A Christmas Marathon Festival In Chiang Mai

This Chiang Mai Marathon has never been in our running agenda or even holiday destination. As the year is coming to an end, Wai Mun insisted that we go for our annual holiday. She has been ‘dying’ for a break as we have not had one since her sister passed away. So, when I suggested Chiang Mai, she welcomed it without hesitation.

One of the pleasures of running outside Malaysia is that you will not feel under pressure even if you under perform because you are on vacation anyway! It’s been 6 years since we decided to incorporate our holidays with a marathon. Like Wan Yew Leong simply puts it, “killing two birds with one stone!”



Another pleasant surprise while running overseas is that we are bound to meet a Pacesetter somewhere during the race. I remember when in Honolulu, we bumped onto a Pacesetter in the street, there we stood and chatted in the middle of the street. It was as if, we all have that Pacesetter chop engraved on our foreheads! In Chiang Mai, we met Frenzo, a friend of Alan Tiang and now our friend too. He is a Malaysian working in Chiang Mai. When he heard about our trip, he e-mailed and updated us on the weather condition etc. so that we can prepare ourselves. It was very kind of him.

Well, after my feat in the recent Putrajaya Marathon and still feeling good about it, I registered for another Full Marathon in Chiang Mai. Later, when news got round that we will be doing Chiang Mai Marathon, Yew Chee Chung, Siew Cheng and husband, Mr Lee, Agnes Tee, Lok and their two sons joined in the party!!



Here’s an account of my race experience in Chiang Mai.

24 December 2006 – I had the privilege to sleep until one hour before the race which started at 4.00am local time. As our hotel was less than 50 metres from the starting point, I took my own sweet time for freshening up and had a simple breakfast. I was relief as I managed to recover from the lack of sleep on Friday night.

It was quite chilling in the morning. I believed it was around 10 degree Celsius but thank goodness there were no strong breeze. I put on my hand gloves and my Santa Claus cap before walking in the dark and quiet street with my ever supportive wife to the starting point at Thaphae Gate.

The crowd was extremely small. I think it was less than 200 participants running the full distance. Anyway it didn’t bother me much as marathon running is always a test against your own self. The race was flagged off at 4.00am sharp signaling the start of my Santa Claus journey.

I started very slowly. In fact it was so slow that my watch showed 6’55” at the first km. Gingerly, I increased my pace and tried to break away from the slow group. Then to my amusement, at the 4km mark, there was one lonely guy playing his harmonica to entertain the runners in the cold! Really salute his spirit! I imagined and wondered if Wan Yew Leong would do the same? Hehehe!

The first 5km reminded me of running in the streets of Seremban town where I was surrounded with shops and market. However, unlike running in Malaysia, the organizer made an effort to make sure the runners’ safety comes first by putting up red cones along the route. Kudos to Jog & Joy, a running club similar to our own PACM!

As we adjourned out of the town, I felt much cooler and cooler! This was not good as I recalled I never performed well in cold weather – from my results in Florida and Sydney. Nevertheless, I tried to stay focus and kept telling myself to enjoy the weather and be thankful as I will never be able to run under such cold weather in Malaysia. I reached 10km mark in 54’54”, almost 2 minutes off target!

At my 15km mark, the leading pack was already returning back. Wow! They were fast! I guessed they must now be 8km ahead of me. Checked on my watch and it showed 1:20:50 which meant I am running at a quicker pace of 25’56”.

From 15km onwards, I stopped checking on my split time as the markers were getting confusing. I just ran according to how I felt. Not long after that, we were required to turn left to a housing area where there were no street lights at all! In total darkness, I was careful not to bump into someone in front of me. We had to make a u-turn at a big tree in front of an ancient temple. It reminded me of a Hindustan movie!

I think I was getting faster and faster as I had been overtaking a lot of runners. Motivated, I ran to a stage where there wasn’t a single runner in front of me. Now this is where the problem arises – all of a sudden I wasn’t sure which direction I was supposed to head next as I could see so many arrow signs in Siamese words. Apparently, they were just signs to the hotels or restaurants! Fortunately, a Thai runner caught up with me. I just followed him closely and into a beautiful park where the Royal Flora Expo is being held. Wow! What a pretty scenery and landscape! After another u-turn inside the park, I knew I was heading back to the Chiang Mai town already and I will not lost my way.

I increased my tempo with confidence and quickly grabbed a cup of sport drink (the only water station providing sport drink) and a banana at the 30km mark. Then I saw the 32km marker and checked on my timing – 2:45! I did some mental calculations and I knew I would be able to complete between 3:35 to 3:45. With a PB in sight, I pushed myself during the last 10km. The feeling was really amazing as it was already getting warmer.

With another 500 metres to go, I changed to my top gear and finished strongly in 3:33:08 (Official time 3:33:17)! I managed to cut down another 10 minutes from the previous PB achieved in Putrajaya. I was more than happy when I realized that while I did 55 minutes in my first 10km, my last 10km was a superb 48 minutes!

Now, I can look forward to achieving my ultimate target of 3:30 before I can really feel satisfied and proud of myself!



I would say the race was fairly organized and we do not have any complaints. I would recommend it to anyone who needs a short break or value-for-money holiday. We enjoyed the run, the company of friends, the Thai massages, good food, shopping and sightseeing. After all, running is not all about winning the prize money. For us, it is important to give our best, it’s about running a good race, making friends and to be able to keep another happy memory in our album… Sawadee!

PACM Results:

42km

Tan John Yam Pos 7 3:33:17

21.1km

Yap Wai Mun Pos 1 1:53:47

10km

Agnes Tee Pos 3 42:27

For Full Results

30km Practice Run

I am currently into the 3rd week of my training for the Chiang Mai Marathon. My training has been on track so far, thank God for the nice weather. The haze has gone and cool air has settled in due to the aftermath of the rain. Fortunately, the daily showers have not caused any major interruption to my training as it always stops by the time I go for a run.


Everything is shaping up nicely and I did my longest run since the Putrajaya Marathon this morning. I must say I did reasonably well in 2:31 in the 30km trial run organized by the PACM. Considering not much effort has been put for speedwork training, I'm pleased with this result.

Talking about this morning's practice run, I must thank Mr Tan Wah Sing, a bare-foot runner from Kuantan for running side-by-side with me for a good 18km. If not of him, I would have just ran lazily!

The Amazing Race Asia

We have been a die-heart fan of the US-version of The Amazing Race. We followed the series year-in-year-out without fail! And, we are delighted to have our own Asian version which will be kicked off tomorrow. Expectation is high! I hope it will be as good if not better than their counterpart.

Bet that we will glue to the TV at 9.00pm every Thursdays!

New York City Marathon 2006

Just wish to share this interesting report on the debut marathon run by the world famous figure - Lance Armstrong. Read on:-

He Came, He Cramped, He Conquered

Cycling champion Lance Armstrong calls the ING New York City Marathon “the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done” Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong did what he wanted to do on November 5 – run the ING New York City Marathon in under three hours. Armstrong, 35, stepped over the finish line in Central Park just under his goal in 2:59:36. His dark green shirt soaked in sweat, the superstar cyclist admitted that the last few miles of the race were a struggle. “Even after experiencing one of the hardest days of the Tour nothing has ever left me feeling this bad,” he said at a post-race news conference. “[My shins] started to hurt in the second half, but the bigger problem the last 7 or 8 miles was the tightness in my calves and thighs. My calves really knotted up. I can barely walk right now.”
Armstrong called the race “the hardest physical thing I have ever done.” While he competed in triathlons as a teenager, Armstrong had never attempted a marathon.
“I think I bit off more than I could chew,” he said. “I never felt a point where I hit the wall; it was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness.”Armstrong was relaxed at the beginning of the race, pointing to the crowd and smiling as spectators yelled, “Go Lance.” Armstrong fans along the course buzzed with excitement at the news that he was due in their area.
The millions of fans didn’t go unnoticed by the cycling champion. “It really was one of the more special events I have ever been involved with,” Armstrong said. “Certainly without the support of New York City I would have been three and a half hours. It’s rare that you see that kind of support from fans. Everyone who was cheering out there was cheering for everyone in this race, not just for me.”
The Armstrong entourage was hard to miss. It included a press vehicle, NBCSports.com on MediaZone.com’s dedicated “LanceCam,” Lance Armstrong Foundation athletes, and a contingent of world-class runners who paced him, including Alberto Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Hicham El Guerrouj, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field.
Armstrong ran with Salazar in the first half of the race. Salazar certainly knew the course: he won three consecutive New York City Marathons in 1980, ‘81, and ‘82.
“I had to hold him back,” Salazar, 49, said of Armstrong. “Cardiovascularly he was fine. He could speak sometimes better than I could while we were running. I knew that the challenge for him would be the pounding on his legs. So, I tried to keep us at a decent pace but knew he wanted to make it under three hours.”
Samuelson, who won gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, paced Armstrong for the last 16 miles of his marathon. Acting like a cycling domestique, Samuelson muscled runners to the side giving Armstrong a clear path.
“I had to use my elbows more than I ever have in a marathon, just keeping a clear path for him,” Samueslon said. “In the last few miles, I had keep the reins on him and just remind him to loosen up his arms and stretch them every once in a while.”
Armstrong needed Samuelson’s advice to loosen up. “Toward the end of First Avenue in Harlem, I thought ‘uh-oh, I am in pain,’” Armstrong said, but he did not stop. “That LanceCam is humbling,” he said. “At one point I wanted to stop and stretch but with the LanceCam on me, I thought that would be embarrassing.”
Armstrong is not the first Tour de France cyclist to tackle the five boroughs. Laurent Jalabert ran last year’s ING New York City Marathon in 2:55.39. Armstrong said he was aware of Jalabert’s result and it was one of his goals to beat that time.
“Before the race that was my goal, I wanted to break three hours. But if you asked me that with three miles to go, I wouldn’t have cared,” he said. “Honestly, at the end I was so tired, I couldn’t care. I don't know how these guys do it.”
Armstrong wore a hat bearing the date of his diagnosis of cancer: 10/2 (in 1996). His struggle to overcome cancer and go on to win seven Tours de France has been an inspiration for others. The Lance Armstrong Foundation, which funds cancer research, raised about $600,000 at this year’s ING New York City Marathon.
“What Lance does is bring more people into the sport of running,” Salazar said. “He is good for the sport and he creates excitement.”
Will Armstrong return next year?
“The answer to that right now is ‘no,’” Armstrong said ruefully. “But I reserve the right to change my mind.”

Raya & Birthday Run

Salam Aidilfitri to all the Muslim friends and runners.

We have had a pleasant run to Hartamas this morning. Weather was cool. Traffic was light due to the long Deepa-Raya holidays. The haze has also minimized....

I started running together with Adam at a very relaxed pace. We later caught up with Tey, CCube, Lisa, KNN and the birthday boy, Dr Jamie somewhere near the Mosque. We joined the group and ran with them all the way to the Hartamas Petronas station.

On the reverse, Lisa, Adam and I upped the tempo slightly but still running at a comfortable pace. Upon reaching the Mosque, we were surprised to see so many cars. Apparently, our Muslims friends were also up early for their morning prayers especially for today.We were careful at this stage, not wanting to be knocked down by any careless driver.

When we reached the main road of Jalan Duta, we had to slow down and practically stopped to hop over the divider which is as high as my waist level. (I wonder how is PACM to plan the coming 30km without the participants slowing down to do a hop over?)

With another 4km to go, I decided to be a pacer and increased the pace to a competitive level with the intention of helping Adam who is preparing for his 21km in Singapore. He responded and followed closely behind. As always, he did well....Good for him!

All in all, it was a good run as I came back satisfied knowing that I have done 5km more than my initial plan of 15km!

Once again, many happy returns of the day to Dr Jamie!

Sa-Wa-Dee Ho Ho Ho...

THANK YOU to Jamie, Adam, Khee Meng, Azwar, Rohaizad, Dr Raymond, Justin, Newton, Bernado and other running friends for your words of encouragement and compliments on my recent achievement in the Putrajaya Marathon. Hope I could do better in the coming marathons.

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I know this blog has been somewhat quiet as I have not been running much these days after the Putrajaya Marathon. My weekly mileage is around 11 to 20km with the longest 11km-Double Hill run on Sunday mornings.

That's how poor my current condition is! And if this isn't enough, the thick haze has "killed" my every little hope for a decent run. Sigh!

In fact, in the beginning of October, I had to halt all my running and working activities for a week as my both eyes were infected and red. My wife has passed her conjunctivitis to me....talk about sharing! But then again, no thanks to this haze!

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Haze or rain, we can still see so many PACM members running the long distance on Sunday mornings. They are either busy preparing for the Bangkok Marathon (26 Nov) or Singapore Marathon (3 Dec). Here, I would like to wish them the best of luck in their run during the competition.

As for us "the running couple", we have just booked our air tickets to Chiangmai for their marathon on 24 Dec 2006. Yes, it's Christmas Eve! I believe it will be a brand new experience for us to be able to compete and celebrate the festival in a foreign country!

If you ask me whetrher I will be a running Santa Claus again this year, like what I did en route to Hartamas, I will only tell you when I come back from the land of smiles. Sa-wa-dee!

For more information on Chiangmai Marathon 2006, click here.

P/S special thanks to Ms Narumol, an avid long distance runner from Thailand for providing the information.

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Crazy or not, I'm going to sign up for the 42km event in Chiangmai. I have only 9 weeks to get my fitness back to a competitive level. I will apply my tested formula from the Putrajaya run to this race except to shorten it by 2 weeks. I know time is not on my side. I only wish the haze will go away as soon as possible.

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The next overseas running trip on our list will be the Maui Marathon which is scheduled on 16 September 2007. There will be full and half distance categories. Anyone interested to join, please let me know.

A PB In Putrajaya

Yes, I did it!

It was truly an amazing feat for me to clock a personal best time of 3:43:09 in such a grueling race in Putrajaya Marathon. I am surprise that I was able to beat my previous best of 3:49:48 which I did in 2002 in a much easier and cooler Penang Bridge Marathon.

I would like to dedicate this special moment to my beloved wife and also two of my best friends, Adam Loh and Kelvin Ng who encouraged me to go for a PB before the start of the race. It was as if they had this feeling that I was going to make it today.

As my initial target was just a sub-4, I started very easily and aim to reserve some energy for the hilly sessions later part of the race. I sticked to my pacing of 27 minutes for each 5km. Everything seemed to work out fine to me. At 32km, when I realised my body was still going strong and should be able to cope with additional stress, I increased my pace. As I knew a PB was within sight, it was now a matter of how fast I could go!

Alas, the last 2km was really a major challenge to me, both physically and mentally. The heat has taken its toll on me. The "climb" at the last slope near the finishing line was a killer. All of a sudden, the short distance seemed to be so long!

Luckily, I managed to hang on until the last 100m where I heard cheers generously coming from friends and supporters. Thank you guys and ladies!

For the record, here's my split time:
5km - 26'40"
10km - 26'54" >> 53'35"
15km - 27'00" >> 1:20'35"
20km - 24'50" >> 1:45'26"
21km - 6'53" >> 1:52'19"
25km - 18'47" >> 2:11'07"
30km - 27'02" >> 2:38'10"
35km - 27'53" >> 3:06'03"
40km - 25'42" >> 3:31'45"
41km - 4'59" >> 3:36'44"
42.195km - 6'24" >>> 3:43'09"

P/S luckily Powergel was provided at 30km. Otherwise, I would curse the Organizer as they prepared only one banana station. They failed to keep to their promise of providing fruits from 24km onwards!

The Run-up to Putrajaya Marathon

Countdown to D-Day : 10 days to the Putrajaya Full Marathon!

So far my preparation have been good and almost according to my own 11-week training programme. But there were times whereby the training has been disrupted due to illness, leg injury and the unavoidable heavy rain and thick haze.

My training emphasized on conditioning for the 1st 2 weeks, followed by 3 weeks of strength training, 4 weeks of speed work-out and 2 weeks of tapering off. I hope this plan will enable me to cross the finishing line without much suffering.

As much as I wish to do at least one 70km in weekly mileage, I only managed 63km. The highlight of my training was a 3-loop of Double Hill which is approximately 33km, performed last week!

Right now, I am feeling good and hopefully I can maintain my form until the race day. Wish me luck!

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During this tapering off period, I plan to have a few more sessions on acupuncture and some massages. Need to pamper my tired body!

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My thanks to the valuable advice and input by Dr Jamie and Tey ET, I bought a pair of Mizuno Wave 8 recently. It was indeed a good buy as this "bloody expensive legs" of mine have been responding well to the shoe so far (I suspect my legs always work well with all the branded shoes!).

Come on my Mizuno, much will also depend on you whether I am going to make and break on D-Day. Please don't disappoint me!

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On paper, Putrajaya Full Marathon has been quite promising and professional.

I received a letter from the Organiser explaining why the race will only be flagged off at 6.00am. It is indeed a very late start off time considering of the hot and humid weather here. Nevertheless, the Organiser has proactively initiated to provide some fruits at certain distances, ie. banana at 24km, orange at 28km, watermelon at 32km, banana at 36km and honey juice at 40km! Looks like we will be in for a "fruit-athon" too!! Hopefully I don't get carried away by this fruit party that I forget to focus on my race.

A big thumb up for the Organiser! Hopefully the event will run smoothly and take off well so that more will participate in the Full Marathon next year.

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Recently, I had an encounter with snakes on 2 occasions on my run to Hartamas! One is big and dead (perhaps ran over by a vehicle) and the other still alive and crossed my path! The two of us (the small-sized, black and golden coloured snake and yours truly) had a shock of our life! We jumped simultaneously before we parted away. Thank goodness I don't step on it!

So my advice is always on the look out for little things on the ground while you are running.

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Lastly, I would like to end with a "Happy Independence Day"! I love you, Malaysia!

Poor Poor Seremban Half Marathon

Well, if you didn't take part in this year's SHM, you absolutely did not miss anything at all. The race has gone from bad to worst and to the extent that they cut down to just ONE water station for the 21km runners! No wonder there were 4 make-shift stalls set up by the roadside selling mineral water! What a joke! Maybe the organiser should make it clear in their Entry Form to inform runners to carry extra cash for their future races.

Thanks to the organiser of SHM, I have had a good work-out this morning from the race. They provided a training condition that you probably can't find it elsewhere - no water to quench your thirst, stinky smell from carcass in the middle of your run and the worst part was the fume from the stalled vehicles! From this kind of training - I guess I became stronger mentally but physically unhealthy! You would've guess if we will take part again in the future.

For the record, I did 1:45:02 with position no. 21, due to fewer runners I'm sure.

P/S By the way, their medals have never change one bit over the decades!

I Am Back

Adam is right - I am now back into competition. My next target will be the Putrajaya Marathon to be held on 10 September and guess what, I will be running the full distance!

Sometimes it is scary knowing that the place is so hot with little shades and wide highways. The undulating course plus the late starting time - 6am are of little help either. I can still remember how I suffered last year despite it being half the distance!

Nevertheless, I will still give it a shot to support the organizer as this will be the first time they are organizing a 42km marathon. Besides, I also have many customers-cum-friends from this administrative township.

To get the ball rolling... I took part in 10km in Ipoh last week. Despite a short one-week training, I think I did reasonably well in 45:43 which even surprised myself!

While my next warm-up race will be a 21km in Seremban next week, I hope I will be able to clock in as much mileage as possible within my busy schedule without aggravating my old injury.

Hopefully, I will be able to cross the finishing line under 4 hours in Putrajaya.

Till then, God bless me.

NB 15km Recce Run

Thanks for all the condolences and words of comfort forwarded to us recently.

As Wai Mun mentioned in her eulogy for Jennifer ...
"Altho' her time with us has been a short one, Jennifer had indeed lived well, laughed often & loved much.
She filled her niche & accomplished her task,
A tougher sister / friend we have yet to find,
May God grant her His Rest & Peace divine.
We will all missed her - her voice, her smile, her wit & her passion for life. May we then cherish these fond memories of her in our hearts and move on with life with Jennifer's enthusiasm."

Yeah my dear friends, it's really so important for us to live, laugh and love. Let's learn to treasure every moment. When we first joined Pacesetters, we were just going crazy on running. Our minds was so focused into running, racing and achieving PBs in competitions after competitions. It was until Wai Mun and I met and got married that we finally 'stopped to smell the flowers' and began to appreciate the friendship we made via the Club.

Next week, Wai Mun and I have been assigned a road marshall job for the coming NB 15km Run. While I have a little experience in the task before, it is interesting to see how Wai Mun will deal with it - as I believe most people will agree with me that female species don't have great sense of direction! Ha! Ha! Ha! Joke aside, I still have strong faith in her in carrying out her duty well.

This morning, most of the PACM members have a familiarization run on the actual route. So did I, except that I took my run more seriously compared to the rest. I just wanted to have a feel on the new course plus a test on my fitness level.

Though I did not push up to 100%, the new route is challenging enough to make me sweat to my last drop. It took me 1:15:17 to complete the run.

My personal observation is that this year's run will certainly be more challenging compared to previous years as there are more hills to tackle. Another factor to consider is that runners are to run a repetition loop up the Bukit Tunku which will be a test on your mental strength as well.

Fellow runners, good luck and don't forget to have fun on race day!

Life's A Roller Coaster

Ever since I took up a new job early this year, my running has taken a back seat. That explains why I have been inactive in blogging too.

My weekly mileage barely touches 30km. And most of my runs were done on 2 days only - a back-to-back Saturday and Sunday! A run on weekdays seems like a mission impossible to me these days.

It was like everything had to stop after KLIM. It was also clearly unfortunate that we had to miss the Saberkas Marathon due to the untimely death of Jennifer (Wai Mun's younger sister). Jennifer had suffered brain tumour & lung cancer for a year & a half. Her journey with C had indeed been a tough one cos' by the time she was diagnosed with this C, she was already in her 4th stage. Imagine the agony she had to go through with chemo + surgery. Within 2 months, she went thru' 2 operations : one for brain & one for the left lung! As a result, she lost her vision of the left eye....However, she had been very strong and positive about the whole thing. Her courage & trust in God has been such a comfort & encouragement to the family. Even towards the end of her days, she kept holding onto dear life & fighting back. So, it was truly amazing to see her making her own obituary & funeral arrangements ie. what dress to wear, flowers, which pastors to conduct her funeral etc. etc.

We came to realize how short, fragile & uncertain life can be. Therefore, while we still can...value health - treasure the little things - stop to smell the flowers - live life to the fullest - learn to love more...etc. etc. (easier said than done, right?)

Considering our current situation, my wife and I have decided to give this year's PACM 15km run a miss. However, we will both still be there - as volunteers of course. We hope to be able to catch you guys in action on the race day. Don't forget to have fun running!

Before signing off, I wish to share a thot which you may or may not agree. Well, anyways...

"Racing through life could be very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability to shift down. And when we are stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress also triggers negative emotions like frustration, anger and fear.
Life has much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator....we CAN choose to brake.
Therefore, enjoy life! It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast...you'll also miss the sense of where you are going & why." - Eddie Cantor

My First Half Marathon In KL

Can you believe it? Yes, it is indeed my very first half marathon in this metropolitan city since I started running in KL in 1990. I had either run full distances or 10KMs before! Perhaps that was why I could only sleep for an hour the night before the KLIM 2006.

As usual, I started slowly to warm up. I reached the 5km mark in 24:34.

As I was feeling good, I increased the pace and overtook quite a number of runners on the uphill near Tmn Desa. I reached 10km in 47.19. Oh yes! Thanks to the Powerbar Team for handing out the Powergel.

After the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, I think I lost my rhythm and energy a bit by zigzagging past the school children in the 7km category. My 15km timing was 1:12.

The story went on until the finishing with occasional blocks by the kids. How frustrating! I intentionally skipped the water (or mist?) sprinkle provided by Nike at Jalan Sultan Ismail. Sorry, no time for water game!

My spirit was lifted when I saw a group of PACM members and friends cheering us at the Dataran Merdeka U-Turn. Thanks mate! See you later as I've an unfinished job to do.

I knew the finishing is near so I tried to increase my pace. However, due to the lack of training for the last 3 weeks before the race, my endurance seemed to have failed me. I couldn't find my strength I needed most.

I completed my maiden half marathon in KL in 1:42:32! Still, it is the best time I've ever clocked since my injury. Hope for more better things to come!

5km Split Time:-
1st 5km - 24:34
2nd 5km - 22:45
3rd 5km - 24:46
Final 6km - 30:26

Official Results of GE PACM 30km Is Out

To view the final results of the GE PACM 30km Run, please click here.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

We would like to wish you a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year.

Two more days to the CNY and we are already starting to eat, eat and eat. Need to run more during this long holiday break or I will turn into a big, fat dog!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Run For Terence

der_Pacemakers is organising a run to show our support to one of our fellow runners, Terence (Penguin-6) who was diagnosed with brain tumour.

While his wife is not working and his own job is at stake, whatever assistance and support we extend him will be useful. Runners are known as a supportive and positive bunch. It's time to come forward to help a fellow sportsman in need. Treatment for tumours are often expensive and debilitating. The patient will also be weakened substantially by all the drugs. Besides resting and taking proper food, it's also beneficial to take food supplements such as antioxidants. All these require money.

As this is a non-competitive run, you can run any number of laps you wish to. After which we'll be passing the hat around to collect some contribution for him. You can also pen down messages for him in a book.

Date: Saturday, Feb 4th
Time: 8am
Venue: KLCC Park, the large space between the carpark and the mosque
Distance: Any number of laps

Please turn up in full to support him and spread the word around. Please also indicate your interest to take part in the comment column in der_Pacemakers blog. Thank you.

This One For You, Terence

First of all, I would like to dedicate this GE Pacesetters 30km Run to one of our fellow runners, Mr Terence a.k.a KL Penguin who has been diagnosed with brain tumor recently. I wish to tell him that he is not fighting the illness alone. He has got a strong support from all the runners and triathletes. So, be strong and fight like a champ!

I had a memorable experience in the inaugural GE Pacesetters 30km run this morning. The run was generally well organised by the PACM. If there is any area for improvement, it will be the toilet facilities and the availability of more cheering teams. Anyway, kudos to the cheering team whom I'm sure have lifted our spirit during our run. A high five to you!

The run is tough and challenging, I can tell you. For those who are not familiar with the course, it could be a nightmare as we have to conquer so many hills. However, the roller coaster-like terrain suits me fine. I just needed to pace myself well. I completed my first Double Hill loop in 58:44.

I got a big boost at the beginning of my second loop from the cheering team. From there, I was encouraged to increase my pace slightly and was rewarded with a timing of 48:01 at the Hartamas checkpoint.

On my home run, knowing that I should be safe from any leg cramp, I increased my pace further with 3km to go and sprinted to the finishing line in a time of 2:34.39. The last 10km split was 47:53.

Wai Mun completed a remarkable 2:51.29.

Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers for their sacrifice and effort to make this run a success. I'm sure we runners will always appreciate your contribution.

2 More Weeks to GE PACM 30K Run

Yeah! Bring it on, baby!

I did my longest run of the year this morning - 25km and I felt quite good with my condition at the moment. That showed my 5-week of conditioning trainings have borne fruits.

I will add some speed work-outs in my next phase of training before tapering off for the 30km run.

Although it won't be one of my key events, I will aim for a 2:30 finishing. Any takers out there to pace together on that day?

First CNY Card

I received my first Chinese New Year card today from the generous Datuk Mohd Yaziz - one of our sponsors for the Pacemaker Runs. See how creative he is to put every friends' name in the card and post it via website. How effective and efficient way of wishing people you know!

Wai Mun and I would like to wish him a healthy and fit body to enjoy his promotions-after-promotions, from Datuk to Datuk Seri, then Tan Sri and whatsoever!