Borneo International Marathon (Race Day)

Marathon Race Day (12 Oct 2008)

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/simsps/BorneoInternationalMarathon12Oct2008#



The pickup for full marathon was at 3.45am for Alber, TTG and Gene. Eliza took my half marathon pickup slot for 4.45am. As for me, Fiona kindly offered to give me a ride to Likas stadium at 6.30am. The sun rose very early in KK, by 6.30am it was bright and sunny outside. I saw marathoners running past our hotel. The 10km was starting at 7am and I got to the start line just in time by 6.55am. The men's champion (Kenyan) for the full marathon ran into the stadium just as we were about to start our event, finishing in 2:25h.

The 10km was flagged off. I started at the back, unsure if I was able to run after an entire week of rest. There were many recreational joggers at the back, and I began weaving my way to the front. Legs were light and refreshed. We began the route along the scenic coast line. I spied red 'cones' on the road lane markings and wondered how come the traffic cones had such weird shapes. On closer inspection, they turned out to be big red plastic cups, overturned and filled with some sand/ cement to keep them grounded! No wonder I spotted a couple of squashed ones, ran over by cars. Haha.

Gradually I overtook many people and could see the starting group of the 10kmers. Around the 4km mark, I saw a purple Nike tee in front and made a mental note to catch up with the runner. It turned out to be TTG! Haha, she called me when I ran past her. I saw the 10kmers u-turning and tried to count if there were any female runners ahead. I spotted only 1. Ah-ha! I could try to catch up with her, which I did after the u-turn point. On the return loop, I saw Uncle Soon and waved at him.

For the last few km into the stadium, I just focused on not slowing down and not letting the other lady catch up with me. There was a tall caucasian who entered the stadium with me. We had about 200m loop to the Finish banner. I picked up pace, but could only match his rather relaxed long strides. And then there was applause. Ahh. I crossed the line, 55:12min (according to my watch, official time 55:18min). I think I won something. :) Turned out I was 2nd for the Women's Open category. The lady that I overtook belonged to the Local Closed category. I guessed since many of the good female runners were out at the half and full marathons, the 10km was less competitive. Ah-ha! My first time ever winning anything at a running event, and my first trophy! What an amusing and amazing turn of events. :)

Fiona lent us her car, and we drove to town for lunch. The stalls at the Sunday Market were packing up and closing when we reached. Alber, TTG, Gene and I popped by a coffeeshop selling ban-mian (noodles) and we ordered 4 different types of noodles to share. Then we strolled around Hyatt and the malls, and tried to find Ah-Chua and Sok Hwa at the hotel. After 1-2hours of walking, our legs were protesting, and we plonked ourselves into the nice sofas at a Hk cafe. We finally bumped into Ah-Chua and Sok Hwa at Hyatt in the late afternoon, and we made an elaborate plan to ferry 7 people in 1 car to catch sunset and seafood dinner. It was an amazing feat, a tribute to all 5 slim female runners in the back seat. Haha. We brought Ah-Chua, Sok Hwa and Eliza to the same coconut pudding stall, en-route to the beach. Alber was happy he found his drinking buddy. Apparently the guys could not find any coffeeshops selling beer in town.

The sunset at Shangri-la Rasa Ria was lovely. There was a wedding reception on the beach, and deck chairs for people to lounge around. There were some clouds in the horizon, so the sun peeked intermittenly behind the puffy cover.

After the sunset, we drove to nearby Salut Seafood for dinner. The way in was a dark and bumpy road, lit only by a few random bulb sticks to guide us into the kelong compounds. The seafood was fresh, and we selected whatever we wanted for dinner - prawns, fish, crabs, and shells. I think it was too much indulgence for me considering I only ran 10km! Of course the joy was in the raucous company, drinking and eating heartily after a good race. :)