Surviving My First Viper Classic in F1 Sepang

For my last event of 2019, I completed one of the toughest of the Viper Challenge series - the Viper Classic at Sepang International Circuit.

The Viper Challenge is Asia's biggest sporting event series that combines running (trail and road) with obstacles which test your strength, speed, agility and your ability to work with your teammates (and other participants). Their tag line, "Leave No One Behind", emphasising the importance of team work to complete the course - peppered with obstacles - stayed in my mind since last Sunday.

I first dipped my feet in Viper Arena back in 2015 but didn't particularly enjoy the indoor setting of the course. I didn't enter another Viper event until four years later, in the Viper Beach Port Dickson May this year.  And let's just say I've been hooked to the sport since! I started joining  OCR, mass warrior workout sessions and Spartan classes in my gym and made new friends and training partners. And after a few months of training, I got the courage to sign up for the tough Viper Classic - 20km course and 25 obstacles.  I was warned that there will be mud runs and I was up for it!

After registration and bag drop-off,  I made my way to the start line, joining the 7:00 am wave. I found myself in a corral packed full of other Viper Challenge hopefuls like myself. The host kept us entertained, shouting "Finish" and us responding with "Line". After a few rounds of "Finish Line"s, I was off!

Selfie  before flag-off

And we're off.,,,,

Here's some photos of what happened that day...


Overall, I had an amazing time out there in Sepang, spending around 4 hours to complete the challenge, having attempted all of the 25 obstacles. The obstacles were well-designed  and evenly spaced throughout the course, and had catchy names (Over your Ex, Tarzan and Jane, Nerves of Steel, Stairway to Heaven, Heave Ho, etc). One of my favourite obstacles was Tumbling Block which requires team work and coordination and getting your head down in the muddy waters. This was definitely something out of my comfort zone...

What I liked about Viper is that it is non-competitive so you can do the obstacles carefully, slowly - once, twice or even thrice if you wish... and have a great time with your teammates (I especially like the team element of it).  Team work means no one gets left behind...

Hanging tongue.. a sign of tiredness

Tyre wall climb

Up for running up the wall behind me

Mud time

Getting out of the clogged drain

Into the woods: Palm oil trail run...

Stairway to Heaven

half-way mark... yay

Barbed wire crawl

Poor grip resulted in a fall into the muddy water

Tarzan and Jane

Hay bale, the final obstacle..

Here it is.. the finish line...

Meet the winner...

Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2019

I ran the KL Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) 2019 as a returning individual runner. For the first time in the history of this iconic sporting event in Malaysia, the organiser of  KLSCM implemented a ballot system due to the high number of registration this year. Along with other participants of SCKLM 2018, I managed to secure a slot through their 'loyalty registration' program.

While successful registrants were elated to get an entry to this increasingly popular running event, the dreaded haze problem which started in early September cast a dark cloud over the event. Air quality for the weeks leading up to Race Day was at moderate to unhealthy levels in and around Kuala Lumpur, serving a bitter reminder of the cancellation of SCKLM 2015 due to poor air quality. Running plans were abandoned, goals revised as it was not feasible nor safe to run outdoors.
I took my training indoors and ran on the treadmill. On the upside, I did maximise my gym membership for the month of September.

Thankfully, the haze started to diminish on three days to race day with intermittent rain in the Klang Valley. I joined a running group with the theme "Haze go Away" and ran my heart out with other keen runners who were all eager to run on Sunday.

A heavy downpour in KL on Saturday afternoon cleared the skies of smoke and dust which have enveloped our city and with that, the haze was finally defeated.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, the KLSCM 2019 will be taking place on 28 & 29 September, it was announced by Dirigo Events on Friday 27 September.
  
The KLSCM 2019 switched to a two-day format this year - the first day for the Kids Dash + 5km competitive category. There’s also the Friendship Run which started in 2016,  a warm-up fun run for the FM registrants, followed by a Pasta Party where runners get to mingle with other runners, exchange ideas and forge new friendships.

On day two, the race categories are 10km, the Half marathon and Full marathon. This year saw the biggest number of participants in the FM category (13,000), followed closely by HM (12,500).

With a  record number of participants numbering 40,000  Dataran Merdeka turned into a sea of blue in the morning of Race Day.

I signed up for the HM this year with the goal of breaking 2 hours. I came close to achieving it in the the Great North Run (2:01) back in 2016 but since then a sub-2 finishing has been elusive.

This year I had the company of Cheng Yee (who stepped up from 10k) and JJ who was making his HM debut in KLSCM 2019. A Run For a Reason (RFAR) participant, he helped to raise funds for Hospis Malaysia. Danny on the other signed up for his favourite, no-less-competitive distance of 10km in the speed category. CY, JJ and Danny and I recently had a fantastic time running in the Asics Relay Malaysia.

Selfie time while we make our way to the starting line from Pen 3

So I ran alongside CY and JJ starting from pen 3. We were delayed by 8 minutes before we reached the starting line, taking in the electrifying atmosphere of flag-off.  It was great running together with my team-mates. I broke away from CY at km 1, and later from JJ at km 4.

Confetti blast with the iconic Sultan Abdul Samad building in the background

The HM course was familiar to me as I ran the same route in last year's SCKLM; I was strong and steady in my pace; the heat which usually slows me was not too bad even as I picked up my pace - thanks to the rain the night before. Even on the elevation along Duke expressway and the Duta tunnel I managed to keep on running by reducing my pace but not did not walk at all. As I stood a good chance of reaching my goal of a sub-2 finishing, I stopped only briefly at the water stations. The volunteers were awesome as always. With their outstretched hands offering a choice of water or isotonic drink to the runners, they gave out fun cheers and motivational chants - ‘"jia you", "looking good", "you can do it" and "don't give up".

Keep calm and carry on running..

Getting closer to the finish line..

Ya baby.. finish arch is in sight

I'm happy to report that I finished the race in 1:54:11 and achieved a new PB!

Well done to the organizer of KLSCM 2019 for a doing a great job and congratulations to all the runners who achieved their running goals. I’m sure the KLSCM will continue to grow in popularity as Malaysia's no.1 running event.

We are the winners.. We are! We Are! We Are!

100 Plus Active is my preferred isotonic drink

At the title sponsor's booth before it was crowded

The moment when you find out  it's a sub-2 finishing

Official results:
Gun Time: 2:02:28
Net Time: 1:54:12
Rank: 31 

ASICS Relay Malaysia 2019

The 2019 ASICS Relay Malaysia is the third leg in the popular Asics Relay race series across Asia and this year it was held for the first time in Sepang International Circuit, Selangor on 7 September.

As was in previous editions of the Asics Relay race, a team is comprised of four members - each running a quarter of the distance of either the Half Marathon (5.25km per runner) or the Full Marathon (10.5km per runner) in one of the three categories: Male, Female and Mixed (FFFM, MMFF, or MMMF).

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Mixed Team in Half Marathon Relay

Runner 1: Cheng Yes, Runner 2: Danny, Runner 3: JJ, Runner 4: CK

So I signed up for the mixed team in the Half Marathon category and named our team DKJY.
I ran in the inaugural Asics Relay Kuala Lumpur in 2016 

Cheng Yee was the first runner in our team. She rushed to get to the race village in time for the flag-off at 6:30 pm. For some unknown reason, traffic on the ELITE expressway last Saturday evening was at a snarl coming into Sepang. The flag off was delayed much to the relief of many late comers... and then the first runners were flagged off around 6:55 pm.

Electrifying atmosphere in the race village just before flag-off

Crew members pretty in pink

Team DKJY finished strong with a ranking of 50 out of 353 teams in the mixed open category, with a finishing time of 1:58:38. This finishing time is better than the Half Marathon PB of all of the team members', which says a lot about the power of teamwork!

Despite the humid weather on Saturday, it was an evening of activities, excitement and sweat, and fun. 

What I enjoyed most was witnessing the camaraderie of runners participating in a team relay race. Each and every runner who raced on that evening did not run mile after lonely mile by themselves, but did it as part of a team effort... and it is fun to be part of a team. 

After we collected our medals, Team DKJY posed for photos in celebration of our collective victory..  

Order following Team Leg

A wifie with precision and careful positioning

Happy faces after learning that we achieved a sub-2 hour finishing

Official results:

The Day We Unite: Tokyo Marathon 2019

Can't hide my excitement after collecting race bib from the lovely volunteer at the Expo

Posed for this pic just before entering pen J

Starting Line at the Metro Government Building 

Crossing the starting line 25 minutes after official start

At halfway point, with a view of Tokyo Skytree 

My attempt at vlogging

First photo in the hotel after changing into dry clothes

Yoyogi Park 

Goal for Tokyo Marathon 2019:   new PB and sub-5 finishing

I ran the Tokyo Marathon last Sunday under miserable weather conditions. It was raining before the race started with temperatures of around 5-6 degrees. The relentless rain and the biting wind made it difficult for me to run at my goal pace, furthermore my poncho buttons kept getting undone and buttoning it up required a level of concentration, distracting my focus on my running pace.  The cold also caused my hands go to numb - by km 38, the 'pins and needles' in my hands were so severe that I had to shake them while soldiering on with my run.

It was the coldest day in Tokyo Marathon history, according to the Race Director, Mr. Tadaaki Hayano. Some runners including top Japanese male runner Suguru Osaka withdrew from the race as their body succumbed to the cold and harsh conditions. Malaysian tops runners Muhaizar Mohamad and Leo Tan also withdrew, which I'm sure was a tough decision for them to take.

In spite of the unfavourable weather conditions, I managed to achieve my goal of finishing the race. Achieving a new PB of 4:42 (shaved off 28 minutes from previous PB) was indeed icing on the cake on this bone-chilling cold race day.

Summary:
Net time: 4:42:19
Ranking: 16995
Average pace: 6:28