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