Fat Old Man Running: Turbo Snail Run 2.0

Sunday, 20 April 2014

Turbo Snail Run 2.0 - Report

The Turbo Snails Climb Mount Serapi

Mount Serapi (911m) is located in Matang. It's one of the easiest climbs in the Kuching Division. Since there's a Telekom tower at the top, there is also a cement road to drive up. On a clear day the view towards Kuching is spectacular. Would-be climbers or just plain road hikers need to walk up some 5km to the viewing tower. For security reasons we cannot go to the tower itself without passes that we need to apply for. However as a teenager I snuck up twice, and was treated to tea by the soldiers up there both times. They would take great pride in showing us around. I guess they were just lonely for company. It must be a really boring job, even with such an awesome view. Hot water did boil really quickly though. The stair climb to the summit was awesome. I still remember it fondly till today. For those who run a lot this is an easy hike. However if you want to wake up leg muscles that you seldom use, this climb is highly recommended.

A small group of Turbo Snailers did the climb. We will just mention first names here. There was Azizul, Nasa, Reuben, Lina, Tamida, EeXuan, Eileen and Alvin, and of course yours truly. However the crowd going up and down the mountain was tremendous today. It could have had something to do with it being a 3-day weekend thanks to Good Friday being a holiday in Sarawak. I had done a really long run yesterday morning so my legs weren't too happy about climbing up. However I surprised myself in that I did it in a really good time together with Azizul. Reuben had gone ahead with Tamida. Then the rest of the group followed. Azizul, the Selfie King, took most of the pics you see here. He used a special lens to get the job done. As always we had a small picnic at the top. I had my usual brunch treat of Sausage Egg McMuffin. The drive-thru people hadn't included any chilli sauce or tissues. Drank my favourite sour plum juice packed with ice cubes in my hydration pack.

Going down was really a torture for me as I felt every bit of it even though I was using a heavily cushioned pair of running shoes, not my usual training shoes mind you, but still it was more effective than any of my hiking shoes, for the slippery cement surface. Met many a happy stranger along the climb. It was truly nice to see people of all ages and sizes too. Some were very determined individuals, even powering past us. It was fun to break into a slow downhill run past them from time to time. I am a firm believer in any sort of hill or mountain work to strengthen my legs and also help improve my speed. If all goes well we might even repeat this again soon, as after our climb several others offered to join us. If I had my way I would do this sort of thing at least 12 times a year. There is no such thing as too much climbing for me. In fact weather permitting and if I did it solo I would run up it, albeit at a slow pace.