I always love running on New Pantai Expressway (NPE) ever since the adidas King of The Road (KOTR) series in the year 2011, 2012 & 2013. After that, it stopped when adidas decided to focus on other stuff (like football) and abandon the immensly popular running event, KOTR altogether. I couldn't be happier when IJM-Allianz revived the run on the NPE in 2017. Nothing beats the freedom of running on a car-free highway with thousands of other runners on a Sunday morning!
So, when I was offered a 10K slot to run the Duo Highway Challenge 2019 - NPE Series, I accepted it without much hesitation. I arrived at the run venue, near Sunway Pyramid at around 4:50am. After picking up my racekit from the media counter, I deposited my bag at the bag storage facility provided by the organiser. It was still early, so I walked around and checked out the race site.
Unlike the previous years, no breakfast was provided to the media this time around. (Budget constraints?) Anyway, luckily, I have already eaten a "lo mai kai" (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) for breakfast an hour earlier. About 10 minutes before flag off, I headed up the overhead bridge to capture the 21km flag off.
I took a lot of photos before, during and after the run. Hope you enjoy reading this entry...
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| The elites are raring to go at the starting point. (21km) |
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| This ain't a disco but the lights at the starting point sure remind me of one. The colour changed from blue to red to green to yellow etc., enough to drive any photographer crazy with the untameable White Balance settings. Why can't they just use white light? The photos would look nicer... |
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| The 21km runners were flagged off at 5:30am to the beat of the marching drums. |
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| It was the 10K runners' turn to be flagged off at 6:30am. To my horror, I saw two runners fell to the ground shortly after being flagged off. Thank God, they were OK and continued the run. |
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| What a beautiful sight! I came down from the ramp where I took the photos and joined the 10K runners. |
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| The most iconic shopping mall in Malaysia - Sunway Pyramid, an Egyptian themed shopping mall, complete with a Sphinx-like lion, looking over the road. |
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| Sore Today, Strong Tomorrow. The person who came up with this slogan obviously has not experienced DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). It should read - Sore Today, Sorer Tomorrow... LOL! |
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| 1 km into the race... Huff! Huff! The weather was neither too warm or humid as I would've expected. The distance markers were big, conspicuous and accurate. |
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| The NPE Toll at around km-2. Nivea Men was having some kind of activation where you were given a sticker to collect a special gift after the run. Only for those who went through the Nivea gantry though. |
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| Poor fellows. It was only 2km into the race and they had already sought medical help. |
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| This water station was on the other side of the highway, meant for the returning runners. But I suppose there were too many thirsty runners out there this morning. |
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| The elevated highway, NPE was completely closed for the run. No cars, just runners. |
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| The real water station, serving chilled 100Plus and Mineral Water. |
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| As far as the eyes could see.... |
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| The highway is not completely flat. That's why the called it a challenge! |
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| The route was simple for the 10K runners - run towards KL, make a U-turn and the run back to the Sunway Pyramid. |
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| 2:30 pacers for the 21K spotted on the opposite side of the highway. |
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| The 10K U-Turn/ 5km |
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| A timing mat after the U-turn. |
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| A bigger water station at km-6 serving both 21K and 10K runners. |
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| The run is also stroller-friendly. Seen many parents whizzing by with their kids in the jogger strollers. |
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| Unsightly piles of used cups. Could be better managed! |
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| The official apparel for the run is Newton. It looks and feels premium. |
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| Portable toilets were opened for business after km-6. |
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| Heading back to Sunway Pyramid |
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| More ramps await! Huff! Huff! Note to self: Pls do more hill training next year! |
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| Add caption |
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| Almost there... One for km to go! |
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| Completed the run! The finisher medal was given right away after each runner had crossed the finish line, followed by a pack of sandwiches and a banana. The overall finishing experience was good. |
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| There was only one photo wall to cater to more than 9,000 runners. Can you imagine the Q? |
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| Long Q for the Milo though....But it was worth it! |
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| We don't deserve nice things! It saddens me when I see rubbish that is left just like that on the pavement. This happens in ALL the races. Malaysia Baharu tapi mentaliti zaman batu... |
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| I'm tired but I'm happy yeah! |
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| The loot |
Overall, I really enjoyed running on NPE. The event was well-organised and everything went quite smoothly. I have no major complaints...
What I like:
1. Car-free running environment - safe and free from exhaust smoke.
2. Accurate distance markers.
3. Newton running Tee - looks and feels premium.
4. Nivea Man activation during the run - Thanks for the extra gift!
5. Plenty of medical/ Firs Aid staff and marshalls along the route.
What can be improved:
1. Lighting at starting line. Please use only white light for the safety of runners and better-looking photographs. Like I said, this ain't a disco!
2. To increase rubbish receptacles at the water stations and finish line.
3. More photo walls for runners to pose with their hard-earned medals.
The part 2 of the series - The Besraya Challenge will be held in the evening on 25 August 2019 (Saturday) with distances of 26K, 13K and 13K relay run.
Too bad I can't join because I will be away for The Magnificent Merapoh Run.
For more info, click
http://www.ijmhighwayrun.com/
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