National Runway Cycling & Skating

2008 National Runway Cycling and Skating organised by SAFRA and PLAB was held at PLAB runway this morning. And i was one of the fortunate few RSAF medics involved in the cover for this event. We were basically deployed out in the runway in seperate First Aid post, each far apart. Me and Jeremy were paired for post 8, which was situated somewhere in the mids of the runway.

The day before when we gathered at the medical centre for briefing and recee of the ground, which happened to be my first time entering a runway, i realised how large a runway was. Basically when our minibus took off for the runway, driving from one end to the other to show us our various first aid post, i was shocked to know its size. I could hardly see the end of the runway and i felt as though the bus was going to take off into the air as it sped down the runway. We were briefed of all sorts of possibilities in terms of types of casualities, major or minor and hence it was our responsibility to keep on a constant lookout.

This morning, we all assembled at the medical centre at 6am sharp. I woke up at 5am, which was very very early. Upon arrival, we had our arrival, a quick last brief and off we went to the various allocations. Just before we were deployed, there was a quick rain which sort of cooled down the area but soon enough, the sky was cleared and the sun rose as usual. Standing in the mids of the vast runway, i could roughly spot the carnival tentages and estimate the crowd. All our first aid points were unshelthered which means we stood in the middle of the runway with our stores only, braving any sort of weather that torments. I believe that there could be a higher chance for us to get heat injury than any of the cyclist or skaters.

At 8.30am, the sun was up and everyone gathered at the starting point. The ground was just starting to warm up. As the GOH flagged off the participants, i see a big flock of them raced off from the starting point. The race had 3 categories - family route (shortest), leisure route (15km) and endurance route (>50km). Me and jeremy witnessed them cycled past us. Cyclists and skaters of all sorts, competitive and non. We even spotted familiar faces. The event was grand.

Soon enough, it was around 11am. The sun was almost directly and vertically above us. We were all sweating like pigs. All the participants ended their tour around 11.30am and we were all asked to stand down. A minibus came to pick us up from various deployment grounds and we were back to the medical centre where lunch and a small debrief beckoned.

In summary, i think it was really a great experience for me. Not only is it my first time entering an airbase runway but also my first time covering a big public event where i had the chance to attend to and interact with the civilian casualties of all ages (fortunately for me, they were all of minor bruising and abrasions) which i do not have the opportunity to in camp. I even attended to a 7 year old girl for cuts and abrasions. Seeing smiles of gratitute from the people we attended to gives us a genuine sense of satisfaction.