Kuching Marathon 2015

For the second year in a row, I flew all the way to East Malaysia for the Kuching Marathon this past August. It's also my second event after the Reach Out Run 2015 just before Ramadhan; which probably means I've reached my annual quota. Haha.

Anyway, this time around I had some other drama that pretty much ruined the whole trip for me. I had booked a room at Pullman (a hotel I really like because of the convenient location and service standards), but as I was driving to the airport, I received a call from their staff to say that they had "technical issues". She was spouting something about water supply being disrupted, but as I eventually found out, these were just LIES to cover up the fact that they had overbooked the rooms.

So their proposal was to transfer my reservation to another hotel for the first night only. I protested and tried to look for other alternatives, but I just couldn't find better options. As such, I had to put up at another hotel, which wasn't that bad, but was in the middle of nowhere. So after my arrival, I could only stay in the room watching TV and later on had my "carbo-loading" meal at a mamak place. Ugghhh.

Anyway, the morning of the event, Pullman did send a van to pick me up along with my stuff to the hotel. After leaving my bag at the concierge, I walked to the Start line to see a good crowd waiting for the 10km to start.

Overall, the run was more or less the same as what we went through last year. The weather was good, and the route was pretty flat, except for a bridge or two.

 I did a decent time, and the medal was definitely nice and unique.

After the run, I went back to Pullman, BUT they couldn't check me in yet, and I still had to wait till 2pm. Double ugghhhh.... I went to the pool area for a shower and with aching limbs and all, had to go out to "jalan-jalan" and kill time before I could get a room.

After finally checking in, I was just too annoyed to enjoy the rest of the stay. I watched a bit of footie at night and by the time I reached the Top Spot seafood place, the stalls were closed!

Ah well, I guess it's time to "retire" from this event. Thanks for the memories, Kuching Marathon!

Reach Out Run 2015

It was some 10 months ago that I last entered a running event, I.e.: the Kuching International Marathon. And to be honest, I've not done that much cardio since then too, focusing more on weight training. But recently, I did a work event collaboration with IM4Ufm, and since I follow them on social media, I came across their post on this event about a month plus ago. Thinking it'd be good fun, and that I'd have enough time to "train", I signed up for the 5km Fun Run (nak gelak lah tu!).

As it turned out, I only managed a few runs these past couple of weeks, which was kickstarted when I was in Perth for the school holidays. But really, what's the worst that could happen? Walking the whole route? Nothing wrong with that! Hehe.

And so this past Sunday, I made my way to Putrajaya for the event. It was already drizzling when I left the house and it got heavier when I reached the event venue. So, many of us took shelter at one of the buildings and did our stretching there. You can also imagine that it was a pretty cool day, which is just the complete opposite to how humid Putrajaya usually get.

The 10km run was flagged off right on time at 7.30am and then it was time for the Fun Run at 7.45am, which was also participated by the Youth & Sports Minister, YB Khairy.

The route was pretty straight forward and flat. We started at the Palace of Justice, got on to the bridge near PICC, made a u-turn, then ran straight back to where we began. I did an OK time, although it's nowhere near my personal best.

It was also great to bump into quite a few of my ex-Media Prima colleagues there. Overall, a well-organised event that also handed out a nice medal and goodie bag. Well done all!

The Teach First Challenge 10k Run 2012

Teach First is "an independent charity with a mission to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into inspirational, effective teachers and leaders in all fields". And as part of its 10-year anniversary, a 10k Run, its first ever, was held this past Sunday, 23rd September 2012.

I had signed up for the event a couple of weeks before I got to London, and I was just excited to be part of it. I left my apartment around 7.20am that morning and made my way to the London Bridge tube to head to Waterloo. Registration was at the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, the first time I had ever been there, really.

I had anticipated a bit of a problem since I did not get my race pack earlier (they had mailed it to my apartment but I never got it), but all was sorted in a jiffy as I was given the timing chip and run t-shirt (cotton!)

Although the number of participants was first advertised as 3,000 people, the post-event email actually said there were only around 1,300 runners that morning with many pullouts. No matter, it was still a fun atmosphere on a chilly morning nevertheless.

After dropping off my bag, I then made my way to the nearby bridge where the group warmup was being done. The Southbank of course has various iconic landmarks including the Royal Festival Hall itself and the London Eye.

Runners were then segregated into the expected finish time, although I doubt everyone was being 100% honest. Hehe.

I was feeling rather good before the run, despite not having the proper pre-race preparations; good sleep, energy food etc. But I HAVE been running almost every other day and getting used to colder temperatures, so I was kind of confident of clocking a good time.

The route itself was rather interesting. And pretty strange. As advertised, it was mainly flat throughout, but as you can see below, we went past several bridges along the Thames which also meant we had to go up and down stairs, and in and out of tunnels.

We also had to negotiate narrow paths and back lanes, not really ideal for big events, but it was OK for this one, I guess. The weather was good on us as well. It was cloudy throughout with a bit of sun and the temperature was around 10c (but it did rain just as we finished the run).

The first water station came at the 6km mark (VERY late if it was a typical Malaysian event), but it was fine for that morning. I maintained a good pace throughout and finished with a 10km personal best of 64mins. Hurrah!

Overall, a well-organised event with good atmosphere and a very friendly feel. The medal's not bad either : ) On a personal note, hope I can maintain or improve on this pace when I get back to hot and humid Malaysia!

Kunang2 September Issue

The September Issue of lifestyle magazine Kunang2 is out and it has an article featuring yours truly : )

Interestingly, the story was written by the assistant editor Raja Azuni, who was my classmate in uni. What a small world! Just click on the pics to read...

I Ran The British 10k London Run 2012!

Ah, where do I even begin? Five days after the event, I can still feel the buzz, the excitement, and the profound mix of emotions. Yup, it was that good.Well, at least for me : )

Anyway, I arrived in London on Friday evening. Didn't do much for the rest of the day though. But Saturday was a different story altogether. I went out very early in the morning, and from Edgware Road (where I was staying), I walked over to Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and all the way to Trafalgar Square to pick up the race pack.

A couple of learnings here: never do any major sightseeing a day before a running event, cos my legs were really, really wonky by the end of the day, and, Onitsuka Tigers weren't made for walking. Yup, somehow my highcut Onitsukas were really "eating" into my ankles, and I ended up in quite a bit of pain : (

And oh, it was also apparent that the London weather was going to make the event a rather wet one, if not a total washout. Temperature was around 15c. I had never ran in such conditions before, so I had to adjust my mental preparation (serious business, this).

I probably woke up at 4am on event day. Jetlagged, but I was also raring to go. At 6am, I went out to the nearby McDonald's to have some coffee and a bagel. Got back, took a shower and made myself some peanut butter sandwiches. THEN, I felt tired. Haha! Yup, all the travelling and walking were already taking a toll on me.

No matter. I suited up, and went out at 8am. Took the tube from Edgware Road and got out at Piccadilly Circus. Then, it was just a short walk downhill to Waterloo Place where the baggage bays were. The place was already buzzing, although not much different from any other local event.

I didn't bring any baggage as all I needed were in my SPIbelt, so I did what I usually do: find the mobile toilets to pee!

By that time, it was already gloomy and soon, it began to rain. And this led to a tactical mistake. Hah! I basically took shelter at one of the buildings nearby without realising that runners were already making their way to the Start line at Wellington Arch. And I was still loitering around at 9am, waiting for God knows what! When I realised it was time to make a move, I knew I had already been left far behind.

And as a result, and it took me 38 MINUTES to get to the Start line. Yes, 38 minutes! In fact, after 30 minutes the gun went off, the emcee said over the PA system: "For those still queueing to start, have a look at the big screens, some of the elite runners have already finished their run!" Haha. Funny.

But something even worse happened. Despite going twice before, I was bursting to pee, a few hundred metres from the Start line. I was in agony, but there was nowhere for me to go. I thought of wetting my compressions, but I didn't think people would be too amused.

So as I crossed the Start line, my mind was on looking for an alley, or a bush, for me to unload. BUT my pace was rather good. And instantly too I knew this event was different and special as we had spectators on both sides of the road to cheer us on.

After 2kms, there was still no luck for me as far as bushes-to-pee was concerned. We then passed Trafalgar Square and turned left into Embankment. That's where I saw this sign that said: "You Are Saving Lives". Wow, I almost shed a tear. I knew the sign was for some other charity runners, but as all participants also contribute to various charities through the fees, I felt a swelling sense of pride. What a Wow moment that was.

Then, I had my life saved, as I saw the toilets along Embankment on the left hand side! I zipped across, inserted one pound into the machine (and didn't even bother about the 50p change), and quickly found a urinal. Then... NOTHING HAPPENED! I had held it in too long that I just couldn't pee. Incredible. But I still stood there and teran-ed until I finally unloaded.

That pee break had taken me more than 2 minutes, and oh, it had also started to rain! Quite hard. To be honest, by that point, I hadn't even noticed the "scenic route". We were running along the River Thames past the London Eye, but I just had my head down, drenched, and just concentrating on my stride and breathing in the 15c temperature.

The dry fit tee and compression pants were getting a tad heavier as well. But I was still happy with my pace. We then got a respite as we ducked into a tunnel as we made our way up a flyover to make a u-turn. In fact, we made two u-turns.

Oh, it must be said that the water management on that day was superb, although everyone was given full bottles at every stop, so there might have been some wastage there.

Anyway, after the second u-turn which was after the 5km mark, we got back on the Embankment road, and before we got downhill, I finally took a good look at the River Thames and the surrounding area. Wow, I thought, I really am running in London.

It was a straight road ahead at Embankment but while my running was ok, the iPhone suddenly died! Oh, man. I was sure I was on pace for a personal best, so it was a major bummer if nothing was recorded at all. As it turned out, when I switched on the iPhone again later, it had in fact recorded all the data right up to that point. Phew!

I had passed 6.5km at that point, and I remember the sincere look of this woman as she handed me a water bottle and said: "Good job! Not too far now...". Thank you lady, whoever you are!

The Big Ben was within sight then as we turned left and on to the Westminster bridge. We ran three quarter of the bridge and made a u-turn. It marked the 8th km of the run. The temptation to walk then started to play with my mind, until I saw a sign near Westminster Abbey that said: "Don't stop, people are watching". Damn Brits.

But seriously, with the Nike+ Running app gone, I didn't have the aid of a distance guide and I could swear that the last 2kms were longer than just that! The 9km marker came at Victoria Street and I was just chugging along. Thought I had a final turbo boost somewhere, but apparently there was none.

But the cheers were louder that last km. I steadied myself and dashed to the Finish line at Whitehall in style (at least, in my own mind). I had done it. The rain, the cold, the long pee break, the technology breakdown; I got through them all to complete a mission 10,000kms away from home.

Then I felt a tinge of sadness. Spent and satisfied, there was no one for me to share it with. The phone had died and I couldn't even SMS home with the news. How I wished there was just one single person I could talk to at that point in time.

When I got back to the apartment later and switched on the iPhone, I discovered that I had done my Personal Best for 1km, 1mile and 5km. And the official time later on would confirm another Personal Best; 1hr 13.01mins for the whole 10km.

Overall, it was simply an experience that money can't buy for me. The event itself was well-organised, although I didn't quite enjoy the queue for the commemorative t-shirt.

I took the train back to the apartment; clothes already dried by this time. For a guy who started running last year, and who weighed 92.5kgs then, I hadn't done too bad, I thought.

The best moment of the event for me? It has to be that sign. "You Are Saving Lives"...

The British 10K In London: Here I Come!

Yup, in case you didn't know, I will be one of the expected 25,000 runners at this year's British 10k London Run, dubbed the "greatest 10k event on the planet". Yeah, I can imagine your reaction. "Shit, jauhnya pergi lari?" Trust me, that's MY own reaction when I'm reminded of my participation.

It all started in February this year. I had bought a magazine called "Men's Running", and there it was, a full-page ad for the event. I then mentioned it to wifey, expecting a "merepek jelah" reaction. But instead, she was full of encouragement!

My pitch to her? This year's event is extra special as it's the Golden Jubilee Olympic Year, and it is indeed one of those once-in-a-lifetime things. I got the green-light rather quickly, and a couple of days later, I went online and registered myself, paying GBP50 (RM250) for a confirmed place in the event.

The thing is, I had planned to go for the Gold Coast Marathon this year, so I had to recalculate the logistics and budget altogether. Needless to say, it costs a tad more to go to the UK than Australia, but OKlah, God's blessed me with good rezeki this year : )

So here I am, just THREE days before I leave for London, and FIVE days before the run itself.

I must say though that the run-up has been far from smooth for the organisers. Just a glance at its facebook page and you'll see a large number of runners having problems like not receiving their race packs yet, no timing chips included for some and confusion continues on whether runners are allowed to wear their charity vests instead of the event t-shirts with numbers already printed on them.

I've been anxious myself until I received an email a few days ago informing me that as an overseas entrant, my race pack will be waiting for me at the Trafalgar Hilton on Saturday. Phew!

Now I just have to figure out what to wear; compression or no compression? Do I need to layer up? Sunday's weather is expected to be sunny with a high of 20deg celcius, but you know London lah, very unpredictable...

But the most important question for me is; do I run for a good timing, or do I run leisurely to soak in the sights and atmosphere? It's a tough one for me, really. Hehe. I fully intend on taking photos and tweet while running the "iconic route", but if conditions are good, why not try for a good timing?

Good thing is, I have a few more days to figure this out. But hey, if you're friends with me on fb, be sure to check out my progress there! They have this cool feature that would allow you to track my timing and even post comments for me, which will then be displayed on giant screens along the route. Just be sure to mind your language, ya?

For more info on the run, click HERE

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012: The Mother Of All 10k Battles (Sort Of)

The SCKLM was the second event I took part in last year after I first started running. Of course I ran the 5k Fun Run, and I still remember the excitement on that day; the very early morning preparation, the feeling of anticipation, and the run itself, which turned out to be pretty good for me.

I was a little ho-hum about this year's event and actually missed the "public registration" period. But since Media Prima has a special arrangement with the organisers, I submitted my name for the 10k under the corporate registration exercise. But here's the tricky bit; I could have sworn I clicked on the "10k Crusie" (for those expecting a time of 90mins), but when I got the race kit, I was mysteriously "upgraded" to "10k Speed" (for those expecting a time of 60mins -- which was never gonna happen for me, for now).

Plus, all the extra weight training has somewhat jumbled up my cardio routine. Ah well, I thought, no shame in finishing at the back of the pack. I might even get a better time running with all these speedsters. BUT, the stakes was somehow unexpectedly raised...

I am buddies with this rather awesome running group called TT Kuda Runners who are based at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa (FYI, even our national marathoner Shaharudin Hashim is part of this posse). And one of the group members is this dude known as "Kadok Kings", a really friendly guy who befriended me since my first running event in Putrajaya. Well, Kadok mentioned in the TT fb group that we had both had ran at Brooks and Newton this year, and the "score" was tied at 1-1. Suddenly, a "battle" was brewing!

I upped the stakes even further by putting up the pic above and dubbed this SCKLM as the "winner takes all" battle for the ages. Haha. I mean, people were talking about 40min 10k and the full marathons, and here we were, talking smack about our battle at the back of the pack. But in fact, the challenge rapidly drew interest from those who knew us. Yes, the pressure was on!

Anyway, I woke up at 3am on Sunday morning to, first and foremost, watch the Euro quarterfinal match between Spain and France. A yawner of a game, if I'm being honest. As usual, I gobbled down some peanut butter sandwiches for the much-needed energy and lots of water. Did a bit of stretching as well before taking a shower and suiting up for the run.

I left home around 5am, and it was actually drizzling along the way. Wah, a literally cool run this will be, I thought. Unlike last year where I made the rookie mistake of coming from the NPE and basically got stopped from getting into the city, resulting in my having to take two trains from Brickfields; this time I got in through MEX and straight on down to Jalan Ampang and parked somewhere near Kotaraya.

Then I walked towards Dataran Merdeka from Masjid Jamek, and saw that the Half Marathon folks were getting ready for their run.

I then continued my walk to the 10k starting point near Tugu Negara. By this time, I felt like wanting to pee continuously. I did exactly that twice along the way, and yet I still felt like I needed to go again. Even worse, I also started feeling like I needed to pass motion! It became rather desperate for me as the clock ticked towards 6.30am.

I blocked out all these unwanted urges and started to stretch again. And where was my "enemy" Kadok Kings? I didn't see him actually, and I honestly thought that the "battle" had fizzled out. I was in the middle of the pack and there was no way to see where he was with a few thousand other runners all around me. So I just recited the Al Fatihah, a short doa, and started my run as the gun went off.

The first km was pretty good. As we passed by the Carcosa turn-in, the breeze even felt icy-cold. Seriously! At 2kms, I saw someone in the distance that looked like Kadok from the back. But I wasn't really sure cos the dude was wearing a vest, and Kadok usually ran shirtless (you'd have to ask HIM why).

Then it was up the flyover passing the museum and down on to Jalan Bangsar in front of KL Hilton. My pace was quite good by my standards, and I was really enjoying the run. Then it was into Little India where the smell of curry became an instant distraction. But I didn't let up on my pace as we went down the turning into Federal Highway.

The first water station came at the 4km marker. I took a couple of gulps, and suddenly things changed for me. Strangely, instead of giving me a boost, I instantly felt a tad tired and sluggish. Maybe it's because I had to completely stop to grab the drink. But I did recover and got back on to my original pace.

THEN I saw him at the 5km mark! A shirtless Kadok running on his own. Whoa! The battle was back on, I thought. I pondered over whether I should "hide" myself or let him know I was around. Being a gentleman, I decided on the former. I ran past him and simply muttered, "Kadok". The look on his face when he realised it was me was simply priceless. "Adoi! Tetiba dia ada pulak!" he said (or something like that).

Things instantly got serious then.  At this point in time as well, I realised I was on pace for a Personal Best for a 10k. Not 10k event, but 10k flat for myself. My previous best was 1hr 18mins or thereabouts, and I was confident I could beat that time.

We went up the flyover past the old KTM station towards the Masjid Negara roundabout, and my first big test was just up front -- Bukit Aman! Going up the previous flyovers were a tad tricky, but this hill was gonna test me good. After Pusat Islam, the hill came and this was where I first started walking.

To be honest, I never looked back to see where Kadok was, but I could sense he was around. Halfway up the hill, I ran again, just to psycho him out (cos he knew hills were my weakness). One of Larian 40 Taman's main runners, Daud then suddenly came from nowhere and ran past me (he likes hills apparently, pfft). He pointed out Kadok to me and took a couple of pictures. I benefited from his tow but then he quickly disappeared.

We were in Lake Gardens now and as soon as the route became flat again, I re-started my run. We then passed by the 10k Leisure and 5k Fun Run folks near Tugu Negara. Damn it, these peeps haven't even started? I mean, the sun was already burning then!

Anyway, upfront was the next water station at 7km. But nooo, I didn't want to hurt my momentum again and didn't stop for a drink. Instead, I grabbed one cup from one of the volunteer's outstretched arm, but probably consumed only a couple of drops of the water before throwing it away. Kadok would later tell me that he had planned on stopping for a drink and breaking open his powergel but abandoned his plan when he saw me not stopping. Haha.

Then it was straight past Bank Rakyat and to the roundabout. And guess who I saw there at the 8km marker? Kadok's wife!! Who sportingly took this pic...

I started walking for a bit after that, but opposite DBKL, I basically kicked into another gear. Which didn't last long, really. I still didn't look back, but I knew Kadok wasn't too far behind.

When we reached the 9km marker, the Nike + told me my pace and I instantly smiled. I was on pace for that 10k Personal Best. We then made the u-turn at Pertama and was on the home stretch on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. And a few hundred metres later, we got to 10km, and I would have done my best for the distance so far.

At that point, that was all that mattered to me. BUT the run wasn't finished yet. I figured there must be another at least 800 metres to the finish line (God damnit!), and the Mother of all 10k Battles was still ongoing.

But I did notice that unlike last year when there were all sorts of bands and cheering squads, cheering us on for this entire stretch, they were disappointingly missing this year. I remembered getting a last-gasp adrenaline rush as we ran to the cheers of this lot. So that was a bit of a downer really. Instead I had to depend on Katy Perry's "Firework" on repeat for the same effect.

I still didn't look back then, but just before we got to the old Mahkamah Sesyen and with only a few hundred metres to go, Kadok actually overtook me! Holy smokes! I then had to make a decision; to simply let it go, or find something in me to make a mad dash for it. I chose to make a mad dash for it.

And for the last 300 metres, there we were, making a mad dash for the finish line, just like school kids at the padang trying to outdo each other. It was mental. It was childish. But it was nothing less than freaking awesome.

Every bit of my body was shaking like hell as I ran beyond the permissible level. But probably with 50 metres to go, Kadok actually gave up and stopped. The momentum carried me forward, but I then stopped as well. We caught our breaths, and seeing how close things were, I waited for Kadok, and we crossed the finish line together.

It was a draw. An honourable, and memorable draw.

We shook hands and paid each other compliments. I looked at my iPhone and saw that I had clocked 1hr 20mins for the 10.8km. Which meant, my pace of 7.25 was the best I had ever done for a 10k. Better than the Borneo Marathon, and definitely better than Brunei.

After taking our goodie bags, we then wandered off on our own for a bit before meeting up again near the old Mahkamah Sesyen to wait for the other awesome runners of TT Kuda. People who knew us were anxious to know the result of our battle, and we were happy to tell the story.

No, we didn't run the Full Marathon or even the Half, but we were two not-so-speedy men pushing ourselves beyond our limits. And what an amazing feeling that was...

Run For Tuan Senang Besar at SCKLM

It's now less than one week to this year's Standard Chartered KL Marathon. Another record-breaking number of entrants are expected again and the buzz is nicely building up.

A big number of runners that I know make this THE main event on their own running calendars. It could be their only event or the perfect occasion to record their Personal Best. Whatever it is, it's always interesting to read post-event stories on why people run the SCKLM.

This year, one of my friends and ex-colleague, Lotfi, along with many of us will be running in memory of our late friend, Kharis @ Tuan Senang Besar.

I've blogged about arwah before and what happened to him HERE.

Lotfi has also set up a page that collects donation for NASOM (The National Autism Society of Malaysia). Please visit the page HERE and do spread the word. Thank you.