Monday, January 28, 2008

GE30k 2008 - Part 5

Please click here to view photos by courtesy of Jason Lee and Hon You... Part 2 of 3 photo album contains 168 photos; from Nikon D70s DSLR.


Part 3 of 3 photo album ... concluding with "The Most Beautiful Runners of GE30k"... stay tune..


The finishing line - execellent idea to stage it next to the shade
Written by Josie

At 5.10am, Tapak A of Lake Garden was already abuzz with eager and excited runners. Looking at the crowd that gathers at the Tapak A, there was no doubt that GE (Great Eastern) Run received overwhelming response. It is popular with the local runners and even runners from our neighbouring countries especially the 30km category. GE Run was the first running event in year 2008. Many runners like me ran their last running event of year 2007 in Singapore International Marathon (SIM 2007) last December. It was good to see fellow runners again.
Josie

Having rested after SIM’07, I know I was in for tough run because I only managed to train twice – both occasions were short and lazy slow distance run. Thus, it was a wise decision to sign up to run 20km. However, even though I have practised running in the past from Bukit Aman car park to Petronas petrol station in Sri Hartamas, I know 20km will not be easy because I had always struggle during those practice runs.
At 6.30am sharp, finally the 20km run were flagged off half an hour after the 30km run. Immediately, we have to run up a slope. The first km was spent running in the area around Lake Gardens. I ran slowly, enjoying the cool breeze and the fresh air. Soon after, we were out of the Lake Gardens into the almost too familiar route of Bukit Tunku area. I lost count of how many up slopes there were in the darkness. The thrill is that for every up slope that one managed to conquer, the reward is the down slopes where one can catch a breather and shout out loud ‘Yipeeee’ if wanted to do so.
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AB Tan - he will be going for a 22-day trekking at Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
After running for about 5km, suddenly I experienced side stitch on the right hand side of my ribcage. It was an uncomfortable and annoying pain. I slowed down my pace and stopped swinging my right hand. After a while the pain stopped. By now, I have crossed over to the Hartamas route. Just when I started to pick up my pace again, another problem arose. ‘Oh No! Not again!’ I was saying to myself. This time, the pain occurred at the lower abdomen. So, again I slowed down and forced myself to run the long and gradual slopes along Sri Hartamas..
I tried to keep my mind off the pain by looking at the opposite side of the road. By now, the fast runners of 20km and even 30km were already making their way back. One can only watch with much awe and admiration as to how fast these runners could run on this challenging route. Seeing the familiar Petronas petrol station was a welcoming sight but it was also a reminder of another half of the 20km to complete. (Sigh!) Exhaustion was already creeping in. How on earth would I have the energy to run all the way back to the finishing line? Well, at least the pain at my lower abdomen was now gone.
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Karen
Before the start of the run, a fellow runner was commenting that the air is still cool from the rain the night before. I replied saying normally when that happens, the next morning would be very hot. True enough, on the way back, the hot blazing sun was directly in front. I regretted for not wearing a cap. A few shades darker after SIM 2007 run, I was hoping to get back my original fair skin color. Well, there goes my chance of looking fair and lovely during Chinese New Year which is just around the corner…:-(.

Yes! Run! Run! Run!
The last two kilometres were the toughest under the unforgiving sun. Under the hot sun, five water stations did not seem to be enough for the challenging route. Drinking the Power Drink at the water stations seemed to make me even thirstier. After running for more than 2 ½ hours, seeing the finishing line is the most welcoming sight! With cameras clicking away, I can imagine my sunburned and exhausted face would look like…:-0. I am glad that I managed to complete the run despite the lack of preparation for this run. A few fellow runners who ran the 30km event encounter bad leg cramps that showed just how tough the running route was.
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Jason Chin - KL Penguin Runner #10

Organizers were probably finding it harder and harder to get sponsors these days as we saw the goodies bag was shrinking from nice paper bags to plastic bags and from Finisher T for 30km runners to ‘Finisher’ towel….Nevertheless, runners were treated to a sumptuous breakfast with choice of food from cold chendol to the hot and delicious smooth Tau Foo Fah, sandwiches, nasi lemak, fruits, etc.

GE Pacesetter 30km Run 2008 was a runaway success. Definitely most of the runners will make a return for 2009 GE Pacesetter 30km Run. One hopes that the race will start at 5.30am and 6.00am for the 30km and 20km run respectively.

Written by Josie
Posted by KC

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