Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
SCKLM 2017 Pacer Kit Presentation
Brooks Gears Up Pacers For Standard Chartered KL
Marathon 2017
More than 35,000 runners to receive Brooks race
T’s
KUALA LUMPUR, 25 March 2017: The Standard Chartered KL Marathon (SCKLM) 2017 Pacers
will be clad in official apparel sponsor Brooks gear and will be highly visible
in luminous yellow tops. A total of 30 runners received their Pacer kits at a
handover ceremony that also saw the official opening of the Brooks concept
store at brand new mall, MyTown in Cheras.
Pacers received their
exclusively designed Brooks singlets with Equilibrium Technology, along with a
pair of running shorts and shoes. There will be 24 Pacers assisting runners in
the Full Marathon category and for the first time, there will also be another 6
Pacers for the Half Marathon category.
Pacing is a crucial
element if you want to complete a marathon in your expected time and Pacers
play an important role in helping to ensure runners keep to the required pace.
New runners especially, find it difficult keeping pace due to inexperience and
fatigue, and this is where expert Pacers can provide the right encouragement
and motivation to get runners back on track to finish the race in the required
time.
“Pacers play an
integral part in any marathon and we go through a fairly stringent process to
select them. We invite runners to register as Pacers and then check their
previous race records to determine their timing consistency, as well as running
experience,” said Rainer Biemans, Project Director of SCKLM and Director of
Dirigo Events, the owners and organiser of the race.
More than 35,000
runners will be participating in the run this year, and all runners will
receive exclusive Brooks racing T’s with their Race Packs, along with Brooks
vouchers.
“We’re extremely
pleased to partner yet again with the Standard Chartered KL Marathon, the
premier running event in the country, and we are focused on providing the best
possible
running experience for
SCKLM participants through our innovative running shoes and apparel,” said Tiew
Cheng Tai, Managing Director, Paragon Vest Sdn Bhd. “This brand new Brooks
retail outlet is also equipped with Run Signature, our proprietary technology
that analyses your running gait and then pairs you with the perfect shoes for
your particular experience,” he added.
If you didn’t get to register for SCKLM 2017,
fret not as you can still avail yourselves of exclusive Brooks SCKLM2017
merchandise from www.kl-marathon.com.
For more information and updates on SCKLM, please
visit:
Saturday, March 25, 2017
SCKLM 2017 - Running Clinics
MORE JOIN STANDARD CHARTERED KL MARATHON 2017 RUNNING
CLINICS
Hundreds of Participants Eager to Learn Dos and
Don’ts of Running
KUALA LUMPUR, March 2017: The Standard Chartered KL Marathon Running Clinics
are gaining in popularity as more than 300 runners took part in the second round
of Running Clinics organised by Dirigo Events, owner and organiser of the
premier running event in the country, over the last weekend. There was a Junior
Running Clinic on Saturday, 11 March for children between the ages of 6-12, a
general clinic for adults on Sunday and even a specialised Running Clinic for
those attempting their first Half Marathon.
“We are delighted that
the clinics are getting more traction from participants. We were one of the
first running events in Malaysia to start organising Running Clinics in 2009
with an average of 50 participants or so per clinic, and we are now starting to
see bigger interest in these clinics,” said Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo
Events and Project Director of SCKLM 2017. “More runners are starting to
recognise the importance of the correct running and training techniques and
find these clinics extremely useful as they can also get all their questions
answered by our official running coach Mark Williams,” he added.
The Junior Running
clinics got off to a slightly wet start on Saturday at the MSN Sports Complex
in Setiawangsa as a brief downpour threatened to put a damper on proceedings.
The clinic was halted temporarily but resumed once the rain stopped. The clinic
is broken up into two categories to cater for the two categories available for
children at the race, namely the 1km Dash for kids aged between 6-9 and the 3km
Dash for those aged from 10-12.
“It’s great to see the
kids taking such an interest in running, and even more gratifying when they show
improvement after taking your advice into consideration,” said Mark Williams.
“Some of these kids need a great deal of work to unlearn some bad habits
they’ve picked up with regards to posture, stride, cadence, etc but a few of
them are natural runners who could go far with the right encouragement,” he
continued.
The General Running
Clinic for the adults on Sunday at the Bukit Jalil Recreational Park looked
more like a running carnival with hundreds of SCKLM participants there from the
crack of dawn, along with sponsors who set up booths to provide refreshments or
display their products and services. Title sponsor Standard Chartered Bank
provided coffee and bananas to famished runners while apparel sponsor Brooks
had a booth that provided accurate measurements of runners’ feet that would
help with selecting the right type of shoe that best suits your running gait.
Lucozade were also on hand to keep the runners hydrated throughout the clinic.
While the firs Running
Clinic was all about what you need to do when “Starting To Train” this second
Running Clinic was focused on the “Correct Running Form”. After some dynamic
stretching exercises, Mark showed the runners how to run in a way that
minimises resistance and enhances running efficiency. The participants then
went on looped runs around the park with the number of loops depending on the
category they have entered for the race, before ending with strength and
conditioning exercises.
Sivabalan and Ashiq,
both 50 and both first-time participants of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon,
are relative newcomers to running and who were also attending a Running Clinic
for the first time. “We decided to get into running in order to keep fit and
healthy as we both have very desk-bound jobs working in IT,” said Sivabalan. “The
Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2017 is the first official race we will be
taking part in and we’re definitely glad we came for this Running Clinic as
we’ve learnt quite a few pointers from the coach,” added Ashiq.
There were also a
unique group of participants who attended the last Running Clinic – 15 visually
impaired runners from the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) who have
been sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank to take part in the Standard
Chartered KL Marathon 2017 in the 5km category. These visually impaired runners
will run with “running buddies” who are staff volunteers. The programme is part
of Standard Chartered Bank’s CSR initiative that promotes sustainable
communities. In total 30 visually impaired runners will be given the
opportunity to accomplish something that would have been out of their reach were
it not for this programme.
Runners can still sign
up for the remaining Running Clinics as there are two more General and Junior
Clinics to go before Race Day. You can find out more at www.kl-marathon.com
For more information and updates on SCKLM, please
visit:
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Kyoto Marathon 2017
It was raceday! The weather forecast for the day was 0-3 degree, with some light snowfall the night before. The starting point is located at Nishiyogoku Athletic Park (it's a stadium which is about an hour from where we were staying in Senbon Dori), and the start point is different location from the finishing line. Gun off was at 9.00 am.
On that morning the weather was clear, but very cold and we can feel some ice on the sidewalk outside the train station so yeah, it did snow a bit on the previous night, we presumed.
Most of the crowd on the same bus and train were the participating runners. And the anticipated number of runners that will show up is about 16,000.
I was hoping to bump into some Malaysian friends here, but did not manage to meet anyone. I think it was due to the huge crowd. After the ritual of pre-race Powerbar fueling (this is not an advertisement..hahaha), its a final toilet break and then time to strip!
God...do I have to do this? I think I looked like a monster from the Miyazaki anime.
I found my baggage truck without difficulty, and bib sequence numbers are displayed which looks like the one in the picture. After handed in my stuff in the bag provided by the organizers, I am left only with an old T shirt and a poncho raincoat to keep me warm until the gun goes off.
"Dad, I think you better keep your crew-cut head warm with that neck buff thingy." And so I did, instead of using as the neck buff, i used it as a beanie. And, luckily I listen to my little girl's wisdom, because it kept my big ears and head warm, and I was ok with the neck during the run. Then it's time to check in! Look at the crowd. I kissed my family and I made my way into the stadium.
According to the instruction, baggage hand in must be done before 8:15am and runners must reach their respective start block by 8:44. If you are later than this time, you would be place at the back of the line and if you miss the starting time, you will NOT be allow to run!
Inside the stadium, blocks are set up for each corral, and since I am lucky and got the first corral 'S', it was easily located from the entrant. So after a bit of warm up along the small narrow lane next to the main track, I went into my start block and hopefully it will be warmer if I am surrounded by crowd of anxious runners.
Can you spot me at the picture above? I had to wave very hard to get my wife's attention and she managed to take this shot. After all the usual ceremonial stuff were done, the gun went off at 9.00 am sharp and everyone in my corral sped off as if it's a 10k race! Dayem! My wife told me it took about 15 minutes for all runners to cross the starting line.
From the starting exit to the main street, there wasn't much to look at the first few km, out from the stadium, the city streets. You will see the usual mistakes to those who stand in front does over and over again, racing very hard then fall backward after a few kms.
And then the view became very beautiful when we reached the riverside and around Arashiyama area. The scene was really breathtaking. Crowds were everywhere cheering and at the aid station, drinks are systematically placed with food on certain spots. I didn't take any but somebody told me there are mochi, chocolates and fruits.
The view continue to be very scenic around the Arashiyama area and most of the runners looked so cheerful even though they were running at a very fast pace, this is perhaps due to the atmosphere or perhaps it is still early part of the race.
.
We run pass through a number of UNESCO Heritage sites and also lots of tourist visit spots like this Ninnaji temple where the monks would come out and cheer for us. The drums and cheering noise will go on and on.
The route in Kyoto Marathon is quite hilly with plenty of sharp bending corners like this one. Expect to be slowed down a fair bit every time you come across them.
The route also took us into a long straight stretch of road where you can see runners from the opposite direction, before we were led into the Kyoto Botanical garden at km 25.
And then out of the Botanical Garden, runners are diverted into the banks of Kamo River.
We ran about about 3 kms on semi off road on the sandy river bank of the Kamo River. Although it was a pleasant experience, it was also a bit of a challenge and because the sole of my old shoes were quite worn off and so it was a bit slippery for me especially with the wet sand on the concrete pavement. And this path is quite narrow, maybe can house 2-3 runners for overtaking. So some slowing down here and there but then, there are endless volunteers and spectators cheering for you everywhere!
On exit of the Kamo River, it’s the Imperial Palace area, which is a straight and flat zone, you can go fast if you have the energy, and then only to find more U-turn to slow down at the end. Oh yeah, there are plenty of narrow U-turns in Kyoto Marathon.
Upon reaching the Kyoto City Hall, there is the big noise that came from Taiko drums and crowd cheering from the Hall building compound. A big aid station was located at the front yard of the City Hall building. The atmosphere really motivate you keep going.
The final 5-6 km is a mix of agony and joy for many. There is this long stretch uphill that runs for about 2-3 kms and when it is at km 37, it really does seems endless. And then just when you thought you have been worked out mentally, the last U-turn appears, and the earlier uphill now becomes a downhill to help you speed off to the finishing line. My Garmin starts to beep, giving a low battery sign, just like Ultraman, time is running out...hahaha. And I also realized then, after seeing my watch, I am close but most likely miss the sub 3 timing. So now I have only one thing left to do, to run hard to the finishing line to be exactly at the border of 3.00 (also before the watch goes out of battery and I lose my run record, hahaha)
The finishing line is located next to the Miyako Messe / Heian Jingu Shrine. (where the REPC), and by the time I am closed to the finishing line, the road was quite empty and it seems almost like you are running alone.
Run as fast as I can I manage to overtake a few more runners but this is not a race against anyone but against time and myself.
It was a hardest minute, and I reach the finishing line 3:00:59! That means my gun time missed the sub-3 by exactly 1 minute, but on the other hand I have only 1 second to spare before I fall into 3:01:00....hahaha now that is really some fence I was sitting on.
Sub-3 no sub-3 it was a good fighto! to the end, and I was quite happy with the result. In fact, I wasn't expecting a sub-3 because I have never run below sub 3:10:00 before, so I my expectation was really about 3:06 or something, so it was a bonus.
I thinks Kyoto Marathon is truly a great experience. This is the second marathon event I ran in Japan, the first being the 'serious' and hardcore Mainichi Beppu-Oita Marathon (or Betsudai).
Best: Its located in a beautiful Kansai and in centre Kyoto. There is so much to see and do in Kyoto and the surrounding region. Besides, isn't it awesome that you can combine your run with a family holiday and they can cheer for you?. The atmosphere is fantastic, friendly to the average runners, and not so serious with doable cutoff time of 6 hours but at stages. Lottery is not as tough compared to Tokyo. For Malaysian, Air Asia fly directs to Kansai, and with the JR Pass, Airbnb, travelling is can be so much cheaper if you plan it right.
Challenge: It is possible to do a PB (mostly due to the cold) but it is not always true. The cold weather does helps, but sometimes can get very cold and turn into an obstacle. The hills, the many U-turns and sharp corners (can you count how many corners and U-turns at the map above?) plus sand banks at Kamo River maybe a challenge for some.
So I personally think if your target for a race is to hit sub-something desperately, and you need a route that helps you focus on that, it is a better bet in other races that has flatter, straighter route, but if you want a good race location that comes with a beautiful route, and you can combine with a great holiday, Kyoto Marathon is for you.
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Nottingham Charity Run 2017
Date: 19 Mar 2017
Distance: 5km, 10km and 20km
Venue: Nottingham Campus Semenyih
Small charity event organized by students to raise fund
Registration fees: Reasonable
Route: Challenging - hilly
Safety: Good, managed by students - with street dogs in a taman
T-shirt: Good quality
Medal: Limited medal
After the run: should provide water
Number of runners: 700+ (mainly are students)
More photos here
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