June 2006


President's Column

This is my first President' column after this year's elections, and my second year in office. It had been a tough first year as I had to "learn the ropes" and get new events on-stream at the same time. The previous Exco and the present one are really supportive and cooperative, and they worked very hard to achieve all that was set out for them. Without them it would have been impossible to run the Club properly.

The Executive Committee
I believe a lot of people are under the wrong impression that the President "runs" the club and dictates everything that happens. The executive committee (Exco) is the "engine" of the club. The bunch of people in the Exco provides feedback, advice, expertise in various fields (e.g. accounting), and carry out all the functions that are required to run a club. We also have volunteers, who are not in the Exco, but nonetheless provide the necessary support that is essential for the smooth running of events.

This year the Exco comprises a balanced mix of accountants, contractors, engineers, media personnel, retirees (ahh … these people are more valuable than you think!), etc. We have the right people in the right post and the Club is thus assured of proper accounts, and we have never failed to file them with the Registrar of Societies every year, and on time.

New Balance Pacesetter 15km 2006
This is our signature event, and the Exco and volunteers put in a lot of efforts to make this a success. A record target of 1,500 participants was set, and the final total was 1,470 plus registered. On race day, 1,234 finished the distance and almost everyone had a great time. A significant number of runners (110) came from Singapore, and this could be attributed to New Balance promoting the event in their Singapore outlets. There were minor hiccups and a major issue with vest sizing (a problem that bugs us every year, and something I have to resolve or reduce considerably before the next event).

This year's event was held at Padang Merbok on 21st May, and we found that this seems to be a more suitable site to have an event of this size than Tapak A in the Lake Gardens. We didn't repeat the mistake of finishing at the field (which tends to be waterlogged when it rains), but rather finished at the car park on a straight stretch, so that runners could sprint to the finish. Also, spectators and supporters could line this last stretch and cheer the runners on without obstructing them.

Penang Marathon, 30th July 2006
After a lapse, this event is on again, and upon requests by our members, we are organizing the bus and hotel for members only, including the bus to and from the start point. It is unfortunate that the event coincides with the St Anne's festival on the same weekend, and thus we re not able to arrange for an economy hotel for a large group such as us. By the time you get this issue of Footloose, it would be too late to book with us, therefore there is no form included in this issue. I hope you will check our website frequently to get updates on our activities and any arrangements we may have for members for races.

Le Kedah Half Marathon, 26th August 2006
This race is organized by an event company who has requested the PACM to provide technical advice. We will not be involved in the organization, but will provide advice and guide them through the process or getting a half marathon off the ground. One drawback is that this race is on a Saturday in Alor Setar. The reason is that Sunday is a working day in Kedah. I hope members will make an effort to try this event this year. If there is a good enough response, we might organize the bus and the hotel.

Mizuno Wave Run 2006, 17th September 2006
This event will be held at Padang Merbok, so do participate in full force. The limit is set at 2,000 participants, and even though we are not the event owner, we are providing the technical assistance to make sure the race goes smoothly. This will be the second edition of the race, and we were involved in the same capacity last year, where about 1,000 participants took part.

Great Eastern Pacesetters 20/30km 2007, 21st January 2007
I am really pleased to announce that Great Eastern Life Assurance has agreed to continue their support for this niche event for year 2007. They took the challenge this year for an event that no one has done in this country, and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of participants. This has served as motivation for us to strive harder for a better event, come January next year. In fact, we have already started planning and getting some basic things organised. Looks like this will be another of our signature events.

4 x 3km Road Relay
Unfortunately, we lost our title sponsor for this event for this year, and I could not get a replacement sponsor in time to have the event around the same time. The date is very important as there were teams from schools and colleges/universities taking part. We could not have this event clashing with their holidays or exams. I will try to get a new title sponsor for next year, as this is an event that should be held every year.

General
I thank you all for the support you have given me and the Exco in the past, and I hope I can continue to depend on you for the same passionate support to further improve the standing of the club.

Munning Jamaludin

Tips on Running

Relax - that's part of your training, too……

There is no such thing as over-training. Yes, it's true, and I'll repeat it - THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVER-TRAINING.

Now, I know that may sound strange, coming from a coach. Actually, it's just another way of saying "Running will not kill you - you will pass out first". The human body is a smart animal. It will stop before it gets injured. However, that only works if you listen to what your body is saying.

So what causes "over-training syndrome", and what do coaches and athletes mean when they use the term "over-training"? Well, usually they mean "training too long", "training too hard", or training too often". And why would you train too long, hard or often? Because you're not listening to your body, that's why. And that's because training, of course, makes you fitter. Or does it?

All the books (and coaches) say, you should do lots of miles a week for lots of weeks to be able to run a particular race quickly. The training regime starts easy(ish) and gets tougher, adding miles and speed and sometimes sessions until you are training at a level that your body can only just take without breaking. Except that sometimes it does break, and incredibly nobody (that is, nobody) can tell you when that is going to happen.

Even more incredibly, no-one tells you the most important piece of information you will ever learn about training - your body does not get stronger or faster or tougher whilst you are training. In fact, it does not improve in any way. Your body only improves whilst you are resting.

There is an old saying in running, which some of you will have seen from Tim Noakes' book "Lore of Running", and that saying goes: "There is a time to run, and a time to rest. It is the true test of an athlete to get them both right". The essence of athletic development is "Work, then Rest", and both are vital to the process. If you work and don't give your body time to recover from training stress, it cannot improve for the stress of the next session, and will steadily break down until it can take no more, and up pops an injury.

Yet no matter how hard you train, for how often or for how long, your body can take the stress, as long as it has enough rest. And how much is enough? Simple, really - just follow the ten minute rule. When you go out training, after the first ten minutes' running, ask yourself "How do I feel?". If you feel fine, keep running. If you don't, ease off until you do. Ask yourself again ten minutes later and then every ten minutes after that.

It doesn't have to be exactly ten minutes, it just has to be around about ten. And why ten minutes? Because that's how long it takes for your body to begin to warm up. After the first ten minutes, your temperature is raised, your blood flow is enhanced and your cardiovascular system is starting to function more efficiently. Your muscles, tendons and ligaments are warmer and your range of movement is easier to reach - you feel looser and more fluid. You begin to flow along the road.

By now you should know if you feel okay. If you're not getting that warm, loose, fluid feeling, then relax and slow down. Give yourself ten more minutes. If you still feel stiff, awkward, unhappy with your running, then you may want to stop and go home, and come back another day.

It is never wrong to stop running because you want to - it is only wrong to stop running because you have to, because you pushed your body too hard. John Walker, the great New Zealand mile runner, is one of the greatest athletes of all time. He is famous for having run under 4 minutes for the mile, more than one hundred times.

He is less famous, yet equally respected, for his attitude to training. Whenever he went out for a training run, if he began to realise that it felt wrong, he would stop and go home. Anyone who can run four hundred miles in under a minute must know a thing or two about running, and John Walker's attitude is what made him great - if it feels wrong, don't do it.

That doesn't mean, of course, that you shouldn't push yourself. Every great running achievement came from the athlete pushing himself or herself beyond the limits they thought they had. Yet those times need to come in races, not in training. When we race, we set ourselves goals that mean we may break in the act of achieving them. We shouldn't break in the process of getting to the start line.

Ten minutes is all it takes to let your body warm up, and another ten minutes is all it takes to realise whether or not you're on the edge of doing too much. Remember, there is no such thing as over-training - it's under-resting that's the enemy. Don't let under-resting wreck your running life.

Enjoy your running.
John Williams
UK Athletics qualified coach and sports massage therapist
E-mail: jwrunning@hotmail.com

The 22nd Pacesetters' Annual Dinner - Blue & White Night
18 March 2006 at Dynasty Hotel, Kuala Lumpur
Emceed and reported by LiSar Oon

Arrival of Guests
7.15pm

The Exco decided to have a colour theme this year and "Blue & White" was selected.

While waiting for the arrival of guests, the crowd was entertained to a slide show consisting of a collection of events held in 2005, contributed by photographers, with the majority of the photos coming from Chan Weng Kai. The slides were created by Jamie Pang, who spent sleepless nights to rush out the copy in time for the event.

When the guests had settled down, the host welcomed the invited guests and members. A total of 330 seats were sold, only 20 short of last year's highest record.

The idea of "Blue & White" was mooted by Tammy and her 10-member team. The team set a good example for the night by dressing up in the themed colours and had their hair streaked in blue! Tamy and her team created the decoration of the hall as well as the backdrop. Tiny figurines of runners were carefully picked out for the backdrop. Every seat had a huge blue bow tied to it, and every table had shiny blue sprinkles all over with 10 individually wrapped chocolate Easter eggs in blue.


Alden Yap as Elvis Presley

Dinner
7.45pm

The guests were entertained with the 30km Great Eastern video record, courtesy of Ang Chee Kiang. Members watched enthusiastically, trying to catch a glimpse of themselves and their friends on the screen. The show ended in 30mins, after which President Munning Jamaludin addressed the attendees. The reigning President proudly introduced his newly elected Exco members. Munning has again accepted the helm with full accountability and passion for the Club.
While dinner was served, another video of 2005 activities was let to run, another video production of our Treasurer, Ang Chee Kiang.

The Club was honoured to be presented with 2 awards by Quick Release Adventure: the Best Club Award and the Top Club Award for participation in the Malakoff series. We were also privileged to have United Akrab Tech Sdn Bhd to sponsor a Polar Watch and Camel Cycle Bag as lucky draw gifts.


Kelvin making his kung fu moves

The Pacesetters' Oscars
9.00 pm

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
(1) Sportsman of the Year Award - For the 3rd consecutive year, Iwata remained unbeaten as the winner for this award.
(2) Sportswoman of the Year Award - Agnes Tee bagged this award again. Besides being the Asst Captain for the Womens Team, Agnes represented the Club and won in many races such as Adidas 4x3k, Malakoff Duathlon Series, Singapore Marathon Women's Team Relay. In addition, Agnes actively participated in the Club's trackmeet for 100m, 400, 4x100m, 4x400m.

TEAM AWARDS
(1) Team of the Year - Men adidas 4x3km
The team members were John Gilcrest, Ong Chin, Goh Choon Aun, Don Khor (43.20) who beat the adidas team by seconds!
(2) Team of the Year - Women's Singapore Marathon Relay Team
The team secured 2nd placing with a time of 3:12:49. Team members consisted of Agnes Tee, Eng Sook Jin, Cheah Meei Meei, LiSar Oon, and Eng Sook Ling.
(3) Mixed Team of the Year - Mixed Singapore Marathon Relay Team
The team members Norlida Ismail, Heidilee b Mohd, Ong Chin, Tan Song Hua, Goh Choon Aun, Phong Tong Lim came in 2nd with a record time of 2:35:13.

SERVICE AWARDS
Dedicated Service Awards
Munning and Wan YL presented the "surprises" to 5 special individuals for their exceptional contribution, commitment and dedication to the Club.
" Chan Weng Kai - as our long-standing photographer
" Jenny Lee - creating and maintaining the membership database & administration of the same
" Lee Kim Ying - for extensive contribution in registration of Club's events.
" Law Lai Huat - for running numerous errands for the Club during events.
" Jenny Leong -- recruitment of new Club members at various running events


Contestans for Pacesetters Idol: Jacky, Crystal, Houn, Garrett & Han

The Idol
9.30pm

The Pacesetters Idol 2006
The preliminary heats were held at Red Box 12th March. Although only a handful turned up, we managed to select 5 contestants for the finals. The point system for the Idol was based on 60% vocal, 20% costume and 20% showmanship. The judges were: Kok Zen Min, Ong Doan Tun (our 1st Pacesetters Idol), Wan Yew Leong and Lim Siew Cheng.

For the finals, each attendee was eligible for one vote for each of these 3 categories, i.e. Best Performer, Best Costume and Best Showmanship.

Pacesetters Idol - Low Kim Houn (Permaisuri)
One of the crowd's favourite that evening, Houn sang a number by Jackie Cheung. An experienced tailor by profession, Houn emerged as our 2nd PACM Idol that night, although this was his first public performance. Houn sang with a lot of emotions and his supporters displayed the most number of placards during his performance.

Best Costume - Crystal (Kuantan)
Our only lady singer and only representative from Kuantan, she sings almost anywhere, anytime. Her love for singing is so intense that she drove 2.5 hours from Kuantan to participate in the heats and drove home the next day. She is an account executive by profession and manages 2 jobs - at a manufacturing company in the morning and with another firm in the afternoon.

First Runner-up - Ng Wei Han (Permaisuri)
Also known as Han Ng, he is an IT executive. Although this is his first performance, Han managed to woo the crowd and emerged 1st Runner-up.

Second Runner-up - Garrett Yap (Permaisuri)
Garrett had been away from the running circuit for 3 years due to work commitments in Penang. He has since rejoined PACM as a member, started running again AND singing too. Garrett used to train frequently during his earlier years. Now that he is back in KL, he will be singing again.

Jacky Lo (Bukit Aman)
Having participated last year, Jacky competed again this year. He has made singing AND running his favourite past-times. This gentleman has an unrelenting spirit and is ready to participate again next year. Jacky sang a number by Jackie Cheung.


Houn Fan Club members showing support

When the East meets West
10.30pm

Ong Doan Tun, barred from competing for winning last year, became the guest singer instead. He sang a catchy Cantonese number titled "Friends" and invited the crowd to sing with him.

The funniest event for the evening was the impersonation of Elvis Presley & Wong Fei Hoong. The game was created by Tammy and team, complete with costumes, wigs and equipment. Alden Yap and Kelvin Wong volunteered as Elvis Presley and Wong FH respectively. The 1st act was to dance to Elvis's and Wong FH's music. Kelvin being Wong FH sportingly made his kung fu moves while Alden rocked to an Elvis number. At the 2nd act, the music was "swapped", and we had a Wong FH dancing to the Elvis's number and vice versa. Kudos to the volunteers for giving the audience a good laugh.

Open Mic Session
11.00pm

Although half the crowd began to leave, many chose to stay on to rock or continue to karoake.

12:00am

End of PACM Annual Dinner 2006. See you in 2007.

New Balance PACM 15km Run Draws Runners
Sunday 21 May 2006 at Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur.

Money is not everything, Challenge plus Good Organization rules! That probably explains why the New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run 2006 was able to attract close to 1,500 participants to Padang Merbok on 21 May. Participants included top duathletes and runners of 22 nationalities. The run offered no prize money, just New Balance product vouchers and a good outing organized by runners, for runners. This seems to be what serious runners want - something I found out as I was one of the volunteers who conducted the runners' survey at this run.

Several runners from Singapore said they came as there are not many races organised by runners in Asia, and PACM organizes events well, because we are runners too! This year, the starting point was moved to Padang Merbok due to the on-going renovations at Lake Gardens, which necessitated a new route to make up the 15km distance. The new double-loop hilly route posed a greater challenge which many runners gave the thumbs-up, while it elicited complaints from several runners who preferred an even less hilly route. Do read the comments from runners who took part in the survey summarized on the next page. We can't please every runner and there might have been shortcomings, but we are responsive to feedback to make our events even more attractive.


This new route is SO tough !

We want to say a big thank-you to all the 70 volunteers who sacrificed their time to help make this run a huge success, with special mention for Wan Yew Leong, our Race Director. Last but not least, the sponsors and our partners deserve our appreciation too. They are New Balance, Milo, PowerBar, Fitnesse and Fuji Film, Coronade Hotel (official hotel) and FTAAA for technical assistance.

We trust all of you had a good outing and we will see you at the NB Pacesetters 15km 2007 - Editor

List of volunteers

Wan Yew Leong, Munning Jamaludin, Phoon Yoke Heng, Francis Toh, Tan SH, Jagathasan Naidu, Ang Chee Kiang, Foo Sook Ying, Sonny Ng, Tan Pek Moi, Rustam Zaihan, Aplaidoo Nayadoo, Jenny Lim, Jenny Leong, Jimmy Tong, Law Lai Huat, Uncle SH Tan, Chong Chuin Min, Lee Keng Boo, Chong Chee Meng, Benjamin Ko, John Tan, Yap Wai Mun, Subramaniam Tang, Ng Ping Loong, Lim Kong Sir, Lim Kong Sime, Kupusamy Shan, Lai Say Bee, Tan Chee Wee, Kong Fook Ken, Ee Wern Chuen, Ee Wern Chee, Ee Wern Wei, Ee Kim Kee, Chan Chui Miew, Lesther Thum, Shuan Chan, Chung Cheng Chuan, Nancy Kong, Kong Wai Win, Kong Kar Mun, Boey Kong Wah, Lee Won Kow, Wong Ha Mooi, Amieur Amieuddin Tyerbjee, Goh See Kwong, Wong CS, Jason Thiang, Wong Yik Kong, Richard Tan, Phua Keng Wey, Lee Siew Yin, Lee Weng Jun, Lai Li Li, Chong Ting Chow, Chong Jian Yoong, Chong Ying Ying, Ng Vi Vian, Ng Vi Nnie, Ng Vi Liane, Mrs Kelvin Ng, Foo Ah Fah, Gail Yeap, Lei Mien Yee, Rachel Lee, Chia Poh Yin, Lim Kong Soon, Jeffrey Kok, Chong Kok Oon, Wong Kok Keong, Chan Wing Kai, Yeong Thin Seong, Phylis Loke, Chang Sze Mun, Chang Sze Teng, Chang Sze Kei, Harmony Ngooi, Melody Ngooi, Serene Ngooi, Cherrie Foong, Irene Wong, Phylis Kok, Ng Choi Lin, Irene Wong, Esther Liew, Phoebe Liew, Venus Liew.

Some statistics on the NB 15km 2006

* 1471 runners registered and 1234 participated

* 999 men and 235 women finished the race

* Pacesetters made up of 45 % of the participants

* Members of the public who participated totalled 55%

* Participants from overseas comprised nationalities from 21 countries.



Juicy watermelons and lovely bananas await runners.

"I want that bowl with the most ingredients."

Runners checking out the New Balance booth


Munning bonding with a "real runner".

New Balance 15 Km Survey Analysis
By Jagathasan Naidu
(based on survey conducted by Tan SH, Irene Wong, Ng Chui Lin, Venus Liew & Phoebe Liew)

The New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run 2006 held on Sunday 21st May attracted 1,471 participants, the largest number recorded by the organizers since the annual race was introduced in 2003.

Objectives of the Survey
The objective of this survey was to analyse how satisfied participants were with the NB PACM 15km Run. A total of 159 respondents were interviewed, where 67 of them were the PACM members and 92 were non-members.

Occupation Profile

Occupation No %
Executives 73 45.9
Professionals 20 12.6
Businessmen 18 11.3
Housewives/Retirees 13 8.2
Students 12 7.5
Lecturers 7 4.4
Others 7 4.4
Policemen 4 2.5
IT personnel 3 1.9
Domestic Helpers 2 1.3
Total 159 100

45.9 percent of respondents were executives followed by professionals, businessmen, housewives/retirees, students, lecturers and others.

Demographic Profile

Place No %
Kuala Lumpur 54 34.0
Selangor 51 32.1
Singapore 25 15.7
Overseas 7 4.4
Ipoh 6 3.8
Johor 4 2.5
Pahang 3 1.9
Penang 3 1.9
Negeri Sembilan 2 1.3
Sabah/Sarawak 2 1.3
Kelantan 1 0.6
Melaka 1 0.6

Total 159 100

Category Registered

Category No %
Men Open 61 38.4
Men Veteran 37 23.3
Men Senior Veteran 14 8.8
Women Open 24 15.1
Women Veteran 12 7.5
Women Senior Veteran 11 6.9

Total 159 100

How runners came to know about the run

Information No %
Friends 56 60.9
Website 22 23.9
Others 12 13.0
Newspaper 2 2.4

Total 92 100

Majority of respondents (60.9%) got the information on the run from their friends

Main attraction to participate in this run

Attraction No %
Good Organisation 60 27.0
Hobby/Interest 54 24.3
Medal 32 14.4
Certificate 28 12.6
Route 23 10.4
Vest 23 10.4
NB Sponsorship 2 0.9
Total 222 100

From the table above, majority of runners (27 % + 24.3 %) participated in this run because of good organization and hobby/interest.

A total of 82 of respondents had run this race before and 59 (72%) of them preferred the new route.

Route No %
New Route 59 72.0
Old Route 23 28.0

Total 82 100

Satisfaction of participants with the run

Not Satisfied Average Satisfied Very Satisfied Total
No % No % No % No % No %
Registration process 3 1.9 9 5.7 71 44.7 76 47.8 159 100
Distribution of vests and bibs 2 1.3 8 5.0 70 44.0 79 49.7 159 100
Water station 9 5.7 31 19.5 73 45.9 46 28.9 159 100
Safety on running route 0 0 20 12.6 76 47.8 63 39.6 159 100
Running route 3 1.9 21 13.2 65 40.9 70 44.0 159 100
Food and beverage 1 0.6 31 19.5 53 33.3 74 46.5 159 100
Toilets 33 20.8 46 28.9 44 27.7 36 22.6 159 100
Medical/Emergency assistance 5 3.1 25 15.7 76 47.8 53 33.3 159 100
Announcement and sound system 2 1.3 20 12.6 71 44.7 66 41.5 159 100
Overall Event 0 0 7 4.4 71 44.7 81 50.9 159 100

From the above table, respondents were generally satisfied/very satisfied with registration process, distribution of vests and bibs, safety on running route, running route, medical, announcement and sound system and overall event.

For the water station, 45.9 % was just satisfied with the service while 19.5 % felt it was average.

Respondents were also not happy with the toilets. 20.8 % was not satisfied and 28.9 % said the toilet was of average standard.

As for the food and beverage, 19.5 % said they were average and 33.3 % felt that they were just satisfactory.

Feedback and Comments from Participants

Registration Process
* Prefer online registration and payment.
* Reduce registration fee

Vests
* Did not get vest of correct size
* Brighter colour running vest preferred

Toilet
* not enough toilets
* Long queue before the start

Parking
* Parking not enough

Water Station
* First water station too crowded
* Need more tables at water station
* Should have sponging station

Race Route
* Change the route - very hilly
* Repeat loop not interesting
* Hilly route more for training
* Route/distance markers not enough
* Second loop sign is confusing to first loop runners

Starting/Finishing Line
* Starting line very crowded
* Finish route is circular, should end immediately
* Digital clock at the finishing line

Food
* Food not enough

Prizes
* More lucky draw prizes
* Better medal design
* No goodie bag
* More prizes - up to position 20

Announcement/Sound System
* Poor sound system at starting line

Others
* Category for senior citizen
* More security
* More attractive cheerleaders
* More participants in future
* Not enough publicity


Phyllis is compiling the questionaires.

An Almost Perfect Kuching Outing
By Ronnie See a.k.a. Der Pacemaker

What: Saberkas RH Marathon 2006
When: Sunday, 26th March 2006
Where: Petrajaya, Kuching, Sarawak
Distance: 21 km ++

der Good…
Wow.. The organisers of Saberkas RH Marathon 2006 offered runners a whole lot of goodies: no entry fee, free t-shirt, PowerBar, shoe bag, Sarawak Tourism cap, V-soy soya drink, 100plus, bananas, buns, unlimited mineral water, plus free dinner for full marathoners. There's more: free transportation to collect race entry pack and pre-race tour of running route, transportation on race day from hotel to starting point and return to hotel after the race. Excellent handling of baggage as bags were kept in wooden cubicles instead of lying on the floor. Nice water-proof bib numbers with additional perforated slip for baggage deposit. At the back of the bibs, there was provision for runners to enter their personal details for use in case of emergency. This was really unbelievable!! As far as I know, no organizer had accomplished this before. They were simply the best in Malaysia!

der Bad...
The starting time for 21km was brought forward to 6.15am from 6.30am, and then moved back to 6.30am. Couldn't they make up their mind? The mobile toilets were inadequate: 2 for male and 2 for female, to accomodate 10,000 runners? Distance markers were not placed, so I had to gauge the distance from water stations which were placed at every 5 km. The race marshalls were simply hopeless! They pointed me to the wrong turn, damn! When I asked them how far to the finishing line, not even one marshall seemed to know.
After crossing the finishing line, the race officials just asked me to move aside. "Hey! Where is my well-deserved medal?" The reply from them was: "I don't know!". I was very upset and extremely dissappointed.

When I met my wife, she told me I was to collect the medal and certificate from the redemption counter. I asked one of the officials for the location of the redemption counter and she replied: "Sorry, I don't know." Can you imagine that! So I had to go and look for it myself, and I was not the only one.

der Ugly...
When I finally located the redemption counter, I was told there were no medals left for half marathoners! I couldn't believe it! It seemed that the medals were grabbed, literally, by school children who ran the 5km category. So no medal to take home! It was the biggest upset for all those 21 km finishers. But the worst was yet to come. To my horror, those students were selling the medal for RM10 each! One lady runner actually bought one as she was so desperate! The price was raised to RM50 for next lady who showed interest in purahasing! That was really too much!

der Conclusion...
I finished 22km in 1:41:14, that means 2km more than I should, thanks to the inefficient road marshals. In fact, many of the 10km runners also complained that the road marshals directed them to a wrong turn that required running an extra 4 to 5km.

I did receive my lovely medal, thanks to SH Tan, PACM's Secretary who helped to bring back as many medals as she could claim for the Pacesetters.

I really enjoyed the run and the wonderful trip to beautiful Kuching and the lovely Damai Resort which we managed to visit after the run. It was a truly memorable and unforgetable trip.

I will be back again next year, if AirAsia still offers free or cheap tickets……

Run Like A Camel
By Tony Quay

At the AmBamk KL International Marathon 2006, I was pleasantly surprised to see Power Gel being distributed to runners somewhere approaching 10km mark. Normally, Power Gel is only dished out to full marathon runners at 30km mark. "It is great that half marathon runners also receive Power Gel," I thought to myself. Another caring move by the organizer was that the water station was within sight, less than 100 meters away.

After showing my gratitude to the volunteer who handed me the Power Gel, I emptied the whole packet of gel into my mouth. I began chewing slowly, tasting and enjoying the vanilla flavour. I timed myself that when I reached the water station, everything would be gulped down with water.

When I reached the water station, to my surprise, the officials said, "Air Sudah Habis! (no more water!)" Oh my gosh! That was a big surprise to me and also to my running friends. How could it be that there was no more water so soon? Nevertheless, changing emotional gear from disbelief to serious note, I continued with the run.

At the 12.5km mark, the same thing happened - no drinking water too at the sponging station! A few runners actually started looking for those discarded bottle water at the roadside thrown by other runners. It was like looking for water in the desert. A few desperate runners started drinking those left over water from the discarded bottles on the roadside. (I was told some even resorted to drinking water squeezed from the sponges!) All my running friends were upset. I couldn't believe that the organizing committee or officials in charge of water stations really made the runners go that low.

It was quite an experience for me to try to force the sticky gel down the throat. I have to keep swallowing saliva to lubricate my throat.

Somewhere near the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka area, a runner gave RM10 to his son (who was also running half marathon) to look for a shop to buy some drinks. Well, it was a wise move to carry some cash around. The people around that area must be wondering why some runners ran off-course, earnestly looking for something around the Choo Cheng Kay Apartments area.

When I saw the next water station at 15km mark, I was happy and worried at the same time. Arriving at the station, I was so happy to see that there was water in this station. Without hesitation, I gulped down almost 1.5 litres of water as I was really thirsty. At that moment, I felt that I was running like a camel - drink lots of water and then run without drinking. I then went on with my run, making a mental note that the organisers should be alerted to the water shortage problem and make sure that it will not happen again, as the KL International Marathon is an international event. What would the international runners think?

Observations on Ambank KLIM 2006
By KC Leong

In my opinion, the KLIM 2006 was organized in a structure and systematic manner amid certain areas that seriously require improvement. On the scale of Level 1 to Level 5 -- where Level 5 is the highest -- in the classification of Basic, Expected, Delighted, Surprising and Unbelievable, I would think KLIM 2006 was in Level 2 - Expected. The organizers delivered what was expected from the runners with not much frills. Let us hope that for KLIM 2007, our evaluation of the event could be upgraded to Delighted or Surprising.

Areas For Improvement

Unexciting T-shirt: The design was similar to 2003, except that it was a dull blue hue this time!

Marketing: There was insufficient publicity about the KLIM 2006.

Quiet start: That was below expectation. The announcer could not lift the mood and raise the energy level of the runners. In SIM (Singapore International Marathon), the runners were really charged up by the announcers with lively music. I was amused with the song when runners rushed out of the starting gate: Who let the dogs out …

No cheering teams: Not only was it quiet at the starting line, it was also the same for the entire course. I received my first applause at the 9km mark at a construction site along Jalan Sungai Besi. A lone Indonesean worker was clapping his hands from his shack in the dark.

Marathon course needs revamping: It has been the same course since I started running it in 2004 (not sure how it was before that). Besides, certain stretches of the course are congested with traffic and the smell from the drains was terrible.

Deviations from the guidelines: Distance markers and mobile toilets (at 10km, 20km and 30km) were not visible. The table cloth for 100 Plus drinks should be red; but out there, it was either white or blue in no particular order. However, we noted that the mobile toilets were only visible in daylight when we went home after the race.

Good Points

Guidelines for runners: Each runner was given an eight-page guidelines on DO's and DON'Ts on race day. The guidelines were very detail. One useful piece of information was the detailed location map on Dataran Merdeka, the starting/finishing venue.

Start on time: Yes, punctuality is important as all races should start on time.

Medical assistance: The first aid staff were very helpful and gave prompt treatment when requested.

Traffic control: At every road junction, traffic policemen were there to give priority to runners to cross the road. (I beg to differ. The 10km runners (I was one of them) were made to wait 2 minutes at the traffic lights at Rainaissance before we were allowed to pass! Editor.)

More water stations: It was true. Unfortunately, many runners took the 325cc bottled water, drank a few mouthfuls and then threw them away. I heard that the slower runners did not have sufficient water to drink. Perhaps water should be dispensed in cups instead to stop wastage.

Smooth road: Most parts of the route were newly resurfaced, affording smooth running.

Distribution of Power Gel: Just before the 30km marker, Power Gel was distributed to runners 20 meters before water station. This is a better idea as the gel needed water to be swollowed, provided there is water at the water stations.

Backdrop: Beautiful backdrop at Dataran Merdeka, the starting and finishing point. In addition, there was a live band and drums. There were also many booths set up at the field.

Mini pools: Nike provided mini pools filled with ice cubes for runners to soak their tired legs. Cool! They also offered free massages for runners.

Goodie bags: It was a novel idea to have something for runners to take home in a bag, even though there was not much in the bag.

Brooks Pacesetters Bonding Run
By Lee Foo Kien

It was the night of Saturday, 19 March when I received a call from our Captain Lim Tow Suan asking if I would like to join him for a Sunday morning run together with the Bukit Aman group. Of course I turned him down right away as I was planning for cycling training on Sunday. Then a feeling came to me that he might be going alone. So I reconsidered, as I had been missing the Bukit Aman run for almost 2 years or more. It was kind of Captain Lim to pick me up at my home the next morning and it was drizzling all the way to Bukit Aman.

The first person we met at the car park was Wan Yew Leong and the greeting was "Bonding Run! Bak Kut Teh!". We were speechless! Eh, what Bak Kut Teh? What Bonding Run? I had heard of the plan but from our former president's jolly morning greeting, it seemed that it had been confirmed that it would be held in Klang. Anyway, we started to run, following Hooi Siew Weng as we were not sure of the route. After the run we met President Munning to discusse on arrangements for the Bonding Run. And that was it. It had kicked-off, and the countdown started….

First Meeting
Before the first meeting was called, Captain Lim got Peter, Albert and me to map out the route. Boy, what a sweaty job! We had to go round and round, and on foot too.
Once the route was decided, Captain Lim called for a meeting on Thursday, 29 March. Captain Lim outlined the things needed to be done. The route was shown for any comments and suggestions. The Klang PACM members sure had a lot of suggestions, but we selected a few. So the first thing on the list was food. I didn't realize this in the beginning, but after three meetings, two trail checks, and flyers-distribution, I concluded that eating one of Captain Lim's expertise.

First Trail Check
Captain Lim got all available Klang PACM members to go for a trail check one Sunday. Some changes and it was good that we all ran the route and feedback were very positive. Peter and Albert helped to map the actual route.

Second Meeting
A Committee was formed and PICs (persons-in-charge) were selected. I was given marshalling duty. Boy oh boy, I only volunteered to be manning a point but not to take the whole package of marshalling! Captain's order, if not, punishment would be 100 push-ups. There were PIC for food, venue arrangement, route maps, etc, etc.

Second Trail Check
It was drizzling and I thought: "Good, today's trail check will be cancelled!". I was so wrong! Captain Lim called and I had no choice. I was surprised to see Phoon Yoke Heng, Ooi and Liew there to assist in the trail check. We were very grateful for their help and we did some changes to the route, as there were some points that we overlooked.

Flyers Distribution Day
Captain Lim suggested we distribute some flyers on Sunday 16 April at the Taman Rakyat, a place full of health-conscious citizens. It was a morning. We distributed 160 copies of flyers. All I can say is it was quite an experience as I don't speak Hokkien and I had to introduce our club to Hokkien-speaking community! I don't know how, but I did what I could.

Final meeting
Everything was finalised. PICs were briefed again and it was all systems go.

The day before
The eve of the Bonding Run was the most relaxing day. All the road marshals did a final trail check and put up direction signs. A group of us camped at running venue. It was very warm night, but the comradeship was even warmer. We enjoyed sponsored food and drinks but it was the company that bond us together, with Francis Toh, Nayadoo, Peter and Captain Lim.

Bonding Run day (23 April 2006)
There was a big turn-out in spite of the distance for the Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya runners. I was told the Club sold 244 bibs, which was really encouraging. Many runners chose the longer route of hilly 6.5km while the youngsters and senior citizens did the 4km flat route. Each runner was presented with a pair of Brooks socks when they crossed the finishing line. Runners were treated to watermelon, bananas, V-soy soya bean drink, famous Klang curry puffs, nasi lemak and mineral water. Everyone was enjoying the abundant food, and Bak Kut Teh was never mentioned again that morning.

The highlight of the run was a surprise birthday celebration for Hooi Siew Weng who turned 69 this year. Hooi is a light-footed runner who can outrun many of us. We sang a rousing birthday song to Hooi, accompanied by Wan Yew Leong on his harmonica.

We hope that all of you who turned up had an enjoyable run. On behalf of Klang group Pacesetters, we want to thank everyone for your participation as well as everyone who assisted in one way or other.

Lim Tow Suan would like to convey his sincere thanks to his main committee members: Peter Goh, Albert Goh, Wong Kim Tham, Miss Chi, Ajeep, Chong, Onn, Gopou, Leow, Lee Foo Kien and all the 31 volunteers who worked very hard. And thank you too to all the Pacesetters and members of the public who came and made the Brooks Pacesetters Bonding Run a huge SUCCESS.

Last but not least, special thanks to the following sponsors:

1. Paragon Vest - sponsor of Brooks products and lucky draw items
2. FFM Marketing Sdn Bhd - sponsor of V-soy drinks

*** The President would like to thank the Klang Pacesetters for a job well done, in spite of the short notice given. The Brooks Bonding Run was indeed a huge success. Congratulations!

SETTING Your Training Objectives
By Adrian Mok - Ultra distance runner and Ironman Finisher
** Article courtesy of United Akrab Tech Sdn Bhd

Kudos to those who kick-start the year training! To all those runners venturing into a marathon event, now is a good start to hone your experience and challenge to your cardiovascular health!

While you embark on your training early into the season, do take some time to look at your overall training. Gauge your early season fitness to transit into heavy training for triathlons or other running races.

1. Plan Early
We often used PDA or calendaring features on computer software to schedule for business meetings or events. It is equally important that you list down your training days on a calendar. This not only serves to remind you of your workout but more important you have an overall visual view of how you like to progress your training over the weeks. You can only be committed when you place the plan on paper or an electronic format and not in your head!

Check out the Polar Personal Trainer website to see how the calendar features can help you no matter where you are! Visit www.polarpersonaltrainer.com. Go to the running site and see how you can plan for a specific event, schedule all training with details and use the website as a resource library with useful training info!

2. Set your Goals!
It is indeed encouraging to see more sporting events in our calendars! Many people have also ventured overseas for international events. Before embarking on an ambitious goal to conquer all these challenging races, it is worthwhile to take a step back and access your goals. Be it that you are a hard-charging novice or just a beginner who has just taken the plunge in multisport, you will benefit by knowing why you are doing this and how far you would like to take the sports to.

Translate your goals into realistic and achievable objectives. For instance, if your goal is to simply finish the biathlon, it is good to take a no-pressure approach. For those who have done this before, it is reasonable to have certain expectations. You should already know how fast it takes you to complete the swim and the run. However, do not simply take finishing time as a gauge as different race course offers different challenges.

Instead, gauge the effort that you are pushing yourself. An experienced racer is often able to "guesstimate" his perceived intensity level without any devices, thus they are able to know when to be pushing and when to back off from the pace and even knowing when they should be hydrating and fueling themselves.

Training with a Heart Rate Monitor helps to fine-tune this capability to understand your body better. Racing the Biathlon is likely to take your HR into a zone of about 85-92% of your maximal HR. It is then important that you have trained into this zone and also knowing what level of HR zone you can sustain into the race!

3. Progressive training
A common mistake in training for most folks is jumping into high level of intensive training too fast too soon. Often people rationale with the fact that they have just completed a race a month ago and they have good base fitness and could resume to hard training. For instance, if you ran a marathon in Dec and start your training again in Jan, you should start the training in low intensity effort of about 65-75% of maximal HR and target to increase the duration of your training. This base training should be about 8-12 weeks working on building endurance.

As you progress your training, you could start introducing some intervals or "speed" session to bring target HR up to 75-85% of maximal Heart Rate. As you get fitter, then certain key workouts could be performed in even higher intensity but shorter duration.

How do you know that you are training effectively? It's not how you feel, or how much you are perspiring. With a heart rate monitor you can ensure that you're working out at the right intensity, no matter what activity you choose. Work in your exercise heart rate zone. You will see results. It takes the guesswork out of exercise and gives you the confidence to know that you're doing it right.

Hope this serves as a good start to your exercise season!

ING Thailand Temple Run
By Daniel Tan

My journey to Amphoe Ampawa, 85km southwest of Bangkok, started with a click at the Pacesetters website, and after checking with Francis Toh and Sonny Ng, it was sealed in gold! And past president Wan Yew Leong said, "Daniel, write a story when you are back!"

I was to be heading for Thailand for a business trip that would end on 18 March and the ING Thailand Temple Run was on 19 March; so I thought: "Why not stay another day, run another race?" It cost me USD$60 to sign up for the 21km (really expensive!) so that I can write this story. So hopefully, you will enjoy reading this.

The official hotel for the race, Amari Watergate Hotel, charged USD100 - I saw $$ flying out of my wallet again! So I spoke to my principal, a Japanese who is based in Bangkok regional office and he offered to let me to stay at Somerset Apartment (same as the Ascott Kuala Lumpur) for USD$50 a night. That sounded reasonable and I could catch up with him as well. He even offered me his time (as my official photographer and video man), his car and driver, but I insisted that he slept in but can picked me up after the race. So with everything in place, I happily packed my bags for work as well as race and off I went to northern Thailand (Golden Triangle - don't ask me what I do :) on 15 March.

By 18 March, the day I arrived back in Bangkok and having slept in 3 different hotels in 3 nights in 3 cities, with flight back to Bangkok almost cancelled due to haze (forest fires in northern Thailand), I was pretty tired. Then, I had to collect my race number and chip. The taxi wouldn't send me to Amari Hotel from Somerset as it was peak hour on Saturday evening. So I walked to Asoke BTS station (I know Bangkok quite well as I am quite a regular) and then took the train to Chit Lom before walking to Amari Watergate. Boy I was really tired then!

Back to Somerset and tried to retire early that night and before long, the alarm rang at 2.00am! Yes, 2.00 am so that I could catch a taxi from Somerset to Amari (must reach by 3.30am) to catch official bus to race site, 85km southwest of Bangkok. It was about 30 degree Celcius with Relative Humidity (RH) probably at 70%. Upon arrival at the hotel, I disembarked only to find Hoo Ching Cheung smiling at me as he got down from the taxi behind me, proudly wearing our yellow Pacesetters T-shirt. Hoo was in Bangkok to run 42km and would be running again 42km in Kuching….and he also did the 42km in KL. Three full marathons in the month of March, superHooman!

There were altogether 10 buses (despite the hefty charges) and we could see more Caucasians than Asians at that ghostly hour that Sunday. We reached the race site just before 5.00am and met a Japanese man (Hoo's friend) who had done 400 full marathons to date! Now this is serious stuff. And our own superHooman is on the way to do that too - he did 15 full marathons last year!

At exactly 5.30am, after some blessings by a monk, it was blast-off for 42km. It was hot & humid and one more hour to go for me. Finally, it was time for me to leave my precious Blackberry, credit card and some Thai baht in my bag with the baggage official at baggage area. It was now 6 am and it was getting bright.

At 10 minutes to countdown, a very polite and orderly crowd came forward; nobody rushed or pushed. Again, we were blessed by a monk and on the front line were 2 young girls barely 10 to 12 years old. The monk gave them extra blessings by hitting (really hitting) their heads with the straw he used to sprinkle the holy water on the rest of us. It was a Thai tradition, I was told. These 2 girls were given advantage even before the race started. More about them later, these 2 "pocket rockets"!

The gong went off at exactly 6.30am. After my cramps in KL half marathon, I decided that I wanted to enjoy this race and to take it easy, starting off at 4 min 30 sec kilometer pace. The route was flat and it was green, with farm bungalows, not million-dollar bungalows! There were kilometer markers and as I hit the 2km mark, it was 9 minutes. So far so good. From then on, there were street performers playing traditional Thai music, or 'wayang kulit' (puppet show) every few kilometers to cheer runners on. The air was quite fresh until kilometer 2 where I started to smell haze, oh no! The burning smell persisted until about kilometer 4 and thereafter it was slightly better, but the sun started to make its presence felt. Thailand at 7.00am is certainly hotter as it is equivalent to Malaysia at 8.00 am. But there were water stations almost every 2.5 km and they encouraged us to drink.

Kilometres went by and what greeted the runners were lychee plantations, pamelo plantations, village farm houses, some temples and flat route, luckily with a lot of corners. At 6km, I felt sufficiently warmed up and was feeling good. I was chasing a 'Mat Salleh' and timing was still consistent. Then at 8km, our little girl, the 10 year-old "pocket rocket" appeared right in front of us! Boy, it took me 8 km at 4min 30sec pace to chase her! After pacing with her for a while, I decided that with longer legs, I must stretch and leave her behind, or so I thought. At 10 km, my stopwatch showed 45:30 and I was very happy I stuck to my game plan. By km 14, I was running at the same pace and I thought I was going to do below 1hr 35min despite no rest, heat and humidity. I started to enjoy myself but the sun was now beating down quite mercilessly. Then, 'disaster' struck: exactly like it was at my KL half marathon, at about kilometer 15.5, I felt a pull on the right calf. Why, oh why? I did my mileage, I have been racing for more than 20 years, and I have the experience. So why am I having 'cramps' lately?

Slow down, eat humble pie, or continue with pace but risk not collecting my medal, or slap myself? The only choice left was to slow down in order to finish the race to collect the medal and not disappoint my Japanese friend waiting at the finish line to snap my photo. Every km after that became a struggle; stamina and lungs were all ready to push but not my legs. Frustration set in when other 'slower' runners started to overtake me.

At 20km, the sun was really hot. I knew I had to hold on to finish the race, and forget about timing. Then, the "pocket rocket" overtook me. She was barely 3 feet tall, and gee, she was really good. She finished her race just ahead of me at about 1 hr 39 min 50 sec! I finally crossed the line (with no smile) at 1 hr 40 min 39 sec, my worst timing in the last 1 year, worse then KL when I had full cramps. Then it was cooling down time and they provided leg massage for free, very well organized and very effective. It was really good.

Overall, there were 256 full marathoners, 456 half marathoners and 436 10.5 km runners. Out of these, there were about 700 foreigners! Officially I crossed the line at number 9 for Junior Veteran and the third fastest foreigner in my category; not bad but not satisfied at all. For me, it could have been better. Why am I having cramps nowadays? Getting old, not enough training, wrong food, just not me anymore and maybe I should hang up my shoes! My buddy, Mahendran Mookian suggested that it could be due to my hyper-active thyroid for which I am on medication now. My doctor, an Endocrinologist confirmed it. Wow, Mahendran, you can be a doctor too! Be a doctor and stop running so I have one less competitor! Just kidding! But for me, still no excuses and so will I run another race, another half marathon? Well, care to join me for the Great Wall of China Run in 2007?

Chilly Zurich Marathon Experience
By KK Oon

The Zurich Marathon was held on 9 April 2006. As I confirmed my participation only on November 2005, there was not enough time to prepare for the ideal marathon competition, so I had to make do with only 5 months of training.

I had been consistently running between 7km to 10.5km around the Gasing Hill area twice weekly and the Double Hill route every Sunday. I specifically train on weights most Wednesdays and occasionally on Tuesdays and Fridays after my runs.

My confirmed participation spurred me on to increase the mileage on my Sunday's runs at the Hartamas route as well as switching gear to complete a 10.5km distance run on weekdays. The minimum weekly mileage should be at least 40km or up to 70km. However some elite athletes do cover up to110km weekly.

With the competition in mind, I ran my first 30km on 22 January 2006 at the GE 30km Run as training towards the mileage build-up and to systematically increase it by running two more 30km runs in February and March.

On arrival in Zurich, I was told that the organizers had arranged a pasta party for the runners the night prior to the big day. Runners were then introduced to the designated pacemakers.

It was drizzling when I reached Wollishofen Railway Station which was just a short walk from Landiwiese, the starting and finishing point of the race. It started pouring as all the participants got changed into their running gear. We deposited our belongings into a train coach, labeled with our running numbers. As I walked towards the starting line, I was looking for the pacemakers who were holding up the orange balloons. The targeted time for orange was between 3:30 to 3:50.

At 8.30am sharp, the 8000 runners were flagged off. The rain did not abate as we had wished and the temperature was at a chilling 3 to 5 degrees Celsius. There were cheerleaders at almost every 5km to spur us on and at certain points there were life bands as well. The route was very easy to run initially but as we hit the 25km mark, we headed into the town area interlaced with tram tracks all along the running route, with many turning and looping rounds which made the run difficult as we had to be extra cautious on our footing.

Along the entire route, mineral water, Power Bar energy drink, banana and Power Bars were served. At the 32km mark despite wearing gloves, my fingers were numb from the rain, cold and wind. I was thankful that I was wearing long tights and had put on an extra T-shirt under my vest. Trying to run at a fast speed was impossible as every time I tried to push slightly faster, I was besieged by cramps and had no alternative but to slow down.
At the 40km mark, I felt good and started pushing myself slightly faster and overtook quite a number of runners. But unfortunately, the cold caught on to me again and at the last kilometer, I had to hold back and run my normal pace.

I hit the tape at 3hours 51minutes, covering a distance of 42.195km. I was ushered to where the medals were being presented and thereafter proceeded to a tent where we were given assistance to remove and return the chip. All runners who ran within the 5 hours qualifying time were given a finisher T-Shirt followed by serving of mineral water, PowerBar and apples.

I was practically limping towards the coach to retrieve my belongings. Getting changed into dry clothes was rather difficult as I was completely drenched and sapped of strength. I left immediately upon changing and headed towards the train station. Every step was a burden as my feet felt so heavy.

Reaching the station, I started a conversation with a local runner and asked how he fared in the race. He was unhappy with this race because his timing was half an hour slower than his personal best. As the train arrived, we went our separate ways and upon reaching Zurich HB, I switched train for my destination which was Glattbrugg. While waiting for the train, I spoke to another runner and this guy looked lean and fit. His personal best was 2:57 and had run 9 marathons before this race. But unfortunately, this was not his day and he only managed to finish this race at 3:57. Talk about acclimatization!!!

Personally, I too was wishing for a much faster timing but due to the unfavourable weather condition, I was glad to have run the race in sub-4. This race definitely taught me not only to keep physically fit but also to be mentally prepared for such a race.

It continued raining well after the official allowable time of 5 hours for this marathon. In the evening, it started snowing. It snowed all night long and when I awoke the next morning and looked out the window, it was white all over. This was my Zurich Marathon experience ….. and it was supposed to be Spring!!!

Q & A on Sports Injuries
By Dr William Chan

Dear Doctor,
I have been an enthusiastic jogger for many years. I am 54 years old and am reasonably fit. Lately I have been experiencing a pain in my heel bone or around that area of my right leg. Each time I walk, the pain would be felt. Because of the pain in my heel I am not able to enjoy my jogging now. I would appreciate your advice. Maybe I should visit you as a patient, as I am very worried. -- Worried runner, Kuala Lumpur

ANSWER
It is difficult to give accurate advise without a proper examination of your heel.
As a runner, I too had heel pain while I was running the Kuala Lumpur International Marathon a few years ago. For most long distance runners, the heel pain seemed like just just another pain in the foot; it feels like a bruised heel, and most runners will try to run through the pain.
The heel hurts in the morning the moment you step out of bed. The pain then disappears after few steps. It may hurt when you walk in your work shoes during the day. The pain will occur even when you are not running. It will eventually become so bad that you will stop running.
The cause of your pain is plantar fasciitis which is second to knee pain as the most common complaint among runners. The heel bone is the largest bone in the foot and bears all of the body weight with each step. As a result, the stress on the heel and all the soft tissue structures connected to it is enormous. The plantar fascia, a long band of fibres that attaches at the bottom of the heel bone and extends to the base of the toes, takes the brunt of our body load in running or walking. Pain occurs when these tissues become irritated or inflamed a condition known as fasciitis.

Causes of plantar fasciitis:
* Tight calf muscles and Achilles tendon which increase stress on the plantar fascia
* Flat foot - over-pronation (feet rotate too far inward on impact)
* High arches and rigid feet
* Incorrect or worn-out shoes
* Switching surfaces (particularly grass to concrete)
* Over-training
* Sudden increase in training mileage
* Beginning speed work
* Women who wear high heels all day and then switch into flat running shoes
* Too many long runs

The good news is plantar fasciitis can be treated successfully without surgery. The bad news is ultimate success depends on your patience. It may take three to twelve months to heal.

Self-treatment:
* Stop running, especially in the case of severe pain
* If pain is mild, then reduce 50% of training load and intensity
* Apply ice to the plantar fascia for 15 minutes (3-4 times per day), in order to reduce the inflammation. Do not massage the heel
* Stretching exercise for Achilles tendon, calf and plantar fascia
* Return to running gradually when recovered
* Wear appropriate shoes

Preventative measures:
* Wear well-cushioned shoes, and change shoes regularly
* Run on soft surfaces
* Keep your running mileage at a relatively consistent level. If you change your training, increase total weekly distance by no more than 10
percent per week.
* When beginning speedwork, ease into it gradually over several weeks.
* Stretch your leg and ankle regularly before and after run.
* For those with stiff and tight leg muscles, daily stretch is recommended.

Other causes of heel pain are plantar nerve impingement, fat pad syndrome and plantar fascia tear. The treatment is different for each condition.

Dr William Chan is the Consultant Sports Physician at Klinik Pakar Sukan, Subang Jaya. He writes for an English daily as well as many sports-related websites. He holds several degrees and diplomas from Australian universities and institutions.