Monday, October 11, 2010

ECO CHALLENGE - SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

I did it!!....

I paid RM35-00 for this. The race was supposed scheduled in August but had to be postponed to October.

The race supposed to start at 9.30am (???) but dragged to 10.30am (???).


The Organizer


Register here and get your breakfast

Serenity Lake


Surrounding area

The blow pipe target

my navigation map..i need to bring this...

private moment..

Other bloggers opt to join the Nike and hooha run (boring...) today, but i just want something different.

The Eco Challenge is organized by Global Martial Arts Entertainment something...


Paddy field or paddy garden...?

Looks like a paddy field to me...

best kan?

in sorry state due to wear and tear...

making a paddy field round

ni la kot tempat start dia...


Before we start, let see what the organizer prepared for the runners...yeay...!  :

Not yet...

Presentation of award - 3 or 4 of them for contributing their service in martial art community

Then, there were more martial art demonstrations, quite scary....


mesmerized by the kuntau team

taking their positon


Real weapon was used

The kuntau group..

They even request few of the award winner to present martial art demonstration and surprisingly one of them was a singer...nyanyi la pulak

relax..have fun...

Then there were ceremony to free the 'ikan keli' to officially launch the eco challenge race
This is the 'Ikan Keli' (minus the sting)


Still got time for aerobic session...

Then, there were aerobic session to burn the 'selulit' with a hip hop pounding music.


Aerobic some more...relax...

Then, there were briefing of the race

Then, the kids start first

Then, its our turn

The Run

Hills, hills and more hills...then there were trail, then there were swamp mud...yahoo...

The Kenyans are in front, Jasni and few elite runners are in front too...


'sep bang sep!!'...running around the paddy field

Mr Onn (wearing the Bidor Half Marathon Digi shirt)...he is 62 by the way..

Conquering the hill

More hill...

Sikit lagi nak sampai atas...


bukit sapu tangan...1.8km je..piece of cake...

my god...! the longest 1.8km in my life.!..feeling like want to 'mampus' already...

Finally!...the bukit sapu tangan tower...ooo..yeah...
They should put a drink station here
This is the entrance of trail run...

Then, there were 'sumpit' (blow pipe)...5 times try...then there were 'tangkap ikan keli' (catch the fish and put it in the basket' session...finish.

Actually, i didn't expect of winning or anything as the Kenyans were there, whole bunch of them, there were elite runners from Chap Ayam too...Jasni and the gang...fuh...tough one...
I thought my winning chance from zero to none!!


Elite gang...some of them were lost in the woods...
alamak...serius la pulak muka masing2...tension sebab lambat start...huhu


Guess what? I won!! I'm in the 15 fast runners (with the Kenyans of course) who will take the podium.

For that, I've been awarded with a medal, cert and.....jeng, jeng...RM50-00 cash...!!! wooohooo....!!!

Not long after that i knew that many of the elite runners like one of the many Kenyans, sawoto and few elite runners had been lost during the trail run....quite scary...

The Trail Run


From bukit sapu tangan with love...entering the trail...

so scary...no one infront of you, none at the back either...huhu....you're all alone...
The red and white stripes plastic - our hope for not getting lost..

been following this chick since the trail...she's good!!
She got 3rd placing in Women Open...RM500-00...whooaaa...!!


Eh...ni mcm mana ada org kawin kat sini ni?....
Some people love to make a different this year...

Congratulations to the couple...Ken and nazidah...


The trail run...the almost 2km distance covering slippery ascending hills, mud swamp, dead trees along your way, they even have this 'mengkuang leave' protruding from side way. The only label mark was the red and white stripes plastic hanging by the tree branches, you have to exactly follow these, if you fail, the consequences of not winning the RM50-00 is high....he, he...


The blow pipe...or sumpit time....3 kali baru kena...
'sedut ke hembus ni'?

Its really confusing inside the jungle, you can easily misguided by multiple trails, i know I've  lost my way a few steps but managed to keep on track.....maybe if you patience enough you may find your way..
There were 4 officials in the trails....2 photographers at the middle (i think) the other 2 at almost the end.


The 'tangkap Ikan Keli' part..a little bit drama there...

suka la tu...dah dapat ikan...!!..

There were no water station!!! I repeat....there were NONE!!!...The organizer should inform the runners about this, but they failed!! How disappointing...!!

The runners had to endure 4km of tarmac hills running, 2km of trails and another 2 km of tarmac towards the end...with no water!!!

How did i overcome dehydration? jeng..jeng....my choice of purchasing camel bak dehydration pack that saved me...but sadly, while you were enjoying your precious electrolytes, others had no choice just to keep on running...(where is Kash's kedai runcit when you need one?)...I've managed to get a cup of mineral water (just co-incidentally asking the official) then I hand it over to the awek running beside me since at the trail.
She needed the drink more than I am (my hydration pack of 1.5L finished already...at the trail!!).


Last man standing...

Nasib je..lambat sikit abis dah..

alamak muka penat!

with the gang...basuh kasut berjemaah session

ni dah basuh ni, air longkang ni bersih ke tak ni?

The Prize Presentation Session

I completed the race about 1hr and 10 minutes or so (8km only ma..) at around 11.30am, but the prize giving ceremony comes around at almost 1.00pm!! If it wasn't for the 15th placing (last in my category), I'd be on my way home...(and the lucky draw of a vacation in Bandung and Beijing makes me stay a little longer...huhu)


aku dapat RM50-00, lepas duit minyak...yahoo..!!


The proof of success!! (Nasib baik je tu..)...with all the Kenyans in the background...

It touches your heart when there were 2 running team clubs from Ipoh and Teluk Intan. They stayed overnight at a chalet nearby, running today, journey back to Perak then going back to school tomorrow. Most of them took a place at the podium. Congratulations to all the kids!!...and the teacher too...

I've dedicated this run to the Teluk Intan Running club for their excellent job!!
Their teacher is in white vest in front..didn't get his name..dang!!
The small boy (orange vest) in front succumbed to the fatigueness after the race..(he's having a fever)..pitty him...

The Bad About The Race
1) NO WATER STATION - EVER!!! - they only served us drink before and after the race...not during...ceh!!
2) too many ceremony or presentation before the race
3) Late start - 10.30am - most of the runners are getting fade up
4) Insufficient of marsyal in the trail to guide you or to assist you in case you tumbling down at the cliff of death!
5) Insufficient of mark in the trail - people do get lost (and cry)
6) Prize giving ceremony at 1.00pm and they request us to gather around the main stage for a sun bath!! - makin gelap la aku!!..

The Good About the Race
1) the winning prize - wohoo!!...RM1,000 for top runners
2) something different - catching the fish and blow pipe

Will I take part for another race with the same organizer?...yes and no....
Thanks for reading....

Monday, September 27, 2010

NEWTON 25KM RUN - DEFIES GRAVITY, DEFIES LOGIC, TOTAL TORTURE!

I passed out!!! but in a control manner....luckily...
Just like my normal run, the run started at 6.30am just after my subuh prayer.
Didn't get interesting photos captured today due to my 'shameful defeat', however, photos here has been hijacked from other fellow bloggers...he, he..

This was my 2nd pit stop to passed out...!
(botol biru tu bukan botol arak ye...)
masa ni kena sengat dengan semut api ke, lipan ke, kala jengking ke atau bapak diorang pun aku tak sedar punya...!! sapa tah yg selak baju aku sikit tu...


Conquering the 'amma appa' hills

Ijam : ni bukit apa yim?
Yim : Bukit 'Hantu'!!

There were countless 'insane' hills torturing us along the way...huhu...

The Fellow Bloggers in Action

Started the run with few familiar faces...Yim - 'the Songket Traditional Malay baju melayu', Syah -'the speedy gonzales andle, andle yiba, yiba',  Ian 'corporate athlete', Nik and Shuk with their 'belakang unta' (camelbak) hydration pack already infront, Zaki & his partner, Ziff doing the 'siput sedut' pace, there was KA 'the tatoo' fellow making his move. Syed and Shanaz had already leading the pack..(Shanaz wearing the skirt though....minus the....ehem...compression sock! what are you guys thinking?)..

The chap ayam 'segar dari ladang' also can be seen weaving through the crowd, hailmi, hancik, khairul, ruby (ehem), dett and lain2 ayam segar dan ayam pencen.

Met Ms Pui San 'the gorgeous' with KD along the way...going strong...yes....we are missing out the malay lady runners like haza, kash, kak june, azza, my friend..(saya tak boleh lari la kalau takde perempuan...)


rayzeef coming in strong with his compression sock and compression belt (to avoid his boroi stomach blocking the bib number)..."apa barang 12KM, tengok ni ha, dah abis pun"...

That's funny...the sun, the heat, the hills doesn't seem to effect on this guy...
my moderator, Mr Ian...finishing the strongest...


syah also finishing strong with his avatar 'kaki', - "kaki ni pijak semut tak mati ni - wife"

Nik the ultramarathoner also finishing strong, with his 'belakang unta' (camelbak) hydration pack
minum sampai kembung towards the end...yahooo.....


dett with his double 'thumbs up', Mr Rama behind and Ms Julie (you looks thin...& fit!) snapping the photo 

KA the half nude runner...with his batik formation tight...(blue black ular sawa theme)..


ni tengah lari ke berjoget ni? Ziff and Zaki doing the 'cakpong' dance
look how protective was Ziff, he got his compression sock, knee guard & running short on..what else after this? bandage? first aid kit on the SPI belt?...oh..come on...
photo by Tay 'Ta Rek' (Mr Tay)

I'm late for open house!! Mr Yim doing the 'ewah-ewah' dance.
Salute to yim for coming to this far...


Fatigue at 21KM!!

After 20th KM, suddenly i felt a little nausea and i have this 'sleepy' feeling that i just want to sit back on the pavement and take a nap for a while...then there was Ian...ask me to follow him (by tapping his thigh)...come on ijam!...and i followed him...huhu...!!
4 KM to go! my fatigue sets in, i took a longer break at the water station, drinking the plain, tasteless, cool mineral water (air suling) like mad. Sit for a while, stretched here and there, watching the amois passed me through one by one (forget about the guys)....Ian had to break away from me...

3KM to go, i walked, walked and slow jog...suddenly, syah overtook me and said 'pancit ijam?'...huhu...
then Syed and then Shanaz (fewitt! i can clearly saw her skirt now...)...

The arch where all the satan will be released...
no shanaz photo though!! hmmph!

Finally, just slow jog to the finish line....Yim following close behind...he's looking strong after 15km LSD earlier...Chee sin!...I completed at 2hr 44 minutes 40 sec...Thank god!.

After receiving my finishing tee, medal and mineral water, i walked a little bit, met with known faces, i just 'angkat kepala' je. I found this shade beneath this 'godsend' tree and lie down motionless...and passed out for a 20, 30 minutes or so.

I just Can't Stand The heat!

Yeah...they said the sun rise early lately. At 7.57am, the sun was already above our head, sucking away our sweat in the form of steam. There was no shade from the trees also, making the heat unbearable!...that is why i'm running sometime like a dog, sticking out my tongue to release the body heat...ha, ha...


I told ya...!!...KD - 'i can't take it anymore!!'
Her first 25km...congratulations KD!!
photo courtesy of gorgeous Ms Pui San...


This run makes me hungry!

Did i tell you there were countless nasi lemak and kuih stalls along the route?...huhu...all i can do was just glimpse at the tasty meehun, karipap and nasi lemak bungkus...

Then, i take revenge at this kedai mamak nearby!...Fuh..lega...
Me...!! hey, hey...still not 'pengsan' mode yet...dignity comes first,
This is where Rayzeff shouted at me "ijam, medal tinggal satu je lagi, cepat, cepat"...

Yeah, dehydration might be the cause (it was!!)...i'm not complaining...just frustrated on how i managed it...
but if you tell everybody along the route, they might request/demand you to stop...right?...
What i can tell ya, never give up!! your body does amazing things than you can never imagine...believe it!!
(rephrase : 'let the professional do it')
To all runners out there, you are truly awesome!!
Thanks for viewing....(waiting for nik's blog for more photos..muahaha..)