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