Penang Bridge Run 2001 - A Story about a Runner Who didn't Make it to the Starting Line

I ran my first half marathon race in 2000 in the Penang Bridge Run (PBR). It was an agonising experience as I suffered from severe leg cramps, stomach cramps and blisters at the 15 km mark.

But a year later I was back to run a second half marathon. Since then I've never missed going to Penang to run in the PBR. Each race brings with it different experiences but with time, the memories become fainter. The 2001 PBR was memorable not for the race but because of someone who didn't make it to the starting line.

The trip to Penang started with a bus ride from Klang at 9.00 am to Seberang Prai. Reaching S.P. , I walked to the ferry jetty to board the ferry to Penang island. Looking at the sea had always a soothing effect, so I have opted to take a ferry for every trip for the PBR since 2001.

Some 15 minutes later, the ferry reached Penang island. I slung my backpack to my shoulders, walked past the shops and taxi touts/drivers and started walking towards Komtar. As a I neared Komtar, I began looking for a taxi to take me to Hotel Sri Malaysia in Bayan Baru. I knew from previous year's experience, the taxi drivers would ask for a RM 20 fare to Bayan Baru. Last year I had to pay RM 20 after asking half a dozen taxi drivers lined up in a queue - all of them said " RM 20, harga biasa" . In other words "Take it or leave it"

I was determined to look for an "honest" taxi driver and stood by the road looking for such a person. After several minutes, I spotted a old Nissan Sunny taxi. Reasoning that a guy who drives an old taxi is likely to be more honest than those who drives the Proton car taxis , I raised my hand - the taxi stopped.

Inside, the taxi driver was a skinny malay man wearing spectacles with thick lenses. He wore a somewhat threadbare shirt with a dark colour trouser ( I forgot the exact colour). I asked him "Berapa tambang ke Hotel Sri Malaysia kat Bandar Bayan Baru ?" He replied " Enam belas ringgit Encik". As last, I have found an honest taxi driver. I hauled the backpack onto the back seat and sat beside him.

As usual we chatted about the things that strangers to each other about, casual topics like the weather, the never ending Penang traffic jams, Penang food etc. We went on talking for a while as he drove at a sedate pace to Bayan Baru. I suppose his car just could not move faster - it was an old car with a barely functional aircond. He had a small fan on the dashboard switched on, easing somewhat the warm temperature inside the taxi.

I found out his age - in the early 50's , married with two children. I casually told him him the purpose of my trip to Penang, to run the half marathon. He said he is a runner too, in fact he had run the PBR many times since the 1980's. I was somewhat surprised at this fact - he looked too frail to be a runner. I had suspected that he may not be in the best of health.

Nevetheless after further conversation on training and race experiences, I could confirmed that he was indeed a felllow running enthusiast. I went on to ask for training tips as I had only been running consistently for one year. I have forgotten most the tips it now except for one - the best shoes for running.

According to him, the best shoe for a runner is one with with a simple rubber sole - no dual density EVA, Gel or other fancy stuff. The kind of shoe you can find in a Pasar Malam (night market) or a low end Bata shoe -a RM 40 shoe. Well I didn't believe this at all but there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise of the benefit of a high-tech and more expensive shoe. He had been using the low-tech show for years and it suited him just fine.

I asked him if he was runing in this year's PBR. He replied that he was NOT running PBR this year. I asked him the reason he was not running in the PBR this year. He said he could not afford to pay the registration fee. I was taken aback by this reply. The registration fee was only RM 20. How could anyone cannot afford to pay RM 20?

Our conversation died off after that - throughout the last few km , I could not stop thinking, feeling sorry for this guy who could not afford to pay RM 20 to run in the PBR.

We reached the hotel a few minutes later. I took out my back-pack and thanked him for the service and conversation. I paid him the fare, RM 16 . To this fare, I added a RM 20 tip.

I hope one day he would run the PBR again but that year, one runner didn't make it to the starting line.