Third Edition of my Parit Buntar Kampung Run

Mesmerizing sunrise above the padi field

It had been a while since I ran my third Parit Buntar Kampung Run on 1/9/2019 but only  now could I force myself to make a report of my run. The run was really a run through scenic padi field and seaside in Kerian district between Tanjung Piandang and Kuala Kurau. It is a bit special this time because my former colleague , Charlie and his Son Aaron from Sarawak registered for the race inorder to experience a real village run in the remote part of Perak. Unfortunally Aaaron did not make it due to job assignment. My wife and I registered for half marathon while Charlie decided to walk in the 12 km category.

Scenic " Broken Bund"

small fishing boats at the " broken Bund"

beautiful sunrise and water ripple

There were roughly few hundreds participants for the half marathon category and we started our race in Tanjung Piandang at 6:20 am. From the starting venue we ran into a Chinese fishing village before we turned into the coastal area called the " Broken Bund". It is a straight tarred road stretches from Tanjung piandang to Kuala Kurau for almost 11 km. It is the best moment to run on this part of the route because it is the Strait of Malacca on one side while canal and wide padi field on the other side.We passed by small sandy beach, hardly surviving mangrove forest, fisherman's jetties and big fish farms. 

It seems only two of us are running

Charlie, a brisk walker 

The most exciting moment was the encounter of sunrise. The big and clear reddish sun rising above the horizon of  the padi field was just stunning and mesmerizing. Before reaching Kuala Kurau we turned into the padi field but it was just over padi harvesting season and we could only see waterlogged fields waiting for replanting. Perhaps the organiser should choose a date of race where runners will have the opportunity to see the padi field full of its golden padi grains hanging from its  bending stalks. After the padi field we turned into the trunk road from Kuala Kurau to Tanjung Piandang and this is the most unplesant part of the run. We had to share the road with other traffic and the road is quite dusty. It was getting hot too aggravated by no roadside shady trees.  Luckily it is only a few kilometers before we turned into padi field again and then onto the trunk road before we reached the finishing line. My time of 3:00 hour is not impressive considering the whole route is totally flat. Seok Wan was not too bad , only 10 minutes behind me even though she was quite slow in the beginning and spent more than 5 minutes in a toilet at the fisherman's Jetty. When I reached the finishing line Charlie was already back with a time of 2:00 hour for 12 km which is a great achievement considering that he did not run but brisk walked all the way. 

After the race we spent sometime in Kuala Kurau , a picturesque fishing village famous for its special prawn fritters, stingray noodle and seafood. We visited the salted egg factory which also sells a lot of other specialties from nearby towns before we returned to Taiping to continue our visit to Taiping spritzer ecopark and duck farm in Trong.

Charlie and wife in Kuala Kurau

  

On the pedestrian bridge of Kuala Kurau

Feeding the ducklings in Trong duck farm