The most difficult moment today is finding the courage to take a bath after the half marathon. When the water falls on me, the spiciness just makes me wants to go !#%$@! I earned four abrasions in this run. I’ll skip the details on my abrasions but seriously it’s freaking pain machiam a pain score 8 and sadly I realised I actually get abrasions in all my long distance running! ?

Its a relief when I get my finisher tee and medal. And of course the best part is the iced cold towel. Slap it on my face immediately. Now I think every run should give iced cold towel to the runners after the run, really so shiok lah!

My race bib really “chui”, don’t know how I do it. I like the medal and finisher tee, although the tee is quite transparent and white can make me look fat but I used my sweat to earn it so no matter what it’s sibeh nice!

I had wanted to follow the 2hr30mins pacers for the whole race but I was seriously under training and lost them after 9km. Didn’t really run any long distance since standard chartered marathon last year. This is the 2nd half marathon I had in my life, this time my timing is about 10 minutes slower than what I did for GEWR last year, not too bad!

I’m obviously in desperation during the distance I’m chasing the pacer because I think a lot of bo liao stuff. I tried hard to regulate my breathing as I wonder if my breathing is too loud because the pacer in front of me did not listen to any ear piece ? I’m trying to stay near the pacers because it seems so easy to lose them, they are so fast(it’s just that I’m slow) Then I changed my focus to their balloons, see the balloons fly and sway and wonder when will it hit me on my face and burst.

After one of the drinking station, I lost the pacers. I’m a law abiding citizen, say nicely is want to bin my litter properly so I stopped, finished my drink then carry on but actually is want to stop and have a breather. It’s nice that before the run the organisers sort of reminded us to be considerate and care for the environment. The drinks at the drinks station is cold, give them a like! ?

Although I lost the 2hr30mins pacers, but I set another aimed by telling myself don’t let the 2hr45mins pacers run pass me. And fortunately I managed to.

For the rest of the run I used the music I have to distract myself from paying too much attention to the run. “I wish that I could be like the cool kids, these are the cool kids they seem to get it”, somehow I think those sibeh can run ones are so cool! I really want to be like them, run fast, run easy! “Do it like a brother , do it like a dude!”, not just guys can run, many char bors can run also! Then I press next when the song came “Tell them what I hope would be impossible~ impossible~ impossible~” ? I really need motivation and positive songs to keep me going!

I don’t know why all the other runner’s fitness watch clocked distance of less than 21km by mine is 21.99km, which is nearly 22km! Maybe my running app got problem or maybe I don’t know how to run shorter path at the turns？

It was only 200m to the finishing point when I saw a girl gotten carried away in a stretcher, she was so close to the finishing line! I hope she got her medal and finisher tee, we all know she’s almost there! If according to my running app, she already completed the distance of a half marathon.

I don’t know in the end how I complete the run, every km seems way more than the actual distance and I feel like I had float or drift myself to the ending point. Or it’s just the music that keeps me going, with me arguing and agreeing with the lyrics. Or it could be I’m just very stoned that I should try to wake up earlier often and run at 5am.

I’m glad I got to know these group of runners who motivates and inspires each other to keep on running. Like I seriously gonna start walking when I’m heading towards Marina Barrage when Chiu Ping run pass me and waves at me to follow her. Although I can’t manage to keep up with her pace, but a simple wave really did a lot to stopped me from stopping. There was also a guy who give me a tap on my back, he was saying something but my music was too loud, didn’t manage to catch what he was saying but I am sure he is encouraging me. Simple nice gestures can be so powerful and encouraging.

Whilst the 2015 Urbanathlon didn’t end well for me, what with a fractured talus bone and torn ligament 200m from the finish line, it didn’t deter me from returning in 2016.

Right up till the last obstacle, I was having a ball with John keeping me company throughout it all.  The injury was just sheer bad luck for me, that took several months of healing, followed by endless physio sessions.  However, it took me no time to register again for the 2016 edition, and with the usual level of excitement we joined the Urbanathletes for another round of climbing, running, crawling and everything else in between.

Somewhere in my cleverness I suggested we take a seat instead of wait near the pen not thinking how many athletes have joined the event and how many waves will take-off before we get our turn.  We ended up in wave 13 and started 33min after gun time.  We won’t be doing that again.

Starting-off pretty well we reached the Tanjong Rhu condos to be met with our first obstacle.  A 6′ foot wall, followed by a sloped wall, followed by what had to be an 8′ foot tall wall.

The distances between each wall were quite narrow.  We had to ask others to move out of the way so we could get off the top of the first and second walls.  It also diminished the momentum needed to sprint up the wall.  Given that John had to hoist me over the first one and pulled up the second, when I saw the third one, I just said “no way, see you around the corner”.

Sporting a bicep tendon injury from a gym workout limited my ability to rely on my upper body for this obstacle and the forthcoming ones.

As we rounded Tanjong Rhu, I expected to run towards the Marina Barrage but the route was altered from 2015 and found ourselves beneath Benjamin Sheares Bridge for Obstacle 2: Side Walk.  Reasonably easy at the start once I hosted myself up. With each section the setup changed and became more reliant on core strength and balance. The last section had my hands and feet only a mere 20cm apart making my body top heavy.  I was quite worried that I would topple over and land on my head.  So, I tightened my body, hung on for dear life and crawled to the end.

John being naturally athletic found it easier and figured walking as if on a balance beam would be quicker and easier than my approach not realising how wobbly the frame was.

From here we had to climb 5 storeys of stairs onto the bridge.  I absolutely hate stairs as I inevitably end up completely out of breath.  It was worth it though just to absorb the views of Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands, Marina Barrage, Singapore Flyer and the bay area.

Descending the bridge we came across Obstacle 3: Swinging Fortunes.  They were swinging alright.  Climbing up on the truss and swinging like a monkey was definitely not for most girls.  Fully reliant on upper body strength, I took one look at it and said to John, “I’ll be on the other side taking photos”.  He made this obstacle look easy although he said it was tough holding onto the thin rods.  Even with gym gloves the rods were slippery.

And then there were some more stairs and incline running on Bayfront Bridge towards Marina Bay Sands promenade.  From here it was km after km of running with no further obstacles for about 4km.  Not particularly interesting and by the time I reached the 8km mark I’ve had enough.  With my energy bank emptied we ended up walking actually I think more like trudging.

We ended up so slow that when I wanted to give way to a cyclist to pass us he said “It’s Ok, I’m the tail cyclist”.  With shock-horror on my face intermingled with amusement I asked “What?! Are you saying we are the last ones?”, “Yes” he replied.  Well I’ve never brought up the rear in a race before.

The upside to being at the end is that you get the obstacles all to yourself.  It was like our own private playground.  By this time we just chose to have fun and maybe even pass the two participants strolling before us and then we won’t be last anymore.

When we reached Obstacle 7: The Network we caught up to a few other racers.  This one was my favourite last year and again this year.  Having fun on these wobbly ropes was quickly altered when I had to climb even more stairs around 13km mark.  By this stage I promptly sat down and cursed and somewhere along the way I heard John babbling something about a Vertical Challenge race.  I think I sneered at him as I hauled myself up and realised that clearly my legs need strengthening.  Maybe I should start with the stairs in my condo.  I’ve got 30 floors to work with.  I’ll think about it.

Perhaps my least favorite was Obstacle 8: Metcon Madness with its 4 stations of cross-fit exercises.  I didn’t find it interesting.  I can go to the gym for these exercises rather than pay for it in an obstacle race.  I hope it won’t be there in the 2017 edition.

As we reached the last obstacle, the Flying Fox, we were given the option to skip it which we did for several reasons.  One, we didn’t want to wait 20min in the blazing sun for our turn; two, holding onto a rope with an injured arm was not a good idea; and three, mostly we just didn’t want to get soaked landing in a pool of water especially since the Singha beer tent was beckoning.  We had our priorities straight.

Since we couldn’t enjoy the after race offerings last year, we made sure we did so this year sweaty rather than wet.

After a measly 2:50hrs (yeah super slow right?) we reached the end and I’m happy to say injury free.  We met some nice blokes from the UK and Canada as we huddled under the umbrella in the Singha beer enclosure.  We downed a couple of cans before breakfast and had a great yarn.

Overall, another nice event and we’ll be back for 2017.  Hopefully, stronger and fitter this time.  You could say we are hooked.

Cheers.

(Hi guys! Before I start-off my short and first review for 2016, I wanna wished all JRL readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I know it’s like into 3 months-late but as most of you know I only blog on overseas running event.)

Pre-race

1. Departure + Arrival: I took a coach (Starmart Express) which departs SG ( Golden Mike Tower). Yes, since Alor Setar is located in the Northern most state of Malaysia (before Perlis), bus journey took around 9 hours. Excruciatingly long but ironically, it felt fast as I spend most people f the time sleeping. After arrival at The Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal, it was another 3km+ walk for me to the city itself before I could crash into my motel.
2. REPC: Simple and convient. Located outside the Bowling alley in Aman Central Mall. Not too hard to find and it wasn’t congested with other unnecessary booth.
3. Entitlement: Race shirt. Bib. Simple. There’s no need for unwanted (and often, useless coupon)

Race shirt. Photo courtesy: Official Event FB page.  

Race day

Race venue was located at the base of Alor Setar Tower – just a two minute walk away from my motel. Turnout wasn’t huge but it was good enough although majority were Malaysians (was expecting too see international participants). Smooth flag-off.

Race route was basically one giant loop around the city. It wasn’t the most picturesque route but the sights of the rural urban environment and the city landmark was refreshing (to me at least).

Water point were spread out evenly. But to be honest, the first water point was the only one that’s legit. As the distance progresses, the “water” point although sufficient, was nothing more than isotonics and soft drink station (lemon tea). Yes, hydration issue was a BIG thumbs down but there’s still something to drink (it’s not thirst quenching however).

On the bright side, sponging stations were adequate. Surau (prayer point) for Muslims runners were spot on. To add on, the traffic marshalls did a fantastic job. Overall, the logistics passed.

Performance aspect – It was a painful experience for me throughout the race. A week prior to the race, I torn my lower back muscles after a session of Les Mills BodyStep® at the gym. I even considered pulling out of the race.

I was lucky enough that the pain subsides after a few days, and being adamant, I still decided to continue with the plan. In the end, I still managed a sub 3 finish despite having to break into walks at certain point.

Finisher Entitlement

I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

It was worth the trip.

Stay tune folks.

(Review was written on a tablet. Pardon any errors made.)