By thelonelyrunner:

Exactly 12 months ago, SGRunners was created with passion. It was born as a toddler, which struggle to crawl and walk, and now SGRunners are running, and maybe one day SGRunners will be flying.

SGRunners have gone through different episodes of incidents, but largely it was those cherish and happy moments that were really treasured by the members. I am really glad and happy to have each member to be part of SGRunners, which was soo unexpectedly to be filled with fun and loving people who have great passions on running.

SGRunners started off when I used to participate in running competitions or go for my own running adventures; I will see runners running on their own most of the time. Runners coming from different age, gender, race and size sharing the same common passion. I always get motivated to see runners. Each one of the runners out there is my source of inspiration, regardless of speed and sizes. Felt inspired.

Questions start to pop in. Is running an anti-social sports? Why can’t we enjoy the sports together? Why can’t we share the same passion that we have? But the thing is how?

I started off with creating my running blog called the lonely runner in late 2003 – early 2004. I log in my running adventures sooo frequently and update any upcoming events that are happening in Singapore. I was selected as blogger of the week in the late 2004 which was featured in Computer Times. That was a stepping stone of how I get to know other Singapore running bloggers, where they visited my blog. With the Visitor Counter in my blog, I can track down who have linked to my blog. And that’s where I drop by and say hi. Other than that, I always do search on Singapore Running Blogs to get to know other bloggers.

In early 2004, after Tsunami Incident, I did a 24 hours charity run, which was featured in the news. I get to know more and more and more runners from there. And that’s where the social circle of runners started to grow. I introduced those whom I know to each other. I was soo glad that the friendships among the runners are still bonded together till right now, and they are still here in SGRunners. You know who you are!

Since the numbers of running bloggers are growing, it will be great to have a platform to gather all the running bloggers. Since we have tomorrow.sg to gather all the Singaporean blogger, it will be great to have one for Singapore runners too. I listed down all the runners blog in http://sgrunners.blogspot.com . You can still see the old logo over there.

The purpose of having the list of running blogs is to motivate and be inspired when reading these blog. You will be surprised that a non-runner gets motivated as they read your blog. And you have created a spark for their new burning passion. And as they are motivated, you will get motivated too. Running blog is a blessing for others.

I created a forum for the bloggers to discuss and update each other on running which was not the main feature of the website. At that time, there were about 10 to 20 members, which already make me sooo happy. It is hard to market your forum in Singapore, especially on running. I went to a few running forums created by Singaporeans, but it was a ghost town. Therefore, I didn’t expect that much with the forum I created. Never expect that it will survive at all. It may end up as a ghost town one day. But, I was wrong! It grown tremendously and it is still growing with a lot of new members to my great surprise. Never expect it at all.

As it grows, Carine, advised to shift the website to a new server, as the one I had are those free ones, unstable and very low memory. The moderators agreed with the idea and Carine assisted me to move the forum to where we are right now.

The main purpose of this SGRunners to gather all the running blogs have shifted to be an online running forum for Singaporeans instead. Furthermore, most of the runners who logged in are not bloggers. That’s when we changed the name from Singapore Running Bloggers Community to SGRunners.COM. Simple and nice!

And SGRunners are growing and it still growing. We grow through thick and think together! Why? The reason is YOU! Yes, to each one of you in SGRunners! SGRunners is about you! That is why, I must say thank you to all of you, if possible, I would want to say thank you each time you logged in to the forum! Without you SGRunners will be another ghost town. I really appreciate your presence making SGRunners interesting each day. It is sooo interesting that I am having a hard time to keep up with the posts in the forum. I guessed all of you will agree with me.

SGRunners are not only confined to the forum. Each time we have gatherings or run-together, SGRunners will never be out of topic. They will talked and talked and talked non-stop that they wish they never be apart! It was soooo exhilarating to see the strong bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood of runners in this forum.

My wish for SGRunners is to continue having a strong bond of brotherhood and sisterhood of runners and may SGRunners grow gracefully. Thank you soo much SGRunners for the support that you gave!

To the hardworking moderators, to the members and to the Siao Garang Runners, a BIG THANK YOU!

Happy 1st Anniversary and a Happy SGRunners Day!

More photos at Kodak Gallery