Fat Old Man Running

Monday, 4 November 2013

Warriors Charity Run - Report

5km Run

Army Firepower

Parachutists

Always nice to get up close and personal with Malaysia's finest. Thank goodness there was a run involved too. Ran with 500 others. Most of them were our men and women from the armed forces. Yet again was happy to see so many familiar faces. The fact that there wasn't any t-shirt or a medal for any of the participants meant nothing to our die-hard tarmac pounders. They came out to run for the joy of it. Yes there were cash prizes for the top three in each category, but most of us knew we never stood a chance against the speedsters. For a change army personnel manned the road intersections. This was the safest run I have ever been in. The traffic cops were around too but it was mainly our boys in green in action. We did start at 8am on a Saturday, which for me is rather late for an 8km run. The heat was felt by all. There was a water station at the halfway mark. Trust the army to put km markers along the route. It's things like that that always make me smile.

The army had their tents out. Each tent highlighted some aspect of the army. There was even a tent for the navy. Me being the cheeky fat old man running got the ladies in white to pose with the male mannequin so that I would buy their submarine t-shirt. I have all sorts of comments about that submarine but lets just say it is best I keep it to myself. The 2XL white t-shirt I will use for sleeping on cold nights. A big bird whispered into my ear that this run was a prelude to an even bigger run next year with medals and finisher t-shirt. Dare we hope that it will be along the lines of a 21km run? Kuching needs more such runs in her build up towards our very own Kuching Marathon. There is a sense of excitement in the air with more and more runs popping up. Lets hope this keeps on going. I have taken a couple of pictures of the run and posted them below. Those who were there were lucky enough to see our paratroopers in action. A big salute to our soldiers for putting up a good show. Am so looking forward to an even bigger one from them next year.

Friday, 1 November 2013

Malaysia Women Marathon 2014

Open for registration today!

Second edition of MWM

Guys can join as pacer

Yours truly missed out on this last year. MBF was not ready to run an FM. She only completed her first FM at River Jungle Marathon. So you can imagine my joy that she's now a full marathon runner. Am so hoping she signs up for the second edition of Malaysia Women Marathon. The cut off is a doable seven hours. If MBF runs this I will pace her the whole way like I did at RJM, and that is a promise. This run is not about me. This run is for her. It is a marathon especially for women. Not many women get such a wonderful chance to run in their very own marathon. Many thanks to Karen Loh for making this marathon possible. We understand how hard it is to create a new marathon from scratch. Being Malaysians it is our responsibility to support our local runs first and then go overseas to run. All my runs in 2014 will be in Malaysia. There are no plans yet or need to run overseas. Coming from Kuching to run in Kuala Lumpur is like going overseas to us!

I sincerely hope that many of my friends in Kuching sign up for this race. If your guy has no confidence in running 42.195km, then join the HM, and get him to pace you. Imagine how cool it is for a guy to wear a a running vest or a finisher t-shirt that reads: Malaysia Women Marathon. It most definitely will be a talk piece. Many men out there say there will do anything for their better halves. Go ahead and take this opportunity to prove it. I have done it. I have paced MBF in her first full marathon. Now it's your turn to do just that and get rewarded with a medal and a finisher t-shirt. What she wins is what you win, and not the other way round, all right? Lets try to make MWM a thorough success by signing up for it. You can be sure I will be signing up for it today. Hope to see you guys there come 16th March 2014. Of course if the woman does not have a pacer she can run alone too. This is after all a marathon for women first and foremost. So if you need to know more about this marathon click here, or if you have made up your mind and want to register then click here. Happy running always everyone!

Monday, 28 October 2013

Walk-A-Payung 2013 - Report

Walking for SLE

Pimp My Payung

As was often the case for the month of October I had to forgo many charity events no thanks to my need to run long outside Sarawak. On Sunday, 20th October 2013 I was running near Sunway Pyramid. Yes I was doing it for a medal, as part of my weekend combo run, but still my heart was in Kuching, where I missed not one, but two charity events - the Power of Love Charity Run and the Walk-A-Payung. Lucky for me I had friends who went to both events who took photos and let me post them in my blog so that others can share in what had occurred while I was away. Many thanks to Esther Ambin who provided me with all the photos you see belong. She is in some of the pictures posted. Without her help this blog would have been just words telling people more about what the event was all about. For starters SLE stands for Systemic Lupus Erythemastosus, or just Lupus for short. It is incurable but can easily be controlled and managed if the disease is diagnosed and treated early.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease of an autoimmune nature that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system and other organs in the body. The symptoms of SLE include skin rashes and arthritis, often accompanied by fatigue and fever. Anyone showing signs and symptoms of Lupus can consult a doctor for tests. If it is confirmed that they have the disease they will be referred to the Lupus Clinic. However it is important to note that not all patients who develop such symptoms have the disease as there are many other illnesses that mimic SLE. The Walk-A-Payung event helps create awareness on SLE as they are still many who do not know what the disease is all about. About 350 people took part in the event. The highlight of which was the Pimp My Payung contest. Participants had to decorate their payungs up and the best decorated ones were adjudged the winners. There was also free check ups and a lucky draw. From the pictures it sure looks like everyone had a good time.

Larian Belia 50 Tahun Sarawak Merdeka 2013 - Report

5km Run

Young and Old Pounding the Tarmac

It is always a tough ask to wake up early on a Sunday morning to run a race. What it takes is a lot of discipline and dedication and determination. Had registered for the Red Crescent Jogathon (4km) and the Belia Run (6km - veteran), and decided to choose the latter. Arrived at 6.30am to see many a familiar face in the crowd. The gun time was supposed to be at 7am but this was changed to 7.25pm because of aerobic exercises. Always nice to see people warming up while the veterans just chatted among themselves. They had already warmed up you see. Since this was essentially a run for the youth we saw many of them there. Lots of shiny trophies and medals were to be given out. What's more there would be a lucky draw for electrical appliances and vouchers for meat. The latter was a new one for me. Yours truly was going to run this as part of my training towards Penang Bridge International Marathon. The route from the old Dewan Undangang Negeri building was a very familiar one indeed.

The open category would be 8km long. They were flagged off first. The veterans and the youngsters went off after them. Was surprised to discover that some of them had run in the recent Putrajaya Night Marathon and King of the Road too. What a small world we live in! Only goes to show that runners in Kuching will go all the way to Kuala Lumpur to run long races. Look who is talking, right? We posed for photos before and after the race. My legs felt good but I most definitely felt heavy and only managed to finished in 20th spot. If I had tried harder 17th spot would have been a possibility. It was that sort of morning. The heat got to all of us because of the late start. We stayed behind for the prize giving ceremony. Kaliani Rajamanickom took top prize for the veteran's run. John Lonchienne was 3rd for the open category. Many others from the Reservoir Park, Cat City Joggers and Hornbill Pacesetters running clubs placed too. Over-all it was a good day for the old timers.