Running the Klang 10 km race was not in my plan for July and August 2005. Both months were to be race free months to allow recovery from my injury. But my knee have somewhat improved over the past 2 weeks so I decided to run in the race.
My target was to simply to finish the race within the qualfying time of 60 minutes. There was 200 medals up for grabs in the Men's open category. There was a slim chance I may get one if I was able to finish below 55 minutes,. A tough call given my lack of endurance training over the past 2 months but I had to give it my best shot.
The race start was in the stadium. In the 1o km race categories, there was about 600 runners somewhat more than I was expected to see. The race was supposed to start at 7.00 am but we had to endure some 15 minutes of an aerobic exercise lead by a fat Malay guy on stage. We were asked to line up behind the starting line. Further delay was caused by the MC who wanted us to line up in front the stage but in line behind the VIP. Who the hell was he anyway ? Was this a race for runners or to "bodek" (pander) to a faceless VIP?
Finally at 7.20 am, the race started with a starter gun fired by the VIP. I was somewhere in the middle of the pack , hemmed in by many runners. The route on the main road was an inclined run uphill along Istana Road. Then we made a left turn and ran along the Klang train station. I knew I was far behind at this stage and probably have lost the chance to get a medal.
The next part was a 300 m run on the bridge spanning Klang river. I really wanted to cut loose but held back as I did not think I had the stamina to sustain a faster pace. A short 200 m distance later , I reached the old Kota bridge. This used to be the only bridge connecting the two half of Klang town. Now I had to go up the bridge and run across it. There were two flights of stairs and they were wet and slippery. I had to walk up the steps. The next thing was the bridge span which was made from tiles. They too were quite slippery and I decided to partly walk across the 300 m distance.
Then ame a a steep 45 degree slope covered with grass. Was this supposed to be a cross country race - %&*$# ?. I opted to ran 20 m further and down a steep road. The other runners took their chances down the slope.
I think by now , I have run about 3 km with another 7 km to go. The next 7 km was not any easier as the route was along the few "hills" in Klang. Up and down I went. It was tiring and made worse due to the unavailability of a water station was provided for this race. However to compensate for the possible collapse of runners from dehydration, the organisers have provided several ambulances. Presumably, an I.V. drip is more effective than water ingested through the mouth.
I was familiar with the last 3 km so I tried to increase pace to overtake some runners. As I approach the stadium, Ronnie was jogging along to the main road. I made a final 200 m on the synthetic track to the finish line. No medal but it was OK as I was not expecting to get one.
Finishing Time : 59 min 18 seconds (position: >200)
After the race, my right knee was sore but it was not too bad. Met up with Jamie who handed me the Power Run T-shirt bibs and reporting cards. I skipped this race, one of two races I had already skipped this year.
PS : Was told later Ajeep was at the race as spectactor and cheerleader but I did not notice him. Heard he had started training again. Watch out for this guy!
My plans for August and September will be to prepare for the Putrajaya Half Marathon on 11 Sept 2005.
For results and race reports, visit Ronnie's site.
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