I probably should not start this race given that I still having the injury (like this whole year I am always about this injury right?), but I already sign up much earlier with the permission from Race Director to move from 50KM to 84KM this year, don't ask me why don't I just go for the 100KM, I just don't feel like doing 100KM anyway.
The plan for this year was simple,fly in by noon and get out the next day by evening. So I flew in by noon, got pick up by Penang friend Sao and head straight to bib collection site to pick up my race kit and to meet Kok Yong for lunch then go check in hotel (or to meet my roommate who came in earlier than me).
Had some Thai food at the carnival opposite at the Padang Kota Lama before head out for the favourite Penang Char Kuey Teow and Cendol etc and by the time I am too full for anything else, it was already close to 3pm. Head back to hotel (which is about 500m from the starting line) and started to unload my luggage and prepare my hydration bag for the race at 9pm.
By the time I finished packing and unpacking, it was already close to 5pm and I quickly took a short nap. Woke up at 6+, decided to go for mandatory kits check before head for dinner and realised I forgot to bring the form, so had to walk back to pick up my form again. Bump into Jeff at mandatory check and called him along for dinner, he just returned from UTMB not long ago, came for this race as a promise to Race director, he planned to do it slow n easy to complete it.
After dinner, head to back hotel to fill up my hydration bag and make my pre-race drink and head for starting line by 8pm. This year seems to have less familiar faces, probably because people that I know is not much, lol! But there are still some regulars that I know, and notice this year there is significantly more Sabahans that come for this event, looks like it is going to be an interesting event.
Before flag off, as usual look out for runners that potentially make podium or lead the way, not that I am here to complete but interested to know who may be the top contestants for the podium. Then I comfortably position myself 2-3 lines behind the front liners. My target ? based on B2E, I lepak-lepak managed 84KM in about 11 hours, it would be a good benchmark to use, given that Penang ultra is going to be tougher with less water stops and at least 2 climbs, that would also means an average pace of 7:45/km. My 1st target was to clear the 1st 2 check points (28KM) in 3 hours and reach CP3 (which is the starting point for 50KM category at 3am) in 3 hrs 45 mins, after that I would have 7hrs odd to finish the remaining 50KM, sounds reasonable and sufficient time to rest or walk.
The race flagged off sharp at 9pm (or may be 2-3mins earlier) and immediately there is a huge gap between the 1st leading pack and the rest of us. From starting line to CP1 is a long 16KM out of the city centre towards the Penang bridge running along side of the water front, honestly I won't be able to know the existence of these cycling and jogging path and family gathering spots if I am in this event. The path took us away from the busy street traffic and cruise through some crowd and run through some underpass. I was among the 2nd pack but almost at the last of the pack (since I never look back, it will always look as though I was the last of the pack anyway).
I set into the pace of average 5:40-6:00min/km for this sector's target, may be this is consider slow, I seem to be surrounded or stuck with 3-4 runners in a pack. Before the race started I told myself don't chase the rabbit, but it looked like I am the rabbit now with predators around me front and back. There comes the 1st problem, I don't like to be chased and having someone breathing down my neck or pacing side by side with me, especially if I don't even know them. It took me more patience to stay with the pack than trying to break away from the pack by increasing the pace, it was probably not a good idea to try to break away because it is still early in the race and these runners definitely have enough energy to keep up.
So I decided to maintain the pace and sometimes slow down a little just to let them take the lead and see if they will break away from me. And I guess being the target means I am being used as pacer, the group become smaller but I still not alone, reached CP1 at Food Court Opposite Seagate, grab a can of the cold isotonic and I took my time to walk 1-2 mins to down the whole can of it and try to let the group split up. It did help a bit, I now then have runners 50-200m ahead of me and I can somewhat enjoy my own time running. Time spent to CP1 was about 1.5hrs.
Taken from the race website:
Start to Check Point 1:Esplanade Padang Kota Lama to Food Court Opposite Seagate
Distance: 15.9km - A flat 3km tarmac road with 12.9km bicycle lane mixture of tarmac and cement road from Persiaran Karpal Singh all the way till Industrial Zone.
CP1 to CP2 I finally can have more space for myself and set myself into the cruising pace I want to do while keeping the runners ahead within my sight, it feels better and safer as least I can be more sure that I am running on the right track since I am lazy to look for markers. Dropping my pace above 6mins/km, I enjoyed this part a bit more but got overtaken by a few runners who came from behind (probably done with the 1st 16KM of warm up) including David Christopher (Langkawi Ultra 100K champion) who decided to take a slow start and he is starting to pick up pace (may be he didn't, I was just slow...lol) and overtook 1-2 runners in front too.
There was some climbs towards the end this section but it was manageable and reached CP2 under 3hrs in total. Surprised to bump into Yimster here as he was among the front pack, guess he decided to take it easy for 1st half and as usual his engine only fires up in 2nd half when he sets into his own pace. (experienced runners know when to draw away from the pack and do their own race instead of keeping up with others which may ruin their race).
Check Point 1 to CP 2: Food Court Opposite Seagate to Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam
Distance: 12.5km - 2km Flat Bicycle Lane follow by Flat Tarmac road, the view of Penang Bridge and Penang Second Bridge on your left, passing thru Penang Industrial Zone but some heavy construction area.
Since I was on track for my 1st 2 check points, I felt much more easy to clear the next 6.5KM towards CP3. Though it was a big climb but it wasn't as bad as I thought, I was taking my sweet time a little and allowed myself to walk too until I was overtaken by more runners so I decided to keep up with them until the down hill part and all the way smooth sailing till CP3, total time under 3:40 hrs, on target. Bumped into Yim again but he was done with his refueling, I basically skipped one of my Hammer perpetuem intake and just refill with water and tried to keep up with Yim's check out time. So both of us left the CP almost the same time except he started to jog while I still taking 2-3 mins of walking.
Check Point 2 to CP 3: Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam to Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah
Distance: 6.5km - Flat road before a 2.8km climb of 139m elevation and 2.3km downhill to Balik Pulau.
Departing from CP3 felt much different from last year, it is still the same familiar route except this year I can no longer run like last year at close to 5min/km pace, I never really think how I should use the next 7hrs for the 50KM but now I have time to think it over. Based on the laziness level I was in, I figured that if nothing magical happens, I will need 1:45 hrs to get to CP4 which is about 50KM, which was not bad actually, that means I got to 50KM under 5:30 hrs, then I still have 5:30 hrs to complete the remaining 35KM.
But the next 14KM+ was not easy, I got overtaken by more people and caught up with some at the same time, Yim was drawing further and further away from but soon he got slower and I managed to catch up some distance. Half way in, the sky start lightning from far and thunders can be hears some 30-40s away, looks like weather forecast was accurate and it really was going to rain around 2am in the morning. I was hoping the rain can wait until we reach CP4, at the same time I was also worried that under such thunder storm condition, will the race be called off ?
Soon before I have any answer for that question, the downpour started and this was the last time I ever get to see Yim until finishing line, seem like he regain some power under the rain and switched on his turbo (or maybe again I was just too slow...).
2-3KM later it was heavy downpour and I no longer have anyone in sight (or I just can't see well in the dark...). The rain was so heavy that I was almost convinced the race will be called off at CP4 and I can hardly see anything ahead and under my feet, the rain later turned small and just 1-2KM before approaching CP4, it came back even heavier until some parts of the road were slightly flooded, I was running into pools of water and one of my left toes hit something. It was short pain that soon subsided or masked by the cold weather brought by the rain.
As I entered CP4, I bumped in Real Ho who was leading the 84KM the whole time, so my guess is now Yim is leading the race followed by Real Ho who is checking out from the CP. I decided to spend sometime here to refill my bottles and rethink should I continue the race since the rain was so heavy (as I think back, I have no idea why I had the idea of stopping my race there and then...). While I kept having the question in my mind and checked with Andrew if the race is safe to continue, I started to take out my light jacket and as I looked at the runners who just checked in and rested on the bench, I felt the motivation to carry on again.
"Just take a walk and decide on the way" I told myself...
Check Point 3 to CP 4: Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa
Distance: 14.3km, its a challenging mental flat straight route
I then spent the next 1 hour walking and jogging up the Teluk Bahang hills, it was dark, it was lonely, it was nothing but the water flowing down and myself. I don't know how I did it last year running up this hill, may be I was too tired by now, listening to music seem to be the next best thing to do. I can't recall how long was this climb, 13.3KM to CP5, so the climb should be about 6.5KM, I guess I was lucky to be wrong as the climb was less than 6KM and soon I realised I lost the power to run down hill. My feet were heavy and sore, it felt like my achilles was giving me problem and ITB start pulling my right leg.
"It's OK, I am still running, I am still moving" I told myself over and over again in the dark.
Before the end of the down hill, someone finally caught up and overtook me in high speed and I took a look at the back, not far behind another runner was approaching too. Since it was almost near to the next CP, I decided to run again, engaging forefoot running till I reach CP5, just under 7:20 hrs in total. So it took me almost 2 hours to clear the last 13.3KM, lol!
Check Point 4 to CP 5: Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa to Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang
Distance: 5.9km up hill with fresh cold air, 6.0km down hill and flat to reach CP
I didn't spend too much time in CP5, I guess the purple dust I took earlier kick in its effect and the rain woke me a little, knowing that I have slightly more than a half marathon to go I feel much better now. So as I checked out from CP5 I gave myself a new target, to try to clear the remaining distance under 3 hours, which put my finishing time at about 10:30 hours.
Now I was glad the rain got heavier, I tuned up the musics and started to engage forefoot running which trigger less muscle soreness and ITB pull. I was able to run even at climbs, sub7mins/km pace was possible, interval between walking was longer, so the next 10KM was cleared within 1:15 hrs.
Check Point 5 to CP 6: Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang to Penang Water Sports Centre
Distance: 9.7km
Distance: 15.9km - A flat 3km tarmac road with 12.9km bicycle lane mixture of tarmac and cement road from Persiaran Karpal Singh all the way till Industrial Zone.
CP1 to CP2 I finally can have more space for myself and set myself into the cruising pace I want to do while keeping the runners ahead within my sight, it feels better and safer as least I can be more sure that I am running on the right track since I am lazy to look for markers. Dropping my pace above 6mins/km, I enjoyed this part a bit more but got overtaken by a few runners who came from behind (probably done with the 1st 16KM of warm up) including David Christopher (Langkawi Ultra 100K champion) who decided to take a slow start and he is starting to pick up pace (may be he didn't, I was just slow...lol) and overtook 1-2 runners in front too.
There was some climbs towards the end this section but it was manageable and reached CP2 under 3hrs in total. Surprised to bump into Yimster here as he was among the front pack, guess he decided to take it easy for 1st half and as usual his engine only fires up in 2nd half when he sets into his own pace. (experienced runners know when to draw away from the pack and do their own race instead of keeping up with others which may ruin their race).
Check Point 1 to CP 2: Food Court Opposite Seagate to Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam
Distance: 12.5km - 2km Flat Bicycle Lane follow by Flat Tarmac road, the view of Penang Bridge and Penang Second Bridge on your left, passing thru Penang Industrial Zone but some heavy construction area.
Since I was on track for my 1st 2 check points, I felt much more easy to clear the next 6.5KM towards CP3. Though it was a big climb but it wasn't as bad as I thought, I was taking my sweet time a little and allowed myself to walk too until I was overtaken by more runners so I decided to keep up with them until the down hill part and all the way smooth sailing till CP3, total time under 3:40 hrs, on target. Bumped into Yim again but he was done with his refueling, I basically skipped one of my Hammer perpetuem intake and just refill with water and tried to keep up with Yim's check out time. So both of us left the CP almost the same time except he started to jog while I still taking 2-3 mins of walking.
Check Point 2 to CP 3: Teluk Kumbar Sin Choon Kopitiam to Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah
Distance: 6.5km - Flat road before a 2.8km climb of 139m elevation and 2.3km downhill to Balik Pulau.
Departing from CP3 felt much different from last year, it is still the same familiar route except this year I can no longer run like last year at close to 5min/km pace, I never really think how I should use the next 7hrs for the 50KM but now I have time to think it over. Based on the laziness level I was in, I figured that if nothing magical happens, I will need 1:45 hrs to get to CP4 which is about 50KM, which was not bad actually, that means I got to 50KM under 5:30 hrs, then I still have 5:30 hrs to complete the remaining 35KM.
But the next 14KM+ was not easy, I got overtaken by more people and caught up with some at the same time, Yim was drawing further and further away from but soon he got slower and I managed to catch up some distance. Half way in, the sky start lightning from far and thunders can be hears some 30-40s away, looks like weather forecast was accurate and it really was going to rain around 2am in the morning. I was hoping the rain can wait until we reach CP4, at the same time I was also worried that under such thunder storm condition, will the race be called off ?
Soon before I have any answer for that question, the downpour started and this was the last time I ever get to see Yim until finishing line, seem like he regain some power under the rain and switched on his turbo (or maybe again I was just too slow...).
2-3KM later it was heavy downpour and I no longer have anyone in sight (or I just can't see well in the dark...). The rain was so heavy that I was almost convinced the race will be called off at CP4 and I can hardly see anything ahead and under my feet, the rain later turned small and just 1-2KM before approaching CP4, it came back even heavier until some parts of the road were slightly flooded, I was running into pools of water and one of my left toes hit something. It was short pain that soon subsided or masked by the cold weather brought by the rain.
As I entered CP4, I bumped in Real Ho who was leading the 84KM the whole time, so my guess is now Yim is leading the race followed by Real Ho who is checking out from the CP. I decided to spend sometime here to refill my bottles and rethink should I continue the race since the rain was so heavy (as I think back, I have no idea why I had the idea of stopping my race there and then...). While I kept having the question in my mind and checked with Andrew if the race is safe to continue, I started to take out my light jacket and as I looked at the runners who just checked in and rested on the bench, I felt the motivation to carry on again.
"Just take a walk and decide on the way" I told myself...
Check Point 3 to CP 4: Sekolah Kebangsaan Genting, Sungai Nipah to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa
Distance: 14.3km, its a challenging mental flat straight route
I then spent the next 1 hour walking and jogging up the Teluk Bahang hills, it was dark, it was lonely, it was nothing but the water flowing down and myself. I don't know how I did it last year running up this hill, may be I was too tired by now, listening to music seem to be the next best thing to do. I can't recall how long was this climb, 13.3KM to CP5, so the climb should be about 6.5KM, I guess I was lucky to be wrong as the climb was less than 6KM and soon I realised I lost the power to run down hill. My feet were heavy and sore, it felt like my achilles was giving me problem and ITB start pulling my right leg.
"It's OK, I am still running, I am still moving" I told myself over and over again in the dark.
Before the end of the down hill, someone finally caught up and overtook me in high speed and I took a look at the back, not far behind another runner was approaching too. Since it was almost near to the next CP, I decided to run again, engaging forefoot running till I reach CP5, just under 7:20 hrs in total. So it took me almost 2 hours to clear the last 13.3KM, lol!
Check Point 4 to CP 5: Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Pinang, Jalan Sungai Rusa to Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang
Distance: 5.9km up hill with fresh cold air, 6.0km down hill and flat to reach CP
I didn't spend too much time in CP5, I guess the purple dust I took earlier kick in its effect and the rain woke me a little, knowing that I have slightly more than a half marathon to go I feel much better now. So as I checked out from CP5 I gave myself a new target, to try to clear the remaining distance under 3 hours, which put my finishing time at about 10:30 hours.
Now I was glad the rain got heavier, I tuned up the musics and started to engage forefoot running which trigger less muscle soreness and ITB pull. I was able to run even at climbs, sub7mins/km pace was possible, interval between walking was longer, so the next 10KM was cleared within 1:15 hrs.
Check Point 5 to CP 6: Dewan Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang, Telok Bahang to Penang Water Sports Centre
Distance: 9.7km
Leaving CP6 I was already feeling better and hoping for more rain, I knew the next 13KM was possible with about 2 hours, I knew I can probably finish under 10:15 hours if nothing goes wrong. So I went with run 1.5KM and walk 300 meters strategy and adjust the intervals as I feel like it. When the sharp left turning approached I knew it was less than 10KM till the end of the race and I started to run faster averaging 6:30mins/KM till I reached Gurney drive. Total race time: 9:35 hrs.
Check Point 6 to CP 7: Penang Water Sports Centre to Gurney Drive Roundabout
Distance: 7.9km flat road
Distance: 7.9km flat road
Saw Henry Yang resting there at CP7, the only possible reason for him to be there sitting means the race was over for him (later found out it was chaffing, something annoying but will cause a lot problem not matter how good a runner you are). Checked with him on the previous runner's gap and found out that it was too huge gap (haha, yes I was lousy and slow then...), I knew I was on target to finish the race under 10:15 hours dy, so I decided to take my sweet time to get to the finishing line.
Check Point 7 to Esplanade, Padang Kota Lama: Gurney Drive Roundabout to Esplanade, Padang Kota Lama
Distance: 4.8km flat, last lap home
Distance: 4.8km flat, last lap home
So next 5KM only to be welcome by more rain, I was prepared for a loop around the padang before crossing the finishing line but this year the route changed a bit so the loop was not needed and I get to cross the finishing line earlier that I thought and completed the race under 10:10 hours, as 2nd runner up. As expected, Yim broke his own record last year, but with huge margin, he shaved off like 20 mins or more. :)
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| Took a photo with these 2 outstanding runners for 84KM category |
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| Yim aka "Tom" if running with me, lol! |
2 weeks after the race before I write this report, I itchy hand when to download and compare the splits of the top finishers who crossed path with me during the race (including the 100KM category) and I accidentally found out that one runner actually covered the Teluk Bahang 13.3KM in 1:06 hours, averaging about 5mins/KM pace, that is like after running 50KM!!!
I then check the splits for the 50KM champion and 1st runner up, both can't do 1:06 hrs for this sector..So, moral of the story is there are a lot hidden jewels to be discovered in ultra distance, they just have not returned from the mountain yet... lol!
