Sunday, November 12, 2006

Pacesetters 30km Practice Run

Please click here to view photos taken by KC and Weng.


Runners were pleasantly surprised to know that the RM3 registration fee was waived as the breakfast and drinks were sponsored by Nike. The process of registration was merely just written down own name and a PowerBar was immediately dished out. As one runner asked, what if the repeatable process was done a few times, that would able to receive a few PowerBars. Good (or bad?) thinking.


The turn out was good. There were many runners present for the 30km training run in preparation for Singapore International Marathon (3 December 06) or Bangkok Marathon (one week earlier).


At about 5:15 a.m., a special aerobic workout instructor from Nike led the warm-up and stretching exercises. As I could see, he emphasized on stretching the legs. In my opinion, that was a correct way; forget about exercising the neck and hands.



There was a short briefing by Rustam, an Exco member. He emphasize that it was only a practice run and not competitive in nature. He also stressed on the importance of safety of runners when crossing the busy Jalan Duta highway.



At 5:30 a.m., the practice run was flagged off. It was a superb morning for running as after the previous day's heavy rain, the air was cool and fresh. There were little white clouds up in the sky illuminated by the available light.



As usual, there were two water stations strategically located at Government Office and Sri Hartamas points. The course between these two water stations was like international water with many runners plying around this area. We were happily exchanging pleasantries when meeting our running friends in the opposite direction.





Due to different speed, my other usual running buddies were dispersed. I was glad to meet Kenny Tan at the 16km mark. I realized that our running speed was quite similar, and we exchanged many news and stories on running. We actually chatted all the way till finishing point. That helped to make the run easier and pleasant.



Back at Bukit Aman, most runners were enjoying themselves with the light breakfast sponsored by Nike amid talking to their friends. There was a short briefing by Nike and most runners were listening attentively.



Well, count down to Singapore marathon: 3 weeks' time.



By KC


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