Pacesetters Brooks Bonding - Klang

Traditionally the Pacesetters Club holds the Brooks Bonding event every year at the Forest Reserve Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong. However, this year the venue was changed to Klang, Sulaiman Park. With the help of Francis Toh the club’s Vice-President I just have to turn up to pay and collect the bibs on the day of the run itself.

As the name implies, Bonding means running in pairs. From the Sulaiman Park car park, the route took Mee Peng and I from the backyard of a residential area to Taman Rakyat Park. I am familiar with the hilly Taman Rakyat trails as it is my favorite venue for runs whenever I had the opportunity, during my in-laws visits.

After looping the hill, it was back to Sulaiman Park where the finishing line lies immediately after climbing a flight of stairs. We were presented with a nice pair of Brooks socks. This is better than getting a certificate or medal! Later, we had V-soy soya bean drink, watermelon, buns, curry puffs etc.

The objective of this event is to get a partner or a loved one to run and cherish the benefits of exercising. There is no position or time taken, just plain fun and togetherness. Pacesetter has done it again. Well done!

Power Run 2006

Almost skip this run as 2 days earlier I had a suspicious mild sore throat infection. Ganesh my colleague was already on MC with the same ailment. Drank heaps of water and a whole pot of barley. On Sat I stayed indoors and try to keep my body cool and hydrated. Times like this the choice of food is important because it can trigger the virus to overrun the immune system.

Sunday morning

I woke up at 6am and the throat felt much better. The night before I told myself if the throat deteriorates in the morning I will just continue with my sleep. Took a leisurely drive to Dataran. Downed a packet of PowerGel.

While entering the barricade I wished Penguin Meng good morning. He looks much slimmer than the time I last saw him. Tey who is now becoming a fulltime cameraman shook my hand to wish me luck. Looked around for Ben and CS but couldn’t find them. I spent the next few minutes stretching my legs. Couldn’t see any familiar faces in the pen, probably they were early and have moved to the front line.

Start off

Not many runners. The weather was good. I ran the first km in 5.5 mins. I made a mental note to reach the National Monument bus stop within 60mins. Stomach cramps in 10km races are expected so I remind myself. All the pacers that I tried to follow eventually fade away. I didn’t have the sub 6min/km pace.

Arrived Jln Duta junction in 26:17. “Is the time ok?” I asked myself. I don’t know. I didn’t check my previous race timing on this checkpoint. After the Orange Run last Sunday, the Duta Hill seems easier! Coming downhill my strides were not in full extension unlike last year, I remember.

Tugu Peringatan

At the Jln Parlimen flyover I kept looking at my stopwatch, can I reach the bus stop in time? 59.17 that was my time, 40 seconds slower than last year. Ok, now it is the last stretch, I’ve ran this stretch many times already but wait my right tight seems to be cramping. No speed training surfacing? I ignored the pain.
Penguin KC who is now probably well known for his interesting photos taken with the Nikon D50 DSLR was standing in front of the Clock Tower snapping the finishers.

Finishing line

I am lucky to finish in 67:31. While walking towards the drinks tent, Choi (ccube) called me and we both joked Machine Man’s no show was probably because he had a late alcoholic night (which proved to be true!).

Overall, it was a good hard run. It would be interesting to see if the sub 70 time could be maintained or improved for the years to come, something which I thought was not possible 2 years ago.

Orange Run 2006

It is rare to get free runs in Malaysia. The Orange Run was held at The Curve just a mere 8 mins drive from my home. Left home at 7a.m to pick up my brother, Kenny who was staying 4kms away. When we reached his house to our horror Kenny who is usually very punctual was still taking his shower! He overslept.

7:20 a.m

Drove the Wira like a Subaru Impreza WRX racing past traffic lights. 7:26 we were inside The Curve but could not find a way out of the building since all the exits were locked. We started jogging towards the Centre Court area and luckily that was the open food outlets walkway that leads to the starting point.

Lax

Within a minute, the FTAAA guy signaled the start. I ran off rather quickly. After Tesco, it was a left turn to Mutiara Damansara. Traffic control was very minimal, too minimal for comfort, which got me running cautiously. It is now becoming habitual whenever I cross a road I would raise my arm to warn and thank the drivers.

Alamak! HILLS!!!

I did not foresee so many hills from Kota Damansara to the new housing area Sunway Damansara. Beautiful houses. This is almost like the double hill maybe worse triple hill. Hill specialists will excel in this route. The morning sun was up. I was worried, not for myself but for Mee Peng who is doing her first 10km run.

Finished the run in 1:05:03. The official announced the finisher’s bib number through the loudspeakers as they come along. Amusingly, only ORANGE 100 Plus drinks were served. My whole head was drenched with sweat. Captain Ronnie came over to ask for my timing.

I took a bottle of water and walked back the opposite race direction to look for Mee Peng. A few runners smiled and complimented “Wah Boss! Cepat habis ah! “. “Bang, Jauh lagi kah?”. I said “Tada lah. Cari isteri“. Runners are such friendly people. I avoided walking on their path as it may disrupt their concentration to finish.

Hit by a Car

One of them relayed to me he saw a “budak” was HIT on the elbow by a car! He also reported the incident to a nearby policeman. This goes to show we cannot take for granted road racing is safe. I hope the runner was not seriously injured.

Finally met up with Mee Peng at the 1-Utama junction where we took a slow walk back. Kenny was having a feast with the unlimited free food: instant noodles with canned curry chicken, Cadbury chocolate biscuits, mee hoon and nasi lemak.

So much free food and they even gave a RM3 BHP petrol voucher. Generous organizers.