Pacesetters Footloose Online Magazine

Pacesetters Athletic Club Malaysia: 24 Years and Still Setting the Pace

Olympic Torchbearer, Francis Toh, Vice-President of Pacesetters Club on 21 April 2008

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Let me introduce myself. I started running in 1984 and have participated in most of the Klang Valley events, especially the 10K and 21K events. During that time, obtaining a certificate of completion was a great achievement. In 2003, I joined the club and got a high after winning a bronze medal in the 4 X 100 meter relay for my Subang Jaya Area Group at the PACM track meet in Selayang.

That was the turning point, and I began to take my running much more seriously. I would participate in almost every running event in the Klang Valley. Certificates became the past and winning medals was the agenda. Later, greed set in and doing personal records was the target. Then, like others, doing the MARATHON became the ultimate aim. True enough, I managed to complete one marathon after another.

In 2006, I was invited to serve as a club committee member and I took up the offer and served for a year. The next year, I was voted in as Vice President and currently, am the club President.

The Club
The club is now 24 years of age and has come a long way. It started with a group of friends and currently, there are 1,600 members. I must say that the Past Presidents have put in a lot of effort to make the club into what it is today. Not only are we big in membership, we are also known locally and internationally and have created a branding in the running fraternity. I found out it is not easy to emulate the Past Presidents' leadership as the standard has been set extremely high. That is probably one of the reasons for us being where we are now. Thank you to all the Past Presidents.

Timing Chip System
At the recent Annual General Meeting, the members had approved the purchase of the timing chip system. The system has been bought the goods delivered. As I announce this, the system is being tested for our immediate use in the coming event i.e. the Malakoff Penang 26km. At a later stage, we may rent the system out for a fee to recoup our investment.

Rising Costs
In the March issue of Footloose, our Immediate Past President brought up the question of rising costs. Currently, all costs have gone up in tandem with the petrol price and signs of sponsorship moving away is being felt. Nevertheless, the club is monitoring and assessing the situation and currently undertaking cost cutting measures where possible so as not to jeopardise the day to day running of the club.

Malakoff 26km
The event is confirmed and schedule for 10th August 2008. Preparations have been going on for months and they are on the last phase. Therefore I urge all members to support the inaugural event by registering and let's make it a successful one.

New Balance 15km
Once again the event proved to be the most popular run. It attracted more than 1,500 registered participants and the turnout was 90%. The club's members made up 49% of the runners, an increase from 43% in 2007. To the members, thank you for your support and continue to do so in all our coming events.

Not forgetting our hardworking volunteers who directly and indirectly play an important role in making the event a success and popular. They too deserve credit and a THANK YOU to all of you.

Wan True Pacesetter's Tale
By Wan Yew Leong

Of Governance, Transparency, Succession Planning & Tribute to the Outgoing President & His Team

PACM AGM 22 March 2008
Last year I did not attend the PACM AGM, my first absence from it in nine years, as I had left the Exco for one year and felt that the club was doing well under Munning Jamaludin. I had also read the annual report in detail and was satisfied that the club was well managed. I knew I only needed to turn up for the dinner and just enjoy myself. This year I decided to attend the AGM as there were 2 issues that warranted my attention: (1) Munning was stepping down as president and (2) the proposal to acquire a timing chip system. I felt I ought to attend to give my 2 cents worth during the discussion.

For those members who have never bothered to attend the club's AGM, our club practices democracy to the fullest and have very high standards of governance. You need to exercise your rights as a member by attending the AGM and vote; the same principle as a citizen of Malaysia. I have seen many clubs and associations failing due to mismanagement that resulted in misappropriation of funds. While each club would have an appropriately drafted constitution or rules to guide it, the real safeguard is to vote in capable individuals, with integrity, into the Exco.

Timing Chip System
During the discussion on the acquisition of the timing chip system, I made a little speech. I can't remember word for word what I said but roughly the gist of the message is as follows for those who were not at the AGM:

I congratulated Munning and his team for being transparent in bringing in the proposed acquisition of the timing chip system to the AGM. Under the existing rules of the club, the Exco has the power to make such an acquisition even though it is a significant capital expenditure. It is a sensible decision on the part of the Exco to table this proposed acquisition to the members at the AGM.

"Today is a proud day for the club, to be able to decide on the acquisition of the timing chip. I fully support the proposal to acquire the timing chip system as it would enhance our capability in event management. We have 3 strong reasons to do it;
1. We have the events in the pipeline, 5 events this year.
2. We have the financial resources to purchase it outright.
3. We have the team to be able to manage it as it sounds easier than the present semi-auto system we use with the laptop, logging in runners as they finish the run at the gate."

Downside Risk & Suggested Mitigations
As a risk manager by profession, I often highlight the downside risk on seemingly upside decisions. Having 5 public events a year to manage, including 2 outstation events in Penang and Johore Bahru, I feel the Exco will be fully stretched. We may end up having to cut back in the purely members' events like the various breakfast runs and the track meet. We must remember that PACM first exist as a club, only second as an event organizer. Our members are from all walks of life; from the young to the old and from the slow to the fast runners. The club needs to have activities to satisfy this broad spectrum of members. As our statistics show, only about 600 to 700 of our members take part in the public road races we organize such as the Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km and New Balance Pacesetters 15km. What about the other 1,000 members? They are the recreational runners & families that look forward to our breakfast runs and the kids that enjoy the track meet. These events, usually non-competitive, help to bring out the families. Over the years I have seen the kids from a number of families growing up with PACM's activities.

One strategy to manage this is to engage the area groups, get them to organize such members' events. To the credit of the Exco, this has been implemented sporadically. We have done it successfully for 3 breakfast runs, with the Klang Group in 2006, the Putra Jaya Group and the Sabak Bernam Group in 2007. The Kuantan Group is a class of their own, they did the Kuantan TC Run with 500 runners. I also notice that a few area groups have lost some fire as compared to previous years, judging from their participation in the club's activities. Getting these groups to organize an event could possibly help bringing back the fire in them.

What the Exco need to do is to commit the area groups, fix the date, allocate them some funds, assign someone from the Exco to guide them and cheer them on and communicate the events via our website and Footloose. Fixing the date in advance is very critical as it is impossible to find a date without a run event during the active months. We must be prepared to have a clash of dates so long as we don't clash with major events like KLIM, Penang Bridge Run or Singapore Marathon.

Succession Planning
This is one subject that best in class corporations practice but rather unheard of among local clubs. In 2002, we changed the rules of the club to introduce a limited term of 5 years for the post of president. Munning co-wrote the changes with me. Such a rule is democratic and it prevents the president from over-staying and encourages healthy leadership succession. In the United States, the president is limited to 2 terms of 4 years (total 8 years). We are probably one of the few clubs in the country to practice this, but this is common among professional societies.

In 2002, we changed the rules of the club to introduce a limited term of 5 years for the post of president … Such a rule is democratic and it prevents the president from over-staying and encourages healthy leadership succession.

When I was due to retire in March 2005, I had been talking to both vice-presidents, Jimmy Tong and Phoon Yoke Heng to stand for election. I felt both were capable to take over as they had been working with me for several years. Unfortunately, both were unwilling to take up the job and I was getting desperate to get a candidate from the existing Exco to take over. I do not like the idea of parachuting a new person into the president's post from outside the Exco. I feel strongly about continuity and getting someone who has contributed for a few years in the Exco is the best bet moving forward. I decided to turn to Munning who had served the club for about 12 years then in the previous Exco, took a few years break and then joined my Exco. He was a reluctant president from day one but he also recognized the importance of continuity since the club had grown quite big with 1,400 members and with 2 public events a year. His agreement to stand for election had avoided a possible leadership crisis in the club.

Going forward I wish to emphasize that it is important to groom successors to ensure the changeover of leaders is without disruption. The purpose of having 2 vice-presidents, though not spelt out, is that in the event the president is unable to continue for whatever reason (say he get posted overseas for a job), one of the two vice-presidents must be prepared and able to take over. This time round when Munning decided to step down (in fact he announced this intention at the AGM last year), Francis Toh, the more experienced of the two vice-presidents decided not to take on the position and Rustam Affandi, who was willing to take on the post, stood for election and won without contest.

I appeal to members who are interested to serve the club to come forward to volunteer your services. You could start by being a volunteer in the club events or area groups and if you feel passionate enough, come forward to offer yourself for election. Our club is a fine place for budding managers to get some experience in managing. In our case, we have to manage people who are not paid to work; they too are volunteers. You could really improve your people skill in the process. We also need some special skills like IT. The club has to move forward with on-line registration that could be payment enabled to stay competitive in event management. Kelab Roadrunners Ipoh has got their on-line registration going for the last two years but not payment enabled yet. We have to catch up in this area.

Jenny Leong doing membership renewal and new membership registration at KLIM 2008

Tribute to Munning & his team
Munning has a distinctly different style from me. I am more publicity seeking to promote the club's branding via the media while Munning believes in working hard quietly. His original intention was to stabilize the club after years of growth during my era. However, circumstances did not allow him this luxury as more organizations seek PACM participation in various events. The momentum of the club continues to grow with one successful event after another. The Mizuno Wave Run and the Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km were two key events added to the club's calendar during Munning's era. The club's membership continue to grow to 1,700 from 1,400 three years ago. During this period, the club's magazine, the Footloose has become a very professional runners' magazine with top notch contributions from members and has the support of several brands of running shoes and ancillary products / services. Tan Swee Huah, the outgoing secretary & Footloose editor has ensured the quarterly magazine come out on time, with good content and with a professional layout. Two consistent work horses of the Exco that retired were Uncle Sonny Ng and Naidu from the Gasing Group. I have worked with both of them and they were very hard working in many of the field assignments during events they took charge of. With them, we even got extended help from Jenny Leong (Sonny's wife) and Naidu's children.

I have a unique story with Munning that I once narrated during the 2005 AGM Dinner and I wish to repeat it here. I joined the club in November 1984 according to the club's records, 6 months after the club commenced on 20th May 1984. In 1987, I got married and moved to Subang Jaya and decided that it was too much hassle to come down to Bukit Aman to run with PACM. I did something that most members won't bother with - I sent in a letter to resign from the club. Most members would just stop paying up and wait for the club to deregister them. To my surprise, I received a reply from Munning, secretary of the club, urging me to continue my membership. I was very gratified with his gesture and decided to renew the membership. I continued to renew my membership for the next 11 years without stepping foot into Bukit Aman car park till 1998 when I became treasurer of the club. The next was a twist of fate, I became the president of the club in 2000. I still have the copy of my resignation letter and Munning's reply in soft copies.

In all our 24 years of existence, with Rustam elected as the 8th president, the leadership changeover in the club has been smooth and the support by the immediate past president exists both in form (provided by our club rules that the immediate past president stay one year in the Exco) and in substance (Munning was in Bidor on 27 April 2008 to help organize the registration for the New Balance Pacesetters 15km 2008). I am confident the in-coming Exco will take the club to the next level. In 2009, we shall be celebrating our 25th Anniversary and I have suggested that the club re-enact the inaugural run we did on 20 May 1984 that marked the formation of the club. It may be too difficult to use the original route (traffic safety reasons) and the logical choice is to use the Pacesetters 15km 2009 on 17 May 2009 as the celebration event.

Wan Yew Leong
15 May 2008
wanyewleong@gmail.com

The venue this year was Bangsar Seafood Garden Restaurant in Bangsar. The AGM was held in a function room on top of the restaurant and started at 4pm, was attended by 96 members including all the executive committee members. Rather than giving the going-ons of the meeting, suffice to say that it was a cordial affair with some good exchanges between the members and the EXCO. The main thing that was decided was to purchase a timming chip system so that the club can handle numbers larger than 2,000 in races. This number is the limit that our manual system currently can handle. All who attended received a goodie bag each containing a PACM running vest, a 2007 New Balance 15km running vest, 3 packets of Power Gel and some Nestle products. Really very good, so don't miss out next year!

EXCO for 2008: from left, Michael, Jega, Francis, Rustam, Alan, Pek Moi, Geannie, Chooi Lin, Sook Ying, Jenny (auditor), Phyllis (auditor) and Wendy. Not in photo are Munning and Terence.

The new committee was nominated in without contest and therefore there was no need for voting. Munning Jamaludin confirmed his decision not to continue as President as announced in his President's column of Footloose March 2008. He had served in the EXCO for 16 years in various capacities including the last 3 as president. It can't be denied that he now deserves a well-earned rest, although he will still advise the EXCO over the coming year as Immediate Past President. Rustam Affandi b. Zaihan gamely accepted the nomination for President and we congratulate and we wish him all the best. Francis Toh stays as Vice President with Alan Ho joining him. Old faces Jagathasan Naidu, Foo Sook Ying, Tan Peck Moi and Gan TK remain in various capacities. Four new faces are Terence Ong, Wendy Soo, Ng Chooi Lin and Geannie Tan. Auditors are Phyllis Loke and Jenny Lee.

After the AGM, everybody adjourned to the restaurant downstairs. More door gifts. This time it was a yellow PACM carry bag with Johnson & Johnson & Nestle products. The theme this year was Sports Wear. The lobby and restaurant was creatively done up with surplus racing bibs strung together and hung from the ceiling. Racing bib patchwork graced the reception and VIP tables and a large race "START" banner greeted guest in the lobby, all thanks to Tammy Lim and friends who have not failed to create captivating atmospheres at these annual dinners over the last few years. Among the crowd, Hooi Siew Weng's patchwork T-shirt stood out. Most made mild attempt to dress to the theme. The more extravagant ones were selected to later contest for the best dress prizes.

An estimated 240 people attended, a smaller number than last year because it clashed with the Cheng Beng season. Invited guests included Dato' Sieh Kok Chi, Honorary Secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, Mr Wei Chong Hwa (New Balance), En. Mohammad Rahimi Abdullah and En. Shahrul (Nestle) and Mr. Loh (Brooks).

Dinner was a sumptuous multi course Chinese banquet, quite the opposite of the witch's brew that was served on stage in the Pacesetters Fear Factor game. Three brave (or were they just foolish?) kids in Hesmond, Redzwan and Farah went on stage to see who would be the most fearless. A blender was brought out and in went apple cider, bitterguord, ginger, oil, green banana, yoghurt, wasabi. .…..you get the idea. Someway into the proceedings, 2 more kids, Renae & Emily jumped on stage to join the competition - what were they thinking!? When they were asked to drink the concoction, Hesmond downed it as if he was drinking a regular milkshake to the amazement of the others. As there was some left, immediate past president Munning and new president Rustam were asked to have a quarter glassful each. Rustam finished his glass in 15 seconds while Munning struggled.

Some enjoying the "witch's brew" more than others in the Pacesetters Fearfactor game

In the Best Dress contest, there was Naidoo in tracksuit, Hooi Siew Weng in his patchwork T-shirt, Francis Cheng in Rap garb and Dr. Liew Poo Cheng with his muscular physique wrapped in tight gym workout attire. Francis walked and gestured coolly and Dr. Liew did a magnificent spinning leap. However the winner was Marcus Sherwood. He was most at ease on stage, enjoyed the limelight, strutted around, flexed muscles and teased the audience. His swim goggles and cap, running shoes, bodysuit and Marmite vest inscribed with "Hate Jams" looked good and comical at the same time. In the ladies contest, there was Carol Low, Lily, Melody, Veronica and Lian Bee Hoon. They came as a Judo exponent, a hockey player and the rest in general workout attire. Lily, who is obviously a talented Judo exponent, displayed a few Judo move and was declared the winner.

The Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year prize giving was the final event of the evening. Contestants gained points in races in 2007 and the ones with the most points at the end of the year are declared the winners. Points are awarded based on "best time" basis without consideration for age. Tan Song Hua was declared the Sportsman with 88 points, have scored the maximum 20 points each in the KL Marathon and Adidas King of the Road 21km. Julie Foreman was the Sportswoman with 90 points, gaining 20 points each in the Standard Charted Singapore Marathon, Adidas King of the Road 21km and Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km. Congratulations to them.

Post Script:
As usual, there is a deficit for this function. For this year it is about RM15,000. The main reasons are 1) as in previous years and in appreciation of their contribution to the club, 4 tables were given away to sponsors of our races, the EXCO, Area Group Leaders and our two coaches and 2) the cost of photocoping and posting of the AGM material doubled to RM4,900. The main reason was the 8 pages of photocopied attendance sheets as part of the minutes of the 2007 AGM. In future, this will be reduced to 1 page of just a list of attendees. There were also concerns that the RM70 ticket price was too high. The Exco will take that into consideration for future functions.

Running has always been my main aerobic exercise to stay healthy. Since my kiddy days, I have always followed my dad on weekends to the park for a light jog. It was until the age of 12 when I was diagnosed with cancer that put a stop to it. I needed an operation on my left wrist to remove the tumour, followed by treatment. I underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy for almost 3 years and I couldn't involve myself in any physical activities such as running. I bloated up like a balloon and my weight almost hit 80KG.

At age 15, when my condition got better, I decided to get myself back into shape. I started running again but not very often as I picked up mountain biking. My parents weren't supportive and kept telling me to quit, but I didn't. It wasn't easy when I first started due to my weight, but eventually through persistence, I managed to overcome many obstacles including bringing down my weight. Two years down the road, I was finally crown champion in one of the races I participated in. I then retired as I had achieved my goal and this sport had caused me a fair amount of injuries, which still affect me till today, although not as serious as before.

It 2006 when I decided to take up running after reading much about it in various running blogs. However, as I was still struggling with knee problems, I decided to give myself a year before competing in my first race, which was the KL International Marathon 2007. Again, my parents weren't supportive but I decided to go on. In fact till today, they aren't supporting me. But luckily, I have found tremendous support from a special friend of mine. I joined the gym and started training and also in the meantime, am doing some rehabilitation exercises for my knee. I also followed the blogs of Ronnie See (PM1) and Jamie Pang (Carboman) as I found them to be informative. After a year, I eventually made my debut at KLIM07. Call me crazy for taking up a full marathon at my first race, but I managed to complete the race in 05:50:10. This race started it all and a few days later, I dropped by at Pacesetters office and signed up as a member and eventually met many friends. I ran in many races around the Klang Valley and as time passed, I grew hungry for more. I began looking at other states and eventually signed up for the Penang Bridge Half Marathon 2007. That wasn't enough, and I finally went overseas for the Singapore Marathon 2007, my second full marathon and I did better.

It's 2008 now and it has been a year since I started running. After following the blogs of Ronnie and Jamie for almost 2 years, I finally decided to introduce myself to them. And I did not regret it at all as I met up with lots of running people and also eventually trained with them. At the time of writing, I have just completed my third marathon at the KL International Marathon 2008, clocking a sub-5 hours time! I have set myself a target of 4 full marathons this year and am now training for my second, that being the Sundown Marathon in Singapore.

With my cancer history and fair amount of injuries I suffered through mountain biking, I never thought that I could defy the odds with my running achievements today. But as running has brought my life back, I'm glad I made the decision 2 years back to take it up. So here's a message to everyone. "It's not the question on how we fall, but it's how we pick ourselves up again". Feel free to check me out at my running blog at http://runnerzcircle.blogspot.com.

A few days before the event
This was the conversation (or something like that) I had with Lai, Kit and others:

Lai, Kit and others: Kenny, I'm sure you will do your P.R at Hong Kong Marathon
Me: I don't know lah, I haven't been running 30km since GE 30 km race in Jan 20 lah.
Lai, Kit and others: I am confident you can.
Me: I'll just try my best lah, furthermore the route in HK is quite hilly I heard.
Lai, Kit and others: Yes, especially towards the end, the tunnel slopes are a killer.
Me: Then probably it's just a practice run for me whereby my priority will be just to finish the race and then concentrate for KLIM.
Lai, Kit and others: Wow, then it's going to be an expensive practice run for you.
Me: Yalor, most probably for the experience and to tour HK.

I was not confident enough because even 3 weeks before this event, I was getting some sort of pain behind the knees and some other muscle aches. In fact, there was once during the long run to Hartamas with Choi that I had to stop to ice my leg before continuing on.

I have never run in cold weather before
I had never run in cold weather before. It was winter in Hong Kong at that time of the year the news reports said that it was HK's coldest in 40 years. It had been averaging between 10-13 degrees Celsius. The closest I had run in cold weather was when I was training leisurely in Cameron and that was manageable at 18 degrees Celcius..

Nevertheless, I also didn't know what to wear in cold weather, so 2 to 3 days before leaving for H K, I turned on the CCTV channel on Astro and keenly observed what people were wearing in cold weather. I also checked on the Internet for past HK marathon participants to see what they were wearing. I noticed that most looked like they were wearing an extra shirt beneath their outer shirt.

Day before the race
On Saturday, the day before the Marathon, I had a slow jog in the morning. I wore 2 T-shirts and it was manageable. It was just nice. From then on, I decided that I would be wearing 2 Nike Dri-fit shirts for the race.

After that, I went to collect my bibs at Causeway Bay, at Victoria Park, which was also the finishing point. Everything was very organised. The place was huge. I think it was too huge for collection of bibs but just nice for the finishing of 49,000 people!!

Some medical researchers were randomly recruiting people to participate in their research on hydration and sodium levels in marathoners during and after the race and they asked me to participate in this study and I agreed. There was no harm because after the marathon, they would take my blood sample to analyse and would then email me the results on the optimum intake of sports drinks I should take during a marathon.

Marathon day, before the race
I knew that I had to be there by 7.45 am for the start and I also wanted to take out my track top and track bottom only 10 min before the start and leave it to the baggage collection truck which would then be driven to the finishing point. I was not very sure how to get to the spot with my limited Cantonese, but I knew I have to take the 1st 6am bus from where I was staying to one place and then take the MTR to Tsim Sha Tsui at the starting point. I was among the first at the bus stop and the bus was not moving yet. It was waiting until 6am to move. As I got into the bus, lo and behold I saw another marathoner as he was also holding the same baggage deposit bag. I said that I was also going to the Marathon but was not sure how to get there. I asked him if I could follow him. That was all in my broken Cantonese, however he understood but he started speaking to me in Hongky English. It was a great thing that God sent him so that it lessened my anxiety. He was helpful all the way and we went together to take out the tracksuits and deposit the bags. But then I felt it was still way to early (45 min before Marathon) but I had no choice since I was following him. We just jogged among the crowd for a while and suddenly he disappeared.

I then went to the toilet (still 45 min before the race) . There were many portable toilets and very short queues of 2 to 3 people at each toilet. After that, I found a spot to sit down and waited till the half marathoners started the race. At 15 min before the race, it was the Marathoners turn to go to starting point. The sign said it was 13 degrees Celsius. I started the run and suddenly he amazingly appeared again. I told him I thought I would never catch him again in this big crowd of 6,000 marathoners. Amazing!

Race begins
As the race began, I suddenly felt the urge to relief myself but ignored it as I thought I could do so at allocated areas further along the route. After running slowly though the huge throng of people for about 2 km, I noticed a public toilet, which was a great welcome. After that, I just continued running and at the 4 km mark, I was still within the city. There were some trees and I noticed a number of men easing themselves. I was quite taken aback as the sky was already quite bright.

Half way, cold hands!
After going through the underground/undersea tunnel for about 6 km, we came to the bridge that connects the Island. At that point, the race was something like running through Smart Tunnel and then arriving at the Penang Bridge to continue the run. Here, the wind blew hard and it was quite cold. My hands were freezing. I was sure others felt the same. Those wearing gloves should be OK. After coming thought the U turn and back to the bridge, I saw a pair of gloves on the road and thought of taking it to wear but had second thoughts on who the wearer was and the germs inside, so I didn't take it. Later on when we made another U-turn somewhere, I glanced at the opposite direction and notice that the glove wasn't there any more. Someone didn't have second thoughts and actually took it to wear!

30km mark surprise
I was going at a decent speed. There was no race plan, just to go at my own comfortable speed but also to follow whoever is at my speed. The course is quite challenging on the highway where the gradient gradually got steeper. It was easy to go downhill just a little bit faster as my legs were numb and cold and I didn't know if it was aching or not because of this numbness. I was also praying to God that my muscle pains, especially at the back of the knees don't act up. It didn't.

At the 30 km mark, I saw my time was 2:35, my eyes almost popped out because I didn't expect to be going this fast because although I had achieved this timing before, it was in last year's GE 30 km race, whereas this year my finishing timing for the GE 30 km was about 2:52 (caused by not having enough sleep and lethargy) and my Singapore Marathon split time at the 30 km mark was 2:45.

Run at tunnel
I quickly did some mental calculations and figured that I could beat my P.R. of 3:52 at Singapore if I maintained this pace and just slowed a bit at the last 5 km. We then headed for the 6km tunnel again and there was this fast guy who came from behind. The tunnel being flat helped me to run faster and I matched his pace. I believed it was about 4min 30 sec per km pace as it was a fair bit faster than usual whereas before this I was going at about averaging 5 min 9 sec per km pace.

Out of tunnel, 6km more to go, problems arise
At this point, my legs were getting tired and the highway slopes were getting undulating. At the same time, the cold seemed to numb the aches but I had slowed down. Cramps were also setting into the calf and at one point I had to stop for a while to stretch the calf. Further troubles brew when I could feel bad chaffing at my legs. I tried to moisten it but it just didn't work because the wind keep blowing and there was just no sweat or lubricant. The legs were just dry all the way, it was not like running in KL or Singapore where we were constantly sweating, thus avoiding chaffing.
Lesson to learn here: Use Vaseline in this kind of weather next time.

Last 2 to 3 km towards the end
I had slowed down significantly. The legs just couldn't move fast. I suppose I had hit the wall at this point. In fact, at the last km where there was a big crowd cheering us on, I just couldn't be motivated anymore and I was just going at my pace. A number of runners overtook me. Usually, at my last km, I would put in very fast, motivated finish but this time as I reach the finish line, it was very slow.

At last I reached the finish line in a time of 3:41:32, position 201 out of 1425 in my category and over 6000 + marathoners. A new P.R for me beating my previous time of 3:52:09 at the Singapore Marathon 2007 by about 10 min! The predictions of my friends came true. I surprised myself but I suppose it must have been the cold that helped us not to be so tired during the run.

Lessons learnt when running in this kind of climate
1. Bring along gloves.
2. If you want free T-Shirts, go for the Half Marathon (which has even more participants) because a lot of people who were wearing 2 to 3 layers threw away the New Balance Dri-Fit T-Shirt which was part of the items in the goody bags and some Giordano items can also be found along the road.
3. Use Vaseline on your legs.

My split times:
1st 10 km, 54:04 (5 min 24 sec per km pace)
2nd 10km, 50:47 (5 min 04 sec per km pace)
3rd 10km, 50:04 (5 min per km pace)
Next 11 km: 1:00:49 (5 min 31 sec per km pace)
Last 1 km: 5 min 48 sec per km pace.

This new section is devoted to our young members. Here, Michael Gan talks with Tang Kit Mun at the FTAAA track meet at MSN stadium at Bukit Jalil on the 3th April 2008:

MG: How old are you?
KM: 16 years old.

MG: What school do you attend?
KM: SMK Sec 4, Bandar Kinrara.

MG: When did you start running?
KM: At 13. I got interested after doing well in the school cross country run in Form 1. I then joined Pacesetters and did their training programme at MPSJ stadium on Sunday afternoons. I also jogged around the Bukit Jalil area. My father joined Pacesetters one year later.

MG: Oh, just like me. I joined Pacesetters after sending my daughter to their training programme at Kampong Pandan on Saturday mornings. What training do you do?
KM: Recently I was in centralised training with the Pertaling Perdana District. We train 4 times a week for 2 hours per session. We did a lot of drills like high-knees & butt-kicks.

MG: Those drills are for sprints.
KM: Yeh, but we need a bit of speed for the 800 meters.

MG: What is your favorite distance?
KM: 3 km.

MG: What is the longest race you have been in?
KM: The Pacesetters New Balance 15km in 2007.

MG: Do you do any other sports?
KM: I do Wushu once a week as a co-curricular activity at school.

MG: Any sporting idol?
KM: My father (Tang Chee Choon) and ..err….Iwata.

MG: Ah, your father will like to hear that! How about Paula Ratcliffe?
KM: The only Ratcliffe I know is Harry Porter.

MG: Oh, you read. What is your favourite book?
KM: The Princess Diaries.

MG: What is your best achievement in running?
KM: In the recently concluded MSS Selangor track & field meet at Kelana Jaya in the Under 18 category, I came in 3rd in the 800 meters in 2:39 and 2nd in both the1,500 and 3000 meters in 5:36 and 12:26 respectively. I could have gone faster in the 3,000m, but after 3 consecutive days of competition, I was just a little fatigued on the 3rd day. I also ran in the 4x400 meters relay - just too much.

MG: Any injuries?
KM: None so far.

MG: Favourite food?
KM: Pizza :

MG: OK, that's all. Thank you.

Postscript: At this meet, Kit Mun won a gold in the Under 18 Girls 800 meters and a silver in the Under 18 Girls 1500 meters.

Terrific Atmosphere at the Tokyo Marathon
By Mohandas Kandiah (or simply Mohan)

Clean and green are perhaps my first impressions of Tokyo. This was my first visit to Tokyo and I was thoroughly impressed with the hygiene and cleanliness of the entire city… the streets were meticulously clean and even bins had recyclable sections.

Having missed the inaugural Tokyo Marathon last year, and after the rave reviews, I was determined to run this year's marathon. Managed, rather easily, to convince Tan Seow Ping to participate as well.

The start in Shinjuku was excellent. Having the start line in the center of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building complex's circular overhead walkway was world class.

Runners were corralled in the arena based on their finishing times. This was eased by the alphabet preceding the number on the bib. There was no need for wave starts. 30,000 runners and it looked like the run was rehearsed. It was an incredible, awesome experience - "Tokyo Boleh"!

But 5 C was indeed challenging, as this was the first time I had to use running tights, although I threw out the long sleeved tee, which was worn under my tank top somewhere after the 14k mark. I probably forgot about the freezing cold in the "heat" of the moment with the incessant screams of "Ganbatei"!! The whole atmosphere was terrific. I was really looking forward to the course. The good thing about the course was the doubling back twice. That was really a lot of fun. Not only could you see the leaders if you were up far enough, but you could see all of the other runners. In this weather, I just couldn't believe the number of spectators. There were huge crowds of spectators throughout the course and even in the last six km, given the cold weather, they were there supporting and cheering. That was a perfect expression of the Japanese marathon spirit.

All the sightseeing spots (although I don't know the names of the places) along the course were breathtaking and the traffic stopped for runners. These were things the average runner here has never had the opportunity to experience before.

One 4-hour runner said the greatest agony was not running in the cold weather but the humiliation of being overtaken by Japanese pensioners! With Tokyo's elderly destroying his morale, "I thought I was doing quite well and then there's some 70-year-old granny I'm just catching up to," a 33-year old bank employee said.

Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, at 81 years of age. The number of people over 65 years of age is estimated at 25 million. The promoters of the Tokyo Marathon don't just see them as part of 2 million spectators to cheer the marathon runners along Tokyo streets but as potential marathon runners! As our banker runner learnt, these old runners are no pushovers. They will beat you at a young man's game!

The finish at the Big Wheel was spectacular. We ran into huge crowds of spectators and the pulsating rhythmic Taiko drumbeat could not be better encouragement for the last burst of energy.

In an orderly fashion, after the finish line, it was, returning of the chip, collection of the medal, drinks and a very unique windbreaker. Individual official photographs were taken, with every finisher lining up in an orderly manner.

The left baggage collection was so orderly, and the staff so observant, that before we reached the baggage station, a smiling staff already had our bags ready for us.

PHOTO 2 - Orderly collection of windbreaker and refreshments
photo 3 - "Dechipping by marathon officials

The Tokyo Marathon was successful enough that the people who did come from overseas are going to go back home and tell people, "This is a good event." I think it's going to build up over time through word of mouth.

Photo 5 - Seow Ping with her personal best 3:50 smile and me after a 4:12 marathon.

Photo 6 - On our way back to the train station, we came across a food bazaar. The Malaysian Mission, headed by Mr Mohd Zulkifli Mohammed, had a booth promoting Malaysian food. Although we were tired, we just could not help but spend some time chatting with the Embassy staff. Unfortunately, we were a little too late to sample the food.

This marathon probably is the marathon to beat. I think it's pretty clear that Tokyo is positioning itself to become part of the World Marathon Majors. Even though the Tokyo Marathon needs to make some changes, it deserves to become part of that series. We all love Tokyo as a city. I think it's up there with London, Berlin and New York as a great world city.

For myself, I would like to run it again next year. I think the competition to get in through the entry lottery will keep getting tougher.

xxxx

Orderly collection of windbreaker and refreshments xxxxxxSeow Ping with her personal best 3:50 smile and me after a 4:12 marathon

xxxx

Dechipping by marathon officials xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxCollection of finisher's medals

On our way back to the train station, we came across a food bazaar. The Malaysian Mission, headed by Mr. Mohd Zulkifli Mohammed, had a booth promoting Malaysian food. Although we were tired, we just could not help but spend some time chatting with the Embassy staff. Unfortunately, we were a little too late to sample the food.

Full Moon Relay Run (Sunset to Sunrise)
Contributed by FM runners

Introduction
Talk about full moon, perhaps some will conjure up an image of an orgy with alcohol, drug and wild parties combined. However, some Pacesetters (PAC) members who took part in the inaugural run in Thailand soon found out that this was indeed not the case. There were no dogs wailing at the moon or bats flapping their wings. However, there were dogs attacking our runners.

The Run
The relay run comprised of 8 runners. It commenced at the beach of Laemson National Park, Ranong on the west coast at 6pm (Thai time) on 19 April and ended at Lang Suan, Chumporn Province, on the east coast at 7am the following day for a total distance of 112.46 km. Each runner ran 3 legs of the relay, amounting to about 12.94 km. Thereafter, all 8 runners will run the last leg of 9.4 km together.
The timing for the team is the sum of relay time and time of slowest runner for the last lap.

The members are: -
A Team - Peter Lim, Teresa Goh, Gary Goh, Lim Peik Hoon, Lyne Toh,
Francis Cheng, Hooi Siew Weng, Patrick Lee

B Team - Lim Chin Guan, Foo Sook Ying, Felix Kan, QT Phua, Tan Pek Moi, Kevin Loh, Law Suat Cheng, Agnes Tee

The Strategy
There were only 14 teams taking part. Runners were few and far in between. Moreover, at night, runners could not see each other, an extremely dangerous situation. Our strategy was for our 2 teams' runners to run together at the last position. Ambulance and police car will trail the last runners with their headlights on. At each leg, the two runners from teams A and B were carefully selected to match their timing. That is so much for co-operation among PAC members.
Since the 8th runner must continue to run the last lap together after finishing his relay, the person must have enough stamina and strength to complete the race. Thus, the best of the runners were selected for this 8th position.

The Run
1) Ambulance and police car followed us initially. However, before we could congratulate ourselves on our clever planning, they suddenly disappeared from 10pm onwards. Thereafter, erratically, they appeared on and off. We did not know where they went. We then had to use the lights from our two vans, one in front and the other at the back. Luckily for us, the full moon helped to light up the road.
2) Stray dogs were a real menace. Most were barking at our runners from a distance, while a few showed signs of attacking.
3) There was no water or food at the check points except for one at mid-night. A husband and wife team prepared food and drinks for us. Our heartfelt thanks to them.
4) The route is a busy one, with lorries ferrying goods from the west to east and vice-versa. At some stretches, the terrain is steep at 10 degrees.
5) 4 to 6 am is the best time to sleep. However, if you skip the sleep and run instead, "you run like a zombie", as one runner puts it. If you suffer from high BP, it is advisable not to run.
6) On the last leg of 9.4km, there was no water station and signage was poor.

The Result
We beat one team so that we did not end up last. That team, probably due to poor signage, took a wrong turn. It is the same in our life, right direction is more important than speed.

Team A total was 11h 58m 41s at 13th position and Team B was 11h 54m 23s at 12th position.
Meanwhile, the top of our two elite runners' team clocked 8h 45m 32s for 3rd position.

The Award
Originally, all teams were to receive Finisher medals, but only the first three teams were qualified to receive the waistcoats. However, through the organiser's appreciation of our support, all of us were given a waistcoat each. Also, with a small sum, they gave us another medal and a t-shirt. A small token from the organiser, but that made us very happy.

Conclusion
Despite some shortcomings, we nevertheless enjoyed the run, due in part to companionship and teamwork among the runners. The list of shortcomings has been forwarded to Dr. Auchai, the organiser, and we hope the shortcomings are addressed in their next event.

We like to record our thanks to all our runners for their co-operation, patience and tolerance. Besides the run, all of us enjoyed the food, massage, the many jokes contributed by one member and shopping in Hatyai where we spent 2 nights before our departure to KL.

Motivating for Peak Performance - A Firsthand Perspective
By Phua Qua Tin

Part of my career is to coach corporations for greater productivity. Mentoring and motivational techniques are used intensively to achieve this purpose. Little did I realize that, at my advanced age, I will be at the receiving end of being motivated, albeit not at corporate level.

At the recent Full Moon Relay Run in Thailand (please read related article in this issue), during the last leg of the 9.4 km run, all runners must run and reach the finishing line together. The fast runners must wait for the last runner to go in together. Thus, timing of the slowest runner is taken as the time for the team. This represents an unusual challenge to lone rangers. Not only do you have to run fast, you also have to figure a way to get the slowest runner to run faster.

It was against this backdrop that I needed to run faster, or else the whole team's performance will be dragged down. In the last leg, after 2 km, not only was I the team's slowest runner, but I was also the last runner in the entire event. During the earlier relay run, my legs were ached by steep slopes. While running this last leg, I was concentrating on my aches and justifying my slow performance.

I then saw Agnes Tee, our team member, running back towards me. I expected some hard word to up my speed. Instinctively, before she said anything, I told her that being slow was better than being carried away in a stretcher. To my surprise, she did not use any of high impact words. She just said "Run at your own pace, I come to keep you company". How re-assuring. She slowed down her pace for me to follow. As I began to gain confidence, she increased her pace. I forgot my pain. After another 3 or 4 km, I was able to overtake some other runners.

Next, she set a target for me. Jeffrey Kok, our PAC member, was used as a target to overtake. Jeffrey at that time was also paced by two Thai runners, for the same reason. He was about 1 km ahead. Agnes said as Jeffrey's pace was slow, I should be able to overtake him. Now I that had a target, my confidence came back and my aches were forgotten. Slowly I sped up and managed to overtake Jeffrey 500 meter from the finishing line. I ended up not being last in the team, but in 4th or 5th place. Average speed was about 6.5 minutes versus my usual 8 minutes.

The Learning Points
1) All of us have potential to be great. At times, you need a mentor to bring out the best in you.
2) A mentor can only motivate you if you want to be motivated,
3) A mentor needs to use non-threatening words to reassure the candidate,
4) An achievable target must also be set.
5) For sustaining the improved results, follow-up training is required.

I wish to thank the team for taking me, a slow runner, as a member and Agnes for her patience. May she use the same techniques to coach her children to greater performance.

The morning started with the temperature at 29 Celcius as I pulled out of my house. As I moved slowly just shy of 5 am through Shah Alam, the lowest temperature was 28 C! Yesterday was a very HOT day, registering 36C, hence I told myself "you have to take it easy." There was lightning in the distance, hmm another no no.

At the race start area, I met our usual running kakis and did some warm ups. Top runners were Iwata san and Vikneswaran.

At the start, I went off pacing myself comfortably behind Iwata san, seeing him slipping away. Then I was overtaken by Hashim, then Yasan, Goh Chun Aun, Ah Keong (Mr Siew from Klang Pacers), Tan Wah Sing and many more. Was I tempted to chase? "NO! Hold on to your horses", I told myself, "long way to go, weather suspect."

As we moved closer to Bandar Botanic, I was now pacing side by side with Ah Keong and the weather was pretty nice. Then we saw Goh Chun Aun ahead, hmm must be something wrong. When I over took Goh, I had a chat with him, he wasn't even racing, he didn't sign up, he was on a recovery run due to injury. Off I went and Goh told me to chase Wah Sing and I left Ah Keong behind, targetting Wah Sing and Hashim.

By Bandar Puteri, I overtook Hashim, then set my sight on Wah Sing but he was pulling away 100m ahead with a young man. Didn't I tell ya, Wah Sing is also young!! Yasan not in sight at all!

After km 15, I kind of lost my push because, firstly the person behind me was quite far off, Wah Sing too far ahead and it is a long straight road, not my cup of tea. And I thought,"top 10 cukuplah!, cramp, I also takutlah, mental power, tak cukup." But throughout the journey, Mohan's (Kenyapura) formula capsule was with me and I took it at every water station.

Then at about 17km, Goh Chun Aun appeared out of the blue (boy he is fast if he presses the button) and he said "don't slow down, back runners are closing in, come follow my pace!" I felt honoured to be paced by Goh and so I followed for about 1km to the last water station. Goh slowed down after that as his injury was hurting him and then he told me again keep my pace and to overtake Wah Sing. That I did. Not only did I overtake Wah Sing, but also Yasan and at the finish line, I was shocked and surprised that I finished 3rd for men veteran behind Iwata san and a Nepalese from Klang Pacers(Mr Wong, President of Klang Pacers told me this Nepalese is running and I remembered I lost to him fair and square in the Kuantan TC run last year).

Thanks to Goh Chun Aun for motivating and pacing me. Not only did I achieve a podium finish, I did my PB that I have not seen since I moved above 40! My timing was 1 hour 33 minutes and Choi's GPS was 20.7km while Mr Wong said it is 21.3km, his training route. Throughout the race Ronnie's piah kao lat kao lat was in my head but I was careful due to my previous cramps. But you never know what position lies ahead, and piah like hell seems like the right mantra, so Kam Siah Sifu Ronnie. To my training partners Lee and Hadfiz, thank you brothers, now I am more motivated. To Dr. Chan, thanks for the tips on how to avoid cramps. To Mohan, thanks for your formula. To my Captain Choi, now I have a NB voucher to buy new racing pair lah!

3 weekends, 3 prizes and the tired feeling isn't obvious in the afternoon after the run.

Dear Dr. William Chan,
I have been participating in marathons and mountain hiking for the past 5 years. After my recent 20km run, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my kneecap when I walked down the stair. After resting for two weeks, the left knee pain recurred again while running my usual 20 km run. My weekly routine is about two set of 10km run and then one set of 20km. I didn't realize I had Runner knee until my running partners told me. With the Runner knee, can I still run like before?
Thank you.

Kneecap Cartilage Injury In Runners
Many runners have sought advice and treatments about this type of knee pain.
The knee is connected by muscles, ligaments and tendons that are made up of four bones. The knee joint also has a structure called the meniscus or meniscal cartilage. It protects the joint and allows the bones to slide freely on each other and also act as a shock absorber which help provide stability to the knee.
There is another type of cartilage in the knee called articular cartilage which covers the bones in the knee joint. Articular cartilage allows the knee bones to move easily when the knee bends and straightens during walking and running. The cartilage under the kneecap is a natural shock absorber but it doesn't last forever.
Runner's knee is also known as chondromalacia patella, patello-femoral pain, patella femoral joint injury. The damage to the cartilage under the kneecap may start from an impact or friction rubbing on the bone. Overuse increases the wear and tear to the cartilage. It is also more common in young women runners who have a slight misalignment of the kneecap. It is also common in runners who are active in sports.
Causes of runner's knee are:
" Overuse.
" Misalignment.
" Trauma.
" Tightness, weakness or imbalance of thigh and knee muscles.
" Tight iliotibial band.
" Flat foot.
" Subluxation or dislocation of kneecap.

Common symptoms of kneecap pain are:
" Anterior ( front ) knee pain.
" Clicking sound under kneecap.
" Grating or grinding sensation.
" Knee swelling.
" Knee stiffness.
" Pain in climbing or running stair.
" Pain when kneeling and squatting.
" Pain when sit with knee bent for long duration.
" Pain when standing from prolongs sitting position as in flight, long car journey and tour.

Self-treatment tips:
" Stop or reduce the frequency and distance of run temporarily.
" Reduced walking ( use crutches or walking stick )
" Apply ice.
" Wearing knee brace.
" Minimise activities that reproduce the kneecap pain.
" Cross training like cycling, swimming and upper limb gym activities.
" Back off speed work and hill run.

Preventive measure:
" Warm up and cool down.
" Stretching exercise before and after run.
" Specific strengthening exercise for quadriceps muscles (thigh), hamstring muscles (back of thigh) and calf muscles (back of lower leg)
" Increase your running and exercise intensity gradually.
" Control your weight.
" Good cushioning and well fitting running shoes.
" Minimise running on slope and steps.
" Reduced high impact sports.
The diagnosis of knee cartilage injury can be based on history of injury and knee joint examination. The treatment of kneecap cartilage injury depends on many factors and severity of injury. Treatment approach ranges from simple medication, physiotherapy, knee stretching and strengthening exercise. However, arthroscopic surgery is the last resort. It is best to see your sports doctor early to diagnose your injury and plan an immediate or long-term rehabilitation therapy. There is no reason runners cannot continue running when the injured cartilage has healed.

Questions to Dr William Chan can be directed to him. His contact number is 03-5655113. His e-mail is spinesportmed@Yahoo.com