KL Marathon (2)

KL Marathon photo gallery: courtesy of CS Wong... click here.

Photos below are by courtesy of WENG who participated in the full marathon. This posting is about water stations.

Thanks to the volunteers who have to be there in the wee hours to serve the runners

Thank you!

Some guys are lucky
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This water station (in front of KLCC) ran out of water quite early
.This one (behind KLCC) already 'sow kung' (mission accomplished)
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A good tip by the late Penguin-6, Terrence Leong -- make sure you bring $$$$$ when you run in a local marathon
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Foong who has to buy water from a stall nearby
.In dire situation..

WENG

Posted by KC

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KL Marathon (3)

Wow! This is incredible! CS Wong has uploaded the photos of KL Marathon into his photo album. Thanks to CS Wong for that amazing feat! Note: if you are downloading the photos, do give credit for his hard work!

Please click here to access the KL Marathon photo album (click Detail, click Slideshow, hit F11 key to expand photo)...

The supporters making the event lively
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Julia - a friend of CSwong completing the full marathon
.Matching colour
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Standard Chartered tattoo
. Music on the move

Posted by KC
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KL Marathon

I was trailing behind a girl runner at the Cheras stretch of the KL Marathon. Started at 6:15 a.m. on Sunday 28 June, I was running in the half marathon. She was wearing a cap with her hair tied in pony tail. Wearing a dark red top and black running short, her movement looked graceful and pleasing to the eyes.

With her body leaned slightly forward, her stride seemed strong and swift when running. After a while, I decided to overtake her. A few seconds later, I heard someone was calling my name: “KC”. When I turned my head, the girl who was ahead of me was Chantelle.
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Chantelle training for 20km run

With thousands and thousands of runners, it is not easy to look for your friends in a sea of runners. In term of numbers, the KL Marathon organized Standard Chartered – the maiden attempt in Kuala Lumpur – was a big success. This year, the official colour of the event was green and blue mirroring the official colour of Standard Chartered Bank. If you are not aware, bibs with green label is for full marathon while blue is for half marathon.

The Bibs
This is by far the most advanced bibs that I have seen. The chips, using RDIF (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, is actually imbedded behind the bibs: a simple tag that activates your timing at the starting point, and stop your timing at the finishing point. With the simplified procedure, the cumbersome way of paying deposit and later collecting them is considered old fashion!

The Weather
The weather was most ideal for running this morning. Other than the slight drizzle at the start of full marathon at 5:00 a.m., the sun only came out strong at 11:00 a.m. when the full marathon was officially concluded.

The Traffic
Enough has been said in the past years of KL marathons organized by FTAAA about the notorious stretch of traffic along Jalan Loke Yew, Jalan Cheras area where the road is chocked with heavy traffic. I was surprised to see that this is the main route (attraction) for this new KL marathon.

Water Stations
According to Alexis, the Mount Everest Base Camp trekker (this October 2009) who is running in the full marathon said that there was no water at the last three water stations. I could empathize with her what it is like running a full marathon when there wasn’t enough water, and the organizer did not honour their words.

Distance Marker
This is very confusing. Chantelle and I did not believe the number that we saw. But we should think that the distance marker is for full marathon (and not half marathon category). Only when I see a 35km marker, I would then know that we have another 7km to go (35km + 7km = 42km for full marathon). For some, after running for many kilometers, it is not easy to compute at that moment.

The Trekkers and Marathoners
The Mount Everest Base Camp trekkers who are taking part in the full marathon are AB Tan, PK Chan, Alexis and SC Yong; save for yours truly (KC) who is running in the half.

Chantelle
I could see that she improved very much in her running. With a slimmer body, it is evident that she has spent much effort to train. A few years ago, while we trained for 20km run, I was doing the talking when running. This time, she could run and talk quite effortlessly. I was pacing with her and I could see that she is a strong runner now. She and another seven runners will be going to run in the Gold Coast Marathon this coming Sunday (5 July) and this will be her third full marathon attempt.

The photographer
After taking many photographs of runners in action, Jason Lee is participating in the run himself. It is indeed an incredible courage that he is attempting the full marathon. This time, we have CS Wong (click here for photo album; part of the KL marathon photos are ready) who was there to take photos. He has upgraded his camera to one of serious pro grade and better then Nikon D200 SLR.
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Chee Wee running in the previous KL marathon (filepix photo courtesy of Jason Lee)

Mei Ling
I met Mei Ling at the starting/ending area. She was very active in running and trekking previously. She actually planned her route and took LRT and cheered her husband who is running in the full marathon. She could tell me that Chee Wee (another penguin bro runner) was also there running.

Overall

Other than the glitches of long delay in collecting the bibs and race package on Friday 26 June that caused much unhappiness among the runners; other than the distance markers and also insufficient water for the full marathon runners, there is still room for improvement. Maybe the expectation is high since Standard Chartered has successfully organized in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Nairobi. Well, we hope the organizer can raise the standards of KL Marathon on par with the other marathons. BRAVO to the organizer for staging this massive event.
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click here for official website on KL Marathon.

Written by KC

Japan GT Sepang (4)

Please click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC). This album is about walking around at Sepang F1 Circuit.

Pit Walkabout

Sepang F1 Circuit Walkabout: (L-R) Melvin, LimPT, Mike, Jason Lee, Shukri (photo by KC)

Sunday 21 June 2009 - Start procedure on race track. Each team is to do a final inspection of their cars

The proud winner after going through 54 gruelling rounds of race

Posted by KC

Japan GT Sepang (3)

Please click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC) ... only on GT queens and models. If you are looking for the cars, they are in the previous photo album.

While standing there for almost 10 minutes, I do not see anyone who is interested in the Toyota new Vios, though the bonnet and doors are wide opened.
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The lubricant queen? (promoting special lubricant for car engine)
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This posting is dedicated to the gorgeous GT queens and models at Sepang F1 Circuit. The presence of GT queens complement the success of this event.

Fiona, an Everest Base Camp trekker, wrote: My goodness....all the close shots of beauties....and their legs. Since you have an eye for beauties and legs, WHAT WILL A MALE CATERPILLAR SAY TO A FEMALE CATERPILLAR?

YOU HAVE BEAUTIFUL pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs, pair of legs ...

Hey friend, were you there for the cars or for the girls? I know you will say BOTH ! But I think the girls are definitely hotter than the cars ... Shiek

Why no photos of handsome drivers? ... Huey Ling asked.
Well, the handsome drivers are in the cars, all wrapped up and protected by full-faced helmet. So, it is easier to see the GT queens... :-)

Posted by KC
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Japan GT Sepang (2)

Please click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC). Stay tuned for more photos of GT queens.

(In photo album, click Slideshow, hit F11 key)

Please click here to view photos by courtesy of Wei Liam.

Crash !!

Posted by KC

Japan GT Sepang

The real HOT event is finally here at Sepang F1 Circuit from 19 to 21 June 2009. In this Japan Super GT event, other than the 'keng chow' (fantastic) racing cars, we have the gorgeous GT queens and models.

If a person is not attracted by the sports cars, I am sure there is other attraction -- mean machines and girls are a good combination... :-)

While introducing the GT Queens, the master-of-ceremony said, "The hottest spot now is not the wild fire in Sumatra, it is right here at Sepang F1 Circuit !!"
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The good news: the number of GT cars (GT500 and GT300) participating in this event showed no sign of slowing down despite the economy downturn. However, the number of GT queens are lesser compared to last year. Click here for last year's event (scroll down the pages).
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click here for GT cars 2009

click here for GT queens 2009.
. Red and White Team: (L-R) LimPT, KC Leong, Jason Lee, Shukri, Melvin, Mike.

The models

Even the sports rims can be used to enhance the pose
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Face Off - the graceful GT Queens and the highly enthusiastic photographers. Since I could not find a good spot, I just made do position in between ... and the security personnel studied me warily.

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Fast GT car in action
. Notice that the front wheels are still spinning while the back wheels are locked that emit smoke from friction. Results: this car spins a few rounds and luckily that it did not hit other GT cars
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Notice the flame on the side of the car
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Flame on (but make sure don't burn the tyre, or worst still, the whole car)
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The gorgeous GT Queens from Japan

Representing Zent - The announcer said that Air Asia should change to this attire [I am sure the passenger rate would shoot up just like our heart beat when watching these beautiful girls]
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The Malaysian photographers love the GT queens very much
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During pit walkabout, it takes only one or two GT queens standing and posing in front of the garage, that would attract massive crowds. The human touch overshadows the fierce and hi-tech car parked just behind where the GT queens are standing.
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Yours truly (KC)
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Size does matter at Sepang F1 Circuit
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With the thunderous roar of the machine, this guy can still sleep soundly... or he is not attracted by the cars ... :-)

Posted by KC

Heaven and Earth

Chinese Paintings Drawn by Jayne Aw - Part 2

Please click here for album containing all her paintings (click Slideshow, hit F11)

Sunrise

I often miss the laid-back life of yesteryear in the fishing village of Kuala Terengganu. My friends and I used to cycle for miles to the beach to watch sunrise. We would just lie idly on the sand and marvel at the spectacular show of Nature amid the mellifluous sound of waves, and listen to our souls uttering, “Life is beautiful”.

We would then try our luck scouting for oysters on the nearby rocks along the seaside. Breaking the oyster shell required some skill or otherwise one would end up with a mass of oyster meat, which nevertheless, still made a delicious omelet.

Autumn Song

Life is like seasons, going through different phases at different points in time. And if one gets to live up to 80 years old, then every 20 years represent a season.

Spring represents childhood to teenage where there are dreams to chase and butterflies to catch; Summer represents adulthood where many are busy chasing after worldly possessions, trying to reap as much as one could in a bountiful orchard; Autumn represents manhood where one has become wiser and taking a step backward to enjoy life; Winter represents a retreat where one would sit back in the garden sipping tea, or by the fireplace reading book and listening to music, while the adventurous one would perhaps continue to trek and run.

No season is bad or good. It depends on how one looks at life. I personally think this is a beautiful arrangement by Nature and I would be perfectly satisfied to get up from my seat and go away saying, “It was a perfect show”, when the curtain falls.

Heaven and Earth

We are indeed the fortunate souls to be born into this marvelous place called Earth, in between Heaven and Hell. While the latter two remain a myth, the Earth is real. Yes, we exist in physical form with five senses, but the beings in Heaven and Hell are formless.

Sometimes I wonder, how would a fairy from Heaven be happy when she doesn’t need to dress up and make-up to look good (coz she is already beautiful by default, and day in day out dresses in the same costume)? While we, the earth-bound ladies, have all the enjoyment of putting on make-up, pedicure, manicure, etc, etc to look our best. And Mother Earth has been so kind to host all year round sales to satisfy the ladies’ obsessive addiction for shopping, only to be followed by the anxiety of opening the credit card statement subsequently.

How would a fairy derive a sense of accomplishment as I do from completing a satisfying painting (ignoring the many that went into the trash!) when everything else can be done at the point of a finger? And how would the fairy enjoy food like we human do when she has no feeling for hunger at all?

Being a ghost is no better off than a fairy. In the movie “Ghost”, Patrick Swayze was desperately trying to touch Demi Moore but to no avail when he became the formless ghost. He has to get help from the eccentric spiritual medium Whoopi Goldberg to feel his loved one again. It is hauntingly romantic but sad (BTW I couldn’t stop laughing watching the hilarious Whoopi dancing with Demi).

As a transient guest of this beautiful Earth, one should live life to the fullest and enjoy each moment of the now and the presence. Even in the darkest dungeon, there is still a way to find the bright spot. As for me, I have found mine, and it is right here in my heart.


Landscapes

The beauty of landscapes on Earth lies in their shapes, dimensions and colors; the beauty of landscapes in painting lies in the freedom of brush and the luxuriousness of ink; and the beauty of landscapes in one’s heart lies in the fact that everything is in its proper place.

Please click here for Part 1 of Jayne's Chinese paintings

By Jayne Aw.

Posted by KC

Next posting will be scheduled on Monday 22 June night.

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