Fat Old Man Running: The Marathon Series

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

The Marathon Series - Is back!

Malaysia's Premier Boutique Marathons returns!

That song by the Pointer Sisters comes to mind again. The one that goes, "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it / I'm about to lose control and I think I like it / I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it / And I know, I know, I know, I know / I know I want...," (here is where I change things around and say), "...sign up!" Well, it's true! The moment I heard that The Marathon Series was back I knew I was going to run it. Forget that the inaugural Kuching Marathon would be a week after Island Ocean Marathon and that River Jungle Marathon would clash with the Penang Ultra. I run marathons for the sheer joy of it, and the most fun I had running marathons last year was at IOM and RJM. What's more MBF lost her FMV at RJM. Who could ask for anything more? Pictures don't lie. If you want to know what went on at both marathons, click here for IOM and here for RJM. This is definitely the ideal marathon to run for first timers.

Those who need no convincing can click their Facebook pages, here for IOM and here for RJM. Yes both runs will be run at the same venue again. I heard there have been some changes at The Marathon Shop. The fact that they brought back The Marathon Series shows that they know a good thing when they see one. It will yet again be sponsored by Volkswagen. Who knows, maybe they will yet again repeat what they did last year and give an extra finisher to those who sign up for the combo and finish both marathons. I was told that only 500 men and 195 women earned that special finisher. For those who worry they might not have the legs for the Kuching Marathon after running IOM, fret not, like last year, both marathons will not have a cut off. What I do know is that both marathons are really popular and demand far exceeded the 1,000 slot supply, to the point that RJM intake had to be increased.

So circle these dates on your running calendar folks - 10th August 2014, for the Island Ocean Marathon, and 7th September 2014, for the River Jungle Marathon. Trust me when I say you will have the time of your life running both. Treat it as a runcation. My major sadness for last year's IOM was that I ran it without MBF, since she wasn't ready to run a full marathon. Imagine my joy several months later when she finished with me at RJM. If you have a friend, a relative, a loved one, who is thinking of running their first full marathon, look no further than The Marathon Series. I can vouched for it, having been there and done that. So do keep an eye up for updates and when the registration goes online sign up as fast as you can. Below I have included pics from my runs at both marathons. Happy running always!