TMBT 2014

Borneo TMBT Ultra Trail Marathon on Saturday, 16 August 2014 for 100k and 50k categories, starting at 7:00 a.m … I am glad to complete the 50km run within the qualifying time amid many hours of rain; running in muddy, mud slide areas; overcoming hilly and slippery terrain. 

TMBT is the abbreviation for The Most Beautiful Thing. This is true for the scenery as the runners would run through padi fields, farm lands and villages with a view of the majestic Mount Kinabalu. But this is definitely The Most Brutal Thing to runners as this is the monsoon time, the weather has been consistent that heavy rain will start in the afternoon. 

For this run, the runners were running in the rain for almost five hours until the sky is dark. When the night falls, it was cold in the mountainous areas of Kundasang villages. At the second last water station, i.e. WS5, I was refueling my hydration backpack; within minutes, I was shivering with cold. And I have to quickly continue my run to increase my body temperature.

When I reached the finishing point at around 8:15 p.m. after running for more than 13 hours, I was glad that it was over. But for trail runners participating in the 100k category, that was the beginning of another 50km to go!

The many months of training in local hills and mountains do help to strengthern my body. This time, I ensured that I was well hydrated by drinking lots of water, and to include energy drinks intake at certain fixed interval to sustain the journey.

Do CLICK HERE to view 210 photos courtesy of yours truly.

Do click here for photos album in Facebook.

 Systematic and organized method of inspecting the mandatory kits, which are utmost critical in bad weather condition. For any missing items, it would be easily detected; hence, penalty may apply.

 Group photos before the run

 Happy faces and getting ready for the race

 Yours truly (KC) standing at the starting line taking part in the 50km category … the bib number is a moral boaster to me that interpreted as “die, die also must survive”

TMBT Race Director, Avtar Singh, addressing the participants and getting ready to flag off the run. Good descriptive in writting, he has been sending out valuable tips to the participants leading to the event.

 The 100k and 50k are flagged off at the same time - at the same spot as last year but the route was different.

Conserving energy mode - Most of the uphill climbs to gain elevation are on trails except a few stretches that are on the road

 A warm welcome by the local folks

 Knee-deep river crossing and follow by many streams crossing along the trail. It is pointless to remove the trail running shoes trying to keep them dry.

 Good to reach thus far

 Scenic and peaceful villages

 The participants run through many jungle trais, and passing by padi fields, pineapple farms and rubber estates

Children happily greeting the runners with High-5 that boast the energy level of running. The next station is Water Station #3. 

 This is water station WS3 and from then on, it was raining for about five hours until the sky went dark.

Last year (2013), many of the runners were DNF here as they were stuck in the Miki's Camp as the stream there swelled due to heavy downpour.

I crossed the finishing line at 8:15 p.m., it was cold and I could not take the photo then. This photo is taken the next morning (Sunday, 17 August) after having a nice and comfortable sleep on a silky smooth bed in the nearby hotel while my 100km trail runner friends were still out there running in the darkness and in the cold throughout the night. The qualifying time for 50k is 15 hours (Saturday, 10:00 p.m.), while 100k is 30 hours (Sunday, 1:00 p.m). And on Sunday, just 30 minutes before the cut-off time, heavy rain came again when I boarded the shuttle bus for a 2-hour journey back to Kota Kinabalu.

Posing with YK and Kian Chong, two very strong runners, who completed 50k the day before and now they are running in the 25k category. Bravo!

Do click here for the unfinished mission last year (2013).

Do click here for all my stories on TMBT (scroll down the pages).

Cheers! KC Leong                                                                        

My TMBT Post-Race

Post-race Analysis of my bad leg cramps problem - after getting tips from Dr Pui San who was running in the same TMBT event, I finally figure out the reasons that hindered me in completing the TMBT race. I encountered terrible cramps in both my legs – the inner thigh, quadriceps, calf muscle and even my toes – all happened at the same time!

On race day, it was very hot and humid initially causing us to sweat profusely; then it became wet and cold when crossing river and streams, tricking our thirst centres that we do not need to drink that much.

Yours truly (kC, left) at the starting line ... photo courtesy of Vivien Tay

I realized on that day, I drank much less water compare to my normal training. I am using hydration bladder type and drinking from this method has one disadvantage as one could not assess or see how much has been finished (as compared to those two plastic bottles hanging in front of the chest type). I was not able to assess the remaining amount of water in the backpack by feeling the weight as it was packed to the brim with other mandatory survival items and food. 

When the sign of cramps surfaced at about 12:30 p.m., I went to pee (since 7:00 a.m.); with much less output, that reaffirmed the reasoning.

Yours truly (KC) after crossing the river and admiring the smooth rocks 

(photo courtesy of Weng)

What was obvious is the crossing of river and streams with the hot-cold, expand-contract of veins conditions which was not tested during training time. The actual reason that triggered the complete shutdown of body system in provoking muscle cramp of two legs was the DEHYDRATION problem. 

I do not think the leg muscles cramp was due to my fitness level as I have trained enough in the local hills and Gunung Nuang, Kuala Lumpur, in preparing for this event.

Backpack with pockets for two bottles ... photo courtesy of TMBT website

If I were to take the challenge again next year – I think I will – for the unfinished mission, one of the things I need to do is to change the hydration backpack system. I begin to appreciate the two-bottle system where each bottle can store different type of energy drinks appropriate for each unique mission.

I went to The Gardens, Mid-Valley to check: Salomon Trail Running backpack is selling at RM 639. It comes with two front bottle pockets (note: bottle not inclusive), a 1.5 litre bladder and intake tube for drinking; next to the bladder compartment is another compartment for storing other stuff.

Do click here for my first TMBT DNF story.

Posted by KC Leong

TMBT 100km Runners

To my TMBT 2013 comrades … imagine that it is almost close to mid-night and you are still soldering on in pitch darkness only to be guided by your headlamp heading uphill to the finishing line near to the posh hotel of Kota Kinabalu Heritage Hotel (KKHH). While you are still wondering how much longer to arrive there, you are motivated when you heard cheers from vehicles passing by that shouted “JiaYou” (加油 add more fuel). Then the song of Hotel California come into your mind … 

On a dark country ultra trail, cool wind of Mount Kinabalu in my hair 

Warm smell of my stinking body odour, rising up through the air 

Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light 

My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim 

I had to stop for the night 

And I was thinking to myself, 

"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell" 

Welcome to the Hotel California 

Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place) 

Such a lovely face 

Plenty of food at Hotel Heritage ... before I continue for another 50km in the cold night.

BRAVO to the 100km challengers! May the strength be with YOU!

Enjoy the song, Hotel California by The Eagles ... click here or here.

TMBT 100km challengers near Hotel Heritage, Kota Kinabalu, after clocking 50km ... photo courtesy of Vivien Tay

Posted by KC Leong

TMBT 2013 - My DNF Story

After months of preparation in trail running, together with other runner friends, I finally set foot at the starting line of TMBT 2013 held at a remote village of Kota Kinabalu on Saturday, 14 Sept 2013.

TMBT is the abbreviation for The Most Beautiful Thing … what at name! But for those who have participated in this event, they say it is The Most Brutally Torturous!

Do click here to view photos courtesy of yours truly (KC).

Yours truly (KC Leong)

A convoy of buses, big and small, took almost two hours to travel from Kota Kinabalu to a remote village – Kampung Lingkubang, Kota Belud. There was no fanfare or pomp other than a few village folks playing the local gong in welcoming the runners.

The event started one hour behind schedule. Finally, when all the runners were assembled, Mr Aman Avtar, the Race Director, started the race at 8:00 a.m. with all categories – 25km, 50km and 100km – in one go instead of the staggered start.

The start of TMBT 2013

The runners were running happily after waited for so long only to realise that we have to queue to cross another river via the suspension bridge. At least another 30 min to 1 hour were wasted. The action only started after this point where the route took us to jungle trails, river crossing of chest deep, running pass padi fields; running alongside river, stepping through many streams, and going into wet jungle trail.

As highlighted by the organizer, the route is tougher this year. Other than running on the plain of padi field, the route took us to higher and higher ground. To me that was a manageable level as the training ground at Gunung Nuang, Kuala Lumpur was much tougher.

Come! Let me help You! The first river crossing

Something unexpected and dramatic happened to me after running for about four hours!  At about 15km distance, there was sign of leg muscle cramp. I was worried because after running for countless times on road or trail running, I only encountered one light cramp many years ago. I do not have any muscle relaxant spray or any medicine to relief the cramp. The higher I ascended the hill, very swiftly, the cramps developed into multiple areas – the inner thigh, quadriceps, calf muscle and even my toes. The bad news was that not only one leg but two! I tried to sit but the pull was painful; I tried to stand again but that did not help either. At the moment of distress, a few passing-by runners who were very helpful immediately took out their muscle relaxant spray and started to help. While sitting on the ground, one runner even help to stretch my legs.  Ms Yap gave me three Hammer brand anti-muscle cramp capsules; another lady runner even gave me a sweet-sour plum to suck that was good to relieving cramps. 

Beautiful scenery - running alongside padi field and river

After that, even a slight elevation to climb seemed to be a daunting task to me. I struggled to walk to Checkpoint 1 then to Checkpoint 2 and I decided to throw in the towel and I surrendered the bibs. At that moment, it started to rain heavily at 2:30 p.m. I finally arrived at Water-station 3 at 3pm. The torrential rain was raining heavily only to stop after 2.5 hours.

In that water-station, by that time, the number of DNF runners increased to almost 40 persons. After waited for 3 hours in cold wet clothing, I finally get the transport to the finishing point at the posh Kota Kinabalu Heritage Hotel, Kundasang area.

The villages are linked by many of these suspension bridge

Post-race Analysis

Training – I need to train harder in overcoming the hot-cold, expand-contract conditions when the shoes or legs are wet suspecting in causing the legs muscle cramp, and also precaution in preventing cramps early (to get some tips from triathletes). So the next time when I train at Gunung Nuang click here, for the four streams crossing, I have to find those deeper parts to cross ... :-)

ST crossing one of the streams

Event Organization – For an event that span across 100km with a complex network of trails in jungle, the organizer did a good job in successfully organized this event. The trails lined from one village to another and finally emerging at the finishing point. Other logistic issues are hotel accommodation, transport (airport to hotels; hotels to starting point), water-stations, medical, checkpoints, road and trail signage, baggage collection, activities at finishing point, overnight stay at finishing point, etc.

Carin Leong and friends

Areas for Improvement – In many runners’ opinion, the entire race organization rests heavily on one person, the Race Director. It would be good if there is a Command Response Centre where designated persons responsible for various activities such as transport, medical, etc. can handle the situation swiftly in a more focused manner.

With Ho at Checkpoint 1

Do click here for my TMBT 2012 ... and the Hotel Carlifornia (take notice of the spelling) at the finishing point.

Posted by KC Leong

TMBT SAC 2012

The van ferrying us to the starting line stopped by the road side at Kundasang Village at 6:15 a.m. Looking out of the van, I saw there was no sign at all indicating that the TMBT SAC event was taking place on Saturday, 15 September 2012.

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There was no fanfare, no pomp, no banners and no spectators on a cool and windy morning. On a closer look, the 5' x 5' signboard next to the road was collapsed cause by the heavy rain and strong wind during the night before.
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At around 7:00 a.m., more runners and spectators arrived. The starting line was located in the gully directly opposite the War Memorial on the Kundasang-Mesilau Road. And on 7:30 a.m. sharp, the race was flagged off by Mr Aman.
rs and spectators were arrived. The starting line is located i tly opposite the War Memorial on the Kundasang-Mesilau Road. And on 7:30 a.m. shoff by Mr Aman..

TMBT is the abbreviation that means The Most Beautiful Thing of ultra trail marathon of Sabah Adventure Challenge. The event consisted of three categories; namely, 100km, 50km and 28km.

Do click here to view photos courtesy of yours truly (KC). Feel free to download the photos from Picasa Web Photo Album.

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Pre-race Briefing

Mr Aman briefing participants on Do's and Don'ts when running the race and observe the good spirit of the sports.

On 14 September 2012, Friday, the collection of race package and briefing were done at Mega D'Aru Hotel, the official hotel at Kota Kinabalu. The organizer even allowed samples of running T-shirts for the participants to test out the size before deciding one. I am impressed! They have the trust in runners and I am sure the runners did not disappoint them.

An informative and detailed briefing session was conducted by Mr Aman on Do's and Don’ts when running the race. Most importantly, all participants must observe the good spirit of the sports. I am also impressed by his excellent organizing and presentation skill!

 A group photo with Tony Q (back, left) who helped us in organizing for the transport and accommodation arrangement; yours truly (KC) is at front, left.

On getting the recommended head lamps that could illuminate a distance of 75m or more on high beam, Mr Aman commented that most runners would spend much money in looking good with the running gear but would spend much less in getting a bright and reliable head lamp. For 100km runners, it was a mandatory requirement to own such headlamps. It is understandable that without the head lamp when running in pitch darkness, that would render a runner's immobility.

 FRIM group of trail runners; most of them are running in the 100km category. Team Lead is Alan Lee (front, left 4)

Logistic Arrangement

It took a lot of training and transport effort to be able to stand at the starting line. Though all participants started at the same location, the finishing lines – that are different from the starting location – are different also for 28km and the 50km/100km. For this event to be successfully staged, it required complex logistics consideration, and tackling of issues and concerns by the organizer: the volunteers manning the medical stations, water stations, checkpoints, and the seamless integration of transport arrangement ferrying participants to the right destinations.

As for the participants, most would take a flight to the airport of Kota Kinabalu; took a van transport arranged by the organizer to the official hotel for collection of race package and briefing; then took another 2-hour bus transport to the hotel near to Kundasang Village (that is about 10km from the Mount Kinabalu National Park). Then on the morning of event day, participants took another van transport from the hotel to the starting point. When the event was over, the organizer sent the participants back to Kota Kinabalu town.

Rupert Chen giving a super-charged pose; he is doing 100km !

Accommodation

The night before the event day, while staying at a budget hotel near to Kundasang Village, it was raining heavily and blowing strong wind accompanied by the symphony of sound. Twelve participants cramped into a small dormitory with six double-decker beds, much like Bangla workers, as quipped by Edwin Goh. While we tugged in the comfort and warmth of our beds, we were wondering what would going to happen for those 100km runners if they were to go through the same punishing wet weather at night while completing their distance.

 The background is the magnificient rear view of the formidable Mount Kinabalu

Interesting Observations:

Trail running shoes – the one brand that dominated and used by most trail runners has to be Salomon with all types of attractive designs. Maybe next year, Salomon can help to sponsor the event.

 Connie Yu and Khor, both in 100km category, are from the FRIM group of trail runners

The Trails and Terrains – the trails were very much different from last year: I saw there were many sections of narrow trails; this time, the routes were mostly wide track of gravels and tar road. The terrain was mostly going up and down the hill. Most participants would just walk when going uphill as it was tiring to run uphill, and would then ran downhill to speed up.

Shin ... passing by the vegetable plantation with Mount Kinabalu in background 

The weather – after the heavy rain and strong wind the night before, the weather was just superb on race day: it was windy and cool in the early morning, and cloudy until 11am. It was fairly hot in the afternoon with the sunlight piercing through the thin layer of overcast sky. Without any sunscreen protection, most runners would get suntan, bonus from this event. For most 50km and 100km competitors, they would be running under difficult conditions with extreme heat over the race course.

 David Spence, the Ironman, who overtake me; he is doing the 100km category

Cut-off Time – for 25km – 10 hours; 50kim – 15 hours; 100km – 33 hours. For the 100km category, this is a mind boggling number having to run a course for almost 33 hours.

The Achievement – I quipped that when the phone rings, one can now PROUDLY say, "this is the most beautiful ultra-marathoner speaking, how can I help you?!" Make sure there is not a slip of the tongue and say "ultra-man". BRAVO to the 50km and 100km runners for the achievement!

 A runner happily posing with the village girls

25km Category – according to Mr Aman during the briefing, due to the marking of the trail, the actual distance would be 27km. However, according to my Garmin GPS-enabled watch, we were still running in out-of-no-where route. Finally, after greeted by 500 meters of quite steep uphill walk, the finishing line was seen at a distance of 28.3km – what an auspicious number that mean prosperity in Cantonese.

28km Finishing banner ... yours truly (KC) posing with Tony Q 

28km’s Finishing Point – The finishing point for 28km is also the critical check-point for 50km and 100km runners. The runners would take a breather to replenish their water and seek medical help, if necessary. In this back-to-basics school hall, there was a team of medical staff attending to participants' pain. Other than signing in to confirm one’s present at each check-point, another important protocol before proceeding with their journey was the inspection by the officials on each runner’s mandatory gear – handphone and headlamp. Most runners were a bit lost trying to locate these two items that hid inside their backpacks.

 Finishing point for the 25km category. According to the organizer, the 25km category is actually 27km. But from my Garmin GPS-enabled watch, it is 28.3km. Seen here are runners continuing their 50km or 100km journey.

 Under the zinc-roofing, back-to-basics school hall, a team of medical staff are there to attend to runners' pain

 Check-point for proceeding with 50km and 100km -- inspection of mandatory gear: the handphone and a good quality head-lamp.

 Medals and souvenir for 50km finishers

 At the 50km finishing point (about 15km away from the 28km finishing point)

 A runner returning to the check-point ... for 50km runner, this is the finishing line; for 100km runner, this is the check-point with another 50km more to go !!

Hotel Carlifornia

Yours truly (KC) posing at Hotel Carlifornia

The organizer in Sabah for this TMBT SAC sure have good sense of humour. The special signage in front of a school canteen was erected at around 4:30 p.m. (check the spelling) ... :-) Food and drinks were served at the canteen; the luggage of 50km and 100km runners were also been sent here from the starting point by the organizer.

The original lyrics are modified by yours truly (KC):

On a dark country ultra trail, cool wind of Mount Kinabalu in my hair

Warm smell of my stinking body odour, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"

Welcome to the Hotel Carlifornia
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of food at the Hotel Carlifornia ... before I continue for another 50km in the cold night.

BRAVO to the 100km challengers! May the strength be with YOU!

Jeff Ooi ... getting ready for another 50km of challenge in his 100km ultra trail run. Time at that moment was about 5:00 p.m. He will run in darkness only illuminated by his head lamp! When meeting at hotel Kinabalu Daya after the event, he said he took 23+ hours to complete the 100km. Bravo!!

The TMBT SAC ultra trail marathon was over but the fond memory of the fun and challenges in this event still lingers on in my mind. Running on a course next to the majestic view of Mount Kinabalu and the vast scenic hills of Mesilau villages was just awesome – an experience totally different from those road racing events. There was no car, no pollution, no noise; instead, one is immersed in the fresh and cool mountainous air, and the sound of leaves rustled in the constant gust of wind in applauding excitedly of our presence.


Thanks to Tony Q for his untiring effort in helping to arrange for the transport and accommodation. Though he could not run due to his knee injury, he was with us all the time to see to our needs.


See you all again in 2013’s The Most Beautiful Thing ultra trail Marathon of Sabah Adventure Challenge!

Do click here for photos of TMBT 2013 (14 Sep 2013).

Posted by KC Leong