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Sea of people ... where is the race track?
Stay tuned for thousands of photos ... from Jason Lee, Shukri, Lia and yours truly (KC).
Posted by KC
Beautiful sunset opposite the LaLa Chong Seafood Restaurant Menu for the Evening
The ABC-trained trekkers could really eat (applicable to guys). Here are the selection that we ordered:
PK Chan made a long-distant phone call to Cheban, the Trek and Tour Agent in Nepal, while we were still savouring the delicious food. Due to bad signal, the line was cut. A few minutes later, Cheban called back from Nepal. And PK Chan’s handphone was passed round one by one. Among other things, I told Cheban that “I wish you were here with us for the sumptuous dinner.”
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Front (L-R): Cynthia, Lili, Dr. Hamdan, Lok, Chiew HongWine All Round
Other than good food, good company, good conversation, we have good wine too. LimKH brought a bottle of wine while PK Chan brought three bottles, and Chiew Hong brought the Nepalese Rum.
Lili commented that one can get drunk easily when we mixed different types of wine. Well! The ABC-trained trekkers were good! Despite the thin air (in ABC) and the potent mixture, we could still walk straight. No problem.
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Lili - The attractive, hardworking and kind-hearted team member. She devoted much of her time to charitable work. Keep up the good work! BRAVO!
Sitting there the whole evening, I could observe that most tables were empty (still early at 7pm); then they were occupied (during prime time) and later were emptied (most customers had left). However, we were still there conversing!! And finally, at 11 p.m., we decided to leave.
It was a great dinner amidst great company.
Written By KC
Note from PK Chan:
Yes, that was one of my most enjoyable dinners amidst great fellowship and team spirit which continue to flourish since the trekking at ABC. It's always memorable that I received the largest Ang Pow from KC; I think Lily had also made similar comment :-))
Thanks again to Lok and others who had taken the trouble to organise the get-to-together and hope many more to come whilst gearing towards our next venture!
Note from Dr. Hamdan:
Thank you all for making it to the dinner, that was excellent !!
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Super GT Race programme, Sepang F1 Circuit
Saturday 21 June 2008
8:00 am - Formula V6 Asia Qualifying
8:40 am - Aston Martin Cup Qualifying
9:20 am - Asian Formula Renault Challenge Race 1
10:00 am - Asia Supercar Challenge Race 1
11:00 am - Super GT Qualifying 1
12:10 pm - Aston Martin Cup Race 1
1:00 pm - Pit Walk
2:00 pm - Formula V6 Race 1
2:50 pm - Asian Formula Renault Challenge Race 1
4:00 pm - Super GT Qualifying 2
Sunday 22 June 2008
9:50 am - Asian Formula Renault Challenge Race 2
11:00 am - Super GT warm up
11:30 am - Circuit Safari
11:55 am - Asia Supercar Challenge Race 2
12:40 pm - Pit Walk
1:25 pm - Aston Martin Cup Race 2
2:15 pm - Formula V6 Asia Race 2
4:00 pm - Super GT Race (54 laps)
Christina the Maiden Marathoner
“Indeed running a marathon is an experience of a lifetime! Training for one takes much will-power and grit. The lack of logical thinking and rationale helps! Especially when one choses to run her first marathon all night and on a difficult route. Many thanks to my friends and family for their support. And my marathon buddy for her unceasing encouragement and tips, not to mention her weathering heavy rains to capture my triumphant final 100m to the finish line!
I was all excited right up to the start of the race, well actually, until the 28km when the signs of cramping reared its ugly head. After that, it was a combination of will-power and constant walk-breaks and massage to finish. The last hour was miserable - squelching in the rain! 600m from the finish line, I flew off the wet pavement and sprawled on the road. It was sunrise when I crossed the finish line! Some runners insisted the route was 45km.
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ChristinaSurprisingly, I did not feel the lack of sleep or the fatigue (was I overdosed on Powergel??). The post-race aches began on the bus ride from the race. Would I do it again? YEEESSSS!!”
Sonny the Seasoned Marathoner
“The terrains along the Sundown Marathon Route was not my idea of a good Marathon Route. Runners had to run/walk across a Pedestrian Overhead Bridge, run across narrow Canals/Longkangs Pedestrian Bridges, along some dark alleys, (Auntie Teresa stumpled and was assisted by fellow runners before she fell flat on her face), on sandy patches, passed BBQ Pits which were emitting pillow of smokes and stenched with the sizzling meats, directed by Road Marshall to run on concrete/Monier bricks Pedestrian Walkways (runners were not allowed to run on roads except when crossing them), Traffic Police stopping Runners to give the right of way to Motorists, coming into the Finish line, runners again had to run across a narrow "hump" bridge, insufficient Distance Markers along the Route. I am sure the Route of this Sundown Marathon will not be sanctioned by the International Marathon Federation (IMF) Body.
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Sonny Ng
An Ultra Runner Kenny Choe (Pacesetters) completed his run in a time of 10 hours 59 mins. and needed a massage for his sore body; the Massage Tent was already closed. Kenny was also given the wrong Finisher Pack upon completion. His pack had a 42.195km Finisher T-shirt and without the Ultra Finisher Towel (large). However, the Organiser had been contacted and agreed for a change.
Ching Tai the Ultramarathoner
“I had prepared hard for SunDown ultramarathon, I had trained for 65km and 50km in 2 weeks. However, I injured my knee during my 2nd week of training in 50km run (3 weeks to Sun Down race) and this really worried me and I almost planned to forego this race. However, upon consultation with the Sports & Orthopedic Doctor who gave me the green light, I decided to continue with my training and preparations.
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Ching Tai
My initial plan was to aim for sub 11 hours to complete the race. But after getting my knee injury, I decided not to aim for anything but rather just to complete the race safely within the time limit.
This run was the toughest race I have ever faced (even tougher than Comrades Ultramarathon in South Africa which I participated a few years ago) The route was tough where we had to run through a staircase, residential areas and traffic lights.
The support provided was also poor, especially for the 2nd loop of ultra runner, the road traffic controller was no where to be seen, the water in the few stations were finished and the run officials had left leaving insufficient markers for directions which led to many runners running to wrong way!!!
At 35km of the race, my legs were so sore and almost going to cramp, it was only through my strong determination that I managed to last myself till 52km. After that, I walked the rest of the course to complete the race. My timing was around 13hours 25mins but nonetheless I am happy that I managed to complete it. I would like to salute for those runners who have completed this ultramarathon, it was indeed a very tough race.”
Compiled by Running Wombat
Posted by KC
Photos are extracted from Adidas Sundown Marathon, Singapore website
Singapore’s inaugural night race on 31 May 2008 offered both ultramarathon and marathon categories. The race started at 8.30pm for the ultramarathon and 12 midnight for the full marathon.
The race attracted more than 4,800 runners from around the Asian region despite the “unearthly” starting time at midnight. The full marathon runners would run 1 loop of the course whilst the ultramarathoners would complete 2 loops of the course.
With a comprehensive website and superb organization, the race (full marathon) went off with a bang on the dot at midnight starting from Changi. Runners would run down Changi Coastal Road that lead to East Coast Park for some 22 km of flat terrain running.
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Running near to Changi airport with planes that were taking off from the runway certainly woke many runners up with the roar of the engines. East Coast Park brought many runners relief that they were not the only “crazy” people up in the middle of the night as runners were cheered on by campers and night dwellers with multi coloured lights strung along the way. As promised, this stretch was flat and fast.
The next half of the marathon would be challenging to the runner. Not only were the runners running along quiet housing section with different terrains but runners would also be battling the natural urge of sleepiness at this time of the night (around 2 am), and the lack of sight in many areas due to poor lighting.
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Suburbs of Singapore are now connected by the “Park Connector Network” where there is now a network of linear open spaces that link up major parks and nature sites i.e. lanes are specially made for runners/cyclists/skateborders/walkers, etc. to connect from one suburb/park to the other. This will mean crossing on special constructed connectors and overhead bridges over highways in order to link one suburb/park to another. This also means that runners were running up and down several of these connectors/overhead bridges.
Bemused residents nonetheless cheered and applauded (albeit quietly) the runners on despite it being way past midnight. Drinks were dished out in the dark by helpful volunteers who were all outfitted with florescent tubes as were runners for safety purposes.
This was an interesting run: night running has its advantages - the obvious one being the heat factor that was not present but also has its limitations as there was no scenery to be admired and posed some dangers as sight was severely limited in many parts of the course.
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This is not a fast course as evidenced by the winning times for the marathon men (2 hours 40 mins) and women (3 hours 13 mins) but if you cannot sleep and are thinking of what to do on a Saturday night then this is the race for you!!
Reported by the Running Wombat (She ran in the full marathon category)
Posted by KC
Yours truly running with the Adidas new shoes
The Run
I ran with PK Chan, Sarjit Singh, AngCK, Nancy and the Permaisuri group. The training run on Sunday morning is not just about running; it is also about getting to know other fellow runners.
We met and chatted with Hoo Ching Tai while running. He just ran the ultra-marathon (84km) two weeks ago in Sundown Marathon, Singapore. We joked that the minimum training distance for an ultra-marathon runner is at least a half marathon.
En route to Sri Hartama (for 20km run), we took the left turn to the Double Hill route (10km). Yes, I was running only 10km.
I was wearing the Adidas Response CSH 16. I like this pair of shoes as it is light, flexible, very quiet and with good cushioning. My previous Adidas running shoes were the Supernova that supported me for five marathons. click here.
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File photo - bustling with activities at Bukit Aman car park
After the run
There were two booths been set up at Bukit Aman car park: one was set up by VP of PACM, Francis Toh, for promoting runs and Club merchandise. Another one was set up by Mr. Krishnan, Adidas Head of Running in Malaysia. He was promoting the Adidas King of the Road run on 10 August.
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File photo - John Tan with his new road racing bike
I saw John Tan who was walking around the Bukit Aman car park with a golf club. With the numerous breaks in of cars when runners went for the run, it was good to see that John volunteered his time to ensure the safety of other fellow runners’ cars.
Geraldine was wearing an acid-green running shorts. We joked that the shorts could be illuminated in darkness. And in darkness, we could only see the shorts that are moving.
The other runners that I met and chatted were Daniel, Fikri, Lim, Thai and wife, Jessica, Michelle, Chooi Wan, Chan Wing Kai, Vivian Law, ChinYH, Linda Trivino, Sharon Cheah, PK, Tammy and group, etc. I chatted with the Pacesetters Club Exco: Rustam, Francis Toh, Michael Gan, Jega, Alan Ho, Sook Ying. As you can see, I chatted more than I ran.
The chat with Rustam, Pacesetters Club President, was serious as we were discussing how to improve on the PACM website. Please click here to take a look at the revised structure. If you have comments, do send to me.
Madeline and her sister – Madeline asked me whether I could still remember them. After giving me a bit of the hint, I remembered that they came one day at 5 a.m. in a brand new Honda City only to run 10km, which I commented that it was too early to start.
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With matching colour cycling shoes
Admiring the new bike (the front wheel was detached earlier)
Written by KC
AB Tan, the High Mountains Sifu who runs many marathon races, is planning to trek up Mera Peak, Nepal this October. Are there any advanced trekkers who share the same vision to trek there? Please contact AB at 012- 289 2496.Photo shows AB Tan is running in the recent RMAF Half Marathon on 25 May 2008. He is now in Phuket; he will be running in the Laguna Phuket Marathon this Sunday, 15 June.
Photo by courtesy of Chan Wing Kai.
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Here is my (KC's) plan for trekking in Nepal:
Oct 2009 = Everest Base Camp or EBC (5,545 m)
Oct 2010 = Annapurna Circuit (5,400 m)
Oct 2011 = Mera Peak (6,476 m)
If you are interested in joining me to trek EBC next year, please click here for more details.
Extracted from Internet:
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Mera Peak is the highest trekking peak in Nepal, which is climbable by people without mountaineering experience. It is situated on the edge of the famous Khumbu region, which is dominated by Mount Everest. Although very high, Mera is a straightforward climb and is frequently ascended by groups and individuals whose only climbing qualifications are that they are fit and have an out-going sense of adventure.
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Whilst the mountain poses little technical difficulty, at 6,476m, it is a strenuous climb with some short, steeper sections of 35° snow. Ice axe and crampons are required and previous experience of their use is recommended.
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Photos below are extracted from this website. Click here to view more spectacular photos of Mera Peak.
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En route to Mera Peak - simply breathtaking
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Technical climb
Magnificent view - summit of Mera Peak
Posted by KC
