SCKLM Celebrating 10th Anniversary

The Standard Chartered KL Marathon (SCKLM) is without a doubt the biggest running event in Malaysia. In its 10th edition this year, the event garnered a total of 38,000 runners who thronged the Dataran Merdeka in the early morning on Sunday,  8 April.
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I noticed that the Standard Chartered KL Marathon has grown bigger, better and more popular over the years since I participated in the race for the first time in 2014. Year after year, I have been coming back for further distances, from 10km in 2014 to the full marathon in 2016 and 2017. The race was cancelled in 2015 due to the haze. The popularity of the marathon is evident in that slots were snapped up this year in just a few days after registration was open to the public. I remember back in January, the outcry from some of my runner friends, encountering problems with registration, took to social media to vent out their frustration over overwhelmed servers which could not cope with the number of registrations on the first day of registration for public. Luckily for me, I managed to reserve a spot for this year's special edition, being a loyal supporter of the event. The benefits of being loyal to your favourite running event in the country...


And it was an amazing race day! Everything was top-notch. The weather was good, the volunteers in high spirits and the runners! I saw runners, young and old (young at heart), of varying sizes and colour and of all abilities - the SCKLM proves that running is something which resonates well with running enthusiasts in Malaysia... Furthermore, I noted there runner from overseas, their nationality indicated on their running bib.

I loved everything about the SCKLM app. First up, there's the live tracking feature so I could keep track on my relatives and friends (and my running role-models) who were also running on that day. I was notified every time when the FM runners whom I was tracking crossed a 5km checkpoint. The icing on the cake for me is the runner photo feature -  the runner's photos automatically appear on their profile as the race progresses. I was glad that I could view photos of me running - yes, actually running and not standing and posing for the camera after the race. Not all the photos on my profile had me in them; some of the photos showed runners that I can say were definitely not me! Perhaps the technology needs to be improved. Granted, this photo feature on the app saved me a huge amount of time from having to scroll down album after album in search for a photo of me on Facebook. 

I ran in the half-marathon this year, which means that I have finally completed the trifecta of 10k, HM and FM in the SCKLM. The route was enjoyable with a mixture of inclines and downhill paths, but mostly flat paths along the course. I was placed in pen 3, standing way behind the start line, I only managed to reach the start line 10 minutes after flag off. The congestion in the first two km's was a little unnerving for me as it can be a danger to run too close to other runners, but thankfully there were no mishaps.

I salute Dirigo events and all of their staff and volunteers for pulling it off. I'm sure other runners would agree with me that we, the participants were rewarded handsomely by Standard Chartered and their partners on this special occasion. It was indeed a celebration in style for the 10th anniversary of the SCKLM. Well done to all parties who made this event a success.. and heartiest congratulations to all the finishers!

Runeasy: Our shoes for this year - Nike Lunarepic 2 Low

Relive 'Morning Run'

Summary:
Distance: 21.4km
Pace: 5.58 /km
Gun time:  02:21:46.04
Net time:  02:09:18.21
Rank: 176

Asics Penang Bridge International Marathon 2016

The Asics Penang Bridge International Marathon 2016 was the last race I ran for this year. As PBIM is one of my favourite events, I registered and secured a place back in April. With the experience of running 21km on both the Penang Bridge and the Second Bridge in the past two years, I signed up for the 10km this year as most of my running teammates preferred the distance (blog post of PBIM 2015) Looking back at my running journey thus far this year, I noticed that the individual 10km distance is missing in logs (the only other time I ran a 10k was in the Asics Relay the Night.)

One may be tempted to ask, "Is 10k a downgrade from the FM, HM and 12k?"

Not. At. All.

In fact, I like doing the 10km distance for these reasons:

-  it holds a special place in my heart as my first race back in  January 2014 was the 10km in the Marina Run, Singapore

- training for the 10k is less demanding compared to the HM or FM (let's face it - there are times when one doesn't train as hard due to circumstances or lack of motivation)

- I can run faster!!!

- I would not need to wake up at ungodly hours for the race (FM flag off at 1:30 a.m.)

- I can recover quicker after the race

- it is more social and less competitive for the average runner

Driving to Penang from Kuala Lumpur on the evening before the race was a nightmare. There was standstill traffic along the Tapah-Gopeng stretch for two hours which I found out was due to a major accident. The weather didn't help either as there were intermittent showers along the way.  Setting off my journey at 6 pm, the journey took eight hours to complete. The Penang Bridge was closed at midnight (which I was aware of but did not think I would not arrive in Penang by then) so I used the Second Bridge, namely the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge.

On arriving on the island city, I was unable to get on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway as it was closed for the race. Soon I learned that I was haplessly going around in circles as Waze kept re-directing me to use the closed roads, not offering any alternate routes. Exhausted and losing the will to carry on, I pulled over at the Lim Chong Eu expressway and asked the traffic police officer to direct me to the city centre. The man in uniform was polite and he gave me clear instructions to get to the hotel. Surprisingly it was as simple as following the signs to Pusat Bandaraya (City Centre).

I arrived at the hotel at 3:10 a.m only to find out that the hotel car park was full to the brim. I maneuvered my car around the choc-a-bloc with vehicles parked in front of, behind and around the designated lots. It was a total chaos. I drove out of the parking lot disappointed, but was greeted by an attendant who asked if I was a guest at the hotel. I answered in the affirmative and he said he would take care of my parking problem if I just left my car key with him. I duly complied.  

I woke up at 4:10 a.m fuzzy headed and made my way to Komtar by foot. I was lucky that there was a bus already waiting when I arrived so swiftly boarded the bus and off I went with the other enthusiastic runners to get to the race village. 

I don't remember much about the what happened before the race flag off due to the brain fog I was experiencing. Breakfast came in the form of a banana and a bun, though I can't tell you what filling was is it. I faintly recall a friend saying hi to me and I greeted him in return. He later reported that I came across to him and his teammates as cold and somewhat standoffish. Well, all I hope this post explains why I gave a less-than-enthusiastic peer recognition to his friends. Runners aren't immune to bad days.

The announcer praised the weather. The rain earlier had subsided and the cool weather set the perfect conditions for 14,000 runners gathered at the race corral in the 10k event. At 6:30 a.m. the race began.

Race:

I ran a comfortable pace for most of the course. The course was mostly flat except for the incline on the pathway to get on the bridge. Around 7 a.m., I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise view from the bridge and I slowed down to take it in. Many runners around me whipped out their camera phones to catch selfies. At the half-way point U-turn, I started to feel a strain in my legs and was worried with the knowledge that I would struggle to maintain my pace of 5:30. Nonetheless, I pushed myself further in spite of niggles in my legs. At a water stations later, I received a much needed break and a boost when a young male volunteer when collecting my paper cup into the bin he was carrying said "Thank you, 加 油！" That was the fuel I needed to get back on track to the finish line.

This shot does not do justice to the beautiful scenery I witnessed

Not long after I approached the Queensbay Mall area and I was excited in the knowledge that the finish line was within reach. Spurred on by the sight of many happy finishers around me, I pushed myself for one last time to counter my gradually decreasing pace. I ran, putting one foot in front of the other. And ran... It was a long, hard slog.. and finally, I crossed the finish line in under one hour. I was both happy and relieved that I completed the race.

Cheng Yee back in action

Team Amos, Danny, CY and CK

A hard fought victory for this year's PBIM

Official results:
Clock time: 1:02:11
Nett time: 59:17
5km point: 32:50
Category Rank: 181/3975

Standard Chartered KL Marathon

I'm glad to have secured a place in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2015 on October 4.
This year registration closed only after three days as all 35,000 places were grabbed by enthusiastic runners in categories from 5K to the full marathon.

I'll be running again in the 10K (speed) category.

As the KL Marathon 2015 is all not that far away, I thought I should relive the memories of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2014 to draw inspiration and rediscover my motivation for running in races.

The 2014 KL Marathon, winner of  the coveted KL's Mayor Tourism Award  saw over 30,000 participants and supporters congregate at the historic Dataran Merdeka. Participants from within Malaysia describe this annual running event as "epic", a truly international race and the mother of all running events in Malaysia

The sheer number of participants that turned out for the race was overwhelming. I was still new to running in race events at the time and certainly did not anticipate such a huge crowd on that day. The LRT trains were packed in the wee hours of the morning, with runners of every shape and size, all of whom were proudly wearing their Brooks green race tee. A thought crossed my mind, "While other KL City folks were sleeping in on this Sunday in October, there's a whole community of runners who were up and out as early as 5 in the morning and that's truly remarkable." I am totally not a morning person and yet, I found myself turned into one on this beautiful morning. I think I had already overcome the first obstacle of the day that is getting out of bed at a set time. I felt ever ready to conquer other obstacles that would come my way..

Participants heeding the advice of the organizer to travel by train to the race venue

The new route for 2014 gained positive feedback from seasoned runners of the KL Marathon. For me, it was sheer joy running the new route which traversed KL's iconic buildings such as Dataran Merdeka, DBKL, the National Mosque, the National Monument and the awe-inspiring Petronas Twin Towers in the background. I remember the uphill terrain at the Taman Tasik Perdana/KL Bird Park around kilometer 9, which was a challenge both mentally and physically.Thankfully, my brand new pair of Brooks Glycerin 12 served me well to handle the demands of the terrain.

Tears streamed down my face when I crossed the finish line as I knew that I had given it my all in the race. I was overcome with pride of having finished my very first Standard Chartered KL Marathon 10k race with a noteworthy time.

New cue words: "Finisher of the amazing KL Marathon, 10km"

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Racing back to 2014

Here's my story on how I became a running enthuasist:

I participated in the Jogathon event (8km run) organized by the Department of Health Kedah  on 4th February at the scenic Pendang Lake Resort in Kedah. Afterwards, I was stunned to learn that I finished 8th  in the Men's Open category and was awarded with a cert and prize money. With only a week's training prior to the race, I thought perhaps I can be good at running. And that's how I took up this sport...

I have not looked back since...

Here's a recap of the races I entered in 2014:
1) Marina Run (10km) in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
2) Larian Bandaraya Alor Setar (8km) @ Sultan Abdul Halim Stadium, Alor Setar
3) British 10k London in London
4) Sg Petani Half Marathon (10km) event in Sg Petani Ground Zero
5) Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2014 (10km)
6) Terry Fox Run @ Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur (4km fun run)
7) Penang Bridge International Marathon @ Sultan Abdul Halim Bridge, Penang (Half Marathon)
8) PJ Half Marathon @ Stadium Kelana Jaya (10km)