2004 July - August

President's Column | Announcements | Articles | Youth Activities '04

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

The Devil is in the Details
This is one phrase that I say it repeatedly, as my department needs to handle details. Somehow in everyday life, whether corporate or otherwise, the top brass normally thinks that it is not their job to look at details. They feel their focus should be on strategies, helicopter view, vision and all the management guru's philosophies but not details. The recent Ipoh International Run is a fine case study to illustrate this point how a well-marketed run ended up with so many dissatisfied runners because of not paying attention to details. Within 24 hours after the run, the discussion went to the net via the personal web-sites of some ardent race critics. To help those of you who were lucky not be at the run, when the half and full marathon runners came back, there were no medals left, even though they completed within the required positions. They were told to write down their names and addresses for mail delivery of the medals. I was one of those who wrote down my name. At the time of writing this, 6 weeks after the run, there is no sign of the elusive medal. There were several theories about the missing medals; including one that the vendor short supply after their mould cracked. The more believable theory I feel it that those manning the respective finishing stations were not given the correct number of medals. It was suspected that more medals were given to the 6km runners, resulting in the shortage for the half and full marathon runners (the medals were identical, no distinction on the distance….really poor effort not to differentiate the medals!). While the medals are the biggest screw-up, there were other areas that reflect the poor execution and the details. Briefly I would cover the key points:

1. The original starting time of the 21km was delayed from 6.30am to 6.45am…..a bad idea as it would means mixing the 21km runners with the 6km runners who were starting at 7.00pm. With the 6,000 crowd, mostly from the 6km categories, it would be wise to start off the 21km at 6.30am and have the 6km at 7.15am or even 7.30am.
   
   
2. While using the municipal compound as a check-in area is a normal practice, the crowd control left much to be desired. The 6km categories were chaotic when runners, especially children who were first timers rushing to get out of the gate with several children fell into the drain based on eyewitnesses' account. I was in the 21km category and when I left the gate, the marshal did not stop the 6km from leaving and some 6km runners ended up starting with the 21km runners.
   
   
3. 100PLUS were the sponsor and we expected 100PLUS on the route for the half and full marathon but only one station provided 100PLUS. The 21km and 42km runners need the isotonic drinks so don't just keep them for the finish line.
   
   
4. The service for the marathon ended after 5 hours. The issue may be debatable as the form indicates 5 hours as the qualifying time. At the press launch, we did appeal for 6 hours qualifying time. Having a maiden marathon with only 5 hours qualifying time is a sure way to discourage runners from coming back.

The Ipoh International Run is one of the runs I am keen to participate as I always enjoy Ipoh; a food heaven. It used to be a well organized run with about 3,000 participants, a manageable number. The marketing effort is very intense; they announced the date of the 2004 run during the 2003 event in July last year and released the entry forms on the same day. A regular team went round the country to carry out on site registration during races. I recall putting our table side by side with them during the KL International Marathon in February this year when we were marketing our Nike Pacesetters 15km. The cancellation of the Penang Bridge Run this year has provided a golden opportunity for the Ipoh International Run, introducing the marathon for the first time to position itself as the premier run outside the Klang Valley. Our members having missed the Penang Bridge Run were itching for a outstation run, supported in full force; 251 runners (197 from Klang Valley registered through us, 38 from Kuantan and 16 from Sabak Bernam.). The 75 rooms we booked with Syuen Hotel were filled to the brim. Now we have 251 unhappy PACM members! How the organizers have blew it by not paying attention to details.

Murphy's Law at its Best
Murphy's Law states that anything can go wrong, will go wrong or something to that effect. The recent few months, I have to deal with this great Murphy that keep on making life difficult for us. It started with the decision to change the Footloose into magazine format; tempted by 100PLUS who proposed to foot the printing cost if we change to magazine format. At the time we were considering this change, I have my doubts on the timeline as it would means more effort on the pre-press process; working with the unfamiliar Adobe software. I voiced my concern to Munning, our editor on the timeliness of our Footloose as a communication medium so far. Unfortunately, I was proven right and our April 04 issue came out just before the Nike Pacesetters 15km on 23rd May 2004, a 3 weeks delay. I was very nervous on the second edition, meant to come out on 27th June 2004 to notify members about the Track Meet on 25th July 2004. It did not and by the 6th July, Munning notified me that the Footloose could only come out on 18th July 2004, the closing date of the registration for the Track Meet. I immediately made a decision to send out a circular to all members on the Track Meet, to ensure the participation is not affected. Sonny Ng and Jenny Leong volunteered to carry out the exercise and send the Track Meet circular for photocopying at a shop near his house. The proprietor of this shop was then admitted to hospital and cause further delay on the circular. Finally, Sonny only managed to send out the circulars by 13th July 2004.

The mischievous Murphy did not leave us alone and keeping the best for the last. We were extemely happy to get the permission to use the newly renovated KL Football Stadium for the Track Meet. As it is newly renovated, I have the concern on whether the facilities, especially the sound system works well. My previous experience two years ago during the New Balance FTAAA Pacesetters 4 x 2km Road Relay 2002 reminded me that the sound system is a problem with this stadium. Phoon Yoke Heng and I made an appointment to visit the stadium on 15th July to inspect the facilities; everything was perfect, except that the sound system technician was not around to demonstrate the sound system. We promptly made another appointment on 24th July, the eve of the event to meet the technician on the sound system. This time we met him (an Indian National) and he assured us everything is perfect. The Sound System is state-of-the-art, the microphones can be plugged from a few points in the stadium, the Grand Stand, the official area near the track etc. As a risk manager, I do not leave things to chance, I have asked Francis Toh, our Lembah Kiara group leader to bring along his portable PA System, as a spare as well as for me to use at the front of the stadium to manage the 3km fun run before the track events. Franics Toh's system and this little precaution saved the day! After the 3km fun run, the technician plugged in the microphones and tested them; the system tripped the whole electrical system of the stadium and we were without power or sound system for the rest of the morning. We survived the event for the rest of the morning with the portable PA System. By 11.30am, the battery in the portable PA System went flat. The FTAAA officers resorted to their hailer and Lisa Oon demonstrated her natural powerful voice to conduct the prize giving. Jamie's notebook computer's battery survived the morning, otherwise we would have to resolved to manual computation of the points on the overall championship result. We completed the event half an hour late, a great feat considering the problems we have to deal with. We survived Murphy Law at its best!

A First in the Region?
I have been getting emails and calls from members, telling us we have missed the timeline in sending out the certificates for the recent Nike Pacesetters 15km. Under Rule 12 of the entry form, we promised to send out the certificates within one month after the event. We are conscious of the timeline and that we have missed it, with good reasons. Getting the details of the time, positions by categories, gender and overall is not such a challenge as we have done it the previous year. We now have to match the photographs against the finishing positions and time recorded by FTAAA. We discovered discrepancies and have to verify with the FTAAA. The next challenge come in the form of printing the certificates itself, all in one document with the picture in the certificate itself. It was difficult and we managed to do it. I would like to congratulate the team making this possible; Munning the ringleader, Jamie Pang, Kim Ying, Amiruddin Tyebjee, Wendy Tan and CS Wong for their effort in making this idea a reality. We are conscious of the needed improvement, as we feel the runner's image should be much larger but having decided to have the finisher's arch in the picture earlier, the image of the runner is much smaller to our dismay. We would do away with the arch next year and have the picture of the runner larger and sharper. We strive to improve, after all we are Pacesetters……

Wan Yew Leong - 17th August 2004 | wanyl@alliancebg.com.my

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Members' Loyalty Program
The club is introducing a scheme to encourage members to renew or sign up their members for at least 3 years. The objective of this exercise is to cut down administration work having to carry annual renewal. As an incentive to both existing members and new members, the club is issuing a RM12 redemption coupon for 3 years renewal/new membership submitted between 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2004. To cover members who may have paid for one or two years renewal/new applications so far this year, we allow members to top up within this timeframe to qualify for the redemption coupon. The coupon carry a 6 months validity period from issuance date, would allow members to redeem for club's merchandize such as vests, shorts, T-shirts, bottle belt, socks and other items the club may introduce. Most group leaders would have the coupons to be issued to you upon your renewal or application. Our Treasurer, Ken Kan is the Exco member in charge of this program.

E-Bulletin
Our new Exco member, Jamie Pang has taken over the website and also the sending of e-bulletin. We have seen more frequent e-bulletin coming out from the club the last couple of months. We notice we have a number defunct email addresses or over quota as the members did not clear their mails. The objective of the e-bulletin is to complement the Footloose as a source of latest information on coming events. If you have an email address but did not receive the e-bulletin from us on a regular basis, please notify Jamie Pang, jamie@jamiepang.com quoting your name, PACM No and your email address.

Purchase of New Balance Products
Stream Enterprise (M) Sdn Bhd via their New Balance specialist shop at Bukit Bintang offers 30% discount on New Balance products at their outlet in Bukit Bintang Plaza (LGF 007, Lower Ground Floor, Tel:03-2148 9671). Please produce your membership card for identification.

Purchase of Brooks’ Products
We have arranged for Brooks to issue Loyalty Cards to all our members. The Loyalty Cards holders shall be entitled to 30% discount for Brooks’ products in designated outlets. If you did not receive your Brooks Card, please notify Jenny Lee, our Secretary.

Purchase of adidas Products
adidas is offering 40% discount on their products, except sunglasses and watches at their new outlet at:

· My.running.shop at Lot T046 3rd Floor, Mid Valley Megamall (Te/fax – 2283-5878) Please produce your membership card for identification.

P/S – adidas has made further refinements to their rules; you may buy up to RM3,000 worth of products a year. The two previous outlets, KLCC and KL Sentral do not offer discount from 1st January 2004. This further refinement of the rules is to facilitate better service and control.

Sale of Power Bar & Gel
The club has been appointed an official stockist for Power Bars. We are selling at 15% discount from the approved retail price (Protein Plus Bar at RM7.60, Energy Bar at RM6.00 and Gel at RM4.60). As these are items with expiry date, only Jimmy Tong and Phoon YH are keeping them. We would normally bring them to sell after our Sunday runs. Area Groups may order them via Jimmy.

Renewal Notice
We have 332 Members with their membership expired on June 2004. The renewal notices have been sent out individually in June 2004 and you should have received them. You are requested to renew your membership with your respective group leaders or direct to the club by mail immediately. Members with their membership expired on June 2004 would have their Footloose discontinued after September 2004 if renewal is not received by then. It is not necessary to send your existing card for renewal.

Card Replacement
Members who lost their cards or want a new card during renewal instead of a renewal sticker label are required to pay RM5 for a new card.

New Membership Cards
There are several members that we have not produced their new cards because we have not received their photographs. Please send your photographs with your name and PACM number written at the back of the photograph to Jenny Lee, 3-8-1, Phase 5, Pantai HillPark, Jalan Pantai Dalam, 59200 Kuala Lumpur.

Club's Merchandize
We are left with very little stock of socks (RM6), bottle belts (RM13), 20th Anniversary mug (RM5), 20th Anniversary yellow T-shirts (RM12) and Nike White shorts (RM10). We hope to get our new order of running vest (with shorts) and Polo T-shirts by September 2004. Check with your Treasurer or group leaders on the availability.

Advertisement in the Footloose
In order to earn some income for the club, we are soliciting advertisements for the Footloose.

Our rates are:
· RM500 - Inside front page color (one page available only)
· RM400 - full page color.
· RM250 - full page black and white.

For advertisers who advertise a full page, they shall be given a free two months hosting at our website. Interested advertisers may contact the editor. (The club reserves the right to reject any advertisement without disclosing the reasons) Those interested, please contact Jamie Pang (012-308 0752).

Photographs for Sale
Chan Wing Kai has been taking photographs of the club’s activities and members during races. These photographs are available for sale at RM1.00 each for 4R size. Please contact Chan to view the photos and to order from him, or your Area Group Leaders if you are picking any photos from the Footloose. Chan can be contacted at 012- 399 0766.

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ARTICLES
The Multi-Talented Nelson Moh | The Sun-Herald City2Surf 2004, Sydney | Pangkor Half-Marathon | Helping a Fainted Runner | Special 15K Run | The Penchala Tunnel Fun Run | Response to STAR Metro Article | Ipoh Marathon Race Report by Jamie Pang, Bong Teck Yong | Ipoh Lampoon | 4th PACM Track Meet 2004 & Results

The Multi-Talented Nelson Moh - by Tan Swee Huah
Nelson Moh just loves the water. This well-mannered, well-tanned handsome 15-year old Victoria Institution lad had been a water baby since standard 3. So it is no wonder that he excels in water sports. In fact, he is a national water polo player. But wait, he is also a fast runner, clocking a 4km per minute timing in his racing shoes. On top of that, he cycles too, doing 40km in 1 hour and 11 minutes in his colourful biking outfit. In short, he is a triathlete.

His past achievements are too long to be listed here. But take a look at his most recent achievements and I guarantee you will be impressed:

2003 – Champion (sprint event) in the Desaru International Triathlon in Johor
2004 – Champion (sprint event) in the International Triathlon in Melaka
2004 – Champion (sprint event)in the Bukit Merah Laketown International Triathlon
2004 – Fourth (sprint event) in the Port Dickson International Triathlon
August 2004 – a member of the Malaysian team in the Water Polo Competition held in Hong Kong.

Naturally, all his achievements are only attainable through hard work and training. So how does Nelson juggle his heavy school time-table with his training for three types of sports?

Nelson gave us a peek at his training schedule. He has his water polo training at the Kolam Renang Tun Razak during the weekends. He just took his lifesaving exam and expects to be getting his certificate soon. For his training in running, he has a professional coach, the famed Chan Chee Seng who has made many an athletes famous. KK Onn, one of Pacesetters’s very own coach, trains Nelson on Saturdays at the Kampung Pandan Stadium. As for cycling, once a month, Nelson will don his helmet and bicycle shorts and paddle on a route set by triathlon coach Chan Chee Seng.

So Nelson’s winning formula is to study on week days and train during the week-ends. “I concentrate on my studies for three days in a week while 2 week days are allocated to sports,” explains Nelson. “As for the week-end, I use one day for recovery (meaning rest) and the other day is usually spent on racing.”
And how is he doing with his studies in the famous Victoria Institution? This modest lad says he is doing “okay” in his studies. But judging from his goal which is “I hope to score straight As for my PMR”, I suspect he is doing more than “okay”.

As PMR exam is just around the corner, Nelson is scaling down his training to concentrate on his studies. After the exam in October, he intends to step up his training and spend more time on sports.

Nelson’s long term goal is to represent the country in water polo and triathlon in international races. Meanwhile, he hopes to train hard and to improve his timing for the triathlon to 2 hours, his personal best being 2 hours and 20 minutes in the recent Port Dickson Triathlon 2004.

To attain his goals, Nelson is lucky to be able to fall back on his family for support. His parents are very supportive of all his activities. Mum is Pacesetter member Wendy Soo who diligently sends him to training and makes sure that he eats well and keeps fit. Wendy herself runs in competitive races as well and acts as his manager of sorts. I only managed to interview Nelson when she slotted me for a chit-chat session at the Klang Quarter Marathon recently, under a tree at the vicinity of the Klang Stadium. Dad is an ardent supporter while sister Jesie also participates in races.

I took the opportunity to extract some words of wisdom from Nelson for the benefit of aspiring youths who are inspired by him. “Train hard. Manage your time well with a well-planned schedule to fit in training, “ reveals Nelson. “Make sure you have a firm support system from your family.”

With such wise words from a person so young, I have no doubt that Nelson will go far in life. All of us at Pacesetters wish you the best of luck, Nelson, and may you succeed in your dreams.

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The Sun-Herald City2Surf 2004, Sydney by Michael & Viviene Kartsounis

The world's biggest Fun Run, the Sun-Herald City2Surf was held on 8th August 2004 (Sunday) in Sydney, Australia. This annual road race draws a crowd of over 60 000 participants.

The course started in Hyde Park in the city centre and finished 14 kilometres later at Bondi Beach on the eastern coastline south of the harbour entrance. The course is not an easy one. It started off relatively flat with a few minor undulations and then wear you out with Heartbreak Hill at the 6 kilometre mark. This is a two kilometre ascent as the course winds it way up to the top of the hill without any reprieve - enough to make any sane person walk. There on, the route is relatively easy as you wind down along the shoreline to the finish. The view out to the sea is spectacular. However, one needs to be very careful while running and sight seeing as you are likely to bump into another runner. Though packed like sardines for the entire duration of the run, it was incredible to see so many running or walking bodies all travelling in the same direction with very little space in between.

There were roughly 64 000 participants in today's race, ranging from the elite athletes who headed the first wave of runners to those in the third wave who are the social crowd running merely for the fun. There were a few Elvis impersonators here and there. There were also many parents pushing their young child in a stroller to sweat it out. It was quite a family day out. It was a beautiful cool winter day without a cloud in the sky nor chilling wind in the air. Perfect for a good run.

The main sponsor is the Sun-Herald Newspaper. Other supporting companies include New Balance, Gatorade and a few other local companies. The event was very efficiently organised. There were three waves of runners, each congregating at a different street and differentiated by bib colour. The course was well marshalled with numerous water and Gatorade stops along the way. The finish was very easy as we were only require to queue, attach our race numbers to the time card before handing the same to an official. The results were published after two days and made available online thereafter. Clothing bags were available for drop-off at the start and then collected at the finish, with no
long queues.

There were sufficient toilets at the start, the finish and even enroute. As the race was not a loop, there were also bus trips available for a small fee, either to the closest station or back to the start. An extremely well organised event.

This race was not on my racing calendar this year for a number of reasons. Firstly I do not enjoy running in large crowds and secondly I was recovering from a small Achilles injury. In such circumstance, it was not a good idea to race three weeks prior to the the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker.

Nevertheless, thank goodness I participated, by chance. My husband signed up to run for his company team. However, due to a touch of flu,he was unable to run and I was enticed into running on his behalf, at the eve of this event. I was secretly overjoyed as I do love to race and this gave me the perfect opportunity with no time for excuses. He had been put into the second wave of starters, so I gathered with a bunch of runners and walkers of all age groups, including children. I realised that it was difficult just trying to run through the gaps in this pack. It took quite us a while after the gun fired for our wave before we even began to move. Eventhough the pace was very slow, I eventually weaved and darted through the crowd to catch up with the first group that left 8 minutes earlier.

It was hard work with a lot of bumping, shoving and jumping up onto the curb to get one step ahead. This continued throughout the entire race and I could not follow the runners of the 2nd wave. Next year, I shall start with the faster group. This year, I had recorded good time for my husband and his company should be very happy with his/my performance!

I do not know my finishing time. I clocked in at 72: 48 but the timing clock started at the firing of the first gun, and we in the second wave started some eight minutes later. My own watch was bumped somewhere along the course and so I had to wait for the official results to be published. As I am still training for the long race scheduled at the end of August, I did not push hard. I opted to run back to the start via another route, to take my mileage up to about 20kms. It was quite difficult after just completing a race, but sometimes it is the mind over body matter. It is amazing what we can achieve when we decide to do something.

The female race was won by an Australian, Haley McGregor, in 46:03, and the men's race was won by a Tanzanian, Patrick Nyangelo in 43:05. Full results available on-line at the Sun-Herald's website and CoolRunning.

Isn't it strange and wonderful how life presents us with opportunities when we think that we don't need them or don't want them? Will I run this race again? Definitely, and I would recommend this to all my friends - runners and non-runners alike. It was great day out for either the family, group or individual. The only advice would be to make sure that you get into the correct wave at the start. It will make the whole race just a little easier. So, come to Sydney and run in the world's biggest Fun Run.

Michael & Viviene Kartsounis

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Pangkor Half-Marathon by KC Leong
The "Chuan Fu" Hotel
Tan Khee Meng, Terence & family and I started the drive from Kuala Lumpur at 7.30am and reached Pangkor Island at 4pm. From the jetty, we walked towards the town center which is about 300 meters away.

Unable to locate the hotel, I asked for direction. I was told the hotel was about 50 meters away. Having searched high and low, we finally spotted the hotel admidst some double storey shop lots, sandwiched in between a Stationery and an Internet shop. We made reservation a month ago at Hotel Chuan Fu. Having surveyed the surroundings, we walked up the 4-feet wide wooden staircase which led us to the hotel lobby. Tan Khee Meng was already there, engaged in conversation with other hotel guests, who were also participants for this Half-Marathon.

Terence’s room was on the first floor while Khee Meng’s and mine were on the ground floor. While descending to my room, we heard barks and found our rooms next to a dog kennel! In each of our room, there was a queen-size bed and a bathroom. Despite the noise from the barking dog, the room was clean and decently maintained. At least, my expectation of “simple” accommodation is fulfilled. No complains. This hotel was what we found and booked a month earlier. I quickly took out my swimming trunk, towel and mat to be put into another bag. We headed to Bogak Beach (race venue), which is 3km away to collect our bibs and T-shirts. We were informed that the Registration Center would be closed by 5pm.

Collection of Bibs
I have been to Pangkor twice, therefore I am fairly familiar with the Island. While waiting for public transport (van) to Bogak Beach, we saw ten other hotel guests. Looking fit, they talked as though they had ran the island a few times. Gosh! We seemed like “newbies” in the van, silently absorbing the running tips they dished out.

Dataran Pangkor
We were excited to see the Registration Center and confirmed our names in the official list. In an upbeat mood, we chatted with one fat race official and told him that it was difficult to get hotel at Pangkor during such peak period. He said we could stay at the hotels in Lumut. There would be special ferry services starting as early as 5.30am from Lumut to Pangkor. Furthermore, the same official told us that he had to camp either at a mosquito-filled semi-completed government apartment or the nearest school hall.

Strolling Along the Beach
After collecting the bibs, we walked along the Bogak Beach, which was a little crowded due to holidays. None of my friends brought any swimming gear except me. Therefore, we strolled along the beach to enjoy the breeze and watched holiday makers in action. The Banana Boat ride seemed popular. We were hungry and started looking for food at 6pm. Tan Khee Meng recommended a Chinese restaurant behind Sea View Hotel at which we had a sumptuous seafood dinner for RM72. At around 7pm, we went to the beach again to witness the sunset. We managed to catch a glimpse of the red and beautiful round sun descending the horizon. I admired the sunset and listened to the sound of waves splashing to the shore. After a long while, we decided to head back to the hotel.

Dragon Door Inn
While shopping for souvenirs and apparels, we met Ronny, another Pacesetter member. I was excited to see him. I was told he had managed to book a room at one of the hotels along Bogak Beach. We could make use of the room tomorrow after the run AND a dip in the sea…since our hotel is further away from the beach. However, I was shocked when he told me that he had checked into Chuan Fu hotel instead. He could no longer get a room elsewhere due postponement of the race date. Chuan Fu hotel eventually became THE hotel for our gang. This reminded me of a Hong Kong kung-fu movie, the "Dragon Door Inn", wherein each kung-fu sword fighter would stay at the same inn before a fight the next day.

Cheers.. and Bottoms up
Towards the night, after the shower, we decided to hang out at the balcony of the hotel on the 1st floor. Penguin-6 brought peanuts and soft drinks. To spice up the occasion, I bought iced cool beer from a sundry shop nearby. More runners eventually joined in to share their running experiences. At around 11pm, the clouds blocked out the full moon and everyone retired to their respective rooms.

Next Morning
Tan Khee Meng and I could not sleep well. We were excited. We woke up before the alarm came on.
At 5.30am, we had our breakfast - bread and PowerBar. At 6.00am, we were ready to go. We walked to the starting point. The ground was wet due to light drizzle the night before. We reached the starting point at 6.30 am, chatted with other runners and did some warm up exercises. Loud, lively music was played. Bright yellow ribbons were issued upon registrations. There were about 500 runners. The low turnout could be due to the postponement of race date from May 2 to May 3 and the difficulty of getting accommodation nearby Bogak Beach. Nevertheless, we saw many familiar faces, to name a few, Mr. Ang from Permaisuri, Mr. Tan (the barefoot runner) from Kuantan and Mr. Goh from Bukit Aman.

The Race
We were all ready to race at 7am, however, we were only flagged off at 7.30am. Despite the delay, it felt good to be able to run for the very first time at Pangkor. Calm sea, nice breeze. Somehow, I realised the breathing sounds of the runners were overwhelming the sound of waves as we began the steady climb up the hills after Bogak Beach. We were told there should be 5 hills, but I was not counting.

We reached a more scenic beach after the hills and at the 7th km, we reached the airstrip of Pangkor
The second ribbon was then distributed at the jetty of Pangkor Island Beach Resort Jetty. It began to drizzle then. Time was 8.15am. I have not ran in the rain since KLIM in Feb 2004. The good thing about running in the rain is the cool feeling. The bad thing is the weight of our shoes after being soaked in rain.

Soon enough, we finally reached the most talked about stretch of the race route… the ‘steepest hill’ stretch. Many runners had begun to slow down or walk. Few vans passed and I heard cheers from a child from one of vans. My spirit was lifted. His cheers had motivated me to stride on. It was a steep ascent followed by a similar steep descent. Since it was already raining, I slowed down to avoid slipping.

Fishing Village
I arrived at the fishing village around 9am. It was still drizzling at that time. I saw a few villagers looked amused as they see us running in soaking wet apparel. I believe this is rather unusual for these villagers as it was for me to have been running on the island. However, apart from a few stares, the rest of the villagers seemed unperturbed by our presence. They remained engrossed in their morning breakfast paying little heed to us.

Town Area
The route then took us to the main street of Pangkor town. With people watching us, I suddenly felt super-charged and put on my best facial expression while taking bigger strides. I began moving faster and proceeded to look for Penguin-6's family ahead of me. As we had discussed the night before, Terence had instructed his wife to take photographs as we run past the main street. I could hear someone shouting "Uncle Leong, Uncle Leong"as I ran past. I turned and saw Terence's 4-year-old daughter cheering us while his wife took photographs of us. What caught me by surprise was that the hotel owner, a sixty-something year old white-haired Chinese man, had also come out of the hotel to cheer us! After the town area and more, we finally reached the finish line located at the same race starting point. I was now running alone as Tan Khee Meng had sped off ahead of me and Terence had fallen behind me.

Finishing the Race
I managed to complete the race in 1 hour and 45 minutes. The time was just enough for me to secure 24th position. Tan Khee Meng came in a few minutes ahead of me while Terence came in at 1 hour and 58 minutes, just 2 minutes before the ‘cut off’ time for a ‘medal position’. Mr. Goh came in 2nd position; Mr. Tan at 9th, Mr. Ang at 51st (which also meant he missed out on getting the last medal for his category) Mr. Tan, our barefoot runner was awarded prize money of RM200.00.

Tan Khee Meng was overjoyed. He was awarded RM30 for the 18th position. We walked away from Dataran Pangkor feeling satisfied. We got what we wanted … the finisher medals and the certificates of completion. Overall, the run was very tough. The round-island route has hilly terrains, scenic beaches and villages. This had been an experience! The best thing about the run was the camaraderie, the fun and the holiday. Yes, I will be back again next year. Hopefully, with an improved running time.

By KC Leong

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Helping a Fainted Runner by Terence Leong

This is a good question and is something I have encountered more than once. From my observation, the many cases of fainting either happened during the few initial kilometers after the race began or after the finish line. A fainting person often slows down, leans back and falls backwards. Falling backward allows other runners to “catch” them from behind.

However, the recent case I saw involved the person making a sharp turn left , then right before crashing forward. Catching this person from behind was very tricky, more so if the fainting person was a female. I talked to a coach about this and he told me that in such circumstance, EMERGENCY ACTION is warranted regardless of whether the fainting person is a male or female. We should not feel guilty about catching the person, they are our fellow running mates.

Thereafter, try to get medical help as soon as possible. Move the victim to a cool and shady area, knees raised if possible. Sometimes the runner is delirious and wants to continue running. In this case, the best thing you can do is to lie and say .. "You can keep running – LATER. In a few minutes."

Try to get water (hasn’t always been available – look out for runners that do carry bottles) and wet the person's head, face, neck, wrists and arms to help cool them as much as possible. Finally, get the person to consume sports-drink when they become conscious. In addition, get the person to walk instead of run to the finish line. A fainting runner is already low on carbo and electrolytes, therefore when the person tries to run again, a severe cramp may occur.

Terence Leong

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Special 15K Run & Meet the New Members Breakfast (August 15th, 2004) by Jamie Pang
60 plus runners convened at the dark Bukit Aman Car Park for the special 15K run specially put together to give the Exco, 15K race volunteers and new members who missed the recent Nike Pacesetters 15K a chance to run and collect the finisher’s medals. It was an encouraging number since there was also the Ampang Jaya race that morning.

After the collection of a nominal participation fee and issuance of the bibs, President Wan briefed the runners of the modified course brought about by some road works at the Carcosa exit. KK Oon then led a short stretching session after which everyone took off. Despite being billed as just a fun run, some members took off pretty fast and were soon lost in the hills.

A simple breakfast of porridge, bread, corn flakes and instant noodles were served - complemented by the King of Fruits, 2 baskets of which were brought to the Bukit Aman volleyball court by Law Lai Huat.

New and old members took the opportunity to mingle. Cheah Weng Sun who just joined the club last week first heard of it through colleague. Cheah said that the recent Race Race was his “virgin race”. Another newcomer, Sherman Chu got to know about the club through a friend from the Gasing group. Started running one year ago, he joins the Gasing group on their runs with this year’s 15K being his first ever.

Ng Joo Yee felt that the training with a group will help him prepare for his maiden marathon in Singapore. He runs frequently at Tasik Permaisuri, so it is not surprising that he heard of the club via Kelvin, the Permaisuri Group Leader. At that time Kelvin was leading the Nike Wear Tester Program. Ng signed up with the club after attending the FRIM Breakfast Run. As evidenced by the photos, everyone had a good time. The club is grateful to Uncle Tan and Gerard Pereira who were on duty dispensing bottled water.

Jamie Pang

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The Penchala Tunnel Fun Run - Tan Swee Huah
The Penchala Tunnel Fun Run rang up a lot of publicity and attracted some 1,500 runners on Sunday June 13. My hubby Boey and I were among the runners and we must say we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Not having to wake up at 5.30am on a Sunday morning for our usual Double Hill run felt rather strange. This was because the Penchala Tunnel Fun Run would only start at 7.30am, and there was no need to wake up early.

Thankfully the weather was beautiful for the duration of the run. It was bright and clear when we arrived at Plaza Mont Kiara, the starting point, at 6.40am. While warming up for the run, the sky turned a shade darker and it had the organisers really worried. When Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Hj Mohd Isa Samad flagged off the run at 7.30am, a drizzle materialised as the runners snaked their way up the turning to the Penchala Link. The short but most welcomed drizzle cooled the warmed-up tarmac. The sky cleared but the weather remained cool all the way. What a blessing -- no hot sun waiting to make toasts of us on the treeless highway! Yeah!

It felt nice to be among the first to savour on foot the three-lane 710km Penchala Tunnel with its Moorish facade. I had reservations about running inside any tunnel but it turned out to be quite an experience. It was a bit surreal, reminding me of a scene from Indiana Jones. Surprisingly, it was not suffocating as expected, probably due to the state-of-the-art ventilation system installed. The three-lane tunnel had two lanes cordoned off with orange cones for runners, leaving one lane open for vehicles. When I passed through the tunnel, there were very few vehicles as it was a Sunday and still early. Many marshals were on hand to assist in stopping the traffic to allow runners to proceed without fear of being knocked down.

The route was a fairly level route with hardly any steep gradient, so huffing and puffing was not necessary, enabling us to take in the scenery. Besides a fabulous view of the surrounding residential estates from the elevated highway, runners also passed Kampung Sg. Penchala where eager smiling children waved to us enthusiastically – that was a real treat for me. Further on, we ran past a market and were greeted with the aroma of cooked food, and boy, did that make us feel the hunger pangs and spur us to run faster! I did.
Compared to the Pacesetters Nike 15km run with Double Hill thrown in, this run was a piece of cake! Huge markers for every kilometre and three water stations were thoughtful gestures. However, I regret to note that runners were given bottles of mineral water instead of cups. It really pained us to see the number of three-quarter full bottles being discarded on the road. What a waste!

Soon, the Plaza Mont Kiara came into view and the run had come to an end. But this was where the fun began. After admiring my running medal, I soaked in the festive mood. Waiting for us at the beautifully landscaped courtyard of Plaza Mont Kiara was a carnival atmosphere with loud happy music flooding the whole courtyard. Also ready to serve us were the Milo van, the NutriMalt man, plus butter cookies, cornflakes and drinks courtesy of Tesco.

While waiting for the rest of the runners to come back, there were lots of other activities such as health screenings. Believe it or not, young pretty ladies eager to freshen up our smelly running shoes with Kiwi shoe fresheners!! A 7-metre high wall-climbing challenge had successful climbers walking away with lots of goodies. Meanwhile, at the stage near the fountain, singers and rock bands kept everyone entertained. Many runners took the opportunity to indulge in a spot of shopping at the stalls of the regular Mont Kiara Sunday market.
The Penchala Tunnel Fun Run ended with the much-awaited lucky draws. Generous sponsors coughed up a whopping 470 prizes for the lucky draws!

Jointly organised by Sunrise Berhad and highway concessionaire Sprint Sdn Bhd, the Penchala Tunnel Fun Run aimed to spread a healthy lifestyle, promote the Penchala Link to neighbouring communities and raise funds for charity. More importantly, the organisers and sponsors should be commended for chipping in for the SUNRISE-UTAR Fund Raising Campaign, which aimed to raise RM1 million in aid of the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Building Fund. We are happy that our humble RM20 entry fee each went to the Fund.

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Response to STAR MetroKL Article by Jamie Pang
Jamie Pang, our webmaster initiated the following response to METROKL on a published article reporting on the recent MPAJ run. The following is what was sent to METROKL..

I refer to your article "Boonchoo pips Arulthevar to the title" in Star MetroKL dated August 18th 2004 with some disappointment.

The remarks by the local elite runners who were outrun by the foreign participants show that whilst the local elites may stand strong in a "protected environment", they are weak (mentally and physically) when actual competition steps in.

This further serves to underline the immaturity and the unwillingness to seek challenges outside their comfort level that we see prevailing in the local sports scene. After winning 4 years in a row in the MPAJ run, the top local finisher should relish some challenge - how else to improve? Even world class athletes relish challengers. Likewise, the local top runners should change their mindset. If they want to continue winning (at whichever level), they would have to strive for excellence rather than whining about missed/deprived chances. Local runners in the country respect local runners like Arulthevar but if he demonstrates such a defeatist attitude, what would be the consequence to the future generation of younger runners? Top runners have the responsibility to perform well and give it their best at all times but they must also remember that they have a role to play in the development of the sport of distance running in this country.

The racing circuit in the US at one stage, went through a similar phase where African and South American runners were sweeping the road races, one after another. In many races, the top 10 finishers were all non-Americans.

As a result, 2 camps appeared. The first group comprising of many American elites complained that they were being deprived of winning and placing top. The second viewed it as a wakeup call - "What's happening to the American athletes?" Former greats and legends came out to offer ideas and opinions. And this is where I think the local folks can learn something from.

The general consensus resulting from this mini-debate was that whilst the number of participants in local races have increased tremendously (thousands in shorter distances to tens of thousands in mega-marathons like New York, Boston and Chicago), the standard of the American runners have dropped. Not as many are hitting the elite levels and returning great results. And this happening at this age where sports science have improved by leaps and bounds.

So where is the problem? One word: Grassroots. Schools in the US are focusing their energies more into the money sports such as basketball, football (American version, that is) and baseball more than distance running.

Prefontaine, Kardong, Ryun, Rodgers, Shorter, Salazar, Moore who were fierce competitors in the golden era, all honed their skills in their collegiate days. And they were all passionate about the sport, were respected and loved by the American public and feared by competitors.

This is where local top runners can be role models to the younger set of runners - those in schools and colleges, be seen to be progressive, compete aggressively and always seeking to improve.

Rather than restrict foreigners to run in this country, race directors and state AAAs must instead strive to raise the level of race organisation and promote the events overseas.

Without some of these measures, we can continue being in the backwaters of distance running while watching upcoming world class athletes like Alan Webb (US miler who recently broke the American Mile Record running 3:50.83) and Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopian world record holder of 10,000m and indoor 5,000m) competing for glory among other world class runners in Athens. Both of whom are only 21 years old.

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Ipoh Marathon Race Report by Jamie Pang
I've never slept this well the night prior to a marathon. This was probably due my son wearing us out what with his fever (we found out later that it was due to a throat infection). As a result our fish and chips dinner at the Ipoh Parade mall was also hurried. I was informed by Yaziz that the race organizers had put together a bus tour of the marathon route. Something unheard of in this country's race organization. So my impression of the organizers went up a notch. On our way back to the Syuen Hotel which was just opposite the mall, we bumped into Penguins 1, 2, 3 and 6. All looked to be in a jolly mood, obviously ready for the task ahead.

We had taken a leisurely drive from KL that Saturday morning. Weather was superb - slightly overcast, breezy and cool. Weather reports from Ipoh and Penang were encouraging - it has been drizzling and days have been cloudy. The haze surrounding the country as a result of the Sumatra forest clearing had lifted.

After putting my son Wei Ming to bed, I pre-mix the post-race protein drink, had a good shower, stretched a bit and pinned the bib to the vest. Finally, I ran through the race kit - 5 PowerGels, 1 cereal bar and RM5 in cash (in case there are no drink stations). Bananas and PowerBars were also laid on the table and I downed 1 bottle of carb drink before dozing off to the MP3 player. Hopefully my good food and fluid intake routine over the last 2 weeks will pull me through. Of course there's a certain help from a fellow called Galloway as well.

I woke up at 4:45am and while lubing all my toes (paying special attention to the in-betweens) and inner thighs I downed a PowerBar - more like I gagged it down with a bottle of water as I've never got used to it. Then the nipples were taped over and I sprayed on some sunblock. I was ready. Other racers were already there and a rough count was about 500 odd runners for the full marathon, with most of the participants coming from the junior and senior veteran age group. There weren't many women though. Chen came over to say hi. Our wrists were then tagged with the plastic flex-cuff and before long we were ushered around the City Council Building to the starting line. A simple ceremony later (no speeches!) we were off. The plan was to run with P2 and P6 using the Galloway but they took off like a shot! I was determined to stick to my conservative pace, so I ran alone.

In the first 2Ks I bumped into David Lee who was pacing his son Barry, Bruce and Francis who were running slightly ahead but moving up the pack and Ngae also running steadily pushing ahead. I very consciously reminded myself to go slow and my time over the first 10K confirmed that I did a pretty good job, averaging a 6:34 pace. My 10K split was 1:08.20.

A few dark roads later (including a smelly and winding stretch) I hit a intersection that pointed to Tanjung Rambutan. I chuckled inside as I thought that marathoners are indeed certifiable nuts. I was a little apprehensive that I've yet to come across any 100Plus isotonics. I didn't think too much of it - perhaps they're provided only after the halfway mark. Up to this point I was running really well. Very comfortable, relaxed and with a calm demeanour. I made a few new friends including a fit-looking Thai who was running slow but steadily. In the early miles he would overtake me each time I take my walking breaks but I would always catch up during my running phase. Then there's the Barefoot Runner from the Kuantan Pacesetters group whom I dropped at the 5K mark. I could only drop the Thai at the 13K mark.

It was only at the 21K mark that the non-existence of 100Plus was real. A few runners at that station were making their dissatisfaction known and I joined in. Only the cups and parasols were 100Plus. There were no isotonics as well. Getting electrolytes will be a problem and cramps would be a factor. Even though PowerGels provide a certain level of salt and minerals, they may not be enough over 42K. I made sure that I sipped regularly on my water bottle, which I constantly refilled, to stay hydrated.

This routine continued until the 23rd K when I finally caught up with P6. I stayed with him a few yards and then continued on my routine. My consistent running continued until the 26th K when I started to tire a little and took longer walk breaks. That was the start of the battle. My lack of mileage work would be the cause but I was confident that if I got to the 30K mark, I'd get a second wind and would be able to cover the next 2K non-stop.

I then laboured on, trading leads with the girl - a regular Sunday runner who had at least a few 30Ks under her belt. So it was no surprise that she left me for dead a short while later. Passing Bercham Village, then the Makro Hypermart, I spotted the familiar yellow PowerBar umbrellas. A familiar person was sitting on a stool. I asked "Mr. Muthiah?" to which he nodded and smiled somewhat amusedly that someone should recognise him. I knew him because I once ran a few laps behind him in his pet event - the InterBank 1500m ages ago. He handed me a PowerGel.

At this point I need to mention about the deteriorating traffic control. The traffic marshalls, including the traffic police, were clearly inexperienced, standing at the wrong sections of the junctions. One of the official was heard commenting on this to the marshalls at one of the later part of the route.

The anticipated second wind didn't arrive. My legs were taking a bashing, especially my left knee. I had been having some niggling ITBS for about a month before this race and the marathon miles were giving the already troubled spot a good whacking. The Uphamol didn't work. To compound the problem, my right calf was tightening up near the back of the knee area. I had the St. John's Ambulance crews massage Flanil to my calves whenever I ran into them. At one of these spots, one inexperienced volunteer nearly ruined my blister-free plan by running a soaked sponge down my calf. Luckily I stopped her just in time telling her that wet socks equals painful blisters.

So onwards I struggled until I walked into Penguin 3 at the 32K water station. To my surprise, there were 100Plus there. Without waiting I quickly downed 4 cups while P3 similarly replenished his body and water bottle. I had chucked my bottle so there wasn't going to be any take-aways for me. I had also finished my Uncle Toby bar.

After a quick chat, P3 took off. Like me, he was struggling too. The sun was blazing hot and the sound of 2 ambulances snapped us back into reality from the haze of exhaustion. The ambulances must be carrying race casualties and if the causes of the emergencies were due to dehydration and heat exhaustion, the race officials could be liaible.

I caught up with P3 a short while later and we decided to walk and jog together. Having some company at this stage really helped, especially when the road terrain became even more undulating, going up ramps and flyovers. We'd walk up and jog down and limped our way towards the Greentown area (where the finish area was). P3 and I had targeted a 5:15 finish. Some mental arithmetics later I realized that even at that point I could have finished in sub-5. I only had to run 6-minute pace for the rest of the 6K. Unfortunately lack of race fitness put paid to those thoughts. This is certainly a case where the mind was willing but the body just wasn't! After a few more Ks, I was afraid that even 5:15 may not be possible if I didn't cut down on the walk breaks. So I left P3 and went ahead.

With less than 1K to go, I met Rohaizad. He was already in his car heading back to KL, after finishing his 21K earlier. He shouted encouragement to me and I ran on towards the finish line where Chan Wing Kai, the club photographer was standing. Crossing the line in 5:14.58, I was at once perplexed at the fact that there were no race officials at the finish line! Nor was there anyone to record my timing! Confused I asked around and was directed to collect my certificate from one of the booths and discovered that I had to log down my details so that the medals can be sent to me! Disappointed I wandered around looking for familiar faces but only managed to run into P3 who finished just behind me, Wan and his wife, Uncle Sonny and his wife and Francis. All were disappointed and Uncle Sonny was especially distressed as he was at the launch where the organizers were promising to deliver.

What's my judgment? I'm still confused. The event had started off so well and how did it end up so wrong? Whatever it is, I'm certain that this event will lose many participants next year, especially those from neighbouring Singapore and Thailand who went home empty handed despite being promised finishers' medals. It's all looking pretty grim here, the state of affairs. Perhaps it's time for the Sports Ministry to step into the picture?

Positives:
- A 17-minute improvement
- No blisters!! Great pair of socks (Dri-FIT), a great pair of shoes (Wave Rider 6)
- Cool and breezy weather (The sun stayed hidden up to about 9am)
- Good location for start/finish
- Chilled water at the drink and sponging stations (adequate)
- Reasonably good distance markers (I accounted for all except one)

Negatives:
- No medals, no isotonics, no officials at the finish line. Misrepresentation/false advertising (on brochure and event launch) and failure to provide a reasonable amount of "Duty to Care"?
- Poor traffic management at some spots. Many stretches were also unmanned

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I would like to thank God, my wife, friends and PACM members for turning my “running” dream into reality. Running marathons is serious business and I, as an average runner, need to train and be constantly motivated. With the cancellation of the Penang Bridge Run and the endless encouragement from a PACM member, Lee Yaw On, I decided to go for another full marathon attempt (this could be my last full marathon for 2004). This time I vowed to achieve an improved time, complete the race within organiser’s stipulated time and most importantly, ENJOY the run!

A day before the race, Ngae Kok Hieng, Sarjit Singh, Lian Bee Hoon and I car-pooled to Ipoh (thanks to Ngae for offering his van for the drive up to Ipoh). We left early in the morning. It was a beneficial trip, receiving much running tips from these experienced runners. I admire Ngae for running on bare feet and sometimes, hiking sandals.

Upon arrival, we checked in to Syuen Hotel and went for lunch. Off course, we did not missed having the famous ‘Old Town’ white coffee at Nam Hiong Restaurant. Dinner was with some PACM members at the Ipoh Garden hawker centre, which sells a variety of local food. I had a nice time chatting with them and it felt good to find familiar faces in a foreign town.

The weather was very good the next morning. The clean air, cold breeze and good atmosphere gave us a boost. The run started well, route began from the town area and later to a few other rural areas without streetlights! I thought running in the dark could be dangerous. I tried to keep up with the other runners so as not to lose my way. Otherwise, the route had been quite smooth and flat, until the last 10km. There were a few challenging flyovers then. A good number of officers were placed at road junctions to provide directions to runners. During the run, I also had the opportunity to have quick chats with a few PACM members.

The final 5km had been the most challenging for me. It was a battle between willpower and my physical condition. Towards the end, I found myself striving to meet the stipulated time and managed to complete the run… 4.51.54 hours. Wow! I was only 8.06mins from the official qualifying time of 5 hours. I was almost in tears, completing the marathon by such a close time margin. I did not want to go home empty-handed after having to travel all the way from KL. I would have to double up my effort to run better in my next marathon.

One of my other observation at the Ipoh Run was that the full marathon participants in the VETERAN category outnumbered those in the OPEN. Was this due to the organiser’s lack of experience in organizing full marathon or was there lack of publicity? One may be wondering how Malaysian youngsters spend their time these days. This same point was brought up by Mr Wan Yew Leong in his article ‘KLIM 2004: A Review and Looking Forward’ in Footloose (April-May 2004). “ If the Malaysian government and organizers continue to be slack in their promotions, endurance running such as full marathon could be soon recognized as a running activity for elderly people in Malaysia.”

Overall, I think the organizers had a good attempt at organising the Ipoh International Run. Below are some personal observations:

Commendable Points
1. Good number of officials at road junctions to provide directions.

Areas of Improvement:
1. Marathon routes should be sufficiently lighted up, particularly at rural areas in the early morning. Otherwise the organizer should consider providing luminous running vests.
2. Finisher medals should be awarded at the event and as soon as a participant completed the run within qualifying time. The stipulated time of 5 hours can be challenging, particularly for runners like me.
3. The refreshment booths should be located nearby the starting/finishing point for the convenience of exhausted runners. (The MILO booth was so much further than the 100 Plus booth)
4. The Pacesetters booth had been used by the organizer to store equipment. This should not be the case as booth should be as the gathering location for PACM members.

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Ipoh City Council In Living Up To Local Expectations, Give A New Meaning To Marathon by Jamie Pang

SUNDAY 4th July 2004: In a latest attempt by local city councils and state athletic associations, the Ipoh City Council (MBI) recently introduced a few extreme elements into the sport of marathoning in this country. Looking to emulate their counterparts in the Melaka Municipal Council, MBI organized last Sunday's maiden Ipoh International Run 42K by purposely not providing the much needed isotonic drinks from all the water stations except one at the 32K mark. This is on top of intentional measures put in by the organisers to position traffic marshalls at the wrong spots, withdrawing finish line officials at the 5th hour mark and not providing adequate finishers' medals. This pre-emptive move came as a surprise after the initial promise by MBI to ensure that these "essentials" are not overlooked and that the "shortcoming" of the Melaka Marathon 3 months ago were not repeated.

An undisclosed source from MBI said that this was to add an edge to the event. "We are tired of hearing about well-organized events such as the Singapore Marathon. Did Phiddipedes run from to Athens with the help of aid stations? He didn't even have proper footwear!", he said. He added that these deprivations were to simulate an environment as close to the original marathon Phiddipedes ran more than 2,000 years ago. "Did Phiddipedes complain about the finisher's medal and certificate? No! In fact he just dropped dead!", the spokesman said. He also contended that medals and certificates should not be something that marathon finishers should look forward to. "The satisfaction of finishing a marathon should be ranked higher than the material tokens," he contended. In a display of their commitment not to provide top-notch race organization, race officials even engineered a mess-up of the medals distribution to the other race categories and goodie bag distribution.

However one other marathoner argued that while it's true that the satisfaction of completing a marathon is greater than the medals, the medals and certificates were nice mementos to have and to show to his grandchildren. "Now they'll just have to take my word for it that I ran marathons!"

Fellow 2nd time marathoner Jamie Pang had arrived from KL with his wife and son, looking forward to this event. Initially things had looked promising. He had, through his running club Pacesetters, secured a hotel room just 400 meters from the starting/finishing line. He also heard from a friend whom he bumped into that the organisers had put together a route tour. "Unfortunately having my young son around, I was unable to make that tour," he said. He revealed that his preparation this time had been fraught with setbacks and his son also seemed to have come down with a fever, cutting short his fish and chips dinner at the Ipoh Parade mall.

When met after the race, Jamie said, "I thought I felt very comfortable, relaxed and having the right thoughts in my mind. The first 10 was easy. We passed a long and winding road which took us into a Chinese village. Don't ask me where I was as, with the exception of one coffee shop which was opening up for business, I didn't see a thing - the stretch was that dark! Not only that, I distinctly smelled cow dung. Don't believe me? Ask my friend here." he said, pointing to his newly acquainted 50-ish friend who nodded in agreement. The MBI officials would later confirm that the darkness and smell were also intentional elements to keep the minds of the runners alert lest they run into deep potholes. "I knew something was wrong when I crossed the line in 5:14 as I didn't spot any officials at the finish line. There was no one to direct me to do anything or anywhere. It was as though there's no finish line! It was also ridiculous that the medals will be sent by mail." Jamie lamented. At this point 2 runners approached this reporter and voiced their anger. One of them also did not receive a medal despite completing the marathon in 4:38!

NB. This article was written as a parody of the MBI authorities. Name of the MBI official (if any) is purely concocted. For more great lampoons and excellent resource of misinformation, please check out Onion.com.

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4th PACM Track Meet 2004 by Leong Kwok Onn
The newly renovated KL football stadium in Cheras was our venue for the 4th Pacesetters Track Meet. Area groups gathered to compete for the coveted "Presidents Cup" and the Overall Champion title for their group.
While the meet is meant to be competitive, it is also a family oriented event catered for ages from under 6 to over 60. The overall objective is for club members and their families to have a good time.

Sunday Morning, 25th July 2004, 7am
Being a new Pacesetter member, I decided to join the meet. I arrived at the stadium late because I lost my way and had waited at the wrong stadium. Nevertheless, when I reached there at 7am, I heard Mr Wan, the President giving final instructions for the 3km fun run which was about to begin. This 3K run was a warm up for sprinting participants. For other ordinary folks in particular, they would have ran for the fun or scores for their area groups. Regardless of the reasons, all participants who took part were given a pair of Brooks socks each.

I had searched for my running pals, KC Leong and Khee Meng and eventually saw them before the start of 3km run. Having wished them good luck, I heard the gun shot and the race begun! Runners were required to race round the park before the final 350m track back to the finish line in the stadium.

While the others raced, I made myself useful by lending a hand to Jimmy Tong (Vice President) and Alden, unloading cartons of bottled water and isotonics 100plus from a van. I saw other volunteers all busy at their designated location - refreshment booths, the command center, etc. The FTAAA race officials were also there to record official timing. The atmosphere was fantastic and I met many members who came with their families.

The Start of the Meet
The meet started with events for the more senior runners. The cheers and applause from the crowd was marvelous. Not only did the champions received loud applause, the “last” to finish received even louder cheers and applause.

400 Meters Race
This is the one event which I can recall most clearly. Both my running buddies and marathoners, KC Leong and Khee Meng took part. They were particularly confident (no warm up necessary) and equally excited at the same time. 400m - a distance less than 1km - should not be a chore for marathoners. However, both my buddies came in next to last. They were just as shocked as they panted for breath. The result was unexpected; they thought they should score some “middle” placings as opposed to “last”. Sprinting (speed running) is definitely different from running a marathon. 400m is not as easy as it seemed, particularly for marathoners. Nevertheless, we had a good time laughing and betting on who would come in faster than the other.

Family And Kids Running Events
A study conducted by the university of Southern California found that
happiness is about spending quality time with loved ones and enjoying good health. Nowadays parents spend less and less time with their children due to work stress. Hence, parents may need to look for an activity that the whole family can enjoy.

The Pacesetters track meet does encourage family bonding. The family relay and kids running events in particular are fun-filled and good to watch. Some children looked serious, some nervous but many had fun once the race begun. The laughter and cheers are forms of encouragement for these kids. Gosh! Some kids can run really fast while other little fellows were just so CUTE!! When it was their daddies’ turns to run for the family relay, we could hear the little kids cheering loudly… "Papa, PAPA PAPA !!"

In conclusion, everybody had FUN! Indeed this is one of the best Pacesetters events of the year, promoting
good health and family bonding. For complete results of the 4th Pacesetters Track events, please click here.

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YOUTH ACTIVITIES 2004
Background
PACM started as an adult running club. In the initial days there were a few youth members. However, a handful of youth and children are visible mainly just to tag along with the parents in events like breakfast runs. In June 2000 the club tried to initiate a youth group by starting a youth training program. The targets then were simple; to have a 100-member youth base that will enable the youth to function as a club within the club. At that time we had 37 youth members and to expand it to 100 by December 2000 seemed attainable. It did not happen and after 4 months the weekly youth program at Kampung Pandan had to be discontinued due to the lack of response.

We did not give up but took a step backwards to the drawing board. We initiated amendments to the club’s rules and expanded the definition of youth membership from 16 to 18 to widen our base. We restarted the youth program in May 2001 with the help of Viviene Kartsounis, KK Oon and Carina Tan. This time round the response was better and more sustainable as the coaches carried out the training session 50 weeks in a year (breaking for Hari Raya and Chinese New Year only). Capitalizing on the good response, a second session was started at MPSJ, USJ 5 Subang Jaya in February 2002. The MPSJ Group is coached by Manisekaren and George Lim. The MPSJ Group grew strongly as the location is heavily populated and the time is more conducive for the youth. Since then the Subang Group has been using the MPSJ Stadium as their meeting place during Sunday evenings. A third group has been started at Selayang Stadium in May 2003 but we understand the consistency is affected by the frequent booking of the stadium for football.

Club Within A Club
After these initiatives, the youth membership grew rapidly and as at December 2003, we have 194 members under the age of 18. We have another 40 between 18 and 24 (college going age) with such a sizeable member base, we feel it is time for the youth to have their own leaders to manage themselves. For the past two years the club has a budget allocated for the youth activities but due to the lack of leadership among the youth group, most of the budget was not used. Therefore, we target to have two youth captains to lead the youth activities for 2004 onwards. An election was called and on 14th December 2003 at MPSJ Stadium the following were elected as captains :

Boys’ Captain: Kiritharan S/O Sivanesan, Age 21, 03-56357839-H, Email: Kiritharan_pacesetters@yahoo.co.uk

Boys’ Vice-captain: Lu Wit Chin, Age 19, 012-9624683, Email: tt_lu@hotmail.com
Girls’ Captain: Lim Xiao Min, Age 15, 03-80247591 (H)
Girls’ Vice-captain: Hong Chiew Nee, Age 15, 03-5634 1923 (H), Email: ch1c_3v@hotmail.com

With the exception of Kiritharan, all the above are still students. During this meeting we also took the opportunity to present one pair of Nike shoes to our two outstanding youth members; Lim Chern Han and Suhaiyu Balqis bte Ismail. Both Chern Han and Suhaiyu have done well in the MSS Selangor and MSS KL Athletic Meet. We thank Nike Sales Sdn Bhd for their contribution.

Activities in 2004
We hope 2004 would see active youth participation in local races, both track and roads. Those interested to join the youth team can contact the respective captains above. We would dedicate a page in our website and the bi-monthly Footloose on youth activities from now on.

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