April | 2013 | What Run?

The Island Ocean Marathon (IOM) is one of those marathons that I have been quite excited about since the day I heard about it. Many runners consider this a ‘fun run’ marathon because it doesn’t have any official timing, cut off time, placing or even prizes. You can run or walk your way to the finish as long as you complete the 42km. When you put the words ‘fun’ and ‘marathon’ together, I’m in. And you wonder, how many people are as crazy as me who treated marathons as fun runs. Well I can tell you a lot! Among my running buddies, I count 11 marathon first timers who decided to join the run. And I’m glad they took that step to complete their marathon journey.

I woke up at 2.30 am in the morning, had breakfast (a heavy one) and was at the starting line by 4. There were plenty of excitement among my running friends and I observed some nervy faces among the first timers. Took this chance to wish the newbies best of luck and be prepared to be marathoners in a few hours. The organizers of IOM dedicated the race to the victims and people of Boston and held a 1 minute silence to remember them, which I thought was very considerate of them. No matter that Boston is half way across the world, their pain are felt by us in Malaysia too.

Moving towards the starting line

The race flagged off at 4.30am. Renee, Hong Lan, Hong Chew (the 3 marathon sisters), Kelly, Yik Yee, Alvin Yap, and myself have decided to run together all the way. The moment we left the starting line, we’re greeted by a steep hill. Running with fresh legs, we charged up the hill and entered into Cenang beach at 3km. Cenang beach was unique because this is the first time in all 3 marathons that I actually ran across sandy terrain. The first sensation when I hit the sands was of pure joy due to the soft landing. But slowly it turned into quite a difficult obstacle, because of the poorly lit beach and soft terrain didn’t help with foot landing.

Running on the beach you say? I did it 🙂

For some reason I felt that it was quite humid that day. The same sensation was felt while I was running Penang Bridge last year. Probably its just the affect of running in an island. Sweating profusely, I decided I’ve got to pay extra attention to my hydration to avoid cramps.

The 11km point was where things started to get interesting. The faster runners were already looping back on the other side of the road, and we started to keep an eye for our friends. Zijill, Tea Chua and Yew Khuay were of course leading the pack being the faster runners in my running group. Looping back we heard sounds of whistling and cheering, a sound familiar to most marathoners these days. The sound can only come from the one and only Mohan! A legendary figure himself, he has recently completed his 200th marathon and yet always very down to earth and friendly. Of course we traded cheers when we passed by Mohan.

Being mad as usual

At 16km we bumped into Kevin and Sunny. They looked like they’re struggling for some reason and we got them to run with us. The view from 16-18km was spectacular. On our left were vast paddy fields with a beautiful sunrise as the backdrop. Little did we know what was about to greet us. At 18km, we hit the first of what I call the ‘hell route’ – rolling hills that we have to endure the entire way. At this point, I also felt a little niggling pain at my left knee (IT band area). Worrying thoughts came to my mind because I’ve struggled through IT band pain during my very first half marathon.

Stopping after bumping into Sunny (most left) and Kevin (2nd from left)

One of those beautiful sunrise views

The sun started to rise while we’re running at 20km. The photographers among us took magnificent pictures of us running with the first dawn of light from the sun. For me, this point signifies where the real challenge of IOM begins: the heat. The run from 23km to 26km was probably the best I’ve had through the entire marathon. Yik Yee and myself somehow found ourselves in front of the pack and started pacing each other. Nothing was communicated between us, but we knew instinctively that we’re pushing one another to go faster to the next water station.

First glimpse of the risen sun.

After 26km, I knew my IT band was a goner. Every step and movement on my left knee was excruciating. I had to stop every 500 meters to massage my knee. My only thought at that time was the water station at 29km. Farah has told us in advance that she’ll be manning that station AND she’s got something special for us. Arriving at 29km, I finally knew what the ‘special something’ was. COCONUTS! They’re serving coconuts at this water station. Tey, the faithful photographer with his camera, was there too and we end up having a great time and took plenty of photos.

Memorable shot of the 29km coconut water station

After that water station, I was reduced to walking. Each step was a sharp pain and laborious to me due to the scorching heat from the sun and somehow, a foul stench along the road that we could never identify. Alvin Yap volunteered to accompany me. Before the group left me, I managed a glimpse at the leader of the pack and saw Hong Chew among them. She’s improved a lot since the time I saw her in Singapore. Just goes to prove that with proper training, you’ll improve in leaps and bounds within a short while. Deep inside I knew she was attempting her PB. I prayed that it will come true for her and continued with a smile knowing she’ll do it.

At around 34km we stumbled upon Meng Yong and I decided to tag along with him. We walked along 34 – 36km and talked about many things: running, work, life, things we do, injuries. At 36km, we decided that we should at least try jogging a little so we could avoid further exposure to the sun (it was 10am, and blazing hot at the time). I jogged along until 40km when I saw up ahead, Hong Lan who was also walking. I quickly approached her and offered to buy her a Coke from a nearby food stall. Further up ahead, Kelvin Ng and his team of supporters were there offering more Coke to runners. We refilled our Coke and Kelvin gave me the warmest hug I’ve ever received during a marathon. I told him “next year I’ll be back, and no walking the next time around”, a promise I intend to keep.

Coke in a marathon. Now who says running can’t be a party?

Hong Lan and I continued our journey until we met another walker Hafiz, who was also wearing the same bright yellow shoes as mine. We walked together, 3 of us to the finish line. As we entered into the final km, there were 2 surprises waiting for us. One was Zijill standing by the roadside with an umbrella in the scorching heat cheering for us. Was quite touched as this was the second time she’s done that alone in the past 2 weeks (first was during Malaysia Women Marathon). The second surprise came when we were offered ice cream and pudding as we approach the finishing line. The taste of ice cream in that heat can only be described with one word: heavenly.

Before finishing, I heard Yew Khuay shouting “lai liao, lai liao” (In English: They’re here! They’re here!). And this was followed by a loud applause and cheer by all my running buddies. I was so touched at that point because I thought everyone would’ve left (because of the heat) but they were there still waiting for us.

Finishing in style

I’m just really thankful that I could finish my 3^rd marathon (somewhat in style despite the pain). I finished with a timing of 6:39:15 (slightly slower than my targetted 6 – 6:30 hour finishing pace). 2 marathons done for the year and 10 more to go. Let’s hope my leg recovers in time for Borneo International Marathon on the 4^th of May (another 2 weeks time).

Island Ocean Marathon finisher tee and medal

Special congratulations to Kevin Ong, Sunny Chong, Isaac Osman, Wei Min, Ann Ric, Rachel, Annie Low, Cheryl Tham, Vinny, Safwan, Sharon (and any friends that I missed out) for completing their virgin full marathons in style despite the difficult terrain and heat 🙂 Thanks to Farah, Kelvin, and all the volunteers at IOM for their selfless sacrifice and encouraging words during the run. Also sincere thanks to my running buddies who ran with me today. I promise I’ll finish our next ‘fun run’ full marathon together!

This weekend will be the start of my ‘running season’ (the first of many marathons for the year) and what a way to start with an event I consider to be unprecedented in the running community of Malaysia. On the 7th of April 2013, many runners will be part of the inaugural Malaysia Women Marathon. This one of a kind event is a celebration of womanhood and their many achievements in running despite their brief history in that arena. You’ll be wondering, “what’s so special about women and running? I see them running every weekend and in every race these days”. Now let me explain.

A (Very Brief) History of Women in Running

You’ll be surprised to find out that women were banned from competing in any distance races (or marathons) until the 1970s. The belief at that period was that women were too frail to run long distances and the strain could kill them or make them unable to bear child. Before 1972, women were vehemently barred from entering the Boston Marathon, the oldest and most famous marathon outside of the Olympics. And of course, our friends of the fairer sex would often go against the rule (with good intentions of course). In 1966, Roberta Gibb hid behind the bush at the starting line of the Boston Marathon and ‘bandited’ the entire race. She is the first women known to have completed the Boston Marathon although not officially an entrant of the race.

The following year’s incident brought women marathon to the spotlight. Kathrine Switzer, then a 20 year old Syracuse University student registered for the race under the name K. Switzer. Due to some confusion with her name, race officials issued her the race number 261. Two miles into the 1967 Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer was discovered by race director Jock Semple. What ensued, the infamous Jock Semple shove of Kathrine Switzer, was photographed and became a symbol of women’s persistence in a male dominated event. This story has been told and retold in countless books on Boston and became the stuff of legends. Bravely defying the women ban, Kathrine Switzer finished the 1967 Boston with a time of 4:20 and went on to become one of running’s most historic figure and icon for women rights in distance running.

Jock Semple chasing after Switzer

The infamous Jock Semple shove

Women distance running have come a long way since that incident. Women were officially allowed to run for Boston Marathon in 1972. The first women Olympic marathon event was held in 1984.

Women have also proven the old belief wrong by achieving many great results in ultra marathons. Pam Reed became the overall winner of Badwater Ultramarathon (135 miles/217km) twice in 2002 and 2003, beating even the male runners to the finish line. Ann Trason is arguably the greatest female ultramarathoner of all time, setting 20 course records and 14 Western States victory (100 miles/161km).

The Malaysia Women Marathon

Karen on one of her runs

The event will be held in I-City at Shah Alam, Malaysia and is expected to attract 3,000 runners with 500 of them running the full marathon distance. Karen Loh, the race director, is a prominent figure among the women distance runners of Malaysia having recently completed the Hong Kong Vibram 100km ultramarathon. She has also completed 25 marathons so far, with a remarkable feat of having completed two marathons in a day last year. I’ve had a chance to talk to her once during a local race and despite her stature in the running community, she’s very down to earth and very friendly. Surely we can expect a lot of fun stuff during the run. And ladies if you are looking for a local running figure to look up to, it would be Karen. The event is also supported by Runners Malaysia. And if there is any group in Malaysia that can manage a race well, it would be them.

There will be 3 categories for the event: full marathon (42km), half marathon (21km) and fun run (8km). Although this is an all-women event, participants of the full and half marathon distance are allowed to pick a male partner to run along with them as a pacer. This is understandable because some women do train with male partners and feel more comfortable with them. The male partners are not official entrants of the run and have to complete the run together with their female partners. Finishers of the full marathon, half marathon and first 100 finishers of the 8km run will be awarded a finisher pendant.

The finisher pendants

What made this event so special is the fact that Kathrine Switzer herself will be there to flag off the runners. The lady who started it all will here to officiate the event and to give talks during the 2 day pre-race event. The event organizers even named a mile of the race route “The Kathrine Switzer Mile” to remember her contributions to women running. I’m personally looking forward to this because I’ve read about her in so many books about Boston and to witness and listen to her in person will a great honor.

As far as I know, there are currently 5 all-women marathons in the world. 3 in the US and 2 in Japan. I must’ve missed out some, but the fact is that this is the first all-women marathon in Malaysia and in the region. So let’s be proud ladies of how far you’ve come and be part of this historic event.

So what has yours truly got to do with an all-women marathon?

Kelly and I after one of our runs

You guessed it. I’ll be pacing a friend, Kelly, for her first full marathon this weekend. A strong runner herself, she has just completed the 2XU Compression Run (half marathon) in Singapore last weekend with her personal best. We do train regularly, however not very often as I would’ve liked in recent times due to other commitments. While I’ve completed 2 full marathon distance runs since last December, I’m honestly quite worried about this run. This will be the first time I’m running side by side with someone and shoulder a certain degree of responsibility as to how her first full marathon experience will turn out to be. Fingers crossed everything will go on smoothly and it’ll be a great privilege to lead a friend to completing her first full marathon. I’ll see you ladies (and men) this weekend 🙂