The Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km 2007

A Roaring Start to 2007

What? The Great Eastern Pacesetters 20km 2007

Where? Lake Garden

When? January 21, 2007 (Sunday)

How Long? 20km

The first official run of the year and I didn't bring my camera along. Surprised? Actually, there is nothing on the route, which I have not taken a picture of already. Heheh! So, off I went "tra-la-la" down the 20km route with my faithful running partner only - my SE710i phone cum MP3 player cum speed monitor cum step counter cum calories counter.

The route took me from Lake Garden to the Sri Hartamas and back (for 20km). Thank God, I do not have to go up the "double hill" like the 30K runners had to. After the U turn at the Petronas station, I saw many 30K runners from on the opposite side of the road. So, I played the role of "Mr. Tourism" - waved and said hello to my running friends as I passed them by.

Average Speed: 11km/hr (I think it need calibration, I think I plodded slower than this)

Calorie burnt: 2067.9 kCal (How many Kit Kats are this translated to?)

I think I did pretty OK for this run for a weekend warrior, finishing within the qualifying timing. The medal is bigger than the last year's one, even though it seems to be lighter.

It is not a Pacesetter run if it doesn't come with a hearty breakfast. We had a choice of Nasi Lemak or Fried Rice for the main dish and for dessert, Tau Foo Fah or Cendol. All these came with free flow of iced Milo and unlimited supplies of banana and watermelon. Yummy! I think I easily put back the calories that I had burned.

I stayed awhile at the finishing area catching up with my friends. Met up with one my "spies" too. Heheh!

My spy told me that the 24Hr Walk would be held at Kuala Lumpur this year. Genting Highland Resorts no longer interested in sponsoring this event (re:stingy). When? 11-12 August 2007 (one week after Adidas King of the Road).

It will be held at Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad. They say, you have not been Kuala Lumpur until you step foot at this building. And if you are a runner, you have not run in KL until you start your run here. Heheh! This building serves as the backdrop for the start and finish of many road races in KL, including the KL International Marathon. So, I guess we will be making loopy-loop around the building, one loop about 600m.

The most challenging part of the 24 hour walk in KL is the heat. In Genting Highlands, we were surrounded by the cool misty mountain air. At Penang 12 Hr walk, we walked from 8:00pm till the next day 8:00am, so we escaped the wrath of the unforgiving afternoon sun. It is gonna be hot, hot, hot in Kuala Lumpur. Anyway, if the heat doesn't kill you, the stench from the Klang river which flows behind this building will. Heheh!

This will be one of the events to look forward to in the spirit of "Malaysia Boleh". We hope tourists will flock to see us walking around the clock (literally because the building houses a clock tower in the middle). Will update when I get more info from my spy. (Insert James Bond theme here!)

Before heading back home, I donated RM20 for charity at the GE booth. In return, I was given a GE Lion stuff toy (picture) and an Axel T-shirt. Very good deal this!

11th Angkor Wat International Half Marathon 2006

I Can't Believe I Took This Picture. Isn't It Beautiful?

What? 11th Angkor Wat International Half Marathon 2006

Where? Angkor Wat, Cambodia (Where else could it be?)

When? 17 December 2006, 6:30am

Why? Charity in support of the landmine victims and education/ prevention of AIDS

How Long? 21km

Beautiful Temples Along The AWIHM 2006 Route

Sues’day (Hello in Khmer)

Angkor Wat International Half Marathon (AWIHM) is a wonderful way to cap the 2006’s running experience. I have always wanted to run Angkor Wat International Half Marathon since I have heard of it a couple of years ago. When AirAsia was having a promotional blitz in April 2006, I managed to secure some bargain price ticket to Cambodia. My plan was to fly to capital, Phnom Penh and either take a cruise or coach up to Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located.

Since that day, I have been doing research about Cambodia during my free time. Bought a Lonely Planet guidebook, which I regretted when I saw the same book, was being peddled at USD4 in Angkor Wat. I bought mine at RM96 or USD27. Grrrr…..Anyway, Lonely Planet is a simple but good guide book for Cambodia.

I flew to Phnom Penh with Tan and CL on 13 Dec afternoon from LCCT KLIA. The journey took about 1 hr 40mins. We checked in to Dara Reang Sey Hotel right in the middle of Phnom Penh.

In Phnom Penh, we roamed the city on foot, visiting the tourist spots like Wat Phnom, The Royal Palace, The Silver Pagoda, The Independence Monument, The National Museum and Russian Market. I skipped the Genocide Museum and Killing Fields, as I was too chicken shit to see the horror of war up-close.

Anyway, after spending two nights in Phnom Penh, we traveled north to Siem Reap by bus. The travel alone took about 6 hours. The road condition – bad! Some of the local people traveling in the bus seemed to have no respect for others’ personal spaces. There was one dude who kept standing up and did yoga poses in the aisle. They yak loudly too. I was glad that I brought my Sony MP3 player along.

Chip Testing at Racekit Collection Centre (City Angkor Hotel)

We went straight to Angkor City Hotel to collect out race kits after check into our hotel in Siem Reap. No hassle. We can check the functionality of our Championchip at the counter. It was reassuring to get that “beep” sound once we tap it to the receptor.

Temple hopping was in the itinerary. Off we went to Banteay Srei about 1 hr drive from Siem Reap on the next day. From there, we hop from temple to temple till we all “templed out”.

Dinner supposed to start at 5:30pm but it did not, until 1 1/2 hr later. Yawn!

At the half marathon eve dinner (my very first one, I must say), we were seated in front of a bunch of Japanese runners comprising of housewives and one young chap. The conversation revolved around running. (What else can we runners talk about? Heheh!). Running is a very popular sport in Japan. The young chap (can’t remember his name) has a PR of 3 hr for a full marathon. He ate a plate of rice, vegetable and fruit only, even though it was a buffet. We, on the other hand, pigged out like nobody’s business at the buffet spread. Heheh!

There were speeches (in Japanese and Khmer) and copies of the translated speeches were available at the table. There was clapping. There were toasts. There were more speeches. I felt like I was in Japan, not Cambodia.

Ms. Yuko Arimori giving a toast.

I had the privilege to meet Ms Yuko Arimori. Very graceful and pretty. She is the representative director for Heart of Gold (one of the organizer of AWIHM). She is a marathon runner – silver medallist at Barcelone and Bronze at Atlanta. Incidentally, her birthday fell on 17 Dec, the same date as the AWIHM. So, there were cake and candles. We didn’t get to eat the cake though. Heheh!

Apsara Dance to welcome the participants of AWIHM

Apsara Dance – One of the reasons I splashed USD15 for the dinner. I was not disappointed even though I think the show could be a little longer. There were two performances – the first one was performed by a group of younger dancers dressed on gold coloured costume, followed by a group of older (not old, mind you) dancers. Spellbinding! No wonder apsaras (celestial dancers) were carved everywhere in the temples of Angkor!

Beautiful Sunrise @ Angkor Wat, before the start of the AWIHM

17 Dec 2006 – Der day I have been wanting for! I arranged our tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 5:00am for the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I had to pay a surcharge of USD3 on top of a day hire of USD10.

The tuk-tuk driver was puzzled when we all turned up in shorts and vests, while he was all wrapped up in a jacket. He advised us to wear something warmer. As I didn’t bring a jacket, I just wore a T-shirt on top of my vest.

It was a cold morning. It got even colder as our tuk-tuk started moving. Bbbbbrrrrrrr…..I could feel all the hairs on my legs stood up. Heheh!

It was still dark when I reached Angkor Wat. The moon was still up there in the sky. Gingerly, I walked into Angkor Wat. As it was dark, I had to rely on others’ torch lights to lead the way. I headed to the lotus pond and waited. Had to jump around at times to avoid freezing to death. Heheh!

At about 6:00am, the sky beginning to lit up. Hues of purple, orange and red decorated the sky behind the unmistakable Angkor Wat towers. Lovely!

Grrr....Raring To Go.

At 6:15am, I had to scurry off to the starting point even though I wished I could have stayed a little longer to view the complete sunrise.

We were set off at 6:30am. (Insert a thousand Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!…..here) (That’s the sound of Championchip on the mat. Heheh!).

AWIHM Runners in Action (Part 1)

The climate was cold. I wished I had worn something warmer. However, as the body warmed up, I kinda like the cool climate.

AWIHM Runners in Action (Part 2)

The specially established route took us from the Central Sanctuary of Angkor Wat (Start & Finish Line), passing a series of temple ruins namely Prasat Kravan - Banteay Kdei/ Srah Srang - Ta Prohm - Victory Gate - Bayon - South Gate - Basie Cham Krong - Phnom Bakheng - Ta Phrom Kei - and back to the front of the Central Sanctuary of Angkor Wat (Finish Line).

Water, I need water...

They provided mineral water in 500ml bottles, every 2.5km. As most of runners cannot finish the bottles at one go, many of the unfinished bottles were left by the roadside. The bottles didn't stay there for long, as they were picked up by the village kids.

Welcome To Angkor

See, the mineral water bottles were collected by the village kids. Teach them about recycling young.

I'm a slow runner but I must at least overtake this guy in the bear suit. Heheh!

I saw this bear earlier at the start point. Before I could try to take his photo....Poof! He disappeared into the throngs of runner in front. I caught up with his furry tail at about 3km mark. I guess the bear head proved to be too heavy for him.

Distance marker on the road at every 1 km

Where's the temple? After running 9km, I begin to wonder where the temples were. There was no temple in sight. FYI, the first temple is around the 10km mark. The name is Prasat Kravan. A simple yet beautiful brick temple. Then, more and more temples can be seen along the route.

Yeah! Minah Rempit giving me a thumb up! 

Please invest on a good pair of running shoes or you will end up like this dude. 

My Lil' Supporters Waiting for Hi-Fives!

We were never short of support from the spectators, especially the children. They waited. They clapped. They cheered. They smiled. They laughed. They just want you to slap their little hands when you pass by. Some even ran along with me. How adorable! A few of them even gave me some bracelets for free. I felt so honoured. In return, I gave them some Visit Malaysia Year 2007 pins that I brought along.

Sense of smell also being stimulated by the falling flowers.

Only if you run slowly you would be able allow your senses to appreciate the surroundings. The picturesque sceneries. The smell of the falling flowers. The sounds of the birds singing and children laughing. (Insert What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong here…..)

Running through The Victory Gate of Angkor Thom

I don’t really care about my timing. I stopped many times to take photographs while catching my breath. The run was really a unique experience. It only gave me a brief view of the temples but definitely a better understanding of how large the complex is and how great the Khmer civilization once was.