A prelude to Sahara Desert Ultra Marathon 2007 by Ngae. Click here.
Note by KC: Mr. Ngae KH participated in the Ironman race in Langkawi on 24 February 2007. He completed the race in 14 hours 49 minutes and crossed the finishing line in a pleasant and comfortable expression. Wow! He is a real Ironman where a participant has to swim 3.8 km, cycle 180 km and then run a full marathon of 42 km. When he started his full marathon segment in the scorching afternoon, the Champion had just completed the race.
x
Ngae, a lawyer and a Pacesetters runner, will be taking part in the Sahara Desert Ultra Marathon (SDUM) from 25 – 31 March 2007. The distance of that race is 243km and is touted by its French organizer as the toughest foot race on Earth! The Langkawi Ironman race was a springboard for him to gauge his physical fitness, albeit that the harsh condition in Langkawi was still nowhere near to the condition of Sahara desert.
In the SDUM race, his main concern is to overcome the unfamiliar ground condition and the burning desert sun. The temperature can soar to 50 degrees Celsius whereas the Ironman race in Langkawi was only about 36 degrees Celsius. He also shows concern about the first few days of his SDUM race as there will not be much lead-time for acclimatization.
Training Methods: He trains on sandy beaches in hot afternoon. But the condition here is still far from the actual race, complicated by frequent sandstorms. He heard that mat sallehs train in sauna room heated to high temperature. Alternatively, while running in the hot afternoon sun, a runner put on two layers of winter clothing!!
It takes a lot of commitment, determination and perseverance to complete this race. We wish Ngae and also Dr. Tan a successful run in this tough challenge.
Note: Photos are by courtesy of Tey Eng Tiong and CCHOO.
A Humble Experience
Written by NgaeKH
6.35pm today, Tuesday 27 February at Lorong 3 Chan Sow Lin. I was there at 5.30 pm because I was called by some old time pacesetters to join them and share with them my ironman experience. I walked out of the tea stall a short while back and as I was passing the rubbish dump at the road side, I saw this scrawny and elderly hunched-back Chinese man rummaging through the rubbish for recyclable stuff. I estimated his age to be at least 65 years old. He was carrying 2 big sacks, quite filled with stuffs he had collected.
x
I have developed a special liking for street walking these days. It is a real learning experience You will never notice people like him if you zoom by in an air-conditioned car.
x
This man has an uncanny resemblance of my dead father in terms of built and facial expression. Being still the CNY season and looking at him, the following lyrics immediately flashed in my mind accompanied by the music video in black and white (all of you should recognise the song I mean):
x
She calls out to the man on the street
sir, can you help me?
Its cold and Ive nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?
He walks on, doesnt look back
He pretends he cant hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
Oh think twice, its another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise……
x
I greeted him :"Ah Peh, um cho ah. Jap doe ge doh ha." ("Uncle no bad collection of the recyclable items") He flashed a toothless grin at me but said nothing and walked by me to the next rubbish pile. I took out a RM10.00 note and went after him and said "Ah Peh, beh leh yam cha"("Ah Peh, some cash for you"). He turned and flashed another grin at me, put down his sack and shook his head and wave his hand firmly. He said nothing but I knew he meant " No. Thank you". Short of other thing to say, I said "Ah Peh, le ho yeh!!" ("Uncle, you are great!!")
x
I walked on as he walked off in the opposite direction. I thought to myself, we surely can learn something from this guy. I was also thinking to myself, how many times he must have refused cash offered to him. He prefers to earn his honourable living.
x
There are not many people who can earn my respect immediately like this. He certainly is one of my great teachers in life…
By Ngae KH
No comments:
Post a Comment