Lighted-hearted Moments - Part 1

When runners are gathered for extended durations, for sure, there would be hilarious moments. I would like to share a few of those funny stories with you during the recent Saberkas RH Marathon in Kuching on 26 March. Wish you were there too. The identities of following runners were withheld for fear that other runners would ask them a lot of questions. That may affect their undivided attention during training runs when back at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.


Taking Group Photos

Taking group photos nowadays is tedious and requires longer duration with the popularity and availability of digital cameras. If you are standing in front of the group volunteering as cameraman, be prepared to accept request for, say, another five cameras handed to you from the group.

It could be a delicate moment with a few cameras dangling on both your arms while you are focusing with another. Too much arm movement would mean the cameras are knocking or scratching one another with the owners open his eyes wide staring at you in horror – the superb facial expression for emotional or expressive photo shots.

Worst still, in the process of shuffling cameras, there is an expansive camera that slips from your hand and drop on the ground that transforms it into pieces of metals or glasses. Soon, I believe those enterprising guys would come out with special camera hangers that resembles cups hanger that can hang 5 to 10 cameras safely around your neck. They may even squeeze a little space for advertisement of scantily-clad model promoting under-garments on the camera hangers for you to focus your attention while having your photos taken.

On the other hand, the members being photographed would have to put on their best smiles not only once but numerous times that equate with the number of cameras. Depending on the speed of signaling: O----N-----E---, T--------W--------O----, T------H---------R------------E----------------E, there is a possibility that you would encounter facial muscle cramp, much like leg muscle cramp as in running a marathon.

Toilet Facility at Singgahsana Lodge

A few days before the Race, there were a few exchanges of emails showing concern for toilets when 70 Pacesetters runners would be competing for toilet facilities on Sunday morning, 26 March. I commented that each runner is recommended to use toilet for 5 minutes only. For those who sit there for hours to move the bowel, that would be a luxury.

At that moment, I began to appreciate the importance of toilet. Coincidently, two days before, I heard over the radio that in Africa, two critical criteria for a girl to marry a guy are the availability of tap water for drinking and toilet in the guy's house.

One runner, after reading the email, decided to book another room at Harbour View Hotel, just opposite the Lodge.

Sumptuous Seafood Dinner

The whole group of 15 members was standing in front of the Lodge thinking very hard of what and where to eat on Saturday 25 March evening. I hear one guy suggested eating fast-food and another lady runner strongly disagreed since we have traveled that far. I later spotted a well-dressed Chinese gentleman, and Bingo, he gave us the right direction to the popular seafood centre that was on top of a multi-storey car park.

I was a little worried when we ordered our choices of food from the stall assistant – every disc came in double. We ordered fish, prawn, sotong, vegetable, chicken, and a few more varieties. One lady runner still enthusiastically wanted to order additional dish of “peeing” prawn while my stomach was full to the brim with tons of protein-loading instead of carbo-loading.

When the bill was presented, it showed only the total amount. Two lady runners requested for recalculation and produce of itemized bill. When the amount was settled, it was RM 24 per person. I told them that it was cheap having eaten so much food. It was like a realization and everyone ”cabut” (quietly and quickly walked away) without waiting for the stall assistant to return for fear of under-calculation.

Snoring

Yes, runners do snore. In the dormitory of Singgahsana Lodge, Mr. A informed me that he snores. Since it was an uncontrollable activity when one is asleep, I acknowledged his sincere notification.

At Permai Rainforest Resort the next evening, Mr. A, B and C were in the same room while Weng and I were in different room of the same chalet. Waking up at 3am, I saw that there was a bed moved out from the room into the living hall. I thought to myself that it was very thoughtful of Mr. A not to disturb Mr. B and C in their sleep with his snore.

When I checked with Mr. B the next day; actually, Mr. A and B were sleeping in the living hall leaving Mr. C in the room. The thunderous snoring sound of Mr. C was intolerable. So, in the Chinese saying, there is always another higher mountain around.

Breakfast at 2pm, Sunday

Breakfast is supposed to be served at around 4am before runners went for the marathon race. Since most runners would have bought their own breakfast, the Management of the Lodge was most kind to serve replacement breakfast at 2pm, just before we checkout. So we had our lunch at 1pm and returned to eat again at 2pm. It consisted of two pieces of toasted bread, banana, watermelon, a glass of orange juice and a cup of tea or coffee.

Stay tune for more jokes in Part 2…

Yours truly, being the first time Team Leader in trekking, led the entire group into wrong trail while trekking Mount Santubong.

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By KC .... :-))

Singgahsana Lodge

From far, the taxi driver was signaling to us that the vibrant colour building would be our destination – Singgahsana Lodge, Kuching. Stopping in front of the two-unit, three-storey building, I reckoned that it was small compared to the huge shopping complex on one side and the towering Harbour View Hotel on the opposite side.

The moment I reached the main reception area at first floor, we were warmly greeted by those Pacesetters runners who arrived there earlier. Sonny Ng, upon seeing me, immediately highlighted to me that the Management of the Lodge put up a banner bearing Pacesetters Club logo prominently displayed in the hall to welcome us.

Every Pacesetters runner was given a 10% discount on top of the already low fare – RM 30 per person per night’s stay. Besides, a simple breakfast was provided free of charge.

Everything was new in the building: fresh coats of paint with tastefully matched colours; furniture, bed linens, toilet and bathroom. I loved the cosy ambience of this place. My cold perception towards the Lodge changed immediately. The concept of guesthouse was excellence because everyone could interact with one another that promote closeness and foster better friendship.

There were two PCs in the reception area that were frequently used by foreign tourists for checking of emails via Internet. I actually signed on to the KC & the Sunshine Runners web site and started the slideshow for a few runners to view photos taken in PACM Annual Dinner function on 18 March.

The boss of Singgahsana Lodge was most appreciative of the support from Pacesetters Club. The boss, Donald, and his wife, Merina, came to the Lodge and mingled with us in the evening.

It was convenience staying in this Lodge. The complimentary bus service provided by the Organizer of Saberkas RH Marathon actually have the pick-up point at Harbour View Hotel, which was just 50 meters away. Kuching Waterfront, frequents by tourists, was a mere 100 meters away.

A few days before the race while we were still in Kuala Lumpur, there were a few exchanges of emails showing concern for toilet facility when 70 runners would compete for limited toilet resources on Sunday morning, 26 March. There were a few suggestions: go to friends’ rooms where there are attached toilets; use toilets in Harbour View Hotel; use potty, etc. However, it was strange that on actual race morning, there was no sign of congestion in toilet.

Most runners were very satisfied with their short stay in the Lodge. I believe next year, other than competing in Saberkas marathon, the runners would engage one preliminary round of competition in booking of accommodation in the Lodge. Who knows, the keenly compete situation in toilet facilities only starts next year when the number exceeds 70 runners.

To view photos at Singgahsana Lodge and Kuching Waterfront, please click here.

Web site: www.singgahsana.com

By KC

Holidaying at Permai Rainforest Resort

The following albums contain photo shots of Permai Rainforest Resort at Kuching, and trekking up Mount Santubong.

To view 121 photos taken by KC, please click here.

To view 157 photos by courtesy of Weng, please click here. Weng’s camera focuses more on the trekking of Mount Santubong.

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After the Kuching Marathon run on Sunday morning, 26 March, 23 of the runners continued their journey to Permai Rainforest Resort at 4.30pm same day. It was raining heavily at that moment when we boarded a chartered school bus. The route took us through countryside roads. With the rain and moderate speed, the journey took about one hour to reach the destination. It was still drizzling and the sky was almost dark.

The group consisted of following runners:

Maryann, Leslie Yee, YeohSC, Siok Bee, Eric Teo, Vivian Ngok, Kor, Mei Leng, Yan, Chiam, Edward Chiam, TanPM, Sharon, Tammy, Carol, Teresa, Keshab, Wong, Janet Chin, Agnes Chin, Tony, Weng and Yours Truly.

From the Resort’s reception area, we walked about 500 meters to reach our chalets. The concept was similar to Berjaya Resorts in Langkawi – beach on one side with chalets in the midst of rainforest on the hill slope. There were six persons to a chalet with three in a room. After a quick survey of the chalets and took our bath, we went out again for dinner.

The van drivers took us to a seafood restaurant after half an hour of journey. We had sumptuous seafood dinners and lots of conversation and laugher amid heavy rain outside.

We could not do much walking due to raining. It was a marathon rain reminiscent of the marathon running we had in the morning. It started at around 3pm and it was still raining when we retired to bed at 11pm.

Monday 27 March 2006

Despite the heavy rain yesterday, Tony was determined to go for trekking up Mount Santubong as planned. He went to the other three chalets to announce the plan.

After a simple breakfast provided by the Resort, we started our trekking at 8.30am. For those who were running full marathon on Sunday, they just relaxed around the Resort area comprising of beach, waterfall and the Sarawak Cultural Village. They later went for a walk at the jungle trail forming the perimeter of the Resort.

The trail to Mount Santubong actually passed by the Jungle Café of which everyone was required to contribute RM 1-00 for crossing the path.

The first part of the trail was easy with gradual slope. It was slightly tougher than casual walking along the park. But the second segment of the climb was tough. There were many occasions of vertical climb assisted by ropes and ladders. The ascent took about four hours. We were most excited to reach the peak. It was scenic up there with the panoramic view of Damai district. We began our descent at 1.45pm and when we reached Jungle Café again, it was 6pm. We stopped at a waterfall where we cooled our bodies, drink water from the stream, washed faces, washed clothes, etc.

It was good weather today after extended raining yesterday, and it was superb for outdoor activities. In the evening, the van drivers took us out for another sumptuous dinner at a Chinese restaurant called the Beach Sea Food Restaurant.

After the dinner, we adjourned to the same Jungle Café for get-together and karaoke sessions. We were really having fun with the karaoke session with lots of laugher. The plan was well executed – Vivian Ngok gave Siok Bee a surprised birthday party. We ended the party with disco dancing. We stretched the operating hours until 1am – the scheduled time to close business for the night.

Tuesday 28 March 2006

It was raining again this morning. It spoilt my plan of walking around the Resort areas and going to Sarawak Cultural Village, which was about 400 meters’ walk from the Resort. Most of us met and chat at the Resort’s restaurant overlooking the sea.

There was not much activity. We waited until 1pm and checked out of the Resort and began our journey back to Singgahsana Lodge again. The plan was to put our baggage there temporary, went for lunch and walked around Kuching area.

Since it was still drizzling, I decided to return to Kuala Lumpur early. We boarded a taxi at 3pm and left for Kuching Airport. We managed to board the 6pm flight.

Bon Voyage

It was truly a memorable Saberkas RH Marathon run packaged with trekking up Mount Santubong and relaxing at Damai beach. As May Ching, another runner, put it: we were truly the Sunshine Runners enjoying all the outdoor activities in one week-end. I hope that we could go there again for the next Kuching Marathon run.

Thanks to Vivian Ngok who did all the planning and arrangement for AirAisa flight; accommodation at Singgahsana Lodge and Permai Rainforest Resort. Not forgetting the arrangement for seafood dinners, transports and gave Siok Bee a surprise birthday party in a foreign land. Another person that needed mentioning was Tony. He was the Team Leader – true to his name as the Mountain Sife – for trekking up Mount Santubong.

Take Care.

By KC

More Photos at Kuching

To view additional photos taken during the trip to Seberkas RH Marathon, please click here.

Photos are by courtesy of Miss Yeoh SC, an avid photographer.

The photo album contains following shots:
Kuching Town
Permai Rainforest Resort (beach and waterfall)
Sarawak Cultural Village

Saberkas RH Marathon, Kuching

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

The Marathon Runners

Note by KC:

Next posting is on Wednesday 29 March evening.

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Here are four hilarious running stories before we take on another marathon challenge on Sunday 26 March at the Sarawak Marathon 2006.

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I find that the story below on Personal Best (PB) was most funny. The PB stuff can not simply be used for any occasion other than running or competitive sports. Otherwise, the consequence could be quite damaging.

I was very concerned with my PB timing when I first started running 10km. But after countless number of runs where my timing was hovering around 50 minutes -- plus-minus three minutes -- I just do not bother about my PB timing anymore.

Another type of runner that really impressed me is The Shuffler runner. It is true that when they run, it is like gliding along but their speed is very fast. My personal experience is that before I could realize, the Shuffler runner is way ahead of me.

Read on and be amused …

Extracted from the book: How to Run a Marathon
By Tony Benyon and Kevin Macey


The Charity Runner

Watching the London Marathon on television, one frequently sees a clown running backwards while tossing a pancake in the air. This apparent lunatic is not plucked from the field by men in white coats because he is running for charity. The aim, more likely than not, is to raise money for some piece of medical apparatus or a new hospital, of which he, if he does not train correctly, will be the main beneficiary.

The majority of these runners indulge in the minimal amount of preparation for their runs. Their efforts appear to be focused on the fancy dress costumes they will wear to hobble in around the course. In most cases these consist of schoolgirl or nurse's uniforms for either women or men.

While watching a race, it is quite common to see grown men dressed as Vikings holding a replica longboat, waiters running with trays full of drinks, Mickey Mouse and even Superman rushing on their way.

As the race progresses highly comical scenes can be witnessed: Vikings riddled with cramp and hardly able to limp let alone loot, pillage and rape; Mickey Mouse slumped on a pavement outside a bar awash with beer; or Superman running into 'the wall' and staggering in anguish as though someone had slipped some Kryptonite into his tights.


The Personal Best

Wearing a shock-proof and water-proof digital watch complete with a lap timer, a stride timer and an inhalation and exhalation timer, the PB takes to the road. A smile curls his top lip when he realises he has reached the first lamp post on his regular training route in a personal best time.

Pounding along the road wearing his 'Sub Four' T-shirt, nothing is capable of breaking his concentration if he thinks a personal best time is possible. Houses may be burning, people may be screaming for help and eccentric millionaires may be giving away bundles of fifty pound notes, yet through it all the PB will not falter in his rhythm.

With his eyes permanently flickering from side to side he boils eggs, mows the lawn and reads newspapers in ceaseless competition with the clock. His manic and exaggerated behaviour has resulted in his marriage breaking down. His wife long since gave up trying to persuade him to aim at endurance records rather than speed records in the matrimonial bed. A breathless 'It was a personal best for me, how was it for you?' is a question she never wants to hear again.

The Iron Man

The Iron Man is so called because of the extreme amount of pain he can take without complaining. If his legs were to be suddenly severed at the knees he would not drop out of a race. He would merely grit his teeth and complete the course still hoping to get near his personal best without making any excuses if he fails to do so.

Dressed in a sweat-soaked running kit complete with head and wrist bands, the Iron Man trains over extreme distances each week. While he is running dogs break their fangs on his calves, mothers pull their children out of his path and badly parked cars are left with dents in the shape of track shoes across their bonnets and roofs.

His unshaven face and the scars on his knees (from countless cartilage operations) give him the appearance of a badly wounded war veteran. The image is further enhanced by the manic staring eyes of a man who has been on one mission too many.

Floods, Arctic conditions, nuclear strikes and the earth tilting on its axis will never stop this man from his regular training runs because the Iron Man can crack walnuts with his eyelids. He works as a cashier in the High Street Bank and answers to the name of Dorian.


The Shuffler

The extraordinary thing about the Shuffler is how he appears not to be running at all and yet completes the marathon consistently in less than three hours. He is in his fifties, bald, wears pebbled glasses and is an engineer. His insignificant appearance makes it all the more galling when he pads silently past you within sight of the finishing line.

While you are riddled with cramp, have hamstring trouble, crave a visit to a toilet or are suffering spasms, the Shuffler glides past you as though he is standing on a pedestrian conveyer belt. No matter by how much you break your personal best, he still breasts the finishing tape before you.

A clue to the Shuffler's success appears to be his leg action or lack of it which has been perfected so as to expend a minimum of energy. His legs never bend at the knee, neither do his feet ever leave the surface of the road by more than half a centimetre. In fact, wet conditions can be a danger to him. He risks losing control by aquaplaning.

If you should wish to run in a similar style to the Shuffler, do not spend money on an expensive pair of designer running shoes; carpet slippers will do just as well.
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Sarawak Marathon - Here We Come

I believe most of us who are going for the Sarawak Marathon would progressively pack their luggage as departure date is this Saturday morning, 25 March.

For runners in Tony and Vivian Ngok’s group, we have to pack more gears. First would be running apparel and shoes for the Sunday morning marathon race; trekking apparel for trekking up Gunung Santubong the next day. And lastly, swimming gears for relaxing at the Damai Beach Resorts.

As you can see, the coming weekend is packed with activities: from the hill top to the sea deep, not forgetting running a marathon on the plain. The effect is scaled down a little; otherwise, it would be “from the mountain top to the ocean deep” …

According to the email notification from Tony, the brochures say:
All manner of attractions are here: sleepy fishing villages, primary rainforest, superb seafood restaurants, an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, a "living museum" and luxury beach resorts. On a clear day, the Santubong area offers spectacular sunsets, as the sun sinks slowly into the sea framed by Sarawak’s rolling hills on one side and scattered islands on the other.

Wow! That sound idealistic and a perfect place for holidaying after the marathon race.

As I understand from Tony, we will be putting up the first night at Singgahsana Lodge staying in dormitory type. A total of 10 boys and girls would be in one dorm. For runners, I think that would not be much problem as we have conditioned our bodies to be very adaptive to the environment. For those who are used to only one person per hotel room type, this would be another good training ground to condition oneself to be closer to your running friends.

However, there would be a slight problem as runners do snore at night. If there are two runners snore from either corner and you are sandwiched in between, that would be like stereo-sound effect. Worst still, if there are from four corners of the room, that would be like surround-sound effect. Depending on the intensity, it would either be DDS (Dolby Digital Sound), SSS (Sony Surround Sound) or THX effect. Whatever is the sound effect, one thing is certain: that you would stay awake the whole night be entertained by the orchestra.

According to the emails notification from Sonny Ng with The Organizer, there will be free transport service to ferry the runners at Harbour View Hotel (which is a short distance from Singgahsana Lodge; no problem at all for runners) to and fro the starting area to collect bibs on Saturday and on Sunday morning – the race day. That is very thoughtful of The Organizer.

The Sarawak Marathon is actually the first full marathon organized by The Organizer. The experience they gain arising from staging this event would be of valuable to hold notable and bigger events in future. Following Singapore’s footstep, it is indeed an excellent move to attract tourists to Sarawak. For sure, about 100 runners from Pacesetters Club would be spending money there for the extended holidays.

BTW, effective Thursday 23 March, two days before we depart for Kuching, Air Asia would be operating from the new LCC Terminal (Low Cost Carrier) located next to KLIA. A new shuttle bus service will ply between the terminal and KL Sentral half-hourly, charging RM9 each way.

To those runners who are going for this run, wishing you good times there and achieve your PB (personal best) timing. For other runners who will miss this run, I hope that we could meet again next year for another Sarawak Marathon stint.

By KC