Part 1 contains 77 photos taken by KC before the Race. Please click here to view.
Part 2 contains 62 photos on the journey: the flight and the Race. Please click here to view. Photos by courtesy of Weng.
Part 3 contains 108 photos taken by KC at the finishing area. Please click here to view.
The Saberkas RH Marathon held in Kuching on Sunday morning, 26 March 2006 was almost a perfect race of high standards if not because of a few mishaps that happened towards the end of the race.
I truly enjoyed myself and have lots of good times in running this race. It began with the process of coming to Kuching and going through the pre-race activities such as meeting other running friends in Singgahsana Lodge; collecting of race entry packs; going for sumptuous seafood dinner together; putting up a night in a dorm for 10 guys that reminded me when I was in my Form 4-5 school days.
According to the announcement, there were 11,000 runners participating in the Race of various categories spanning across the wide spectrum of distance from the full marathon down to 5km runs. The response was fantastic! Staging an event of such magnitude and variety was a great challenge that require great amount of commitment and enthusiasm from the various departmental Heads, organizing committee members and down to the volunteers working together as One Team for that One Race.
I liked the course. I was running half marathon this time because I planned to trek Gunung Santubong the next day. Running on this course was like running in a countryside. There were many stretches with huge, leafy old trees planted in the middle of roads. There was very little traffic, which was superb for runners.
We ran past an outdoor stadium with many Malay houses on the opposite of the road. There were quite a number of children with a few “mak cik” (auntie) sitting by the roadside of higher ground watching the runners ran past. I presume it was an unusual sight seeing so many runners that morning.
At one point, there were a few Malay “pak cik” (uncle) clapping hands that gave us the much needed support. One runner told me later that he heard the pak cik commented that the fast Kenyan runners’ legs were as slim as arms. Another local runner responded that with our fleshy legs, that was why we could not run at blistering pace to take the lead.
There was drizzle at about 10km mark that was welcomed by runners as it cooled our bodies.
There was no shortage of drinking water and 100 Plus drinks for the entire half marathon course. That was a mark improvement over the KLIM 2006.
When I was about 1 km approaching the finishing line, I was amazed with the number of 5km runners. There was huge crowd of them walking slowing scattered all over the road blocking other runners. Most of them were school children who were walking their way back while only one or two runners were running. I have to run in criss-cross pattern to avoid running into them.
My timing was as expected: 1 hour 55 minutes. It was truly an unforgettable run for me running this course the first time. For sure, I will be back next year, if the Organizer were to organize another marathon race.
Here are my observations on the Race:
Registration and Payment
It was simple and fast performed via online. It set high standards for organizing this race.
Complimentary Bus Service
Outstation runners were provided with free bus transport taking runners from the designated hotels to starting area for collection of race entry packs. On Race day, to ferry runners to and fro the starting area.
Race Entry Pack
Every runner is given a T-shirt of yellow and green: the corporate colour of Rimbunan Hijau Group which is the main sponsor of this Event; a Power Bar, a bag for carrying shoes, and almost 10 food and beverage coupons. All these were given free to half marathon runners since there was no registration fees required for this category.
Bib Numbers
The bib numbers were made of water-proof material and one of the pieces has the perforated slip for identification of baggage, if a runner chooses to deposit his baggage.
For full marathon category, a runner is required to write his personal details at the back of the bib number for use in case of emergency.
Baggage Service
Deposit and retrieval of baggage were very simple and swift. For a runner to deposit his baggage, it takes only a few seconds. What was most thoughtful of the Event Organizer was that they even built wooden shelves with shelter to keep runners’ bags instead of leaving them on the field subject to rain.
Power Failure
The power at the Baggage Service areas went off at 6am. There was no jeers and wolf-whistle as runners were all discipline lot. I then walked to the centre of the bridge where the starting of full marathon was in progress. Within minutes, I saw a few VIPs were arriving and at that moment, I could count there were about 30 cameramen busy taking photos using SLR cameras!
The announcer was charging up the mood of those presence by playing lively music interwoven with interesting and motivating announcements. Unfortunately, the second power failure struck a few minutes after the first one causing the entire staring area in darkness. When the time was nearing 6.15am -- the start time of full marathon -- the announcer played the song: nothing gonna stop us now. It was most appropriate to the occasion. At 6.15am, I saw Mr. VJ of FTAAA, flagged his arm and the VIP pulled the trigger of the gun. “Bang” the full marathon race was initiated and about 500 runners charged forward.
Road Marshals of 10km Race
Many of the lady runners were not happy as the road marshals directed them to a wrong turn that required running an extra 4 to 5km distance. The runners actually verified it by the duration they took or by electronic distance measurement gadget they wore.
Insufficient Medals
Many of the half marathon runners did not received the finisher medals. The medals were wrongly distributed to the 10km or 5km school children. The innocent school children were always attracted and excited by the medals.
One Pacesetters lady runner who ran half marathon bought a medal from a school kid for RM 10 since she did not receive one. Later on, when another lady wanted to buy, the price was instantly raised to RM 50. The kids there were very enterprising.
Marathon Village
The arrangement of the Marathon Village was well planned. A 4-lane bridge running across a pool with the centre of the bridge as the starting/finishing line. The booths associating with the Race were on the right whereas the exhibition booths were on the left. A concert was going on performed by local artistes. Behind the exhibition booths just by the slope, there was also a tele-match in progress.
By KC
Part 2 contains 62 photos on the journey: the flight and the Race. Please click here to view. Photos by courtesy of Weng.
Part 3 contains 108 photos taken by KC at the finishing area. Please click here to view.
The Saberkas RH Marathon held in Kuching on Sunday morning, 26 March 2006 was almost a perfect race of high standards if not because of a few mishaps that happened towards the end of the race.
I truly enjoyed myself and have lots of good times in running this race. It began with the process of coming to Kuching and going through the pre-race activities such as meeting other running friends in Singgahsana Lodge; collecting of race entry packs; going for sumptuous seafood dinner together; putting up a night in a dorm for 10 guys that reminded me when I was in my Form 4-5 school days.
According to the announcement, there were 11,000 runners participating in the Race of various categories spanning across the wide spectrum of distance from the full marathon down to 5km runs. The response was fantastic! Staging an event of such magnitude and variety was a great challenge that require great amount of commitment and enthusiasm from the various departmental Heads, organizing committee members and down to the volunteers working together as One Team for that One Race.
I liked the course. I was running half marathon this time because I planned to trek Gunung Santubong the next day. Running on this course was like running in a countryside. There were many stretches with huge, leafy old trees planted in the middle of roads. There was very little traffic, which was superb for runners.
We ran past an outdoor stadium with many Malay houses on the opposite of the road. There were quite a number of children with a few “mak cik” (auntie) sitting by the roadside of higher ground watching the runners ran past. I presume it was an unusual sight seeing so many runners that morning.
At one point, there were a few Malay “pak cik” (uncle) clapping hands that gave us the much needed support. One runner told me later that he heard the pak cik commented that the fast Kenyan runners’ legs were as slim as arms. Another local runner responded that with our fleshy legs, that was why we could not run at blistering pace to take the lead.
There was drizzle at about 10km mark that was welcomed by runners as it cooled our bodies.
There was no shortage of drinking water and 100 Plus drinks for the entire half marathon course. That was a mark improvement over the KLIM 2006.
When I was about 1 km approaching the finishing line, I was amazed with the number of 5km runners. There was huge crowd of them walking slowing scattered all over the road blocking other runners. Most of them were school children who were walking their way back while only one or two runners were running. I have to run in criss-cross pattern to avoid running into them.
My timing was as expected: 1 hour 55 minutes. It was truly an unforgettable run for me running this course the first time. For sure, I will be back next year, if the Organizer were to organize another marathon race.
Here are my observations on the Race:
Registration and Payment
It was simple and fast performed via online. It set high standards for organizing this race.
Complimentary Bus Service
Outstation runners were provided with free bus transport taking runners from the designated hotels to starting area for collection of race entry packs. On Race day, to ferry runners to and fro the starting area.
Race Entry Pack
Every runner is given a T-shirt of yellow and green: the corporate colour of Rimbunan Hijau Group which is the main sponsor of this Event; a Power Bar, a bag for carrying shoes, and almost 10 food and beverage coupons. All these were given free to half marathon runners since there was no registration fees required for this category.
Bib Numbers
The bib numbers were made of water-proof material and one of the pieces has the perforated slip for identification of baggage, if a runner chooses to deposit his baggage.
For full marathon category, a runner is required to write his personal details at the back of the bib number for use in case of emergency.
Baggage Service
Deposit and retrieval of baggage were very simple and swift. For a runner to deposit his baggage, it takes only a few seconds. What was most thoughtful of the Event Organizer was that they even built wooden shelves with shelter to keep runners’ bags instead of leaving them on the field subject to rain.
Power Failure
The power at the Baggage Service areas went off at 6am. There was no jeers and wolf-whistle as runners were all discipline lot. I then walked to the centre of the bridge where the starting of full marathon was in progress. Within minutes, I saw a few VIPs were arriving and at that moment, I could count there were about 30 cameramen busy taking photos using SLR cameras!
The announcer was charging up the mood of those presence by playing lively music interwoven with interesting and motivating announcements. Unfortunately, the second power failure struck a few minutes after the first one causing the entire staring area in darkness. When the time was nearing 6.15am -- the start time of full marathon -- the announcer played the song: nothing gonna stop us now. It was most appropriate to the occasion. At 6.15am, I saw Mr. VJ of FTAAA, flagged his arm and the VIP pulled the trigger of the gun. “Bang” the full marathon race was initiated and about 500 runners charged forward.
Road Marshals of 10km Race
Many of the lady runners were not happy as the road marshals directed them to a wrong turn that required running an extra 4 to 5km distance. The runners actually verified it by the duration they took or by electronic distance measurement gadget they wore.
Insufficient Medals
Many of the half marathon runners did not received the finisher medals. The medals were wrongly distributed to the 10km or 5km school children. The innocent school children were always attracted and excited by the medals.
One Pacesetters lady runner who ran half marathon bought a medal from a school kid for RM 10 since she did not receive one. Later on, when another lady wanted to buy, the price was instantly raised to RM 50. The kids there were very enterprising.
Marathon Village
The arrangement of the Marathon Village was well planned. A 4-lane bridge running across a pool with the centre of the bridge as the starting/finishing line. The booths associating with the Race were on the right whereas the exhibition booths were on the left. A concert was going on performed by local artistes. Behind the exhibition booths just by the slope, there was also a tele-match in progress.
By KC
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