Eight is Enough

My 8 runs in 8 different cities in 8 weeks have finally concluded with Adidas King of The Road this morning.

In the past two months I have travelled and run in the following different cities in and around Malaysia:

1) Laguna Phuket Marathon (Phuket, Thailand)

2) Penang Bridge International Run (Pulau Pinang)

3) Milk Run 2007 (Singapore)

4) Sutera Harbour 7K Run on 07.07.07 (Kota Kinabalu, Sabah)

5) Seremban Half Marathon (Seremban, Negeri Sembilan)

6) Kuala Lumpur 10K (Kuala Lumpur)

7) Melaka Half Marathon (Melaka)

8) Adidas King of the Road (Petaling Jaya, Selangor)

The last run in my “Eat and Run Tour” series brought me back to the city I called home. Sort of a “homecoming”. Heheh! I live in Sunway for about 6 years now.

It gives me great joy to introduce to you to the city I live in. Bandar Sunway (or Sunway City) is a well-developed and concentrated township that portrays the ideal city lifestyle, with the advantages of good infrastructure, a wide range of amenities and conveniences.

Bandar Sunway is the home of Malysia’s first water theme park – Sunway Lagoon.

If you like some splashing good fun, Sunway Lagoon is THE place to be. You can surf (Yes! They have those wave machines that serve up some nasty surf. Plenty of water rides and rollercoasters as well.

It also features the longest hanging bridge in Malaysia. One day here might not be enough for some.

Sunway Pyramid as its name suggest is an Egyptian themed shopping centre.

It is my favourite lepak (loitering) place – newly renovated cinemas, MPH Bookshop, Fantasy Music, good cafes and eateries, hundres of retail stores with Parkson Departmental Store and Giant Hypermart as major tenants (soon they gonna have Jusco).

It houses major sport chains like Studio R, New Balance, Adidas and Al Ikhsan. I love this place. I go there almost everyday as it is so close to my house - just a 10 minutes walk away.

Unique shopping experience – during the day....

....and night.

Pyramid Ice skating rink in Sunway Pyramid. I can’t skate to save my life though.

Malaysia's 50th Independence Day Celebration (31st August) decoration in Bandar Sunway.

The Sunway Lion and the Red Hibiscus (Malaysia's National Flower)

The majestic Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel – one of the major 5 stars hotels in Klang Valley. The design, I was told is a copy of a hotel in Sun City, South Africa. Not really sure about this because I haven’t been to South Africa. Heheh!

The area near Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel is heavily decorated with colourful lights during festive seasons. Lots of photo opportunities here.

Bright lights and reflections.

What? Adidas King of The Road (Petaling Jaya, Selangor)

Where? Sunway Pyramid, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya.

When? Sunday, 5 August 2007; 6:45am

How long? 21km but please read on

It was the first time KOTR held in Sunway Pyramid and incorporating a 21km event. Prior to this, KOTR was held at Dataran Merdeka with 10km distance only.

I woke up about 5:10am. Thanks to Amy for the wake up call. Got ready and had breakfast at Subaidah Restaurant. The start point was just 10 minutes away from my home. So, I took my own sweet time to walk to the start point.

The reporting was well coordinated. We received a light green ribbon upon surrendering our reporting cards at the entrance to the holding zone.

Waiting patiently at the START.

The START/ FINISH area is right underneath the pedestrian bridge linking Mentari Business Park and Sunway Pyramid.

No. There is nothing wrong with this picture. Do not adjust your computer. There was a black out a few minutes before the start! Did Samy Vellu tripped on the power cord? Heheh!

Dato’ Samy Vellu was there to set off the runners. No fat joke about Samy Vellu this time. Thanks to him, we do not need to pay toll when using the NPE this morning. Heheh!

The sky was still dark when we started. I ran easy to the 80’s tunes I uploaded into my MP3 player.

The route was basically along the NPE, New Pantai Expressway from Sunway Pyramid and back.

Tunnel Run

First toll! No need to pay toll for using NPE! (Insert peace sign here!)

This is my favourite picture – On the left are the slower half marathoners (yours truly included). Down below are the four African runners in the 10K category going at break neck speed after making their U turn. They are in a league of their own!

The NPE was closed to traffic from 5:00am to 10:00am for the run. No cars. Just runners! We are the Kings of the Road!

Running towards the Sun! Nice sunrise, yes? But, in no time, be prepared to get fried!

Déjà vu? I thought I saw them just now? These are the half marathoners. The earlier ones were in the 10km category.

The building that looks like Shark Fin is the Menara Telekom. Oops…I must be hungry when I think of this. Shark fin soup! Heheh!

Another favourite picture of mine. Love the sun reflection on the wet tarmac at the sponging station.

Shutehelup (the one on the extreme right) from Singapore. Along this stretch I saw many familiar faces running on the opposite site. Yikes! I better quicken my pace. (insert huffing and puffing here).

U Turn! Collected the purple ribbon and turned back.

10 more km to go!

Long Way To Go (Insert Cassie's tune here)

WTF! I thought I just passed the 10 more km to go sign? How come I got 14 more?

Later I found out that they placed the 14km to go sign on the wrong side of the road! Unbelievable! (Insert eye rolling ceremony here!)

8 km more. That’s more like it! Seen here is Running Mom after overtaking me. She’s on a roll!

Going down seems much easier. It was the same stretch we climbed up earlier. I climbed that? Wowow!

Oh! No! Not another ramp up! (Insert expletive of your choice here!)

4 more km to go! Up! Up! And away?

If only I have a red underwear on the outside! Heheh!

Walk-wit-me already!

One last km. Checking my watch. Hmmm….Is this right? If this is a 21km, I should have my new PR. But later after checking with gadget-infested fellow runners, the route was actually about 19.6km. Killjoy!

Swaggering towards the FINISH line.

No medal liao!. (Insert cry here! Heheh!).

Overall, Adidas did make me feel like The King of The Road. It was as if I owned the road. I ran as I wished.

To the left, to the left....(Insert Beyonce’s tune here) or to the right, to the right....or just staying at centre of the highway. No worries about being ended up as a new coat of tar on the road. Now that was running free!

That feeling was wonderful and exhilarating. Not everyday that they closed the entire stretch of highway for us runners. I hope they will organize this again next year. But please give all finishers a medal each, OK? Heheh!

Kudos to Adidas and NPE people for bring such brilliant running experience to all of us.

After running 5 half marathons and 3 other shorter runs in the past two months, I think I will “take a break” from “running”. No running next week but there will be a lot walking (no running, right? Heheh!) and plenty of blisters to look forward to – The 4th Malaysia International 24 Hour Walk. (Insert excited squeal here!)

Note: A lot of sweat and precious time have been put into taking these original pictures featured in this blog. If you wish to use them in any way, please provide proper credit and a link back to this blog. Or else I will have to put those ugly watermarks in all my pictures in the future.