My first ever half marathon! I was so pumped up and nervous at the same time. It’s now or never. But first in order for me to achieve this feat I need a wing man or running buddy whatever you want to call it, to give me that extra push and motivation to cross the finish line. That person would be none other than Farhan Hassan. He was very reluctant at first but after constant persuasion and assurance, I managed to talk him into running in the half marathon. It’s a win win situation. No matter what happen we got each other’s back. Obviously, both of us were anxious and worried as we did not know what to expect and how our body would react because we had never train or run such distance before.
My fitness and determination were not an issue, but what concerned me the most was that I went to an Underoath rock concert the night before the run. I rocked out so hard that at one point I did a stage dive and fell on my back! Plus with the constant head banging and moshing added to the mix. Surely those post concert fatigue will creep in during the run later on.
We arrived at Bukit Jalil stadium 30 minutes before the flag off. The closure of parking zone B in the stadium caused traffic jam as everyone trying to cram into parking zone A and C. This would later cause more traffic congestion as the 10km participants arrived as their flag off was an hour after the 21km flag off. The organizers should have more entrances open for runners to enter to the stadium to avoid congestion.
The starting and finishing line was inside the stadium which I think was cool. The atmosphere was electrifying. I heard somewhere that 6,800 runners registered and from what I observed, most runners came out for the main event. My new running shoe New Balance 1080v2 made its debut. It’s time to take my run more serious. As I’m doing more mileage, I need better cushioning and support when my legs are giving up on me towards the latter stage of the run. Nike Lunarglide+ 2 isn’t going to do the trick. Paan and I were all geared up with our new running bottle belts and powergels in stock. At 5.40 am the 21km run was flag off.
Our strategy for the run was to run for 25 minutes and have a 5 minutes recovery walk. On the 10km mark as the terrain changed with more climbs coming our way, we changed our game plan to walk during climbs and run during downhills and flats. After 14km, we started to slow down and resulted to walking for the rest of the run. The goal was to finish within the 4 hour mark which entitles runners for the mystery gift which I was hoping it would be a finisher tee. We crossed the finishing line after 3 hours and 42 minutes. Before entering the stadium to finish the run, I quickly ran back to the car to grab the camera (not every day you can run on the stadium track and be on the football pitch!) while Paan waited for me. He was suffering from mad crams in both his legs. I was proud of him as he battled through the pain. At times he gave me the green light for me to proceed, but not on my watch. This is not about chasing personal glory or satisfaction or that damn hopeful finisher tee. Starting the run was already a massive feat. Completing it would be a bonus.
No finisher tee as they hand us a bag containing a shoe bag, bottle of water, and the finisher medal. Even weird, the prize presentation and lucky draw stage was arranged inside the stadium which was inappropriate as most of the runners were directed to outside stadium to have their refreshments, chat and photo shot. As such many did not witness the prize presentation and missed out on the lucky draw as well. I was even more frustrated that the water melon and milo supplies were packed up early. I only managed to grab tau fu fa though. They should have stayed open until the event is all over to accommodate those runners who finished in late.
Nevertheless, it was a thrilling run and a great atmosphere. Now I can't wait to register for my next half marathon!
Rocking the Rafael Nadal look
Sorry did we blind you! with Paan posing with our finisher medal
Ranked 1357 out of 1374 runners in the Men Open 21km category
My fitness and determination were not an issue, but what concerned me the most was that I went to an Underoath rock concert the night before the run. I rocked out so hard that at one point I did a stage dive and fell on my back! Plus with the constant head banging and moshing added to the mix. Surely those post concert fatigue will creep in during the run later on.
We arrived at Bukit Jalil stadium 30 minutes before the flag off. The closure of parking zone B in the stadium caused traffic jam as everyone trying to cram into parking zone A and C. This would later cause more traffic congestion as the 10km participants arrived as their flag off was an hour after the 21km flag off. The organizers should have more entrances open for runners to enter to the stadium to avoid congestion.
The starting and finishing line was inside the stadium which I think was cool. The atmosphere was electrifying. I heard somewhere that 6,800 runners registered and from what I observed, most runners came out for the main event. My new running shoe New Balance 1080v2 made its debut. It’s time to take my run more serious. As I’m doing more mileage, I need better cushioning and support when my legs are giving up on me towards the latter stage of the run. Nike Lunarglide+ 2 isn’t going to do the trick. Paan and I were all geared up with our new running bottle belts and powergels in stock. At 5.40 am the 21km run was flag off.
Our strategy for the run was to run for 25 minutes and have a 5 minutes recovery walk. On the 10km mark as the terrain changed with more climbs coming our way, we changed our game plan to walk during climbs and run during downhills and flats. After 14km, we started to slow down and resulted to walking for the rest of the run. The goal was to finish within the 4 hour mark which entitles runners for the mystery gift which I was hoping it would be a finisher tee. We crossed the finishing line after 3 hours and 42 minutes. Before entering the stadium to finish the run, I quickly ran back to the car to grab the camera (not every day you can run on the stadium track and be on the football pitch!) while Paan waited for me. He was suffering from mad crams in both his legs. I was proud of him as he battled through the pain. At times he gave me the green light for me to proceed, but not on my watch. This is not about chasing personal glory or satisfaction or that damn hopeful finisher tee. Starting the run was already a massive feat. Completing it would be a bonus.
No finisher tee as they hand us a bag containing a shoe bag, bottle of water, and the finisher medal. Even weird, the prize presentation and lucky draw stage was arranged inside the stadium which was inappropriate as most of the runners were directed to outside stadium to have their refreshments, chat and photo shot. As such many did not witness the prize presentation and missed out on the lucky draw as well. I was even more frustrated that the water melon and milo supplies were packed up early. I only managed to grab tau fu fa though. They should have stayed open until the event is all over to accommodate those runners who finished in late.
Nevertheless, it was a thrilling run and a great atmosphere. Now I can't wait to register for my next half marathon!
The satisfaction on Paan's face sums it all
Rocking the Rafael Nadal look
Sorry did we blind you! with Paan posing with our finisher medal
Ranked 1357 out of 1374 runners in the Men Open 21km category
awesome job on finishing the half marathon. will do the same next year after completing this year's 10km! :D
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thx dude! all the best on your conquest =)
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