PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Kuantan Pacesetters TC Run, 21st October 2007
True to tradition, this event organized by the Pacesetters Kuantan Area Group was a huge success. It was efficiently run on a shoe-string budget, and yet there were bananas, watermelons, biscuits, chocolates, energy drinks and water, not to mention the many lucky draws.

Congratulations and a big thank you are in order for Tan Wah Seng and his Kuantan volunteers for a race well organized. This year there was a limit of 500 participants. I hope that in the coming years, this limit will be gradually raised until we reach the magical mark of 2,000 (which we reached at this year's Mizuno Wave Run).

Following the success of the Sabak Bernam Area Group in organizing a wonderful breakfast run and the Putrajaya Area Group's successful breakfast run in the Wetlands, we now have three great events carried out by volunteers outside the mainstream Club helpers (those involved in our three signature events - New Balance 15km, Great Eastern 30km and Mizuno10km). Klang Area Group had shown their organizational skills last year for their breakfast run. So we not only have a core of experienced personnel for the large events, but are slowly having a larger pool of members who will have some experience in organizing smaller races, and will graduate to bigger events in time to come.

I am really pleased with this development. I still remember sometime ago when our members complained to some race officials about their poorly organized races, their replies were: "You organize yourself-lah!" or "You don't like it, don't come!". In those days we didn't have a choice, but this kind of attitude set into motion a series of activities by the then President of the Club, Wan Yew Leong, that resulted in our first 15km event, and we have not looked back since. In fact, from an initial target of 600 participants in our first event, we have now "graduated" to 2,000 plus. Considering that our races are for the serious runners, and not "padded" with school children who sometimes do not turn up, we believe that we have made our point, i.e. there are runners who are willing to take part in a well-organized road race and pay for it. The race must take into account the well being of the participants and not for the convenience of the organizers. This is something that is lacking in this country, and we hope to show that, if Pacesetters can do it, then others can do it as well. There is no secret …. or perhaps there is ….. We are runners too, and so we know what runners need and want. Sounds like a recent radio advertisement, but that's it.

New Administrator
Our long serving administrator, Jenny Lim, has retired from her post as she wants more time for herself and her family. We wish her well for her future endeavours and thank her for the services she has rendered to the club.

In her place we have appointed Ms Marianne Tan. She also works part-time, that is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You can contact her at 03-7981 5895 between 9am to 5pm on those days.

Mizuno Wave Run, 9th September 2007
This run organized by the Club was a huge success. It had the biggest number of registration (2,052), and the biggest number of participation (1,614) for events organized by us. A Club record has been set for a single-distance race event. We can only go up.

It might not sound like a lot when compared to other countries or other events in the country, but do note that we don't pad the numbers up with short-distance events for school children. It is a single-distance event. Also, for a competitive event that is run by volunteers it is quite an achievement for the Club.

Unfortunately, this success has made us realize that the Club can only cater up to a certain number of runners. The start and finish can also be a problem if we have more runners. This is something we are looking at. We want to grow bigger, and yet we must maintain the quality of the race. We need to look at the timing system to make it more efficient, medal distribution to cut down on double collection, and registration to cater for the growing number of participants. The logistics are getting tougher too and there are other sectors that we need to look at .

We started with 600 for our very first race about 5 years ago and now we are approaching 2,000, and with sponsors looking at 3,000 for next year! I can't thank enough our members and volunteers who have brought the Club to this level, those in the past and those currently still active.

Club Sponsor
The Club is currently in talks with various potential sponsors, not only to be the Club sponsor, but to be sponsors for various activities that we are planning to have. This is an issue that is not as easy as we thought. We have to consider the needs of the potential sponsor in terms of their branding and just as important, we cannot have a situation where the interest of the current event sponsors may clash. We are treading carefully and hope to come out with a favourable package. Members will just have to be patient on this.

Setting the Pace Together

Munning Jamaludin
November 2007

WAN TRUE PACESETTER'S TALE

Boutique Events and Event Managers

At the Sponsorship Ceremony between PACM and its sponsors two years ago, the newly elected president, Munning Jamaludin made an announcement of wanting to have a series of 10km run across the country. As the past president and a member of the Exco for 2005/06, I could understand the desire but at the same time I have my reservations. I understand the challenges involved in organizing an event for the public and having it outside Klang Valley will have added logistic issues. We are not professional event organizers yet and most of us have full time day jobs. It would be quite impossible for us to run around the country organizing events.

Let's take one step back to understand Munning's vision here which is also my vision. We both like to see a series of runs organized across the country by running clubs. However, at that time only PACM and Ipoh Road Runners were in the game. PACM had the New Balance Pacesetters 15km and the adidas FTAAA Pacesetters 4 x 3km road relay while Ipoh Road Runners were doing their annual 10km run long before PACM got their act together. Towards the end of 2005, PACM organized the Marathon Forum and invited the organizer of the successful Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon to share their experience with us. We invited event owners, sponsors and running clubs to participate in the forum. After the forum, we started talking to various groups informally, encouraging them to have an event of their own, at least once a year. We do not wish to claim credit here but what PACM and Ipoh Road Runners were doing is an inspiration to fellow runners across the country, the sheer dedication of their members to promote the sports they love. There is an unwritten gesture between PACM and Ipoh Road Runners to support one another's event.

This year, we started to see some results and we have several events started by various clubs and groups. I have made an effort to support most of these events by these smaller groups by taking part and giving some words of encouragement. RunnersMalaysia as an information portal will help spread the news by posting these events on our website without charge. I feel this is the least I could do as I know most of these aspiring event organizers.

Clara Bong, Agnes Chin and Carol Low with their medals for KRI 12km 2007

Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km
This event started humbly as a 30km Practice Run as part of the KL International Marathon Peer Support Program organized by PACM on 19 January 2003. It was Yew Chee Chung who called me a week earlier and suggested that our proposed 30km practice run should be properly organized with drink stations thrown in. I took up that challenge and got the volunteers organized. The turnout was fantastic (132 runners) and the runners appreciated what was done for them (Footloose February 2003, President's Column). Thereafter, the 30km Practice Run before a key marathon event became the club's standard feature. The number of runners grew to more than 200 in the subsequent 30km Practice Runs we organized. We felt it was time to turn this practice run into a full-fledged 30km Road Race in 2005 but the failure to secure a title sponsor prevented me from doing this as my swan song. It was my successor, Munning Jamaludin and his team who secured the Great Eastern sponsorship to enable the inaugural Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km 2006 to proceed in January 2006. I was honoured to have served as its race director, arguably the most difficult event we had ever done due the length of the route and the duration of the event of more than 4 hours. On 20 January 2008, we will be having the third edition of this event and will be celebrating Great Eastern's 100th Anniversary.

Mizuno Wave Run
This event was started in 2005 by Mizuno and PACM was hired as the organizer. I was a little skeptical of doing this event as we had to carry out the technical part of it: the timing of the runners. Prior to this event, we had been using FTAAA as technical partner even in our own Pacesetters 15km. Another issue I was doubtful about was whether PACM should be a hired event organizer, given that our hands were full with our own club's affairs and events. I was proven wrong as this event (into its third year) turned out to be an important source of revenue for the club now, after losing our club's sponsors, namely Milo and Genting Bhd.

KRI Annual 12km Run
This is probably the most friendly event for veterans and senior veterans. For runners above 40 years, there is a category for every 5 years. Last Sunday 988 runners took part and needless to say, the biggest groups are the veterans who make up 59% of the runners. As announced by their president, Chong Him Shoong, KRI will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary next year and it promises to be a big event. KRI is also prepared to experiment; last year they did a cross country run, starting from the Lost World of Tambun. They also use an internet registration system to cut down administration work. (website - www.ipohroadrunners.org)
Like PACM, KRI is also sought after to organize events for others. Two of the events they organized were the Perak Chamber of Commerce Century Run 2007 and UTAR Charity Run 2006. These may not be annual events but I have included them in this article to illustrate that services of running clubs can be used to organize one-off events.

Chinwoo Biathlon
I believe this event has been around for nearly 5 years. It is an entry level event for individuals who want to do multi-sports. The event is an 800m swim in the pool followed by a 7km run, ideal for entry level competitors going into multi-sports. I took part in the 2004 and 2006 event. This event is made possible by the commitment of 2 individuals, Don Khor and Lester Thum, both PACM members who are active with Chinwoo Athletic Club. Due to the restriction by the number of lanes in the pool, this event sets a cap of 100 participants only. At the time of writing this, all 100 places have been taken up.

Kuantan TC Run
This year's run organized by the Kuantan PACM Area Group with Tan Wah Sing as Group Leader was a great success with 500 taking part. This event was also organized in 2005. The Kuantan Area Group during the era of Soh Gaik Nyeoh as Group Leader had also organized the Kuantan Nature Run in October 2003 and the Kuantan Half Marathon in October 2002. The Kuantan Area Group has been very active participating in most events around the country and they are also a capable organizer. However, they feel they should only organize an event once in two years. I am trying to persuade them to have their event as an annual event: alternating between a road run and a nature run. I shall see if I am persuasive enough.

New Balance Klang Pacers 12km
I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that the Klang Pacers were doing their inaugural 12km Run on 2 September 2007. I called up their Exco Member, Lawrence Ng and offered to post their entry form on RunnersMalaysia's website. I did not register for this event as I was committed to the TFMB Countryside Run in Batu Pahat on the same date. By the time I knew of the postponement of the Batu Pahat Run, this event was closed. They exceeded their target of 600 runners and from the feedback of the runners, it was well organized. I congratulated Ng and his team and urged them to keep the event annual.

Pacesetters Breakfast Run at Klang, Sabak Bernam and Putrajaya
To promote organization skills amongst its area groups and avoid taxing the Executive Committee too much, PACM has been getting its area groups to focus on breakfast runs. The Klang Run in 2006 and the Sabak Bernam Run (June 2007 Footloose) in 2007 was part of the annual Brooks Pacesetters Bonding Run series. The Putrajaya Run (Footloose September 2007) was to introduce the new area group in Putrajaya. All 3 events were well organized by the respective area groups. These events brought out the organizing skills of the area groups and teamwork. Keep this going and let other area groups have their chance as well.

Alison Munro and Ivy Lui at the Brooks Fun Run

Brooks Fun Run at FRIM
This event was the first by RunnersMalaysia as the co-organizer. Brooks do not have an event to their name, although they are sponsors for many events. The objective of this event was to have a dedicated event for fun runners, many of whom are unsure about taking part in competitive road races and feel intimidated by such events. 611 registered and 560 ran, giving a high 92% turnout rate. We try to have 2 to 3 of such events a year for the fun runners.

Bidor Half Marathon
The Bidor Kaki Runners, now a registered group has been organizing the event for 3 years. It started as a 14km run and then upgraded to a half marathon in 2006. It gave out the best-looking medal in 2006. I did the 2005 run but missed the 2006 run due to the marriage of my god daughter. This year it was not held due to sponsorship issues. Last Sunday I met Ling at the Ipoh Road Runners 12km and was told that the event will be on 27 April 2008, 21km with 10km and 3km options.

Pacemaker Annual Relay Run
The Pacemakers are a group of about 50 odd very committed runners. They have been organizing some small events, like the New Year Day Run for their group. This year's relay is their third with 18 teams taking part. RunnersMalaysia was invited to send a team and we did. Their leader is Ronnie See or PM1 as he is known. Visit his blog at http://pm1.blogspot.com

KLAVA Friendship Relay at Metropolitan Park
KLAVA has decided to focus on road relays and did 3 this year, namely Deepavali Relay, Back To Nature Relay at Kuala Selangor and the Friendship Relay at Metropolitan Park. I spoke to Eddy Choo during the recent Ipoh Road Runners 12km and he told me that they decided to focus on road relays as this is a neglected area among the road events since the adidas FTAAA Pacesetters 4 x 3km Road Relay was not held after 2005. The dates were during the fasting month as they were unable to fit into the calendar due to many events before and after fasting month. (website - www.klavarunners.info/index.htm)

Taylor College Adventure Run at Bukit Cahaya Park
When Winson Boey and Leong Sai Hou, two undergraduates from Taylor University College first contacted us to have their event listed in our website and are prepared to come to Bukit Aman Car-park on Saturdays and Sundays to promote their run. I knew we have a bunch of committed individuals there. I have not been to Bukit Cahaya Park for more than 20 years, and I was keen to see if the place has changed. Despite the development around it, it is still considered nice by Klang Valley standard. The toilets are clean and it has the potential as a good small event venue catering for up to 800 runners. The run attracted about 200 participants, small as it may be but nevertheless the route was challenging and enjoyable. The climb up to Puncak Seni was more challenging than our Double Hill. I am very keen to do an event there in 2008.

TFMB Countryside Run at Batu Pahat
I have been urging Roger Ong, Chairman of Batu Pahat Marathon Club to have an event in Batu Pahat. It almost happend but for the wrong date, 2 September 2007. It was the Merdeka Weekend and with two other events in the Klang Valley, the New Balance Klang Pacers 12km and the Larian Kardio in University Malaya, support from the KL runners was very weak. It was postponed but later cancelled as no other dates were suitable. It is hoped that Roger Ong does not give up and find a suitable date for a 2008 event in Batu Pahat.

Looking Ahead
I hope within the next 3 years, we will have a local event in each major town across the country such that runners could travel and see our country while taking part in the runs. This is a great way to promote sports tourism. It is through these runs that we upgrade the management skills of the various clubs and groups organizing them. We are also sending a strong message to some of the existing event owners that they need to buck up or their events will be less attractive as serious runners have more choices with better managed runs by the runners themselves. I am referring to the so-called established runs like the PJ Half Marathon, the Ipoh International Run and the Seremban Half Marathons that have been around for many years but do not seem to improve on their service quality. We hear the same complaints from serious runners year after year on basic issues like traffic management or inadequate drinks. The number of serious runners going to these events has declined sharply but was camouflaged by flocks of students given incentives to come, for example, a personal computer to the school with the most entries. We as runners who love our sport have to take charge of the situation and organize runs we like and enjoy. We must not leave it to some officials who do not have passion in it but just do it for the sake of doing it year after year. Runners! Stand up and be counted.

Wan Yew Leong
November 2007
wanyewleong@gmail.com

Tough Cookies at Genting Trailblazer
By Lee Yee Hua

In September 2006, two ladies (Yen Erl and I) who had never ever done trail running made their first attempt at the Genting Trailblazer's 6km Mild category Woman Team race.

My partner Yen Erl went through the race with her Nike slip-on shoes, a choice we made based on the fact that "they were light"! It would turn out to be the biggest mistake we had ever made, haha!

Yen Erl and Yee Hua happily running down steep wooden board

Anyway, two ladies with the "lucky" bib No. F0002 went all out for it. Encountering the steepest and muddiest slopes, we didn't bother about cleanliness and we literally slid down or clambered up every slope; lining up in the narrow slope which we used as a perfect excuse for not staying in the race pace; crossing streams which we used as a chance to clean up the mud that clang to our shorts and shoes, as well as to cool down; going through two mud pools which coated us in thick mud and required us to put in extra effort to climb out of; climbing up and down two small man-made hills (except that they were no longer small after we had completed a challenging trail earlier), and running through pipes and over tyres before reaching the finishing point.

With this unforgettable experience and knowing what to expect, we decided to go for the Genting Trailblazer 2007 held on 11th November 2007. We were wiser now and made time to train hard for it. We trekked up Gunung Nuang, Gunung Datuk, Pine Hills, Mount Kinabalu and Gunung Irau which had worse conditions than the Genting Trail.

Leopard Crawl

This time around, we persuaded a whole gang of ladies aged between 20 and 50 to join us for the event. We formed 4 teams, with Yen Erl and I joining the Wild Category (to upgrade ourselves and get additional adrenaline rush) while Yee Tze and Ashley, Lai Tee and Shirlee, Poh Wai and Bee Hong went for the Mild Category.

The route was similar to last year's, except that we needed to complete an additional 8km and the participants in the Wild category displayed more competitiveness and skillfulness. They were speeding all the way and attempting to squeeze past other competitors even on very narrow roads or steep slopes. For us, the toughest part of the race was the first few kilometres due to the numerous muddy slopes and streams. The additional 8km after the U turn was considered milder, but not to us when we were so exhausted!

Our pre-planned strategy for the race was to run at maximum speed after exiting the jungle since we were supposedly 'experienced' runners; however our bodies were too tired to respond accordingly. Hence, we walked and ran at whatever speed our bodies could deliver.

Gutsy ladies: (from left) Shirlee, Lai Tee, Ashley, Yee Tze, Yen Erl and Yee Hua

Then came the most challenging part of the race -- the obstacles. They have added 4 more obstacles this year, i.e. the wooden board, single wooden plank, leopard crawl and a knee-deep mud pool which 'swallows' your feet easily. Fortunately, we had 'instructors' who taught us to walk by the side of the pool, so that we didn't have to remove our shoes. After conquering all the tough challenges, we finally completed the race in 2 hr 13mins, which is a great improvement compared to our time of 1 hrs 55mins last year in the Mild category.

With the race-specific training we had gone through and wearing the right type of shoes this year, we fared so much better and it seemed easier compared to our first experience in the previous year.

I enjoyed the race very much and will be back again next year! I want to thank my teammate Yen Erl for enduring the mud and slopes with me. Special thanks to Tony Quay for organizing all the hiking trips to train us for a very interesting and challenging race.

Le Tour De Kuantan
By Tony Quay

Crazy or what?
Can you imagine cycling from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan or from Bentong to Kuantan, then run the Kuantan TC10km Run the next day?

Some of us may think it is crazy to cycle all the way to Kuantan to run a 10km race, but not so for Ngae Koh Hieng, Ong Siok Bee and Eric Teo.

Total distance covered by Ngae was approximately 300km (KL - Kuantan) while Siok Bee and Eric did 230km approximately (Bentong - Kuantan). This was inclusive of an additional 40km due to a diversion, where Ngae led Siok Bee and Eric to the wrong route when heading out of Bentong. He took them to Raub instead of Karak.

Its all started at Putrajaya on 7th October, when I organized a 30km run in view of the Singapore Internation Marathon 2007 which would be held on Dec 2, and also the Powerman on 11 November. It was after training and while chatting over lunch, when Ngae suddenly had a brainwave and suggested: "Since we are running the Kuantan TC run, how about cycling from KL to Kuantan as part of the Ironman training?"

Siok Bee was keen but said they would need a support car. Suddenly, all eyes were on me as I would be driving to Kuantan to participate in the Kuantan TC Run!

Well, as their coach, I agreed to do it. We started planning and decided that we should start at 7am on the eve of the 10k run so that we could reach Kuantan at 6pm, in time to collect the running numbers at Vistana Hotel.

Three days before D-day, Ngae mentioned that his friend Joo Ngan (former Asia Gold medal cyclist) told him that a cyclist will normally 'hit the wall' at 200km. This meant the trio would slow down after 200km and would reach Kuantan very late, especially with the high possibility of afternoon rain since we were experiencing a rainy spell. So Ngae decided to start from KL on Friday to Bentong and then continue riding to Kuantan on Saturday morning. Due to work commitments, Siok Bee and Eric would meet Ngae in Bentong on Saturday.

Eric and Siok Bee in good spirits

The journey begins
On Friday, Ngae was given a rousing send-off at Gombak before taking an easy ride in the drizzle to Bentong. He even took a long break soaking and swimming at a hotspring before Bentong.

On Saturday morning 6.30am, Vivian and I left Eric's home to go to Bentong to meet Ngae. We met Ngae at 7.30am in Bentong, had dim sum for breakfast and discussed the route and check-points. There would be three check-points for the cyclists to rest, namely Temerloh, Maran and Gambang, where Vivian and I would be waiting for them.

At 8.30am Vivian flagged off the 'Le tour de Kuantan'! Vivian and I then proceeded to buy and pack all the necessary foodstuff for the cyclists.

Detour
At 10am, Ngae called to say that they were about to reach Temerloh. We drove to meet them, but when we reached the meeting point, the cyclists were nowhere to be seen. Vivian called Ngae and he informed us that they were about 10km to Temerloh toll. It looked like we were too early for them so we made a U-turn to meet them at the toll instead.

Then Nage explained that they took a wrong turn and headed to Raub instead of Karak, therefore incurring an additional 40km! On realizing his mistake, Ngae and the other two cyclists cut across a country road through the Felda scheme and came out at Lanchang Interchange. They then went onto the expressway for about 30km before the police told them to exit the expressway via the Temerloh toll plaza.

From Temerloh, they rode to Maran, had lunch and a 30-minute rest before heading to Gambang. When we reached Gambang, Chan Weng Kai called to say that he saw the cyclists about 5km to Gambang and he took some pictures of them.

The last check-point was at Gambang. Ngae arrived at Gambang just before 6pm, and after refilling his water supply, he continued his ride to Kuantan, as he wanted to reach Kuantan before darkness fell. He needed to head to Vistana Hotel to collect his running number as Eric and Siok Bee's numbers were already collected by friends earlier. Siok Bee and Eric arrived Gambang 15 minutes later.

The weather had been kind to us as it was cloudy most of the time. In total, Ngae had covered a distance of 299km while Siok Bee and Eric did 229.5km. They were thrilled to have done it and Vivian and I were equally thrilled to be part of their adventure.

As a reward for completing the gruelling ride, we celebrated with a sumptuous dinner where we met some of the runners and shared our experience. One of the diners who overheard our conversation came to shake the cyclists's hands for their achievement and joked, " The money for Angkasawan should be channeled to you!". We had a good laugh over this.

Coach Tony (left) with his charges

Impossible is nothing
During dinner, I advised the cyclists to relax and go for a slow 10km run the next day but Ngae said "Aiyah, in an Ironman race, after cycling 180km we still got to run 42km! So this 10k shouldn't be a problem".

And true enough, Ngae and Siok B were placed among the top 10 runners in their categories for the PACM TC10km run! Siok Bee came in third while Nage came in sixth.

For me, it was exciting and rewarding to see them to complete this ride safely, and so far and it is the longest time ever taken by me to drive from KL to Kuantan -- a total of 12hrs!

It just shows that it is all mind over matter and if we focus on the goals we want to achieve, we will be able to achieve them.

Many thanks to Vivian as my assistant; the mum-to-be was supposed to follow Kelvin to Kuantan but she insisted on joining me to make sure her husband Eric would be okay.

So if anyone wants to know more about the adventure they had, do approach any one them. And the next cycling trip? Maybe riding to Ipoh or Penang, and to run the marathon after that?!

"Thanks again to you and Vivian. Without you and Vivian, it would not have been such a smooth ride. Kudos to the 3 cyclists for completing the grueling but memorable ride." -- Ngae

"It was a last minute decision to take up the challenge to do the "crazy" long ride (my longest ride was 160km ride in KRI Century Ride last June 2007).
Thanks to Ngae & Siok Bee for conceiving this ride idea and to my wife Vivian for her encouragement to take it as part of my upcoming Ironman training; Also, not forgetting Tony for his initiative to become our support car all the way from Bentong to Kuantan." -- Eric Teo

Kuantan TC Run 2007
By Tan Wah Sing

"When is your next Kuantan Run, huh….?"

This same question was always pops up whenever William and I were in Kuala Lumpur for a race. I guess it could be due to the nostalgia of our previous Kuantan TC Run held on 20th March 2005. For those who are not familiar with the abbreviation 'TC', it actually stands for 'Teluk Chempedak' and not 'Tan & Chin' as some of you have quipped. Perhaps the incessant beseech had prompted William Chin to initiate the first meeting at his house to decide whether we were prepared to host a second TC run this year. To my amusement the consensus supported the idea and a few 'chiefs' were soon appointed to spearhead some of the tasks.

Our first priority was to book the venue to be used for our scheduled event. We were fortunate to get the approval on time as subsequently MPK (town council) also launched their big event (Kuantan Beach Run) and at one stage they wanted us to change the date of our event when they realized that the deferred date clashed with ours. We made the right decision by not giving in to their request since we had already started with the groundwork and consent for the venue had already been given to us earlier.

The coveted "kaki ayam" medal

As the event drew closer we noticed there was a protracted facelift renovation work going on in the vicinity of the venue and we were concerned that it would affect the setting up of our event. When we approached MPK we were told that the construction would end soon and we were assured the site could be ready on time. We did not take their word for granted and we made a visit to the site a couple of days before the event to improvise some changes. One of the most difficult decisions was the finishing line and after some brainstorming, we decided to extend the finish-distance by another 150 metres towards the beach. This way all finishers would be able to set their footprint on our renowned TC beach and at the same time enjoy the majestic panoramic view of the hill outcrop blending with South China Sea, before collecting the well-deserved medal.

On event day, we were blessed by the superb weather and after some stretching exercises the race was successfully flagged off by our President, Munning Jamaludin according to schedule at 7.15am sharp. We would like to thank Munning for making time to officiate our event despite his heavy schedule and work commitments. I was at the starting line and it was a mesmerizing moment to take in the view of a few hundred runners battling and fading towards the hillcrest. About half an hour later we saw the return of the first runner zooming for the finishing line. He is Kristof Van Houdt, an Ironman from Belgium who finished the distance of 9.7km in 34 minutes 46 seconds, slashing almost 3 minutes off our previous 2005 TC record.

To save us some time, we started the prize presentation before the last runner returned. The purpose was to end the event early to avoid the scorching sun and also to give the participants more time to indulge in sightseeing or to go taste the best local foods in Kuantan. We managed to conclude our event at 9.45am after the presenting the last lucky draw prize. Judging from the wide grins on many faces and the compliments received, we were satisfied that the race was well executed even though it involved lots of effort and sacrifice, not discounting the sleepless nights we had. When I looked around I was elated to see some participants happily admiring our unique 'footprint' medals. I hope you don't jump to conclusion that the design was done by me although it resembles my icon of a barefoot runner. Who is the designer then? I am afraid you will have to find that out for yourself.

Vantage point

Similar to our previous TC run, we kept to our tradition of having a 'litter-free' event. Having taken part in so many local runs, I have not come across one that could handle the rubbish well. More often than not rubbish were strewn all over the place or piled up around the dustbins during and after each event. We want to advocate the habit of keeping the environment clean by setting an example and hopefully the message can be relayed through our event. We are proud to say that we have done it again with the cooperation of all those present and by the time we left there was not a single trash found on the floor!

A review of the statistics shows that only 77% of the registered runners turned up for the run, out of which 83% were of male and 17% were female. Many of the absentees were Kuantan-registered runners. The oldest participant was a 77-year-old from Singapore and the youngest a 10-year-old from Jerantut. In terms of participants there was no drastic difference compared to our previous 2005 TC record.

We wish to convey our deepest appreciation to the working committee, all the volunteers and sponsors who have contributed tremendously to the success of the event. Last but not least we thank all the participants and the two dedicated KL Pacesetters photographers who came all the way to give their full support to our event.

Corporate Fun Run with A Heart of Gold
By Bong Teck Yong

Runners in Malaysia are treated to many kinds of runs throughout the year -- fancy dress run, chicken run, charity runs, short runs, marathons, but running in office attire? These people must be crazy…. Or so I thought, until I was roped in to do just that and it turned out to be a truly different experience!

When our company's Human Resource General Manager sent me an email in July this year asking me to represent AmBank Group in the The Edge-Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Rat Race (commonly referred to as the Rat Race) on 7th August, I was elated, as it would be an honour to represent the company I work for. I was actually clueless about this popular race except that participants would have to run in office attire. I had never run in anything except my running vest and shorts so far but hey, there is always a first time and I gladly accepted the offer!

Bong (left) and team: We are ready for the Rat Race!

Closer to the race, I found out that participation was with a minimum contribution of RM15,000 per team by the participating corporations for this race of 4.5km. This year, the organizers managed to raise RM1,551,000 which is the highest contribution so far. The fund would go to 20 environment/charitable organizations such as the Malaysian Nature Society, Rumah Kanak-kanak Taiping, Miriam Home for the Aged, to name a few.

The leader for the Ambank Team was Mohd Aszemi Ibrahim and my other team-mates were Mohamad Ezad Mohamad Yusof, Farha Burhan and Asturiyanti Zuhrufadila Ishak. I knew it was going to be a relaxing run considering that the rest of the team members were not serious runners and there was no training at all prior to the race.

Prior to the start of the race, we were briefed by our leader that the strategy of the team is to start as a team, run as a team and end as team, ignoring the timing. Instead of running aimlessly like most of the teams with members running separately, we wanted to create the corporate presence and team spirit in the run.

The starting and finishing point were to be at Bursa Malaysia, Bukit Kewangan, Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival at the site around 3pm, we found many teams were already there. All were in their corporate attire, complete with neck-ties, some in suits, plus the compulsory sports shoes. As for AmBank Group, we were in our AmBank Group striking red and light green striped collar shirt and a red cap.

Happily running in the rain

The race was scheduled to start at 5pm but there was a special 1km run for the CEOs at 4.30pm. When the race started at 5.20pm, it started drizzling; nevertheless, the participants started running enthusiastically in the rain
The event was a very colourful one, with participants in their own corporate colours. Some supported the Race theme "Green" by dressing up in modified corporate suits with green colour. A few corporations even brought their mascots, like the yellow man by DiGi and Elephant girl by Genting (I never realized that elephant girl is the mascot of Genting. Guess I am not a Genting fan and it has been some time since I last went to Genting Highland). The team from California Fitness Club did their energetic stuff on stage. Some corporations such as DiGi and TM Group even brought their bands to support their teams.

It was just a slow run cum walking experience (never happened in my personal runs before!) as we had to remain in our group. We made our way down the 4.5km route in the business sections of the city, moving even faster than the peak hour traffic. We ran on the heavy-traffic routes and in spite of having to dodge the vehicles on the road, the participants were in high spirits. We were totally touched by the support and cheering by the AmBank Group colleagues in front of the Bangunan AmBank Group, Jalan Raja Chulan, in front of Menara Dion, Jalan Sultan Ismail and at the cross roads between KLCC and Public Bank building. We smiled and waved to our colleagues as if we were in a beauty pageant even though we were drenched by the rain. By the time I crossed the finishing point, my position was 425. Anyway, the ranking was immaterial as I had the most fun I have ever had in my running life.

After the race, the participants were treated to a simple dinner in a beautiful open-air theatre behind the Bursa Saham Building. At the dinner, prizes were presented to the winners in individual race, team race, best dressed and various categories. Many lucky draws were held where iPods, televisions and handphones, etc were given away as prizes.

Overall, it was a wonderful and enjoyable experience participating in the race. I am looking forward to be selected again next year to represent AmBank Group in the race.

2007 Blackmores Sydney Running Festival
By Tey Eng Tiong

I was lucky enough to be invited by Malaysia Blackmores to represent my employer at the 2007 Blackmores Sydney Running Festival in Sydney on 23 September. However, I was only allowed to take part in the half marathon as the Malaysian Chinese media representative to raise funds for the National Cancer Society. The other media representatives from the Malaysian media were Christana Low from Star Metro and Siti Dalilah representing NTV7.

The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival is a citywide running festival incorporating four events, finishing at the Sydney Opera House Forecourt with a recovery village in the Tarpeian Precinct of the Domain.

Majestic Sydney Harbour Bridge

The four events are:
The Sunday Telegraph Family Fun Run (approx 4km)
The Sunday Telegraph body+soul Bridge Run (approx 9km)
Blackmores Half Marathon (21.1km)
Blackmores Sydney Marathon (42.2km)

Before we left for Sdyney, I managed to persuade Christina to change her event from 9km to join me for the half marathon. However, due to some technical problem, she had to stick to the original 9km category, running with NTV 7 reporter Siti Dalilah.

I didn't do any serious training as I planned to snap pictures as usual during my race. Besides, my physical condition was still affected by my old knee injury. Since the qualifying time for the half marathon finisher medal was 3 hours, I wanted a relaxing run and enjoy the scenery of this famous city. The photos I took of this scenic route will speak for itself.

Reunion with Adrian

Sydney, here I come…
On race day, we reached the starting point at Bradfield Park which was located below part of the famous Sdyney Harbour Bridge, greeted by more than 20,000 runners who took part in this festival run. The weather was very cold and the sky looked dark and cloudy. We were so worried that it will rain and spoil the beauty of the run. But luck was with us and just before the run was gunned off, the sky brightened up, yeah! The temperature remained cold, hovering between 10 to 19 degree Celcius.

I was very happy to meet up with fellow Pacesetters Adrian who now resides in Australia. By the way, he did a personal best of 1:28 in the half marathon, wow!

Six water stations for half marathon!

For first 5km route, I still felt the cold. Fortunately, I wore an extra long sleeved T-shirt on top of my running vest. When I reached 10km U-turn point, it started to warm up and I took off my long-sleeve shirt and tied it around my waist. As I was snapping pictures with my Nikon D40, I fell in with the slow runners and the walkers, so that I would not be in the way of the fast runners. The participants were surprised to see me running and snapping pictures and they cheered me on. I managed to snap most of the runners on their return route.

I was fine with running only the half marathon of Blackmores Sydney Running Festival route as I was able to relax while snapping away. The lovely blue sky made a perfect background for my photos, and oh, the buildings and architecture were impressive. I especially love the Sydney Harbour Bridge seen around 1km from the starting point. I was also able to admire the famous Opera House at the finishing point. How majestic!

Finishing in front of Sdyney Opera House

Charitable Event
This Running Festival managed to raise over half a million Australian Dollars for charities like The Heart Foundation, Osteoporosis, Cure Cancer Australia, The Cancer Council, McGrath Foundation, ING Foundation, Starlight Foundation, Vision Australia and many more. As for us, we were there for the National Cancer Society.

It also gathered together more than 20,000 runners from all over the world to holiday in Sydney. More than 10,000 people took part in the 9km category while many family members did the shorter distance of 4km under the Family Fun Run.
The Blackmores Half Marathon was won by Sydney's Thomas Do Canto (Putney) in a time of 01:07:29, followed by Boonchoo Jandacha of Thailand (01:09:05) and Charlie Low of Pyrmont (01:10:13). The first woman to cross the line was Jenny Wickham of Allambie Heights (01:18:20), followed by Saifon Boonjang of Thailand (01:19:19) and Billinda Schipp of North Rocks in third (01:19:35).

If there is another chance to participate in this annual event, I would love to run the full marathon. I know I will enjoy it as Sydney is beautiful and the cold weather is great for getting good timing.

Tey (right) with members of the media

First Attempt at 50km Ultra Marathon
By C.L.Tang

After completing the Penang Bridge full marathon on 24th June, one of our runners passed me a leaflet. At a glance I noticed it was an entry form for a 50km ultra marathon in Kedah. At that time I was in no mood to look through the leaflet as I was simply too tired.

Wanna join me?
After some rest, I read the leaflet and noticed that the 50km ultra marathon was organized by Persatuan Larian Jarak Jauh Kedah Utara for 7th September 2007. I had participated in a number of full marathons but had never tried running 50km. So why not give it a try?

So I gathered several serious runners and sat down to explore the possibility of doing this long run. After weeks of consideration, seven of us from Johor Bahru finally signed up for the run. However, only five of us made it to the starting point on race day, as the other two had personal matters to attend to and thus missed the opportunity to take part.

Let's do it
The starting point was at Taman Rekreasi Gunong Keriang Kedah, which is around 15km from Alor Star. The weather was cool because of a downpour two hours before the race. Oh God, there were only about 80 participants, which meant I might be the last runner to come back! This had started to make me worry. But it was too late to pull out. In order not to lose confidence, I kept telling myself that in finishing I would have won.

At 3.00am sharp we were gunned off. The roads were pitch dark, and after 10 minutes the runners began to scatter. I began with the pace of 7 minutes km. Running with me was my training partner Liew Keh. My other 3 friends, Tan Meng Lee, Koh Yong Heng and Kelvin Chu had already gone way ahead, as they were aiming for a sub-5 finish. A number of official cars kept up their presence at water stations. We drank at every water station in order to avoid dehydration. At 20km I started to feel hungry. I looked at my watch and it showed I had done 2 hours 8 minutes. That meant we had been running at approximately 6 minutes 30 second pace for the last 15km..

At the 20km mark, I expected bananas to be served. Unfortunately, only water was served. I carried on running at a constant pace and after 3 km I noticed my partner was slowing down. By the time I reached the 30km water station, I had lost sight of him.

At this station, plenty of food was served. There were my favourite banana, water melon, bread, jelly and other snacks. I decided to fill up my stomach to store energy as I had another 20km to go.

After this 30km mark, I looked back and noticed two runners were about 500 metres behind me and only one visible runner in front of me. At the 35km mark, I felt my right thigh mucle was tightening. From my experience, I knew a cramp would be developing. I slowed down my pace and managed to struggle until the 39.5km point where the official time was taken. It was 4 hour 36 minutes 40 seconds. I stopped for some ointment to be applied on my thigh by the first aid personnel. I then proceeded to complete the remaining 10.05 km by walking and running.

Triumphant!
I finished with a timing 6:02:42 with a placing of 35th, while my fellow Pacesetter Liew Keh finished 40th, clocking 6:19:58. Tan Meng Lee came in 5th with a timing of 4:21:24.
My other fellow Pacesetters Koh Yong Heng and Kelvin Chu Kim Yong clocked 4:46:19 and 4:59:14 in positions 8th and 13th respectively.

At the finishing point, finisher medals and certificates with timing and position were issued on the spot. No one went home hungry as plenty of food was served to participants.

This was my first experience running more than 42.195 km. Luckily the route was flat and we enjoyed the run very much and look forward to running the ultra marathon again. A vote of thanks to the organisers and officials for their hospitality.

Track Team Updates
By Michael Gan

This year, only the oldies in the Club participated in one track meet, the 21st Malaysia Open Masters Athletics Championships on 7th to 8th July 2007. We couldn't find enough competitive young ones to form relay teams to partake in the FTAAA and SAAA track meets. Year 2008 may be more promising after some new young runners emerged in our internal track meet this year. Besides Thum Wei Wen and Leong Ji Chuan mentioned in the September Footloose, Thum Tat Shing, Heshwinder Oon, Andrew Ong, and Tong Meng Keong among the boys and Nathalea Rozario, Gan Shen Yin, Anusha Mohanan and Aida Nadzirah among the girls look promising. Also not forgetting Brittanie Bartlett who didn't compete because of injury but has improved a lot from last year

Our team (back) Eng Seok Ling, Carol Low, Jessbird Yip, Kuinis Kimpun,
(front) chen Kok Song, Goh Choon Aun, Michael Gan, Jon Schultz, Takatoshi Iwata.

PACM contigen marching past

The Masters meet was held at the MSN training track that had recently been improved with new grand stand seating and roof making for a very attractive venue. We sent in a women 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m team and only a 4 x 400m team for the men. Initially, it looked like we would have perhaps the strongest men team in 3 years with Jon Schultz, Goh Choon Aun, Takatoshi Iwata and Phua Kok Hua. Jon is a new member of the club but most of you would not have met him as he is only interested in track running. He had run 58.0sec in winning the gold in the individual 400m men 45 - 49 age group, which is faster than the Pacesetters internal track meet age group record. Our top veteran road runner, Iwata was convinced to join the team by Goh Choon Aun, who I must thank for his persuasive manner and vast and close network with the top runners in the Club. However, Phua could not make it with work commitments and was replaced by Chen Kok Song. In the race Jon, who ran the first leg, pulled a muscle after 200 meters. So instead of an expected 10 meter lead on passing over to our 2nd runner, we were behind by 30 or 40 meters. What a Bummer! We finished 3rd in 4:15:07. With the initial team and no major injuries, I had expected at least 12 seconds faster and a very close fight for second with Polis Malaysia. India won in 3:57:09, with their strongest contingent of men and women in 2 years.

On your mark ...

Goh Choon Aun taking over from Chen Kok Song

In the women's, Jessbird Yip, Carol Low and Kuinis Kimpun did both relays with Wendy Soo and Eng Seok Ling being the other runners in the 100m and 400m relays respectively. For runners who generally do only road running they did well in getting 2 bronzes in 69.3sec and 5m 55.9sec for the 100m and 400m relays respectively. Johor won both events, I suspect, with some seconded Sabah runners!
This time last year, I reported running last or near last in my individual 100m, 200m and 400m events. My placings have gone way up. Not that I have made that much improvements but as I am now a "baby" in the 50+ age group, with generally weaker competition and this age advantage, I won 2 silvers in the 100m and 200m and a gold in the 400m. A very talented Kawahara Norihiko beat me both times by vast margins. No disgrace considering he is an Asian Masters age group 200m gold medallist and record holder for the long jump. It is so thrilling meeting and running against ex-state and national runners. Also, we have made happy acquaintances with some Singapore runners and now look forward to our next encounter.

Winning smiles

Q & A on Sports Injuries
By Dr William Chan

Dear Doctor,

Greetings to you. I was referred to you by a fellow runner.

I am writing to you because I have been facing "side stitch" pain when I run. I have run four marathons in the past 3 years. During the marathon, I experienced "side stitch" pain and it is truly frustrating.

Even during training, the side stitch pain can start after 20 minutes of run. Usually it starts from the right hand side of the abdomen right below the ribs. At times I was able to bear the pain and it will slowly go away. Sometimes, the pain moves to the left side of the abdomen and stays there until the pain is unbearable.

The problem is that I just cannot bear the pain as it feels as though I am going to have a heart attack. I have no choice but to completely stop running, use my hands to apply pressure on the painful area for a couple of minutes and wait for it to go away.

I have no idea what is going on. I make sure that I take food and water 2 hours before the run. Usually if I drank water right before the run, the pain would come even sooner.

For once, I really want to complete a marathon without stopping as my legs can take it. Is there anything I can do to stop this frustrating pain?

Thank for your time.

Regards,
Ms Tee

ANSWER

Most of us experience side stitch at one time or another. It is more common in new runners, novice or amateur runners, runners who are not physically fit and runners who return to running after prolonged period of lay-off. The sharp twinge of pain is usually below the right ribcage. Some runners also feel the pain in their shoulder area. This is a referred pain from the diaphragm.

Up until recently there was no clear explanation for the cause of this annoying cramp, side stitch or pain. In sports medicine it is called exercise related transient abdominal pain (ETAP). Now researchers believe that the side stitch is caused by the stretching of the ligaments that extend from the diaphragm to the internal organs, like the liver and stomach. The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that separates the lung cavity from the abdominal cavity. The jarring motion of running while breathing in and out stretches these ligaments. Most runners breathe out as the left foot hits the ground, but some breathe out when the right foot hits the ground. It is the later group who seem more prone to get side stitches.

Breathing out when the right foot hits the ground causes greater forces on the liver just below the right ribcage. When the liver is dropping down the diaphragm rises up during breathing out. It is believed this repeated stretching of the diaphragm muscle and the ligaments that are attached to your internal organs leads to spasms in the diaphragm which in turn causes the pain.

There are more theories regarding ETAP than merely stretching of the ligaments due to running. Other theories include:
1. Diaphragmatic Ischemia (lack of oxygen). When running intensely there is decreased blood-flow to the diaphragm, causing it to go into spasm. Also, raising the knees to run contracts the belly muscles, which increases pressure inside the belly and presses on the diaphragm from below.
2. Thoracic spine problem.
3. Irritation of the abdominal cavity lining during running.
4. Air trapping during running exercise. Air tends to get into the lungs more easily than it gets out, so the lungs are filled with air and press on the diaphragm from above. The dual pressure may squeeze the diaphragm and briefly shut off its blood flow, causing the diaphragm to cramp.
5. Intestine gas theory suggests that side stitch pain results from gas trapped in the large intestine. Running tends to speed up intestinal contractions and push gas toward the large intestine. If the colon is blocked by a hardened stool, cramp can result.
6. Another theory suggests that side stitch may be brought on by running too soon after eating.
7. Milk or dairy intolerance. Runner with such intolerance may develop side stitch if they exercise within 24 hours of eating dairy products

Treatment:
To stop a side stitch when running is to stop running and place your hand into the painful side of your belly and push up. Breathe in and out deeply as you push up. You may slow down your pace, walk or stop running until the pain goes away.

Simple self help tips:

o Take even and deep breaths while running
o Avoid eating one to two hours before running
o Warm up. Stretching prevent and relieve a cramp. Stretch your back and abdomen muscles before running
o Slow down your pace until pain lessens
o Breathe deep to stretch the diaphragm
o Dehydration can increase muscle cramps. Drink water at least one hour before running.
o Improve fitness
o Strengthen back and abdomen core muscles
o Avoid drinks of high carbohydrate content and osmolality (fruit juices)
o Gradually increase exercise intensity when running
o Exhale when the left foot hits the ground, and inhale when the right foot hits the ground.
o Run on soft surfaces
o If you continue to experience pain, see your doctor.

Hopefully a combination of above measures will help you run your next marathon pain-free.

Dr William Chan is the Consultant Sports Physician at Klinik Pakar Sukan, Subang Jaya. He is a keen runner who writes for an English daily as well as many sports-related websites. He holds several degrees and diplomas from Australian universities and institutions.
** Readers are welcome to send questions on running injuries to Dr William Chan at
spinesportmed@yahoo.com. Only selected questions will be answered.

Malakoff Powerman Malaysia
By Jason Thiang

Congratulations to PACM again for winning the Best Club Award in the Powerman Malaysia 2007 for the third consecutive time. A big thank you to all the Club members who contributed by taking part in the long distance event (Run 11km/Bike 64km/Run 10km).

This year's event was held in Sri Manjung, Perak on 11th Nov 2007 and it had attracted about 560 participants from overseas as well as local sports enthusiasts.

World number one male duathlete, Joerie Vansteelant of Belgium and the top female
Erika Csomor of Hungary, proved too strong for the rest of the field, dominating the
event from start to finish by a record time of 2 hr:39 min:49 sec and 3 hr:07 min:39 sec respectively.

As for our Malaysia, the winner for the men category was Shahrom Abdullah and the woman winner was Marianna Mohammad. Both of them are members of the Duathlon SEAGame squad. By the way, Heidilee Mohammad, who is the brother of Marianna will also be taking part in the Duathlon Sea Games. I am proud to say that all three of them are PACM members.

This year, I took part in the Sprint event (Run 5.5km/Bike 32km/Run 5km) just for fun. My original plan was to accompany my youngest son Edwin (11) for the run, but unfortunately he was down with flu for two weeks prior to the event.

This was a well-organized event which gathered together the professionals (both local and overseas) and many age-group categories (for the long distance event). There were team relays too.

Two years ago, triathlon made its SEA Games debut in Malina. Now we have duathlon and it is a good sign that these two endurance sports are becoming more popular in Malaysia.

As for Pacesetters members, it will be good to venture into these two sports because of the cross-training required in the weekly programme would make your training more interesting.