Monday 23 June 2014

Newton Challenge 2015 (Penang) - Teaser Banner




You are your limit!

The more I run the more I believe that I am my limit. It's nice to see that the Newton Challenge (Penang) will be back next year. So those looking for a runcation can head over to Penang on 8th February 2015. This year the distance was 7km and 17km.  Who knows what next year might bring? Dare we hope for a 21km and a finisher t-shirt to go with it? Looks like we have to wait till August to know the distance and what goodies await the constant runner.  This is yet another reason to make Penang another popular running destination.


CJC Charity Night Run 2014




5km Charity Run to help Amputees

This run organized by City Joggers Club (CJC) is for a noble cause. It is to help purchase prosthetic (or artificial) legs for amputees. The distance is an easy 5km route that most runners in Kuching are familiar with if they have joined the CJC Thursday Night Runs. Held at night on 12th July 2014, which is also the night of the Momentum Run Series 4 - 25km run, it promises the be the most happening night run in Malaysia during the month of Ramadan.  Those who need to know more can refer to the registration form below.

CJC Charity Night Run in the papers

5km run route

T-shirt design

Registration form

Wednesday 18 June 2014

IEM Engineer's Run 2014




3.6km and 6.5km Run

The IEM Engineer's Run 2014 will be held at 7.30am on 14th September 2014 at Pesiaran Barat, Petaling Jaya (in front of Amcorp Mall). There will be the 3.6km fun run and also the 6.5km run open to members of the public. Registration fee is RM40. Registration closes on 17th August 2014 or first 800 entries. Runners who would like to register can do so at www.myraceonline.com



3.6km route in blue & 6.5km route in red






Crazy Loopy Ultra - Registration opens today!



Only 100 slots available!

Don't say I didn't warn you! Registration is supposed to close upon hitting 100 participants or by 2nd July 2014. Fat chance of the latter happening.  What's the fuss all about? Well to begin with this is a non-competitive event aimed at providing a safe and secure training ground for budding ultramarathoners and experienced ultramarathoners alike! This is an ideal opportunity to meet new friends and at the same time train together! That said this is still a chip timed event.

Event Information
Date: 12th July 2014 (Saturday)
Venue: Botanical Gardens, Penang (Taman Botani)
Time: 8pm to 4am (8 hours)
Distance: 2km, run as many loops as you can! (run direction is changed every 2 hours, from clockwise to anticlockwise and vice versa)

General Information
1. Bib is non transferable, non-refundable. Running with another's person's bib is strictly prohibited.
2. A minimum of 30km (15 complete loops) must be completed to received a finisher's medal. 
3. Participants must quit only when they finish a loop as results are calculated by loop basis.
4. Food and drinks will be provided by organizers. Complete list will be updated closer to the date. 

Entry Fees

Without t-shirt: RM85
With t-shirt: RM105

Those who want to know more or want to sign up can visit the official website by clicking here.


 The route: Botanical Gardens - Jalan Kebun Bunga - Youth Park Exit Carpark - Jalan Kebun Bunga - Botanical Gardens


Tuesday 17 June 2014

Haiyan Run 2014




Helping those hit by Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines

As the event name suggests, Haiyan Run 2014 is a charity run aiming to help the victims of the disastrous Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines. All proceeds from the run will go to the cause of reconstruction and humanitarian aid. Typhoon Haiyan was one of the strongest tropical cyclones everrecorded, which devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, on November 8, 2013. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,268 people in that country alone.  Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed.  As of January 2014, bodies were still being found.  The 7km run will be held on 9th August 2014 at Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur. The participation fee is RM25. For the the runner gets a 'Haiyan Run' t-shirt and a certificate. All of the remaining collection will then ultimately go to the funds for the charity.  They also welcome any additional donation apart from the participation fee.  Those wanting to know more or register can click here to visit the official website.








Music Wave 'N' Run 2014 - New Date Remainder!




New date announced!

"Reminder: The Postponement of MUSIC WAVE "N" RUN 2014 (announced today, 17th June 2014)

Kindly remind again, dear all participants MUSIC WAVE "N" RUN 2014 had postponed after Hari Raya (3rd August 2014) and Race Pack Collection will be on (1st and 2nd of August 2014). Please share this information to your friend who miss out our inform. We are sincerely apologized if this change might affect your plan. Thank you so much for your understanding and continuing support in MUSIC WAVE "N" RUN 2014."


The above announcement was taken from their Facebook page. 

The first announcement was made on 27th May 2014: "Dear all participants and public due to majority of our participants feedback that our 22 June 2014 running event date is crashing with others running event, so let your all have a nice and smooth event, we are officially announce that our event will be postponed after Hari Raya (3rd August 2014) and collection will be on (1st and 2nd of August 2014). We are sincerely apologized if this change might affect your plan. Thank you so much for your understanding and continuing support in MUSIC WAVE "N" RUN 2014."

Newton Challenge 2014 (Singapore) - 32km & 18km




Nothing beats the best

The Newton Challeng 2014 (Singapore) is open for registration. The event will be held at 5am on 26th October 2014 at Big Splash, East Coast Park. The 32km runners will be flagged off then. at 5.45am the 18km runners will be flagged off. The cut-off time for both categories is 10.30am. Which of course means the runners have 5 hours 30 minutes and 4 hours 45 minutes respectively to finish the run. Those wanting to know more can visit their official website by clicking here. Runners entitlement are as follows:


The registration rates are as follows:


Running vest:


Running socks:


32km finisher t-shirt:




Momentum Run Series 4 - Special 25km Finisher T-shirt




25km Night Run during Ramadan

Those who have run the first three Momentum Run Series - 15km, 18km and 21km - know what this runs are all about. When the Kuching Marathon was first announced the Momentum Run Series was created to help prepare our local runners for the longer distances.  Not only did our runners get brightly coloured Brooks drifit runner shirts but they also got medal to match the colour of their shirt. So it was blue, yellow, red and now for Momentum Run Series 4 it will be green. What's more runners can also complete their medal collection! Only 300 slots are available for this night run which starts at 8.30pm on 12th July 2014. Those wanting to register can visit the Revolution Run Borneo Facebook page for more information. To complete this series the runner will also get a special edition Brooks drifit finisher shirt. Those who just ran the Spring Live Active Run 2014 will know how rare the Top 50 Finisher is. Now is your chance to get an equally rare finisher shirt. What's more it's collared. For those who need another long run before the Kuching Marathon this event is ideally placed for them to run it. Don't miss out on yet another wonderful running event in Kuching!


Spring Live Active Run 2014 - Report




Third edition sees 3,200 runners participate

Spring Live Active Run 2012 is where my love affair with running began. It was a mere 5km for me but I had trained like it was a full marathon. I remember running the entire route time and again as I had absolutely no confidence in myself. I was over-weight and lacked stamina even for such a short distance.  Since that run, which turned out to be much easier than I had thought, I have gone on from strength to strength.  Last year (click here to learn more) I managed to get my PB of 2:30 there. I make no secret that I train for the full marathon, so it was a pleasant surprise to run faster than I usually do. This year I had no plans to PB since all my training runs have been for endurance. However since I did follow the wonderful pacers from the Hornbill Pacesetters Running Club, I managed to go at a considerably faster pace for the first 17km. My plan was to start slowing down at km14. I followed and chatted with George Chapman (Malaysia's newest Marathon Maniac. Click here to lean more) and Justin Yeo, the 2:45 pacers. Then I caught up with the 2:30 pacers and chatted with Shannon Bala (another Marathon Maniac, click here to learn more) and Desmond Sahathevan.

My first official run

Skipped 10km for the second edition
Our pacers from the Hornbill Pacesetters Running Club


This year I was early for the run and was able to snap away. The loud music and funfare of last year's event seemed to be missing. Even the crowd that gathered seemed to be more sedate. I took this as nerves for when the show of hands came for first time 21km  runners many hands shot up, including yours truly, who got catcalls for it too. Several runners came up to me to say they read my blog. Thank you to the female Ekiden runner who shouted, "I am from KL. I read your blog," along Jalan Astana, that helped more than any energy gel could. By the way I only took one gel at km10. Since I wasn't going all out didn't feel it was necessary to take more. I ran with two hydration bottles out of habit more than anything else. These were filled with Gatorade, since I prefer that to the carbonated isotonic drinks provided. I must say the early going was great. The weather was nice and a cool breeze blew throughout. In fact it was ideal conditions for a fast run. It was nice seeing so many familiar faces. Where I got the chance I chatted with a couple. Nice to see how well some of them did too.

There was no untoward incidents when I ran. The pacers did a fine job in keeping the runners around them informed of the conditions ahead. In fact at times I thought they did a better job than the other personnel on the road. Things always gets interesting when the 10km runners converge with the 21km at the Old Court House area. That is when we are faced with the 'bouncy' runners and the walkers. My favourite are those who dash off and walk and then dash off again. Well it's all in the spirit of fun. They too are enjoying themselves. When we hit Sekama Road we met up with the 5km runners. So the road does get a bit crowded with runners and walkers. Half the road is closed along this stretch. I usually like to make a great finish for the cameramen. Luckily for me a nice action shot was captured. My thanks to Hobart Kho for that. I have posted lots of pics belong. Most of which are from my camera. The rest are from my friends: Azizul "Selfie King" Razak, Teresa Attley and Olivia Jikus. I will add more pictures when available. 

Oops! I ran it again.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulation Chong Kir Jui, one of our Kuching runners who ran his first ultra at the Back 2 Endurance Ultra on the same day. Kir Jui ran 71.3km in 11 hours 44 minutes. In fact he went on to finish 16th! That is a wonderful achievement for someone doing a 12 hour run which involves 2.3km loops. I would have gone loopy if I had done so. Hopefully many more Kuching runners will join more such runs in the future and bring home the knowledge gained to help our other homegrown talent. The Kuching Marathon will be held on 17th August, so many of the runners running the Spring Live Active Run will be participating in our newest event in the city too. Hopefully the lessons learned during this run will help them run that race too.  For those who still have the running bug, there will be the Momentum Run Series 4 on 12th July. It will be a night run. The distance will be 25km. There will also be a special finisher t-shirt for those who complete that run.

Chong Kir Jui holding up his silver trophy

Now we get to the Spring pics...



Running couple - Wong Mei Foong and Johil James Marop

Mike Cheng, Wilson Ng and Gabriel Frank

Mike, Gabriel, Muhammad Ariff and Nasa Zaidul


Chan Thian Siang and Mary Anne Hendroff-Chapman

Alexis Ngui and his son Adam

Marie Albert and me

Anthony Huang and me

Daljit Singh, me and Arturo Rangel


Arturo and Alana with Azizul


Ready to run

Azizul Razak and me

Happy faces galore!


John Lonhienne (open mouth) part of Ekiden winning team

Teresa Attley and Donna Drury Wee

Snack time!

Julia Kew, teacher and mother of four, makes top 50!

Many happy runners...

Teresa Attley with Nasa

Nasa finishing with Banu Taz

This is a very interesting pic...

Am not going to name names here. Just too many!

They said they read my blog

Race Director of KM: Philip Chua
Evelin Ruman with her daughter Jasmine, and Nasa


Lina Khoo ran her first 5km at Spring

Beauties who run!

Even the youngest join in too!

Olivia Jikus collects another top 50 finisher

Nasa with Cornelia Tan

Daljit with his lady

A jubilant Julia with Nasa and Reuben Su

Me with Alexis Ngui

Alana Radford wins the women's 5km. DBKU Mayor in pic too

Leo Bean goes by many names. His team won the Ekiden relay

Me with Chen, my favourite running docter

Nasa reunited with her gang who ran at BIM FM

Liked the cute cat ears!

Mr Wong Chen Yi (KMA President) and Mike Cheng with me

The Kong sisters sandwich!
Ekiden 3rd: Carolyin, Lei Pang, Fizaly and Saurubi from KL

Seldom use anything but my name... So this is rare

Three years worth of Top 50 finishers - Olivia Jikus
The selected pics below are from the collection of photographer Shamsuri Sahari. Those interested in getting higher resolution pics can email him at shamsurisahari@gmail.com