cul-de-sac.

In actual fact, the end of the road leads directly into the western end of Macritchie Reservoir Park. Hence, from the end of Rifle Range Road, it is possible to access the numerous trails within Macritchie Reservoir Park and reach, among many other places, the HSBC Treetop Walk, Jelutong Tower, the famous zig-zag bridge, and the Thomson area east of Macritchie Reservoir.

I won't say anything further about these trails as there is ample information available out there on Macritchie Reservoir Park and I am certain the area is also familiar to many runners. In addition, Rifle Range Road is a single road without junctions or turn-offs, so there is no possibility of getting lost. I have some notes though, that may be interest to runners.

Notes:

There are some small off-road trails such as the Kampung Trail and Durian Loop in the copse off Rifle Range Road. These are small, insignificant local trails that eventually lead to Jalan Kampung Chantek just in front of Murnane Service Reservoir.

These trails are not worth bothering with unless you are hunting for wild durians, rambutans, longans and the odd wild jackfruit or chempedak.

You will pass by two army camps along Rifle Range Road as well as go along a flyover. You will see the company "Advanced Materials Engineering" at the end of the road.

You may see monkeys. As always, don't feed them. Doing so will encourage aggressive behaviour.

The road is steep in some sections, so be prepared for some hill work.

You may catch sight of a dirt trail leading around the perimeter of Murnane Reservoir and then trailing off into the woods just off Rifle Range Road. This leads to a narrow strip of clearing that runs between the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the BKE. Very close by is the Belukar Track and further north, the Chestnut Track of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve [More in a future post].

In addition, as mentioned in Running Routes: Buona Vista Loop, Rifle Range Link just off Rifle Range Road (nearer the Dunearn Road end) allows access to the heart of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

Running Routes: Buona Vista to the Chinese Garden

I have a previous post on the Buona Vista Loop.

There was one point in that post where I mentioned that it is possible to deviate from the Buona Vista Loop to reach Jurong East and the Chinese Garden.

This post will discuss exactly that.

From the massive overhead bridge across the PIE on the Jurong East side, there will be a sign indicating where the two ends of the adjoining park connector lead to.

The park connector end that connects to the AYE (2.1 km) and from thence to Buona Vista MRT Station (an additional 4.5 km) has been discussed in a previous post.

The other end of the park connector leads to Jurong West (5.5 km).

The park connector basically runs south beneath the North-South MRT line to near Jurong East MRT Station.

The connector will then deviate from the MRT line and go along Jurong Town Hall road, where you will eventually cross an overhead bridge and continue on to the Chinese Garden.

The connector will pass the rear entrance of the Chinese Garden (just opposite the Chinese Garden MRT Station).

From here, you may continue running along the park connector which will join up with the Jurong Park Connector. Along the way, the connector will be interrupted by construction work on the dredging works of Jurong Lake and several roads. The end-point is near Jurong Bird Park.

A more pleasant alternative (which I usually choose) is to run within the Chinese Garden (open 6:00am to 7:00pm).

Notes:

Bear in mind that these sections of the park connector are interrupted by roads and traffic junctions. It may not be immediately obvious where the connector picks up again until after you have crossed the road. Refer to the maps at the nparks website if unclear.

Running routes: Buona Vista Loop

This is my main training route. This training route is long and suitable for more experienced runners, but recreational runners can still use it by truncating it at suitable points.

More frequently called the Ulu Pandan park connector, I’ve extended and adapted this route. My description of the route follows. As always, it helps to have a street directory handy while you’re reading this.

The route starts at the eastern end of the Ulu Pandan park connector, just opposite the Buona Vista MRT station. The park connector is a popular running route and many people use it on most days.

Start running westwards on the connector along the canal. There are distance markings conveniently printed onto the tarmac if you need them. After 2 km, you will reach Clementi Road, which bisects the connector.

Step off the connector onto the sidewalk, turn right, and follow Clementi Road north. As you run, you’ll pass by SIM and Ngee Ann Polytechnic on your left and King Albert Park on your right. Eventually, you’ll reach the massive cross-junction where Clementi Road meets Bukit Timah Road.

Carefully avoid the traffic and continue running north onto Jalan Anak Bukit. The road should then veer to the northwest. You will pass by Bukit Timah Plaza and Beauty World Center on your left. Your objective is the intersection with Hindhede Road on your right.

That’s right, we’re headed towards Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Turn right onto Hindhede Road and follow the road upwards to the visitor’s center. Don’t feed the monkeys! At the carpark in front of the visitor’s center, you will see two dirt trails, one on your right (Senapang Link), and one on your left (Hindhede Way).

They’re both really biking trails, but I choose to ignore that, as do a few other runners. Pick one trail and follow it. The trail you pick will skirt either the eastern or western edge of the nature reserve, and join up with Dairy Farm Pass, which runs east-west along the northern edge of the nature reserve. There will be two exits on Dairy Farm Pass that lead north to Dairy Farm road. One exit is a very close to a large grassy clearing in front of a disused quarry massif.

The other exit is near the point where the cycling trail is bisected by a footpath and blocked on both sides by rails. Keep a lookout for the exits, otherwise you’ll make a complete loop and wind up back at the visitor’s center.

Take either one of the exits northwards and leave the nature reserve to reach Dairy Farm Road. Then turn left and run west towards the intersection of Dairy Farm Road and Upper Bukit Timah Road. Veer left onto Upper Bukit Timah Road and you will see an overhead bridge, the Salvation Army, and further on, the Rail Mall.

Cross the overhead bridge, run south past the Standard Chartered Bank, then turn right onto Hillview Road. There will be a park connector here. Keep running until you reach the circle, then turn left and continue south along Hillview Avenue.

This is a long stretch, and you will pass by several blocks of condos. Once you’re past the Petals condo, Hillview Avenue becomes Bukit Batok East Avenue 2. A short while after this, you’ll run past the entrance to Bukit Batok Nature Park on your left. Your objective is to reach the junction of Bukit Batok East Avenues 2 and 6.

Coming from the north, turn right onto Bukit Batok East Avenue 6. You want to run along the southern edge of East Avenue 6, so you will probably need to cross two traffic lights at the cross junction. Keep running westwards on East Avenue 6 until you reach the junction of Bukit Batok East Avenue 3.

Cross Bukit Batok East Avenue 3. You will immediately see the unmistakable black tarmac of a park connector that runs along East Avenue 6.

Step onto the connector and follow it. It will take you to the PIE and a massive ramped overhead bridge. Note the monsoon drain to your left. It empties into the Ulu Pandan Canal, as we shall soon see.

Cross the ramped bridge and you will see that the park connector continues.

Step onto the Ulu Pandan connector and turn right once you’re off the bridge. The Ulu Pandan Canal should be on your left.

[If you turn left, the park connector will take you to Jurong East and the Chinese Garden. More on that in a future post.]

Follow the connector until you reach Toh Guan Road East. You are now very near to the IMM shopping mall on your right. Retail therapy anyone?

Cross Toh Guan Road East.

The connector continues until it reaches Boon Lay Way. The Chevrons will be on your right. There’s a convenient fully stocked emart for all army goods if you’re a guy still doing NS.

Cross Boon Lay Way. Again, the connector continues, winding behind the International Business Park.

After a short distance, you will reach the AYE. There will be short section of disused railway track that crosses over the canal.

Take the track and cross over to the opposite side of the canal, where the connector continues again. You’ll start to notice lots of people running here.

Continue running (east) on the connector. You will pass beneath two flyovers, one MRT track and one pedestrian overhead bridge (with white tent-like awning).

If you’re interested, the pedestrian bridge will take you into the Sunset Way area and more to the point, the Clementi Arcade, where you can pick up an ice cream cone from the excellent Daily Scoop.

But I digress. If you continue on the connector, you will eventually reach Clementi Road.

Cross the road using the traffic lights on your left, or take the overhead bridge hidden behind the HDB blocks to your right, and you will be back where you were before. Run the last 2 km on the connector and you will return to the start point.

Total distance: approximately 14 miles or 22 km.

Notes:

The part of the park connector that stretches behind the International Business Park should be avoided after dark. It’s pretty deserted and lots of foreign construction workers frequent the area (empty beer bottles and discarded food).

Like most parks, the nature reserve should be avoided after dark or in the earliest part of the morning, especially for the ladies. It’s best to run with company. See this if you need further warning. That said, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem as the trails are available for use only from 7am to 7pm each day. And lots of cyclists use the bike trails on weekends.

The Nature Reserve Visitor Center is open daily from 8:30am to 6:00pm, although you might see rangers around the center from about 7am to 7pm. Ask for a map from the Visitor Center if you need one. There are toilet facilities and water coolers just behind the Visitor Center.

The trails in the nature reserve do not all conform to what you see in the free map provided by the Visitor Center, or in my description of the route. There are unmarked loops and trails, but generally speaking, as long as you proceed in the direction of the most trafficked route (obvious from the trail condition), you shouldn’t get lost. If in doubt, ask the other users of the trails.

As mentioned above, the trail part of the run is a biking trail, so run carefully as you will be sharing the trail with cyclists. That’s also another good reason not to run before first light.

Due to park regulations, cyclists are allowed to cycle in only one direction: north on Hindhede Way, east on Dairy Farm Pass, south on Belukar Track and west on Senapang Link. Keep this in mind as you will then know which direction from which to expect biking traffic. It’s generally safer to run against the traffic.

Running in the nature reserve is a real pleasure. Yes, you have to watch your footing and the slopes can be steep. But the forest is shady and the temperature within is at least two degrees cooler. Also, the view of the quarry massif is quite magnificent from the western edge of the nature reserve.

This route is mostly flat on the park connectors, but will encounter steep slopes along the bike trails, and also on certain sections such as the approach on Hillcrest Road and Dairy Farm Road. The section of Clementi Road is basically a series of rolling hills.

Feel free to reverse the course of the route. To enter the nature reserve from Dairy Farm Road, run east on the road until you reach the sign that says MOE Adventure Center. Take the first right turn into the vegetation immediately after this sign. You should see the clearing shortly after.

Turn right here after the sign to enter the nature reserve

[In fact, I prefer to run the reverse of this route, mainly because I run in the morning and reversing the route allows me to avoid most of the morning sun.]

There is yet another way to enter the nature reserve, and that is via Rifle Range Trail (just off Rifle Range Road). Rifle Range Trail joins up with Senapang Link along the bike trail. Running along Rifle Range Trail allows you to bypass Jalan Anak Bukit if you are are, like me, averse to breathing in exhaust fumes while running along a major road.

[Rifle Range Road comprises a running route on its own. More in a future post.]

This route is long, and I truncate it for most weekday runs. The easiest way to use this route is to restrict yourself to only the connector. Start running at the start point and follow the connector until it reaches the disused railway track at the AYE, then run back. This also happens to be most popular route for the residents of the area. The roundtrip distance is approximately 9 km.

Running routes: Southern Ridges

I wrote a previous post on my initial impressions on running the Southern Ridges.
This is the formal write-up on the running route.

The route starts at the end of Science Park Drive, just beside the Rutherford at Science Park I.

Take the path down to the rear of Normanton Park estate, and enter Kent Ridge Park near the pond.

Run straight in the park, and take the first turn on the left. Follow the path at it slopes up. Eventually, you will arrive at a signpost. Take the steps up to the look-out point.

The steps do not take you directly up to the look-out point, but instead onto Vigilante Drive. Turn left on Vigilante Drive, and run westwards. You should be able to see the Pasir Panjang wharves on your right.

Take the left fork when you meet a junction while running on Vigilante Drive. Follow the path as it slopes downwards. You will reach a path into the woods.

Take the path into the woods until you see a signpost pointing the way to the canopy walk. Here, you have a choice. You can either run straight ahead, taking the steps down to Hortpark. Or you can take a detour onto the canopy walk.

Assuming you take the canopy walk, you should see the nurseries of Hortpark, and the winding path you will eventually take later.

When you exit the canopy walk from its western exit, Reflections at Bukit Chandu should be directly in front of you. Turn right, and you will notice a sign pointing the way to Hortpark. Do NOT turn left as that will take you to Pepys Road and you will leave the Southern Ridges.

Follow the way down to the winding path you saw just now. Along the way, there's a good example of a tree overtaken by a strangler fig.

Keep going until you reach Hortpark proper.

Your goal is to reach the western exit of Hortpark, and you can do so anyway you wish. Run either on the main road past the exhibits in Hortpark, or run on the edge of Hortpark along Canterbury Road and the big old black-and-white bungalows.

Once you exit Hortpark, you will reach Alexandra Bridge.

Get onto the bridge. From here, the way is straightforward along the metal walkway, so I won’t supply instructions. A few things to note:

A durian tree near Alexandra Bridge is a favorite sight among visitors. It’s surprising how many people haven’t seen a real durian tree before.

What looks like an amazing apartment building is visible at one point along the walkway. I wonder how the view is like from the penthouses at the apex of the arch.

The earth trail wends its way beneath the walkway. It is possible to run along the earth trail, although probably not very easy to do so. The trail is steep, and not especially well maintained, and you will probably be gawked at from above. Nobody takes the earth trail though, so you will have lots of space.

Following the metal walkway will bring you to the shoulder of Mount Faber, where you can follow signs pointing the way along Telok Blangah Green to Henderson Waves. Henderson Waves is possibly the most popular place among Singaporeans. Some people have their picnics here.

After Henderson Waves, you will reach Mount Faber Loop. Follow the road upwards, towards the summit of Mount Faber. Eventually, you will reach a small café, and you will see the hordes of tourists that have been bused up to Faber Point for the views.

Take a look at the views from Faber Point and see if you’d like to check it out yourself.

Continue along Mount Faber loop westwards past the Jewel Box and the cable car station.

You will soon reach the Marang Trail. Take the Marang Trail and exit near Harbourfront MRT Station.

Notes:

The total distance is approximately 9 km.

The route is not easy; rolling hills probably describes it best. You will spend a lot of time climbing up and down slopes.

The steep sections are climbing up to Vigilante Drive from Kent Ridge Park, the earth trail as it goes up to the shoulder of Mount Faber, Mount Faber Loop up to Faber Point, and the Marang Trail if you are ascending Mount Faber from Harbourfront MRT station. The Marang Trail is the real killer: it’s essentially one long staircase truncated at a few points.

Lots of people walk the Southern Ridges between Alexandra Arch and Henderson Waves during the day. Plan your run at quieter times early in the morning if you’re going to use this route. As a consideration to pedestrians, I can’t really say I would recommend this route to runners as it is just too crowded with people, especially on weekends.

Points of road entry and exit along the Southern Ridges are at Science Park I, Vigilante Drive, Alexandra Road, Preston Road, Telok Blangah Green, Mount Faber Loop and Marang Road.

There is one entry point I have not been able to confirm: it’s a staircase at one point along Mount Faber Loop between Faber Point and Henderson Waves. I’ve never taken it, but I believe that it leads to Telok Blangah Way.