Friday, July 9, 2010

GOLD COAST MARATHON 2010 - 42KM - MY FOURTH MARATHON

Glad to be back in Malaysia!
My internet modem burst into balls of flame so, i will keep quiet for a while.

My last training was in SCKLM 21KM and that's it!! No running 1 week prior to this marathon due to neck injury. Luckily the pain subside 3 days before marathon.

With lack of training and lack of carbo load (halal food), all i can do is ...pray...hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

This is my journey to foreign land.


this is your captain speaking, prepare for landing

At the Australian airport, my 3-1 milo and Nescafe had been confiscated. No dairy product will enter Australia. But my meggi and nestum are saved.


touch down..

Did I mentioned that time in Australia is 2 hours in front of us? (i.e Malaysia 2.00pm = Australia 4.00pm). So, we did lost these 2 hours when we landed.


pack with malaysian runners

Arriving at the hotel about 8.00am on the 3rd of July (the flight took about 8 hours (imagine, 8 hours doing nothing, you can’t sleep properly, I mean can you sleep sitting down for 8 hours?) .


the hotel


chow kit, chow kit...

At 10.00am we board our bus to Gold Coast Exhibition Centre located at Surfers Paradise (it is a paradise!).

our bus


the race kit scene of a crime

Reminder guys, registering at oversea you only get a bib number and if you lucky, you will get a bag containing your bib number. The fee for full marathon is AUS130-00 (times RM2.85) Imagine in Malaysia if the registration fee is RM40-00 and we still making noise – expensive lah, no goodie bag? What la..


with En Rustam

The whole process collect our bib took about 10 minutes. Fast!.


be patient


err...this doesn't mean anything...

i finish first..yahoo...


promoting the bulletin


the exhibition area

We then headed for the exhibition arena. Unlike Malaysia, we will get the running vest upon registration, but here, they sell it for AUS40-00!!! (gila!). But it’s very nice vest though. We mingled about 20 minutes at the arena and headed back to our bus, where the driver patiently waited for us (no sour face).


the waiting bus

On race day (4th July 2010) woke up at 3.00 am. Having light breakfast at the hotel cafeteria. Met with fellow runners, whole bunch of them tucking in bread, cereals and some fruits.


breakfast at 3.30am.

The temperature is too cold to bare (7 degree). Luckily I was clad in jackets, long pants and glove (RM1.00 je). Unlucky for few fellow runners who have to deal with the cold, they tried to dress up early and not to bring too many items.

Our bus was ready to depart at 4.45am to the race site. The journey took us about 30 minutes (I think..who’s counting?). As the major roads are closed for the race, the bus dropped us somewhere near to the race site and we have to walk for 10 minutes to get in.

It’s still dark, my watch indicated 5.15am (that 3.00am in Malaysia). After looking for the starting point, we headed for Australian Fair building just across the street, and it will be our shelter from the blistering cold.



barricade area


En Rustam talking to the official on where is the actual starting point.


Azizi and mimie : sejuk gila!!


The 'loo' factory

We make our way through the crowd to the starting point. It's dark, we can't see properly


My camera keep on snapping baby...


Toilet and shower...but you have to wait for it


Beautifully organized...

It’s time to empty your bladder, the toilet here not much crowded compared to the race site. No queue. Because of the cold, I pee 2 times here (talking about productivity).


The guns off for the 21km runners at exactly 6.00am, but we just stood still inside the building and don’t dare to come out (too cold!!). Having a chat with pacesetters president pertaining to the organizer matter is much privilege to us.


The baggage area...too soon to deposit our bag. The guys still clad in their jackets, if they deposit the bags now, they will freeze to death...


taking picture before the race...me, rustam and azizi

By 6.30am we’re ready to make our move. Get out of the building and suddenly a breeze of cold wind struck you deep inside your brain. It’s freezing cold. With no choice, we walk to the luggage area and you can hear shivering sounds everywhere especially me.


The surrounding is getting brighter but no sign of the sun rising yet. But still the cold…ah…it gets me…

After depositing our bags, we headed to starting point. We group at back of the pack. Here, the 4.45 hours – 5.00 hours is the maximum time limit indication to complete the marathon, but the balloon pacers are only at 4.30 hours max…! huhu… The ‘Mat Salleh’ are really fast!!


ah...its getting brighter...


The surrounding area...more people are showing up


more surrounding..
The japanese gang


Not into marathon...but we can cheer u up

The sun is rising..

All Geared up...

We met with mohan the marathon maniacs, Kak J, Amelia, Azran (CEO of Air asia) and other Malaysian runners as well. The surrounding atmosphere is filled with anxiety to run immediately because it’s too damn cold!.


The foreign runners were eagerly dressed up in costumes, I can’t imagine how they run in that attire. But still some of them managed to clock a sub 5!! So, the morale, improve your timing first then only wear costumes, if not, malu woo…

At 7.00am sharp, the full marathon race started. En Rustam (the president) is making his move by running fast, followed by Azizi, mimi, kak j, uncle mohan (must I mentioned every names?). But for me, it’s slow, slow and slow. I have running nose once I take off my jacket and pants. I can’t go any faster. I don’t’ even warm up just now. So, my strategy is too warm up by jog slow pace (7.50 minutes per KM).


With Kak J..tiap2 kali jumpa mesti dia tanya..'eh..u siapa eh?'

Mohan maniac, rustam and amelia (behind rustam)

with Mr Mohan himself

Our Malaysian group with a bit of japanese....En Azran (CEO of Air Asia) on the right

En Azran, Kak J and Catherine (sponsored by Air Asia)

Already started

Running Dog...seriously...


gambate..!!!...


Lovely couple...
They're faster than me...can u believe it...?...


a little bit blur...going backward...Mr Tony from Taiwan...all the way to 42km..(what next? sideways?..)

supporters...

First water station

The plain water is too cold!!


Imagine the supporters like these in Malaysia...all the way...

more supporters cum musician...


Supporters cum music band...Mr Mohan is cheering the music band with his 'bai roti' horn

'A little of vaseline mate?' - quite a long table for a bottle of vaseline.. 

huurah...supporters...'all the waiy mate..."

Child supporters

Elvis presly in action with a big hat band....

10km...in 1 hour? hm...

Balkony Supporters

There are more voluntary supporters compared to paid one (in Malaysia).


My god..!..i just reached 10km just now...!! The Kenyans are coming...

Mistaken identity women supporter

another music band to cheer u up

For 5 km it is just slow jog for me. And endless action of wiping my nose! I have no choice but to bare with the cold condition. After 10km I still can’t find my pacing tune but I know it’s 7 minutes plus per KM. I talked to my self, ‘just relax ijam, nothing to chase, no hurry’…but the aussie lady in front of me is very tempting…


After passing the 15km U-Turn mark (I think), I try to give a chase Azizi which we bump each other just a moment ago. Got him!. Take photos and I’m off speeding!! Wohoo…

Azizi and mimi in tights

Lari, lari jugak...tinggallah di sini...

hey...myself with running nose...hoorayy for gold coast

Kak J and his apprentice...going slow...she ran 10km a day before...

En Rustam and one of malaysian runner

kacau la...don't block the time la wei...we're only half way...

isotonic drink has been served

red vietcong - air asia made us like this

23rd km...going strong...ni sapa punya kerja lekat nama kat KM mark ni..?

beautiful aussie...

'err...what ya doing mate?' It's not what you think...(the squatting guy)


personalized number....err...im still running...

Relax and enjoy...lagu ramlah ram satu...

30km...hooray...no cramp..!!

31km...gel distribution , nice kids

dont know what you are...but thanks for posing...

36km...approaching...

7-11 cum petrol station

nice scenery...

plus the cold wind...more running nose...!!

40km..hah...going strong..no cramp...

41km..nearly there...push it!!

Finally...the finishing. The lane is for us only...no other humans allowed...talking about privacy...

post run recovery fruits...orange, banana...where's kiwi?


Tak malu...my post run happy face..or terkejut face..

Returning the timing chip...my old shoes...

the finishing back area, only runners...yang lain-lain tak boleh masuk ye..


Pacing at 6 minutes plus per KM, I know I will give chase to the Kenyans somewhere now…haha…not in a million years..


To cut the story short, I managed to overtake our Mr President, few Australian, Japanese or korean or taiwan (can’t tell the difference). Oo yeah…did I mentioned a runner who is running backwards? According to Cik haza (the karipap seller) he’s tony from Taiwan (and not Tony Fernandez of Air Asia).

There are plenty of water stations every 2km, they even have a table with a vaseline just in case your chaffing is getting worst. There are not much sweat produce due to the cold condition. The supporters…my god!! They were awesome!! The whole stretch of gold coast there’s a supporter mainly because it’s a housing area. Not like us, running through Kenny hills, bungalows, mansions – they not even bothered to show up…kutuk lagi ada la…That is why Malaysian organizer have to pay…repeat…to pay for supporters…

The finishing point is different from the starting point, so you might wanna asked your family/supporters to meet you at the other side. The finishing is remarkably well organized, they barricade the whole area with steel bars and the spectators only can cheer you at the side of the road and not in the middle where we run (like SCKLM recently)…

If you plan to take part next year, remember to bring your camera along and keep on smiling at each check point i.e 5km, 10km, 15km, 21km, 30km, 35km, 40km and finishing) because they will put a camera there and email you your video at every check points for purchase (beside your embarrassing moment of photos). You may find my embarassing moment here.

Watching these videos, reminiscence the pain and glory I went through and not to mentioned, the 8 hours of sitting in the plane (can’t feel my butt!!), the pain seems to go away..

I wish I could go back there next year…start saving money from now…
And guys.., I highly recommend the gold coast marathon!!

See you in Seremban Half Marathon...prepare for Sub 2 hours mission....

44 comments:

  1. At last! I thought you dah migrated terus ke GC!!! The backwards runner was Backward Tony from Taiwan?

    Nice photos, looks like a great run. I wish! Simpan duit dalam tabung (masalahnya tabung asyik bocor aje), one day can go.

    But why your report so pendek one?

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  2. Aku no.1??? Comment dulu bari baca

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  3. perghhh, bestnya kau lari kat sana. Korang dtg race venue awal sgt ker? Kau kene pakai mafla, tutup hidung tu, baru hidung tak lari (running nose) :)

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  4. I think I'm first! Congrats bro. U had one helluva time of fun there. Running in that cold temperature. Worth every RM u paid for. I love those pics esp the running couple. Creative bunch of people. Kiwi xde kot, NZ je...
    Kak J's like that. She can't remember people's names, too many fans. Haha. Hey, this is the place to be next year. FMV, RBU etc. Y'all hear?

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  5. Haza : Bosan buat race report panjang2. Kerja melambak2 ni. Streamyx modem buat hal kat rumah. Mana yg sempat je la..
    I'm more to pictures person report lah...

    ziff : haza no. 1 la....jumpa di seremban. Kau naik dgn rayzeef ke?

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  6. Khairul : Thanks man...Kak J tu, 10 kali cakap nama aku, dia akan cakap 'eh, u chap ayam punya budak kan?", aku pun ye la kak J...
    Aussie is damn expensive!! almost 3 times...mampus..
    Jumpa di seremban...KA

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  7. Hahaha! Ziff tewas. Kalau aku pergi, kena training lari bawak camera dari kau & Nik. Rugi kalau tak amik gambar. Best la nampak event dia. Casual je. And supporters were awesome. Congratulations Ijam. Next year satu famili aku register :D

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  8. Ziff : bas tu datang awal utk semua kategori. 21km (apalah sangat) tu setat dia awal, so, kena bangun awal jugak le..

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  9. Diket : Sorang lagi kau kena belajar bawak kamera sambil lari, Yim...ha, ha...pakar tu...dia yg ajar...
    bawak satu famili, lagi tak boleh lari, asyik berjalan je...

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  10. I'm not 1st! Huhu.. spot on! :)
    Ijam, tahniah bro! Sure kau enjoy kat sana. Bila nak post other pics? Jumpa kat Sremban kena sembang lebih nie!
    Haza, KA: jom! We got 1 year to penuhkan tabung! Diket dah penuhkan 3-4 tabung, tu yng boleh bawak 1 family! Huhu

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  11. congrats Ijam...

    ziff...perasan da no.1 :)..

    jom la poei seremban half, kita jalan jelah, kaki aku pon x berapa nak recover..sub 3 pon kira ok :)

    p/s.. Ijam - sori bro kami dah ramai2 mengumpat ko kat blog aku..he he

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  12. Rayzeef : ooo...mengumpat ye...nanti aku tengok blog kau. Aku rasa seremban half tu takde air dulu, mintak2 le ada air tahun ni...kalau tak, terjelir la lidah aku

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  13. Zaki : thanks bro. Kita jumpa di seremban. 2 hari je lagi. Esok aku cuti, anak ada sukan pulak. teruskan memblogging...tak terkejar aku nak baca korang punya update blog...tertinggal la aku..

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  14. Ijam: I've tried to email to u, the email account was rejected.Wow...thanks for sharing nice photos Gold Coast...see you @ seremban half.

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  15. lawrence : keep on trying bro. So far no problem with the email la.

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  16. Haha...x dapat first. Puteri Gunung Datuk menang. Zaki, tahun depan on jer bro. SCKLM buat half, GC kita buat full. Ambik gambar Diket ada. Kita lari jer...huhu.

    Ijam, myself and Yim buat Centro this weekend. I shall see u at Siemens or Shape. Eh, RBUs ada yang nak pegi HatYai Nature Run on 8/8? Chap Ayam punya reban 17 orang turun so far. Btw, kak J dah jadi blondie kat GC!

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  17. KA : apa barang buat 12km...Eh kau bukan pegi hatyai ke nanti? rasa mcm kak J ada sekali. Kalau betul, jgn lupa ambik gambar. Chap ayam 17 org? mak ai...mcm seronok je..tak boleh jadi ni..

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  18. every weekend sampai hatyai 21km lari 10-12km. tak larat long distance dah. 3 marathons in 4 weeks. ikut kepala kak J. haha. yep, kitorang pegi hatyai. x banyak belanja la. bus trip 7 hrs. race fee RM30 kot. jom. fikir-fikirkan. amazing thailand!

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  19. ada kosong lagi ke? mcm menarik je ni...nak ikut la...

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  20. Ada. Bus pun banyak yg pegi sana. VIP 24 seater. Roger me via FB if u r interested. The link is here : www.nature-run.psu.ac.th

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  21. ooo..man...Thanks KA...very tempting..
    should i go for eco challenge shah alam or hatyai half marathon...choices..choices...
    shutdown pc...back on monday...

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  22. congrats!!!!
    I LOVE the pictures!!!!
    I nak pegi next year!!!! (tengok pictures pun I dah jealous!!!)
    Have fun in Seremban!!!! (wish I was going as well...sigh)

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  23. Wah good job. Told you it was nice to run there, specially a marathon. Loved the toilet truck where you can even shower, high tech i tell you. Well done! Eh cam haza cakap, klau dah amik gambar ngan lari tuh, report kena panjang lah bro. Kasi gegar skit sama dia wokay

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  24. awesomeness Ijam... insyaAllah, aku simpan angan

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  25. Aik?! Nama aku pun kena jual utk amik gambar Projek GC? Ini tidak adil...

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  26. What an enjoyable time you had there! Once tasted overseas races the local ones are hard to satisfy liao. Be warned! LOL! Looking to more photos and your report!

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  27. ijam go ijam..ko napsu besor..h e h e

    sambung mengumpat kat seromban yo...c u there :)

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  28. thanks for sharing Ijam. It's very tempting indeed. Despite your running nose (mestilah dia pun nak lari gak) and you taking pictures, you still managed a great timing. Congrats!

    Btw, mcm tak byk je gambar2 OZ babes ni. Musykil. :D

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  29. nice pics eijam! tahniah on another feather on your marathon hat!

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  30. Aku pasrah tengok gambar-gambar tu... caiyo bro. Aku tabung pun tak sempat sebab poket selalu koyak.

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  31. good luck on pb kat seremban, mesti dah tidur ni heeh, nway lets go to hatyai lah ramai2 ... mesti gempak ! gold coast run looks so tempting tapi pulus nya pun tinggi .. sigh !!

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  32. jom gi hatyai ..entah mana hilang my comment before this and congrats on gold coast.. so much fun and money heheh

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  33. Pui San : Next year, u and me, running side by side...heh, heh...

    Yim : itulah, u should not go gold coast earlier la yim, should run with us. Next year la kot..

    amsyah : oklah jugak tu, aku pun simpan angan2 jugak kalau nak pegi lagi, mahal tu...

    Diket : ha, nama dah kena jual nak kena pegi tu...smlm seremban half dah prove kau boleh bawak kamera dah...

    Jamie : true...but expensive loh...considering thailand and bali...

    Rayzeef : ceh, tunggu kau semalam takde pun, bangun lambat ye...

    Tsar : gambar awek aussie tu, simpan kat folder lain..he, he...

    Syed : no problemo, pelan2 buat marathon, addicted...

    Zulhassan : takpe bro, simpan pelan2, pegi chiangmai marathon pun ok jugak tu...

    Kak June : Hatyai terpaksa skip, sbb 21km je (cewah)...ada eco challenge kat shah alam (lain dari yg lain sikit), maybe chiangmai kot, zaki dah racun dah tu..

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  34. rusfarizal : photo awek ke..? mmg best pun...

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  35. Ijam, nanti au email kat aku semual photo awek2 tu OK? Nanti aku belanja ABC, cendol klang, kuih keria, kuih karipap, kuih kauci etc

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  36. ha, tengok kt dlm ni, jeng, jeng...
    http://picasaweb.google.com/sanorhizam/AustraliaMovieWorld#

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  37. no prob...but i rasa u terlalu pantas la....susah nak lari next to u!!!

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  38. last lagi ... tension tension ....

    awesome pics dude. kalau I masuk next year, I will have to blame you for that - for posting cool pics like these ... :) .... fuyooo, another marathon under your belt ... congrats bro.

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  39. Pui san : dont worry...its all about participation...

    ian : eh, gambar baru lagi, tengah minum air lagi tu..jom lari siemens...

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  40. Congrats Bro....Might Run... Next Year..Bravo!!!

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  41. Ara Boy : Thanks man...start saving money...

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  42. Lawak laa Ijam, aku baru tengok video kau ni, especially yg kat 10km hahahah memang dah macam tourist dah. Apa-apa pun laju laaa tu 5:10 siap berenti amik gambar semua. Kat PBIM sure meletop la bro.

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  43. Deo : nasib baik aku ada email alert, kalau tak, tak tau kau comment sbb dah 4 bulan dah berlalu..
    ada lagi rupanya video tu...mmg best pun..hehe..

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