Angkor Wat Int. Half Marathon 2014

Starting point of the marathon at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat half marathon was held on the 7th of Dec but we were already in Siem Reap on the early morning of 5th Dec. I booked to stay at Bohpa Pollen Hotel in Siem Reap town which provides free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. That could easily save me 3 US dollar. As the marathon running kit could be collected at Aspara Angkor Hotel which is situated on the way to my hotel from the airport, the tuk-tuk driver sent me straight to collect my running kit. When we arrived at our hotel, it was only around 10 am which is too early to check-in. We took our breakfast at the hotel which provides coffee/tea, egg, bread with jam, fruit, fruit juice and fried rice or porridge for just  3 USD per head.

As we will be going to Pnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia after the marathon, we decided to book the transport to Pnom Penh in advance to avoid disappointment later. There are many mode of transport to Pnom Penh, boat ( 40USD per ticket) , bus ( 13 USD per ticket) or taxi ( 75USD per car) as provided by the hotel reception. We opted for bus service but we did not get the ticket through the hotel. There are few travel agencies near the hotel and we bought the ticket from one of them. We managed to check into our room around 1 pm local time and I paid our three days stay in advance by cash. It is better to pay in advance as a precautionary measure and kept the receipt with the chop" paid ". After resting for few hours in our room we decided to explore the town on foot and take our lunch. The weather was quite hot and the roads were very dusty and a lot of rubbish at the road sides. I should have put on face mask like some of the local and tourists. We walked to the city centre and met a tuk-tuk driver who offered us 1 hour city tour for 5 USD which we accepted without any haggling. The tuk-tuk driver could speak some English and we were driven through the town centre and we stopped at a very old temple which had few visitors but the sculptures at the wall were really articulate and beautiful. The tuk-tuk driver brought us to a sandstone crafting gallery cum souvenir shop hoping that we will buy some souvenir and he get commission but the prize is too jacked up. After 1 hour, it was almost getting dark and we decided we should explore the town our own and took our dinner at the night market. We disembarked at the night market but we booked him to take us to tour Angkor Wat historical site the next day for USD 20. The night market is quite brightly decorated and there are a lot of cafes and restaurants selling local and western cuisine. There are a lot of western and Asian tourists. After our dinner at the triangular cafe where I tried the locally produced Angkor beer and some shopping we took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel for just 1 USD, the usual price in town.

The next morning, the tuk-tuk driver was very punctual and we arrived at the ticket booth of Angkor Wat around 9.00 am after half an hour ride. The entrance ticket is USD 20 per head and we were required to snap a photo on site to be included in the ticket for easy identification when we enter various sites there. Angkor Wat was the first temple we visited and it is a huge complex and quite successfully restored as evident from the four standing iconic towers. Angkor wat is the starting point of the half marathon and banners of the marathon could be seen here and there. But there was an international bicycle race when we visited the site. Two international tournaments were held back to back there and that explained why there were so many tourists in Siem Reap. After visiting Angkor Wat, we also visited Bayon Temple, the temple which has many towers each sculptured with four similar faces of a khmer king turned divine. The next temple we visited was Wat Baphuon, another huge temple complex few stories high with beautifully sculptured wall. We did not climb up to the top as we scared we might injure our knee and dash our hope of running the marathon.

After visiting the three temples, we were taken to an air-conditioned restaurant where prices of food were double the normal price. The tuk-tuk driver was again getting commission by taking us to such throat-cutting restaurant. Later I noticed there were many restaurants along the way to Ta Phrom temple frequented by locals though not air conditioned which were cheaper for sure. Our next temple after lunch was the famous Ta Phrom temple, a temple where giant trees growing on the temple's wall were spared during restoration. There were so many tourists that we had to take turn to take picture with the giant roots resting on the temple wall. I even touched one of the giant roots as others did for good luck I believed. There are many more temples but we felt the temples are less prominent than what we had visited and we decided to go back to our hotel to rest and get ready for the Angkor Wat Half marathon the next day. We again booked the same tuk-tuk for US 10 to take us to the starting point and back to our hotel.

Angkor Wat

Bayon Temple

Giant tree at Ta Phrom temple

We started our journey to Angkor Wat for the marathon at 5:00 am and it was really amazing that the road leading to Angkor Wat was full  of tuk-tuk carrying runners to the starting venue. When we almost reached the site, the traffic jam was so bad that we had to walk to the starting venue. Our tuk-tuk promised to come back to fetch us at 9:30 am , the time we should be able to complete our race since the 21km race starts at 6:10 while the 10 km at 6:20 am. The Wheelchair category was flagged off at 6:00 am but I could only see few participants. The participants for 10 km and 21 km categories were mostly foreigners especially Europeans and I was wondering whether I was running in Sydney or Cambodia. I stood near to the starting line and started the race with moderate pace. The route was flat and straight and there were sufficient water stations besides few banana stations. There are many supporters mostly kids from the surrounding areas lining up at the side of the road to touch our hands. We passed by a few temples and ran through the south gate of Angkor Thom, an iconic gate which resembles Bayon temple. I had a severe cramp on my left leg few kilometers from the finishing line due to my own fault. I put ice on my leg muscle thinking it will reduce the strain but the cramp happened immediately. Thanks to the volunteer who helped me to relieve my pain. After resting for a while I continued with my race but with a slower pace and was overtaken by a young lady runner from China who greeted me. I think that was our second encounter and her second greeting but I am not sure when was the first encounter. If I am not mistaken we first met during Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2013. In the last 1 km I tired to run faster and managed to overtook quite a number of runners before I charged through the finishing line with a time 2 hours 46 minutes and ranked among the last 30% of the finishers. Poor showing indeed but I was happy that I could finish the race within my average finishing time . 

South gate of Angkor Thom- we ran through it during the marathon

The marathon was quite well organised and the medal for 10 km and 21 km are the same that is without mentioning the distance and most of the runners really had a good time running in a Unesco  heritage site besides doing a good cause by help raising fund for the disables and upgrade education facilities in Cambodia. 

The next day we proceeded to Pnom Penh by bus and we had to endure almost 8 hours of dusty and uneven road because of construction work to turn the present road into a highway. We spent two nights in Pnom Penh visiting Riverfront, Royal Palace, Tuol Seng Genocide Museum, National Museum, Wat Pnom and Wat Ounolom and the most extravangaza Nagaworld casino. After that we travelled by van to Sihanoukville, a seaside resort town facing the Gulf of Thailand. The road was good but the driver was speeding all the way including some dangerous overtaking. I was sitting just behind the driver and I dare not closed my eyes through out the 4 hour- journey. 

I stayed at Serendipity beach resort which is a stone throw from the  busiest and longest beach at Sihanoukville. A pleasant surprise was the luxurious hotel room given to me which I think is too cheap for USD50 per night.  The room was really big with double beds, sofa, cushion lazy chair, balcony and a luxurious bathroom with transparent glass partition to the bedroom. There are many beaches but serendipity beach which joins up with two other beaches is almost 2 km long and the most beautiful. The bay is considered as the most beautiful bay in the world as shown on a signboard. I did not go snorkering or islands hopping but just explore the town and do some swimming and jogging at the beach. I was fortunate to walk to town to try out a restaurant catering to the locals. The peppered crab and steamed fish were really delicious especially the crab which has unimaginable big and hard pincers. The name of the restaurant is called Lion II restaurant because it is facing the roundabout which has two big golden lion-sculptures in it. 

There are many western tourists there which explains the great number of western cafes and restaurants near to the beach. In fact some of the sea activities like diving and snorkering, island hopping by boat and yatching are operated by westerners. After 2 nights at Sihanoukville, we returned to Pnom Penh to put up another night at the same Artist guesthouse near to Royal Palace before we bid farewell to Cambodia. After 8 nights in Cambodia I felt a bit sad to leave the country. I am sure I won't be coming back in the very near future not because I don't like Cambodia but I still have not visited many other countries which also has interesting marathon event.    

Wat Ounolom of Pnom Penh

  

Beautiful sandy beach of Sihanoukville

Penang 2nd Bridge Marathon 2014

Running a Full Marathon on the newly completed Sultan Abdul Halim Mua'adzam Shah Bridge, second Penang bridge or the longest bridge in South East Asia is really my anticipated running event. I have registered to run in Ipoh Half marathon too which was held on the same day due to change of date. I had to choose Penang Bridge Marathon as I am running full marathon and furthermore it is always my preferred marathon. I always register to run full marathon on Penang Bridge because it has a long cut off time of 7 hours which is within my ability to achieve. Besides that, I don't have to run together with other vehicles on the road inhaling their smelly exhaust. I also can feel the sea breeze from strait of Malacca and enjoy the breaking of dawn. 

Three of us in the family took part in the race but Seok Wan and Xin Yi registered to run in 10 km. We only started our journey to Penang on 15th Nov at 2.00 pm as Seok Wan had to attend to her official duty in the morning. I was thinking I could use the 2nd bridge to go to Penang Island and collect our race packs at the base of 2nd bridge but I was shock the bridge was closed to traffic when I arrived at the entry point of the bridge. I did not expect the bridge to be closed at 3.00 pm which is a bit early compared to last year marathon where the 1st bridge was only closed at 10 pm. So I had to use the 1st bridge to cross over to Penang Island and by the time we exited the bridge it is almost time for Xin Yi's flight to land at Bayan Lepas International Airport near to the 2nd bridge. Xin Yi was taking a flight from KL to Penang for the Marathon and family reunion. The plane arrived on time and quite a number of the passengers were here for the sole purpose of running the marathon. The base of the 2nd bridge at Batu Maung was only few kilometers from the airport but there is no signage at all to show us the direction to the bridge. I wonder why the government could spend more than 1 billion Ringgit Malaysia (RM)  to built the bridge but can't spare a little bit more to enhance the accessibility to the bridge. 

Luckily we had our GPS from the mobile phone to guide us to our destination. Without the GPS it will be a tough job to find the way as it passes through the Bayan Lepas free trade zone. The race site was a bit messy with loop holes here and there and the place looks like a swampy area just filled up by gravels. The ground at the site was soggy and it was raining though not heavy. I really hope it will not rain during the marathon race.  We collected our running packs with ease as there was no long queue maybe because we were too late, exceeding the stipulated time of 4.00 pm. I was a bit disappointed with the organizer for running out of L-sized running vest which I requested for during registration. This is really the first sign of poor management on the organizer and I started to put the organizer in perspective whether they can organize this grand event up to public expectation.   

Trying out the XL running vest only to realize that it fitted me perfectly.

This is our room at Red Rock Hotel. Bed is big enough for three persons but only two pillows are provided

In the two previous marathons we stayed at our time-sharing Georgetown city hotel but it is a bit far so I tried to book hotel near to the bridge either at Queensbay Mall or Bayan Lepas but almost all the reasonably priced hotel rooms were booked. I have no choice but to book a hotel near to Komtar which is a picked up point for free shuttle bus to  the race site. I managed to book a room for two with breakfast at Red Rock Hotel in Macalister road. It is about 0.7 km to Komtar bus station or 10 minutes walk. I booked the room through booking.com at a price of RM197 which I had paid online and I was shock during registration that I had to pay another RM50 for surcharge. Luckily I pursued the matter further prompting the supervisor to come over and pointed out the receptionist's mistake that my hotel room booked through booking.com is fixed. The room was quite big and can easily accommodate 3 persons. I don't I really need the bed because I had to go to Komtar to take my free shuttle bus at 11.30 pm to be on time for my race at 2.00 am. It is always wise to give an allowance of  an hour for travel using the unpredictable free shuttle bus. 

Runners boarding the free shuttle bus at Komtar

At the bridge toll at Batu Kawan on the mainland.

The bus from Komtar to the 2nd Bridge took about half an hour and I had one hour to loiter around the race site. There were live band featuring Penang local singers , Malay dances and fashion shows and minutes before the Full marathon open category flag-off,  there was a display of fireworks. My full marathon veterans category was flagged off at 2.00 am sharp. I started my race near to the starting line to avoid blocking from runners in front and I realized it is really a good strategy but I just run with own pace and many runners overtook me from behind. My mission is just to complete  the race in 7 hours and I did not bother being overtaken. I am already over the age for competitive race and I considered my marathon run as a test of my mental and physical endurance. I did not feel too tired because I took energy gel every 6 to 7 km to replenish my depleted energy in time. The cold breeze from the sea also help to cool down my body. Tiredness only crawled  in when I almost reached the other end of the bridge that is 21 km into the race. When I crossed the toll gate I felt it is time to rest after running 21 km so I sat down to enjoy the piece of bun provided and consumed a cup of water and a cup of isotonic drink. I forgot that it is unwise to consume too much liquid in a race but who cares since I am thirsty. I also did some  stretching and applied a packet of cold gel on my strained muscles before I resumed the long journey back to the island. 

Every step after 21 Km is a struggle because I never train more than 21 km except the full marathon in Singapore back in May. My pace is only slightly faster than walking and brisk walker can easily beat me. I employed the breathing I used while doing snorkeling at sea. A deep inhale followed by a loud exhale. It works and I can control my fatigue and keep on running at tortoise's pace though but this attracted a lot of funny stares from those walkers I overtook. It is quite boring running on the second bridge because there is nothing much too see on both sides of the bridge. To kill my boredom I betrayed the proper running technique of not looking downwards while running. I ran looking downwards at the white sideline on the road and run along it. When I was half-way on the bridge,  6 to 7 sweeper buses passed by carrying all those who could not complete the race within cut-off time. This is the first time I saw sweeper bus sending disqualified runners back to the starting point. When I reached the 5 km mark to the finishing line there was a big crowd of 10 km and 7 km fun run participants. There is a sea of people in red or blue but most of them are walking blocking those who wanted to run. As this is at the  elevated part of the bridge and there is no difference for me between walking or running , so I walked from 5 km mark until I am  almost 1 km from the finishing line then only I started to run. I managed to finish the race in 6 hours 49 minutes which is my personal best result after 3 full marathons. I think my result can be better if not of the big crowds of 10 km walkers. Seok Wan and Xin Yi were waiting for me at the medal booth when I went to claim my finisher tee and medal. They are faster runners who always line up just behind the starting line so they did not face problem of being blocked but the elevated bridge is too tough for them to produce their PB result.

crowds at the 5km turn for 10 km category

Penang Bridge big walk ??

mum and daughter pacing towards the finishing line. 

Even though I have my PB but I am still ranked the last 30%.

After 42 km , Can't even stand straight.

Well, there are a a lot of complaints about this year's Penang Bridge Marathon such as too many participants ( 62000),  participants started walking from the beginning, not enough shuttle bus until some participants could not reach the starting point in time, sweeper bus dropped its passengers at last 5km point for them to continue with their race because of big crowds,  no signage to show direction to the bridge,  few km markers,  not enough medal,  shuttle bus without label to show where they are going ,  no marshal to control crowds boarding shuttle bus after race until passengers had to scramble up the bus like refugees ,  10 km runner given 42 km finishers tee and so on.  Despite all the poor management of the organizer,   we still enjoy the run and we will definitely take part  next year but we sincerely hope things will improve then. 

    

Penang Run 2014- Nibong Tebal

Penang Run 2014/2015 consists of three series but I only registered for two series that is Nibong Tebal and Bandar Perda because another serie crashed with my Sundown Marathon in  Singapore. As the medals for the three series consists of three components which can join up to form a cube, I will have to contend with an uncompleted cube of medals later. This is my second time running in Nibong Tebal after the half marathon across three states in 2011. Nibong Tebal is very near to my hometown, Kuala Kurau, where I put up a night for the race. It is a just 20 minutes' drive in the early hour of the morning between the two towns. 

Half marathon runners gathered at the starting venue 

Relax run through Oil Palm estate 

The route for the half marathon is almost flat except one not so steep flyover. As it is a Penang Run we only run in the country roads and some housing estates in Nibong Tebal. I still find a run through three states consisting of Nibong Tebal-Penang, Parit Buntar-Perak and Bandar Baharu-Kedah more interesting. The route in this Penang run is quite boring as it is mostly running on narrow country roads with Oil Palm estates by its sides. As the race started at 5.30 am we have to run through certain parts of the route in total darkness which may be quite risky if there is speeding vehicles. Luckily there is almost no traffic in such early hour. There are not many participants and hardly any foreigners. The run is not very demanding and I could finish the 21 km in roughly 2 hours 35 minutes. I realized that I was quite strong and overtook many runners who seemed struggling to the finishing line in last two km of the race. I should give credit to the energy gel and the cup of 100 plus I consumed at the final 4 km point. I consumed two energy gels for this race with the first gel consumed at the 6 km point. I still felt weak in the middle stretch of the race and I think If I were to consume another energy gel at the 12 km point, I may be strong throughout the race. 

Running towards Nibong Tebal town centre for the last 2km of the race

KL standard Chartered Marathon 2014

This is my second year running half marathon in Standard Chartered International Marathon Kuala Lumpur. Last year four of us in the family took part in the marathon but this year only Seok Wan and I are taking part. Xin Yi had registered to run in her debut half marathon but could not run due to her MICPA focus class which falls on the same day as the race. But her registration was not wasted because her colleague took up the challenge to run on her behalf. As last year I booked a family room at Areena Star hotel which is only 0.7 km from Merdeka Square, the starting venue. Even though the hotel has limited parking lots but I was lucky to have one outside the hotel within the surveillance of the security guard. I booked a three-bed room anticipating three occupants but only two of us were staying wasting one sleeping berth.
We really had a good night sleep before we woke up to prepare for the race. I woke up at 3.40 am so that I could have my breakfast at least two hours before the race. I consumed one and half packet of 3 in 1 oats and regretted because I was feeling a bit bloated.  My half marathon started at 6.00am but we only left our hotel around 5.20 am. It is only a 5 minutes walk to the starting venue and I could see streams of participants moving towards Merdeka Square perhaps just coming out from the LRT station. So we really did not worry about any security threat walking in the city streets in the wee hour of the morning. 

This is the first time I saw volunteers providing muscle relief spray to participants before the start of the race. I accepted the offer as I usually have muscle cramp problem. We were flagged off at 6.00 am sharp and there were 8000 runners in my category. I took almost 4 minutes to cross the starting line as I could hardly run in the beginning. I ran with slow pace but I was feeling more tired this time compared with SP half marathon because the air quality was very poor due to the haze. But the worst part of the race is the elevated highways especially the Dato Keramat Highway. I did not listen to motivation music while running but I have my method of motivating myself to keep running. I keep reminding myself that I am a full marathon runner and I shall never give up. So I kept running even though I am feeling fatigue. It is really a pleasure  I had the opportunity to run through a highway toll without paying any toll. The only scenery in the race is the city view with its sky-scrapers like KL tower and twin towers. I like the Jalan Ampang and Dato Keramat route because it made me reminisced of my university life at UTM near Dato Keramat. It is just like running through memory lane especially the row of foreign embassies along Jalan Ampang where I used to pass by while going to Bukit Bintang for movie or window shopping.

She ranked 21st in the 10km,  50-59 category.

 

Running on Dato Keramat Highway with the city centre in view 

The event was very well organised with plenty of hydration points and muscle relieve stations. Perhaps there should be bun station or banana station too for half marathon runner. There are drummers and live bands along the route to cheer up the runners but there should be more of such spots. This is the first time I walked while nearing the finishing line. I only started to run towards the finishing line when I heard someone yelling us to run. Even though facing with a difficult track and poor air quality but I still finished the 21 km in my usual time of 2 hours 46 minutes. I was strong at the beginning of the race but became weak and slow after 15 km because 400 plus participants passed me as shown by the timing chip. Perhaps it is time I improve my performance towards last 6 km of my half  marathon.

Sungai Petani half marathon 2014

When I signed up to run in Sungai Petani I did not realise that it was held on  Saturday morning which I usually had official duty to perform. But, due to good luck , I was free to run in this event. So this would be my first and last run in kedah due to its different weekend. This was my first 21 km run this year and I dd not have any targeted timing due to lack of training. I drove all the way from Taiping to Sungai Petani on Friday to collect my t-shirt and running bib after work which was only closed for collection after 7.00pm. There was no timing chip on the bib and they had run out of m-size t-shirt which my wife asked for during registration. The first sign of poor management on the organiser. After collecting our t-shirts we went to our lodging place in Butterworth about 35 km away. The owner of the apartment, a close relative went back to Taiping and we had the whole apartment to ourselves for free.
We went to bed very early, around 10.30 pm in preparation for the early morning call at 4.00am. I really had a good night sleep because I skipped my afternoon nap and also the tiredness due to driving. The journey from Butterworth to Sungai Petani took about half an hour and by the time we arrived at the venue of the event , it was only 5:20am. I could easily find  parking for my car near to the starting point. The half marathon was scheduled to start at 6.00 am but it was delayed half an hour and most participants seem to know about the delay judging from the time they arrived. The second sign of weakness. One peculiar thing about the starting point was its location. It was right in middle of the town where cars were moving along the roads through the starting point two ways even though there are already many participants gathering at the site. The organiser should have closed the roads at the site at least 2 hours or more before the start of the run.

Cars are still moving through the starting point even though there is already a big crowds

 We the 21 km category was flagged off at 6.30 am and perhaps only few hundreds of us. The 12 km category has a bigger crowds as it involved a lot of students. Those students who completed the race would be given a certificate which stated that the event was a national event which meant higher mark for their co-curriculum grade. The 21 km route was mostly flat along the roads to the outskirt and passing through some padi fields and traditional malay villages. There was absolutely no breathtaking view along the route except Jerai mountain in the distance.

The bare Sungai Petani river with Jerai mountain in the distance

The first water station was about 5km from the starting point and luckily I did not skipped it because there was no second water station and the third water station just ran out of water when I reached there. The third water station was almost at 13 km distance and I was overcomed by thirst and fatigue. That really slowed me down and I kept looking for water tap outside the houses of the malay village. I did not see any but I was relieved at last to locate a small sundry shop to get myself a bottle of 100 plus. There are water stations after that and it was drizzling slightly which helped to cool down my body.

The slow ones slogging  along the bridge spanning Sungai Petani river.

 I could not run fast due to slight cramp at my right calf and it got better after I applied the Perskindol cool gel which I brought along. There were not many runners of my age group and the volunteers are really excited to see me. They greeted and cheered me on. I finished my run in 2 hours 40 minutes according Seok Wan who was waiting for me at the finishing line after she had finished her 12 km run 25 minutes earlier. She tracked the time according to the time on the clock tower at the site. There was poor control of the crowds as those who finished late had to zig-zagged through the crowds to reach the finishing line.

Stretching my tired legs and enjoying the sense of achievement

So this event is an eye opener for me in term of mediocre organising but the participants are not perturbed and seemed to enjoy the occasion. The greatest surprise of the run is the finisher certificate on quality paper signed by the Chief minister of kedah. The organiser should be praised for getting so many sponsors which allowed them to reward those lucky participants in lucky draw with prizes which includes electric motorbike and bicycle. Frankly speaking, I still enjoyed the run despite some of the shortfalls which is common in most events.        

After the run it is time to fill up the depleted energy

Penang Delta Eco Night Run 2014

This is my second year participating in the Penang Eco night run at Penang Youth Park. I like this run even though it is only 8 km because it is near my time-sharing hotel that is Georgetown City hotel. It is just 3.7 km away from the starting point by car via google map. The events did not attract a big crowds and most participants are local and very few senior veteran runners like me. The run was flagged off exactly at 8.30 pm in front of the stage at the Youth Park without the warming up exercise as promised. I queued up almost at the end of the line and could only walk and jog slowly while the crowds moved along the narrow track in the park to the main road. After running perhaps 4 km along the main road and residential area roads , we came to the Penang Botanical Garden and completed one round in the garden's slightly hilly track before we proceeded back to the finishing line in the Youth park 2 km away. The running track this year was  a bit different from last year because we ran three rounds in the Botanical Garden  in 2013 and the slope can be quite taxing for some who could be heard puffing and huffing away. Besides that, we had to collect rubber bend after completing each round and when the participants rushed and pushed to get the rubber bends, the scene  really turned very chaotic. Perhaps this explained  why the organiser changed the course this year. This year's run is more relaxing and I could finished the run within 50 minutes judging from my wrist watch. The only place where I started to walk was while going up the slope and the rest of the journey was running. The actual timing of my run will only be known after the result from my timing chip is released.

completed 8 km run in roughly 50 minutes

Going all out to get her first medal for this event

This year event is not as gland as last year because there is almost nothing up the stage before and after the race. There is less sponsors for drinks because there is only one water station at the middle of the course. The quiet and unexcited atmosphere at the venue could be due to the fact that too many running events are organised in Penang recenly and organisers are unable to sponsor all the events. We did not wait to see the prize giving ceremony as there is no entertainment events while waiting for all the runners to return.
We headed toward the hawkers centre along Burma Road near my hotel to have the famous Penang " Sou wo fun". This is my first time eating at this Hawkers centre and the " Sou Wo Fun" here is just ordinary. We went back to our hotel to rest after that and only came out of our room when we wanted to check out from the hotel the next day. After checking out, We went to the new Gurney Paragon Mall to have some shopping. I just parked my car at the residential area behind my hotel and walked about 50 metres to the Mall. A very modern mall and you could just shop for anything here. There are also balconies at higher floors where we can feel the sea breeze from the Strait of Penang and have a nice and panoramic view of the waves moving toward Gurney drive.    

At the upper floor 's Balcony of Gurney Paragon Mall 

The twin towers of Penang as seen from the Balcony of Gurney Paragon Mall 

Sundown Marathon 2014 in Singapore

I last visited Singapore in 1993 and it is time to revisit our southern neighbour again after 21 years. Sundown Marathon gives me the green light and I also take this opportunity to visit my friends and relatives. As usual I drove  my car from Taiping to Kuala Lumpur to pick up Xin Yi who is working in KL and parked my car at the airport. At KLIA it was only RM 16 per day but it is RM 46 per day at the new KLIA2 just opened on the 9th of May. As I will only park the car for a few days I really did not care so much of the expensive parking fee. We landed at Changi Airport at 8.45 am on 31st May 2014, and Seok Wan and Xin Yi will be running the 10 KM race at 10.30 pm while I will be running my 2nd full marathon at 11.30 pm. As we can only check into our hotel at 2.00 pm we proceeded with our plan to visit our relatives who stay at Tampinees which is just two MRT stops away from the airport. We each bought a 30 Singapore dollars  3-days pass which allows us limitless travel via MRT, Bus or LRT for three days. We later discovered this is not the cheapest as we don't really travel a lot, It will be cheaper to just buy ticket for each trip either on MRT or Bus.

Waiting for the train to go to Tampines from Changi Airport

Tampines is an old township consisting of few hundreds of 11-storey of 2, 3, 4-rooms flats. There is food court at the MRT station which is adjacent to the bus terminal. We had our breakfast at the food court before we went to our relatives' flat. We stayed until lunch time before we proceeded to our hotel in the city centre.
We booked a 3- bed room in a budget hotel at Beach street which is near Bugis street,  MRT station and also the Sundown Marathon starting venue. The hotel is right in the middle of restaurants selling Chinese, Korean, Japanese and western food. But this location is famous for  Hainanese chicken rice and duck rice where the restaurants are always full. Our room is clean and spacious with wifi. But the Wifi hotspot is slow perhaps due to heavy traffic. After checking in and have my bath, I proceeded to F1 Pit Building to try my luck whether I can collect the race pack earlier. I did not know the exact location of the place so I asked along the way until I reached the exact location. To my disappointment I was only allowed to collect my race pack after 6.30 pm. So I had to walk another 1.2 km back to the hotel. By the time I reached the hotel it was almost 5.00 pm and I quickly settled on my bed to have some sleep as I did not sleep well the previous night and had to wake up at 5.00 am to go to the airport to catch my flight. I only rested for 1 hour or two before we headed to the famous Hainanese Chicken rice restaurant to try out the famous dish which Singapore tries to apply for its patent's right but objected by Malaysia. The white chicken meat really lived up to its reputation and this meal would provide me the energy to run 42.195 km through out the night.
We walked another 1.2 km to collect our race pack and another 1.2 km back to our hotel as it was too early to wait until race time.
We only went to the starting venue at 9.30 pm as the 10 km race would start at 10.30 pm. So Before the race we had already walked more than 10 km coupled with  the lack of sleep and rest, we were quite sure we would be doing poorly in this race. I was surprised by the crowds as I thought the participants would not be too many. In fact there were 30K participants running in this event. The full marathon was flagged off at 11.30 pm for the first group ( 2-4.00 hours finishing time ); I, in the second group was only flagged off at 10.40 pm. I set my target to at least keep pace with the 6-hour pacers but I failed miserably in the end.

I am not even qualified to stand behind this banner.

Seok Wan and Xin Yi both  running in the 10 KM category

I started the race very slowly perhaps 7-8 min/ km as there were too many runners in front and the track was too narrow. The crowds and the hot temperature made the earlier part of the race quite unbearable. The condition only improved after few km into the race when the crowds were more spread out. I ran slowly but already felt tired after 5 km into the race. I wondered how was I going to complete 42.195 km in the maximum time of 8 hours. With determination I dragged my feet on and stopped at every hydration point and banana point. I managed to swallow two bananas and 4 power gels I brought myself. Sat down to rest and stretched my legs at least 6 times and applied the perkindol classic twice to relieve my aching muscle on my legs and arms too. I was lucky this time as I did not suffer any cramps perhaps due to the prevention and also the slow pace and rest. I felt more tired walking than jogging slowly and I felt really great I overtook quite a numbers of walkers towards the end of the race by jogging slowly. The part of the race I enjoyed most was the East Coast beach section where I could feel the strong breeze from the sea and that really erased some of my tiredness and boredom running in the dark. Surprise to see so many campers at the beach as this is no more a common sight in Malaysian beaches due to insecurity. I really give my thumbs up to Singapore government for its ability to maintain such a peaceful surrounding for its citizens to live and thrive. Though I suffered mentally and physically most part of the race I was really relieved when I crossed the finishing line with grace by speeding past a runner in front of me. The sound of camera snapping  while I raced toward the finishing line made me feel proud of myself. Yes, I had completed my first full Marathon in a foreign soil.

After we had a good rest we proceeded to some sightseeing at Marina Bay. The Buildings at Marina bay are really amazing and elegant especially the Golden Sands Hotel, the Art and Science Museum, the Singapore flyer , the Garden by the Bay and finally the iconic Merlion. After some shopping at Bugis street, we took the MRT to the airport take a flight back to Kuala Lumpur. We took a cab using meter at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 and we were charged RM 100 just for a journey of 58 Km. Perhaps I should hired  a taxi by buying a coupon at the airport. At least I know the cost in advance.

Singapore Flyer

A Petal shaped Art Science Museum

Our race bibs with timing chips which failed to perform.

   

Sultan Azlan Shah's birthday Run 2014

       I have finally able to run in this event in Kuala Kangsar which is the nearest major town to Taiping where I stay and work. I registered to run in 2012 but the event was cancelled last minute due to the passing of the Sultan's brother. I could not made it last year because it coincided with my date to Australia and New Zealand. I registered to run in the 15 km category as there is only 7 km and 15 km categories. My wife took part in the 7 km category. The race was on 11 May but We have to go all the way from Taiping to Kuala Kangsar to collect our T-shirt and running bibs on the 9 May. But it is not a big issue at all as it is just an half hour journey from Taiping.
       We started our journey to Kuala Kangsar for the run about 5.30 am and arrived at the venue at 6 am which means we still have plenty of time to go to the toilet and do some warming up. We did our warming by walking and stretching at the hostel field of the Malay College, the most famous and prestigious secondary school in Malaysia. A rare occasion we are allowed into the place.  The Crown prince was present to start off the race exactly at 6.45 am. The route is mostly flat but it is a rare opportunity to run through traditional Malay villages with some village folks standing outside their houses to cheer us on. Even though the distance is merely 15 km but we were treated with energy enhancing stuff  like banana and honey dew at two of the 4 water stations. The real surprise was the offer of fresh coconut for each one of us when we were running along the bank of the Perak River from the town. The view was breathtaking with the river and Jetty and the magnificent Kuala Kangsar bridge spanning across the river.
       While at the final 3 km of the run I met an acquaintance runner from Taiping and we paced together until the finishing line. My time should be 1 hour 50 minutes but I do not really care about my time since all  who finish the race will be given a finisher medal. My wife returned to the finishing line earlier and was waiting at the side of the finishing line hoping to snap a good shot of me crossing the finishing line but somehow I  just became invincible to her while crossing the line. Poor guy, no glamorous shot to show off.
     There is no big crowd in this event and it is really a good run in such a quiet town with its traditional malay villages setting. There are cheer groups at various locations making up of Chinese drum troup, Malay traditional musical instrument troupe and the Malay horse dance to entertain the locals and the runners. The organiser has really put up a good show and the goodies given is more than the registration fee of RM 20 and RM15. The pair of Mizuno socks given is already RM19.90 as stated in the price tag and we were given a nice running T-shirt and the unique medal in the shape of the Perak state. I should give a 5 stars grading to this event and I will definitely return next year.

A fresh coconut for each runner to quench their thirst

The traditional malay music to push the runners forward.

runners who aim not the podium but fun dragging their strides towards the finishing line

Kuala Kangsar bridge spanning across Perak river

running and walking 7 km in less than 1 hour

still looking fresh after 15 km run

our rewards after all the sweat and fun

     

Chiangmai International Marathon 2013

The starting point of the race

In full running gear

We checked into our hotel, Imm Hotel which is just across the road to Tha phae gate which is the starting point of the marathon after spending the whole day at Mae Taeng Elephant Farm and visiting Doi Suthep temple. I booked the hotel online and never expect it to be so near to the starting venue. Tents were already up with collection of running vest and bib going on. I was worried at first that the organiser will close their booth for collection at 5.00 pm but it seem the collection is allowed until very late at night  and last minute registration is also permitted. The pleasant surprise of our late collection is to arrive just in time to have our free dinner offered by the organiser. This is perhaps the first time where I experience free dinner the night before a marathon race. The dinner was a simple buffet Thai meal but what is more important is it save us the trouble to look for food in the town after a tiring flight and sightseeing at the Mae Taeng elephant Farm.
A stage was put up where certificates were seen given out to representatives who were either helping in or sponsoring the events. There were booths selling sports apparels of famous brand but too cheap to be original. The climax is the Thai dances performed by a group of young and pretty lasses.

Lanna dancers who are so intriguing

After visiting the nearby area and tried out the famous padthai or fried koay teow we went back to our hotel to rest. I set my alarm on my iphone to wake me up at 4.00 am as my race starts at 6.00 am but the noise from the starting venue is enough to serve as alarm clock.  We were flagged off exactly at 6.00 am and it is really an experience to run in such cold weather with temperature easily below 10 degree celsius. I have to wear a t-shirt before putting on the running vest. The tracks were all flat but I could not run fast due to lack of training after the leg injury. Most of the runners are professionals because I hardly see any runner who walks . That is good because I have to force myself to run the whole 21 km distance. I was happy indeed to complete the race in 2 hours 55 minutes which is a far cry from my personal best of 2 hours 30 minutes. Later I discovered that the distance is in fact 23 km which means my time is still not too far from my average time. Organisation of the event was above par with lots of traffic police who look like army regulars manning the junctions. The beauty of the race is I could see how the Thais do about their chores in the early hour of a Sunday morning. I could see monks accepting offer from devotees by the road sides and there are many roadside stores doing brisk business. By the time I returned to the hotel my wife and children have already finished their 10 km race one hour ago even though they started their run at 7.00 am. All of them finished with their personal best time. A thumb up for all of them especially Seok Wan who seldom run but could finish 10 km in 1 hour 18 minutes.