Completed my first ultra on 24th August - Starlight 84km.. I actually finished this report sometime before the Penang Ultra but took me another 2 months to post it. Crap. My project B is taking its toll one me..
This race was supposed to be held in last week of May but was postponed due to the unfortunate death of Karpal Singh and the ensuing by-election held on the same day @ Esplanade (counting center). Thought that was blessing in disguise as I was so under-trained at that time ! Alas, it was not to be. Mileage was equally bad the last 3 months, with 3 ~30km runs the most. Last week preparation for the run ? Plenty of sleeps, real taper with zero runs and daily ORS !
D-day came. Spent Friday night and Saturday morning preparing the items to be brought along. Being first timer running a ‘very long’ distance, I was trying to over-prepare.. Items carried along : headlamp X1, blinkers x2, reflective band x1, whistle x1, spare batteries x3, waist pouch x2 (1 for my Note 2 as my iPhone decided to kong out at the perfect time !), 3 snickers, a few ORSItems in drop-off bag : running shoes x1 pair, compression pants x1, tops x1, 4 bananas.Well, after the race, I should say – run light ! LOL. I have to run with just HRM watch as my Garmin battery kaput and only last for ~3 hrs.
On a hindsight, running with no pace and distance is not a bad thing. Furthermore, I am quite familiar with the route and checkpoints, hence, I could do own estimates during the run.Managed to get a new headlamp and an extra blinker. When packing at Quayside for the race, the hydration bag water was over-flowed, and I thought the bad was leaking ! Nearly a DNS near-miss.
Stepping to the starting point at Straits Green. Met a few seasoned runners, Osmond, Yimster, Yahya, Gus etc and even bumped into Ben Swee the BATMAN ! Registered but the check on compulsory items was not done. The organizer should have enforced this. That explains why some runners were running without a headlamp as I discovered later. The race had about 100++ runners covering both 84km solo and 84km relay.
Off we go at 9pm. The stretch from Straits Quay to Gurney Clock Tower was along my familiar training route. Lots of cars on a Saturday night and slight drizzle. Other than that, nothing eventful, except motorist and shoppers looking at us one kind, must be thinking ‘what the heck are these people running with blinkers at these hrs’ !
ELEVATION : Flat
CP1 : 10:07pm.
Hitting the CP1 at Rapid Bus station near Macallum St Ghaut. It was quite chaotic as it was the first CP. There was no canopy and the drizzle has left the sign-in sheet torn into pieces. The so-called isotonic was nothing but a very diluted powdered drink. The taste was horrible. Decided to take a gulp of water and then continue the run. Continued ~10:10pm
CP1 – CP2 : The next run was along the stretch of coastal road (Jalan Tun Lim Chong Eu). At the first ramp, we detoured into the motorcycle lane instead of running on the main road. That actually helped as we do not need to go thru the 3 ramps that is very familiar for PBIM runners ! Somewhere near eGate, we detoured further inside the walking/bicycle path. This road/path leads all the way to Pulau Jerejak jetty (near Queensbay Mall). The path is quite well laid. It was drizzling slightly when I ran across that stretch. It became apparent that it is also a rendezvous place for many youngsters. One can smell BBQs and booze and many of them were seen in close proximity ! They were huddling under the Passovers due to the rian, else I would expect on a clear night, expect them to loiter around and may block the path now and then. They didn’t disturb the runners as they were busy with their own activities. The last stretch behind the Marine HQ to World City Park promenade is quite dark.
A MUST : Headlamp.
WATCH OUT : wet leaves along the path may be slippery. Watch out for some fallen small branches too.
ELEVATION : Flat
CP2 : 11:15pm.
Better managed CP. Filled up my hydration bag, ate some keropoks. Spent some time texting to my family before they go to bed. By the time I continued, it was ~11:25pm.
CP2 – CP3 : This stretches from the World City (near Pulau Jerejak jetty) all the way Batu Maung Caltex station (after airport runway) with some detour at the construction into Jabil and Western Digital. It was ~Saturday midnight, the traffic was still heavy along the route. There are heavy construction along the stretch for the giant flyover to 2nd Bridge. The group started to space out and I was trying to tag along a group of 3 runners. The run along the factories at Jabil and WD was pretty uneventful too. Dark, quiet and long stretch of road. Boring indeed. By the time we turned back into the main road, we have passed through the junction for 2nd Bridge.It changes when entering Batu Maung (Southbay). The next ~4km was a long stretch of winding and dark road. Good thing I used to stay at Permatang Damar Laut, else the run would feel like a never-ending one ! The road narrows at certain stretches. It is important to have strong blinkers turned on as the traffic is still heavy at that moment. This is the main road that links Teluk Kumbar with Bayan Lepas. I ran with a headlamp, 2 blinkers and a torch light shining on the road to alert on-coming cars/motorcycles from behind. Watch out for some youngsters on motorbikes. The male runner in front of me nearly had his butts petted by passing motorcyclist ! The last km was the darkest as it is the Penang International Airport runway. The road got significantly narrower due to upgrading. So dark and narrow – be careful ! The sight of a blinking light for CP3 was a welcoming sight ! Chatting with fellow runners, it must have exceeded by 1km for this CP as it felt like forever running this CP2-CP3 ! Met Osmond at the CP and decided to run together, which later turned out to be the best ever decision made !
A MUST : Headlamp & blinkers ! I even had a torch light on to shine on the road to alert on-coming cars from behind !
ENJOY : The sight of 2nd Bridge was amazing with the lights. Never seen it so beautifully !
WATCH OUT : Cars from behind, narrowed roads due to road upgrading, some Mat Rempits ! There is a 7-Eleven on the left along the row of shop-lots. Probably the last 7-Eleven until CP7 ! PITCH DARK around airport area. BE CAREFUL.
ELEVATION : Flat with very2 small gradient increase at Batu Maung. Road is a bit winding in the 2nd half of the 10km.
CP3 : 12:55am. CP @ Caltex. Filled up, did some stretches. Spent ~10mins before taking off.
CP3 – CP4 : Batu Maung, turning left into Teluk Kumbar. Pretty safe and well lighted. Just realized development has taken place so much in this area. No dogs, and that’s the key point. Can hear dogs barking from afar. Some small elevation in this area. We were bunched together, probably 5-6 of us. I was trying to keep pace with Osmond, or rather within sight of 100m or so. Did some jogs and brisk walking. This route will be quite boring if one runs alone (in fact the remaining of the route until Teluk Bahang !). Caught up with Ben Swee somewhere near the Hai Boey road junction. He was walking with a cyclist accompanying him. A car passed by with an exciting girl screaming ‘BATMAN’. How cool is that to see a Batman walking in your neighborhood at wee hours.
Next CP is @ 42km, so we will need to do a 12km trip. After probably 5-6km or so from CP3, the tough parts begins. Once we passed the Puspakom at tailend of Teluk Kumbar, the 1st ascent begins. I call this this the “small ass hill”. The road are pretty wide with good lighting. This is the road linking Teluk Kumbar with Balik Pulau. Unfortunately, durian season is over, else one can smell the aroma along the route.
The whole ascent was probably around 4km (agak2 since no GPS). I caught up with a lady runner a young chap. We decided to brisk walk. Did some chatting. She just DNF her TMBT the week before (scary isn’t it !) and she was looking for some overseas ultras to do (Gulp !). The hike took its toll on me. One thing to note is there is a signboard that tells you that you are about to ‘naik bukit’ and a signboard that tells you the end of it. As expected, it was slowly downhill after that. As we were near the peak, they decided to jog and I lost sight of them. Osmond was way in front, probably 400m but due to the winding roads, I could hardly see any blinkers. I decided to do slow jog towards 42km CP.
My aim was to complete the 1st half within 6hrs and 2nd half in 7hrs. The last 1-2km was pitch dark, winding and the road narrowed. A young boy on cyclist (volunteer) came up to me with drinks. He was cycling up and down the slope to support the runners ! The only problem is – he did not have a single light on his bike. Soon, the RELA men was pointing towards the CP. Reached there at 2:50am.
Did my 1st half in 5:50. Not bad despite the walk from Teluk Kumbar uphill. Thinking of doing a 7hrs in my 2nd half… I was SOOOO wrong ! Haha..
A MUST : Headlamp. I still use my torch light to shine on the roads when hearing cars/buses coming from behind.
NOTE : Winding roads up and down. Can be dark at certain places. Keep left. The last 1+km towards CP4 was PITCH DARK !
ENJOY : Nothing much. Can be lonely and scary. At certain stretches, I felt like I was the only soul there !
CP4 : 2:50am. CP @ Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting. Spent a good 45mins here to refuel, refresh, and chit chat ! Batman Ben Swee was there, Jamie arrived ~3am (where he overtook me later on !). No banans. This is a big screw-up indeed. As told the bananas were sent to the wrong destination, ie back to Straits Quay. Throughout all the CPs, no bananas. This is a real let-down in terms of organization. Luckily I had some in my drop-off bag and managed to share with Osmond. Come to think of it, we spent too much time @ mid-point. 15mins max should be it.
CP4 to CP5 brings us to the quietest and most boring route. 2 long straight roads that marks the most south-west part of the route. Imagine a Malay kampung, at 3am, with lamp posts lining up intermittently along the road. But kinda surreal walking/running on it. One of the down-sides was throughout the 10km, there were NO Rela or volunteer in sight. It is quite dangerous if one is running alone, especially for female runners ! Luckily I made a pack with Osmond that we will stick through thick and thin through this stretch until at least after the Teluk Bahang dam. Trying to start running after a 45mins stop was tough. Resorted to walking pace and slow jog and decided to use the tried-and-tested way of forcing oneself to run by counting the runs in between lamp posts. We passed through road leading to Countryside Staples Horse Riding and before long, the Pulau Betong mosque junction appeared in front. The entrance to Balik Pulau Hakka Village (客家山寨) was right opposite the junction. I knew all these courtesy of Osmond since he did the CFAL ride along the same route the week before. We made a right hand turn and another straight road ahead. By then, Mohd Saad caught up with us. It was pleasant surprise as he was still at the 42km CP when we left. He was doing the 2nd leg of the 84km relay. We caught up with another runner by the name of Tee when we hit CP5.
A MUST : Headlamp.
CP5 : 5:00am. It was stated as Sekolah Kebangsaan Sg Korok but it was not a school, just some roadside stall where the volunteer made use of it. Anything will do for us. Grab some keropoks and drink. This is the 50km mark, so we just did a 8km distance.
CP5 – CP6. This is probably the most challenging leg as we will ascend the ‘big ass hill’. The remaining half of the distance was along the same kampong road for probably ~6km, from Air Putih to Sungai Rusa. Once we arrived at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang (on the left – for those who did the Penang Run Series 3 will have fond memories of this heavy downpour run starting point) and the Chinese Temple, it’s the start of ~4km of elevation. Much steeper than the small ass hill. By then, we met a few early riser locals who were already coming down after the walk. The road was more winding. Keep an eye on the sky above you. This is the first time I have never seen so many stars and galaxies in a night sky ! The hike probably has a maximum elevation of 700+ ft. We passed through the famous Titi Kerawang bridge, a couple of fruit stalls, and the famous Bao Sheng Durian Farm. Once at Bao Sheng, we were just ~10-15mins away from the peak, ie 800m.. it’s called 800m because of the signboard that says one is 800m away from the Tropical Fruit Farm below.
A MUST : headlamp and blinkers
ENJOY : Starry starry night sky ! Look up for a real sight to behold.
CP6 : 7:10am, 800m – peak of the big ass hill. Took us 2 hrs to complete the 10km. Too much of walking !By then, the morning has broken. Did some refueling and off we go. Osmond and Tee were still together in a group and 2 other runners joined in. Mohd Saad has since left us and went on his run before we started the big ass hill hike. The next route was all the way downhill. I tried to catch up lost time and did some controlled fast run but not too fast to avoid getting cramps. I still recall during the Penang Run Series #3 HM, I was practically rolling downhill to negatively split my HM timing. The downhill lasted ~5km stretching into Teluk Bahang dam. Watch out for dogs. There were 3-4 stray dogs but they did not disturb except barking from afar. By then, there were many cyclists making their way up the dam and hill. Some asking what race was I doing, while some were astonished to find us doing an over-the-night run from Straits Quay ! The last ~1.5km was a long stretch from Butterfly Farm, Escape Theme Park and went straight to the Teluk Bahang round-about. By then, the sun has come out. Scorching hot.
CP7 : 8:20am, Teluk Bahang RoundaboutI remember this as I Facebook-ed my time @ CP7.
14km to go to the finishing point but I was just not prepared for what lied ahead. 14km in a normal day would be easy. Furthermore, I did the 4th leg of Penang Run in January all the way to Esplanade. I targeted to at least do a 2 hr jog to the finishing point. The first ~300m went well before I bonked, hit the wall, crashed.. whatever you call it. It became apparent I was so empty inside. The will and motivation to run is gone. I just want to end the race regardless of the timing. And so I toiled on, dragged my feet along. There was no cramp or body ache, just THAT weird feeling of soulless-ness…
I decided to just walk all the way to the finish point. I continued to walk from the old Mutiara Hotel, thru Spice Garden and Hard Rock Hotel, and then into Park Royal. I was bonked the 2nd time. I ended up sitting at a Makcik Goreng Pisang stall opposite Park Royal, and chit chat with her for a good 5mins while catching my breath. Regained my energy and continue. By then, it was 9am+ and a sunny day.
Couldn’t tahan, the sole of my 2 feet has harded and numbed from the long hours. Bonked again and sat in front of Rasa Sayang. At that moment, 3 runners slowly walked past me. I did not care anymore. I had that feeling of giving up and just grab a cab to the finishing line. Luckily no cab was seen then. After Rasa Sayang Hotel, comes the 4km winding road leading to Tanjung Bungah. Must be one of the scariest time of my live trying to stay safe and avoid cars from hitting me from behind – cars, bicycle, motorbike and worse, Rapid Bus !
See suggestion below – walk per traffic flow, turn on blinkers and keep an eye to on-coming traffic from behind. Don’t just ignore and assume they will give way to you.At Miami Beach, Jamie caught up with me, pretty fast but I was expecting him to overtake me much earlier. Had a quick 1 min chat and catching breath, off we go. I stopped one more time for coconut water @ Miami Beach before continue to walk all the way to Straits Quay.
WATCH OUT : Very narrow and winding roads linking Batu Ferringhi (landmark : Rasa Sayang Hotel) to Tanjung Bungah (landmark : Floating Mosque). Vehicles don’t give a shit who’s by the roadside. You also have to compete with cyclist zooming past you. Stay safe by walking following the traffic and along the pavement. Do not suggest do the against-traffic walk because the roads are so winding the on-coming cars won’t be able to see you and you are sandwiched between the car and rock next to you ! Put on blinkers if needed even though it’s day time. Better be safe than sorry.
DISTANCE : Teluk bahang Roundabout to Rasa Sayang is 5km. Rasa Sayang to Floating Mosque is 4km, Floating Mosque (Tanjung Bungah) to Straits Quay is 5km. Pretty flat.
CP8 : ?. Penang Swimming Club. The timing didn’t matter anymore as I was 2km away from Straits Quay, the finishing point ! Arrived at Finishing @ 11.20am. Took me 14 hrs 20mins to complete the race. Not the best of timing but I have no complains.
The positives are:
1) Ended the race without any cramps (miracles !!),
2) Recovered pretty fast after the race (1 day of muscle sore and pretty much it). Well served by Kelvin and Lincoln with food and water. Took a short rest. Congratulated whoever were still around – Ben Swee, Jamie, Osmond, Clement. Off I balik terus and had a sweet 6 hr sleep.
Until the next Ultra.....
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