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.