A simple race report-KLIM

My race, the 10k event, started at 7:15am. I dont really know why it started at that time. The marathon started at 5am. So why couldnt we start at 6:30 or 7am? Nah, Malaysians. And me, being Malaysian, I just love to complain. The starting was not as electric as in Singapore. No loud music blaring in the background to hype the runners. I dont see much energy in the crowd either. Maybe they're just concentrating on their race strategy or something. I dunno. But we were ushered inside the pen a tad too early I guess. We waited for almost 30 minutes doing nothing! And being in the crowded confined area, all I can do to keep myself warm is to jog in one place. Duh.

The start? As usual, a mess. I dont have the chance to be at the front of the starting line because it was too full. Yeah, sure Malaysia has a lot of 'good' athletes. My start was a game of weaving in and out to overtake runners. Heh, that made me sounds like I'm fast. At least faster then those I overtook. Well, this is what happens when you dont start according to ability. I'm not sure whether the marathon and halfies starts like this as well. Hell, it looked like a mad dash! So, off I went on a route I'm not quite familiar running before.

Then nearly halfway into the race(there were no distance markers as promised by those pricks), I felt hungry. Shit. I did not have my regular pre-race meal of bagel. Just had half a bowl of cereal. Well, hungry or not, the race must go on. As I ran along Starhill, I find its getting boring. You see, the organisers are totally dumbshits who think that making the events as competetive as it can be will make 'us' stand out from others. So, the only support we had was from the Pacestters team cheering a bit here n there and a mist tunnel sponsored by Nike. We have cheerleading competitions among schools, why not invite them to make the scene more happening? Yeah, I'm comparing to of Singapore but hey, it was a hell of a run there, right?

With little or none at all speed training, I managed to achieve it in 57:32 minutes. Not bad for a pre season race. Funny thing at the finish was, the lanes used. The Court building is on the left. So that makes Dataran on the right. When the sun is up, the 10k finishing lanes are under the shade of the court building. But the marathon and halfies are in direct sunlight. According to simple logic, the marathoners and the equally tough half would finish later than the 10k's. So they are left to finish the race with every last bit of energy they have in the hot March sun. I dont see any logic of this. One, there will be no spectators lining up the last 10 metres to cheer the runners because it damn hot. Two, Why do you want the sun for? I dont see any professional photographers at the finish line that needs such good lighting. And yeah, signboards are inadequate. At the junction where marathoners and 10k's split, only one official stand in the middle of the road directing the route. What a stupid prick. I wish i just knocked him off the road. "Black bib straight, blue bib right". I bet he was yelling that a thousand times. Why is it so hard to make a signpost out of a plywood? Argh.. the obtuse state of Malaysian organisers. money, money, money.

Well, just like I said before, this aint gonna be a spectacular event. It was, just another running event.