Sunday, July 31, 2011

adiNation Run

After having been training in the mountains for months in preparation for the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon in October 2011, it is indeed good to be back running on the tarmac again for me.
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It was a fun outing running in the adiNation Run on Sunday morning, 31 July 2011. The size of the crowd was not too big and it was a well organized event. BRAVO  to the organizer, Adidas Malaysia! For all registration, whether payment for medals or just a free run, all are given proper bib numbers to run.
 

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Do click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC).


For the 15km category that I ran, there were ample water stations – five of them – with the last 3 serving 100 Plus drinks other than the standard bottled water. One interesting observation: all volunteers are a different group of youngsters. Adidas Nation Runs attract a complete different group of runners, followers and supporters.
Bukit Julutong at Shah Alam is just superb for hosting this adiNation Run. The roads are wide, not much traffic and the houses lining the running routes are just pleasing to the eyes in their designs. While passing by a football field about three kilometres before the finishing line, the backyard of the houses are like individual garden with big lot of land. And the icing on the cake was that the weather was cool and breezy that morning which was just superb for a run.

 Yours truly (KC) after crossing the finishing run in the 15km category. I got 23th postion... not too bad, though timing can be improved further.


I was running quite fast that morning, wanting to test out my endurance level and also the new Adidas Supernova shoes. One funny feeling: used to start/stop conditions in trail running in the mountains, I always have the urge to stop and walk for a while.
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At the finishing point, they served breakfast, watermelon, Milo drinks, etc. Since that was a small crowd, a lot of food was left unfinished.
Other interesting observation: during the lucky draw, even a simple Adidas running vest can create much frenzy, enthusiasm and heightened screams ... okay, it is the perceived branding in our mind wanting to own these gear.

Your truly (KC) ... this photo courtesy of Victor Chong / Elaine ... thanks
I am wearing my new Adidas Supernova running shoes ... click here
 The Bukit Jelutong Club's own band entertaining the runners that liven up the admosphere of the event.

Celine enjoying the rhythmical beat of the drums

 Lots of lucky draws for the lucky runners

 The grand prizes

 Congratulations to Celine for achieving the 3rd placings in Women's 10km run. BRAVO !!

 More runners are returning to the finishing line

 One group photo for rememberance.

 
 It was very thoughtful of Eileen and group who bought a cake to celebrate Tony's birthday... the birthday boy is in light blue.

Krishnan, the Head of Running of Adidas (M), presenting the top prize to Jason Loh - the Champion again ... he was the champion in the Rexona Men Adventure Challenge a week ago ... click here

Posted by KC Leong

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Rexona Men Adventure Challenge Photos

The pro and adventurous guys went for the Rexona Men only adventure challenge on Saturday, 23 July at Taman Pertanian Shah Alam.

The adventure stuff is not what we thought: it was quite an easy one with 80% of the time running on tarmac and there was only a little trail running.

At first, looking around at the participants, the group thought that Edwin Goh and Rothman Fong, the two star trail runners in our group but were not present, would stand a good chance of getting the grand prize -- 6D5N stay at New Zealand.

I think this event is also suitable for ladies. Maybe next year, in order to justify for the word ‘adventure’, the organizer can make the event even more challenging.

All photos here are by courtesy of Chiew Hong, who is in this eGroup. Photos are extracted from his photo album as follows: click here (in Facebook) 

The pro and adventurous guys with the yow yeng pose
(Left): ChooTS, ChongYF, Kelvin Lee, PK Chan, Chiew Hong, Mak CK, Wilsion Liew, KC


 
Kudos to the organizer to set up tents/booths just like those mega running or world class events.
From collecting of race entry packs; subsequently, leading to collection of bibs, filming of the event, rule/regulation briefing and safety briefing,
the organizer is serious and really put in a lot of effort in ensuring that the event is being conducted smoothly and safely. BRAVO!!!

 
In unison attire ... red = pro category; green = amateur.

 
Lipton Milk Tea – lots of beverage to go round: isotonic drinks, bottled water, hot drinks, kuih-muih, etc.

 
Anxiously waiting for the moment ...

 
Does the scene look familiar to you?

 
This time, the vest (or T-shirt) is not yellow.

 
Cargo Net Wall – This is the most challenging part of all the obstacles. To make it even tougher (not sure it is intended by the organizer), the knot actually slide downward.

 
Hurdles – that looks like the track and field event on tarmac

 
Walking on Thin Lines – If one steps out of the line, repeat the process until successful. Anyway, it is not that easy to maintain balance.

 
Start of the jungle trail

 
Not too challenging as the gradient is not steep (say, compare to Gunung Nuang)

 
Tranquil view

 
Up and (you are) Over ... almost to the finishing line

Help yourself ... at the finishing line.

With Jason Loh - the Champion who looks like a college student.
Overall, it was a fun and well organized event. Looking forward for more harder challenge next year.
Yeah, allow women category also. Besides, as a good marketing strategy, most women buy those personal care products (eg. deodorants) for their men (the lucky ones)... :-)

Posted by KC Leong

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Super GT International Series Malaysia 2011

Event: Super GT International Series Malaysia 2011
Date: 18 - 19 June 2011
Venue: Sepang International Circuit (SIC)

SIC successfully hosted Japan’s biggest race at Sepang last month. Our action photographer, Shukri, was there to capture the photos of the monster machine roaring the Sepang circuit, and the icing on the cake is to meet the charming, cheerful and graceful GT queens. 

Do click here to view photos by courtesy of Shukri. In Picasa web photo album, click Slideshow, hit F11 key (for bigger displays).





With lots of 'fire' power
Glowing hot braking system





The event ended with a concert.

Posted by KC Leong

Sunday, July 17, 2011

G.Nuang Trail Running

(Back) KC, Chiew Hong, Ho, Mark Boogaers, Lai Kuan, Ya Huey, Patricia Yap, TeeEK, Edwin Goh, Danny, ..., Mei Ling, Rothman, AB Tan.

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Do click here to view photo album with photos taken by yours truly (KC).
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The weather was cool and the air was fresh after almost one whole day of drizzle the day before. Tier-2 (to Camp Pacat) and Tier-3 (to the peak) of the terrain were dry though at the logging trail (Tier-1), the ground was a little wet.
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Our star trail runners are Edwin Goh, Rothman Fong and AB Tan. Edwin Goh’s timing: 2 hr 03 min to False Peak; 2 hr 23 min to The Peak of Gunung Nuang. Normal trekkers would take 5 hours to reach the Peak.
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We met quite a number of trekkers whom we know. One of the groups is from ShiekEM and LimGT where we exchanged pleasantries when we were running down the mountain (while they were trekking up).
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Another group is Chiew Hong's friends (WK Chong) who carried almost 20kg of weight each for camping at the Peak of Gunung Nuang.
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At Camp Pacat, Chiew Hong went to explore the water source; the stream was only a 5-minute walk away. For those who camp at the peak, taking water from here would be a better option instead of carrying the whole weight from Kem Lolo.
 KC, Mark, Patricia, Lai Kuan, TeeEK and Chiew Hong

  Stream crossing made easy ... Lai Kuan and Chiew Hong
The signature tree for photo shoot at Kem Pacat ... (back) Danny, Lai Kuan, KC, TeeEK; (front) Mark, Ya Huey, Patricia 
It takes 4 persons to assist Patricia to ‘lift’ her to the desired elevation for photo shoot.
 Finally, ready for a nice pose
  Our star trail runners – Rothman Fong (front) and Edwin Goh (back) – returning from the mountain. Edwin Goh is one of the top 50 qualifiers in last year’s Mount Kinabalu Climbathon 2010.
Passing by the stream en route to car park. The new kid on the block is Ya Huey (right) who is also fast.

Posted by KC Leong

Friday, July 15, 2011

Team of Eleven

Leanne from The Team of Eleven ... kindly contact me ... :-)

I would like to contact your group.

Please send me an email to

kcsr22@gmail.com

... thanks/KC

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Guerrilla Princess and Edelweiss (Mt Rinjani Part 5)

Photos and Written by Jayne Aw
Edelweiss
Whenever I go trekking, I will ask this same question over and over again; “what on earth am I doing here?”
Dressing up like a guerrilla princess, covering from head to toes and shying away from the blazing hot sun; life must be pretty boring in the workaday humdrum world that led me into this escape to a remote island called Lombok in Indonesia.

Do CLICK HERE for Part 4 (summiting the peak).

The sight of edelweiss dotting the grassland reminded me of the “Sound of Music”, where Captain von Trapp and his family were fleeing over the mountains for freedom. So what motivation did I give myself for scaling up to the Crater Rim I (2,641m) from the Senaru Trek Centre (601m) on Day 1?

Having walked for almost 5 hours through the shady tropical forest to shrubby foliage and then to the open grassland, the last climb to Crater Rim I was vertiginous. Macho, our mountain guide, kept a wide smile and told me to go slow as it’s still early. I gave way to a porter behind me, but Macho signaled me to proceed as this poor porter was having his first taste of climbing Rinjani with over 30kg load. Macho pointed at his eyes, and signaled tears. Ya, mine was flowing down to the stomach.


Top of the Clouds

Counting my steps to the repeated tune of “Do, a deer, a female deer………..” I finally reached the crater top. After a labored climb, one was rewarded with a panoramic view of the crater rim surrounding the Lake Segara Anak that shimmered with turquoise hue.

Once standing above 5,000m, Rinjani was brought to its present state (3,726m) after few volcanic eruptions. A new peak, Gunung Barujari (2,363m), emerged from the lake creating a volcano within a volcano. The last eruption was in 2009; and today one can still see smoke emitting from Barujari.
 

Sleeping tents were set up facing the lake. Temperature at 2,641m was biting cold with howling wind. I put on my down jacket and walked to the hill at the western side to watch sunset. Rolling clouds enveloped the hill slopes beneath the campsite and one got the feeling of elevation above the clouds. As sun was setting, more clouds rolled in and formed a roaring sea of clouds, an awesome view to behold. Dinner was served later by the campsite and soon everyone retired to rest for next day’s climb.  
  

Anglers’ Paradise


Day 2’s trek started with a precarious descent of 600m through rocky trail to Lake Segara Anak. The seasoned porters were breezing through the steep rocky steps in their flip-flops with 30-40 kg load. But for me, it was a baby-step descent, holding on to every rock or branch that came within my reach.

Many people made a tedious hike to fish at Lake Segara Anak, which is regarded sacred by the locals.  Most would find their own ideal spots and wait patiently for the fish; some would proudly show off their catches. 

姜太公钓鱼, 愿者上钓。。。。。Waiting patiently for the unfortunate fish
We stopped by the lake to have lunch. About a 10-minute walk away is the hot spring and waterfall where one could have a dip to refresh and rejuvenate the tired muscles. However the sight of rubbish littering around the place put me off.

We continued our journey after lunch into open grassland and had another torturous round of vertiginous climb to Crater Rim II at Sembalun (2,639m). Everyone retired early after dinner to have a good rest for the summit climb.

Rinjani Summit

We were supposed to begin our ascent to the summit at 2am but Macho had overslept. By the time we had our noodle, it was already 3am. Sky was still dark with poor visibility on the path. Fortunately I had Dolla (the sweeper) behind to guide me to “Kiri, kanan; kanan, kiri……..”



The ascent to the summit was a strenuous one over the crater rim composed mainly of loose sand and gravels. For every two steps I advanced, I would slide a step backward. Macho had reminded us not to walk while taking photograph, and conversely not to take photograph while walking; for one needs to traverse cautiously along the narrow path, as a slip on either side of the rim would be fatal.

Beautiful dawn at Rinjani…………I was just half-way through to the summit.

Feeling elated at the Rinjani summit after a strenuous climb - Jayne Aw 

The pull of gravity coupled with the loose sand made the descent a more palatable one as each step would bring you down with two further steps. In less than half the time of ascent, we already reached the camp site. After a couple of hours rest and lunch, we continued with our journey to the next camp site at Pada Balong (1,800m) where we would spend another night.

Starry Starry Night

After dinner at Pada Balong camp site, Jean and Sylvia snuggled inside their tent for a rest; while Bernard was doing the wayang kulit show in his tent; and Choo was blasting out some of the oldies from his hand phone to keep us entertained.
  
Spellbinding golden hue of colours from the sunset at Pada Balong camp site

Despite a lower altitude, temperature at Pada Balong was as cold as that at the crater rim. But that didn’t stop us from gathering outside our sleeping tents to gaze at the sky that was filled with bright stars. I was looking for 牛郎织女星 but had no clue, as the immensity of the universe is difficult to grasp.

Sunrise, Sunset at Gili Island
The last day of trekking was a gentle 3 hour trek through open grassland to Sembalun village where we were transferred to the jetty to catch a boat to Gili Island.   

Three islands made up of Gili; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. Being the biggest of the three, Gili Trawangan is blessed with crystal clear water and fine white sand. Coming from the East Coast of Malaysia, I have seen many nice beaches but Gili is one of the best.


In front of our hotel is a stretch of never-ending fine white sandy beach with clear blue water. One gets a full view of sunrise from here. Walking further to the western side of the island is the sunset vantage point.
朝迎曦日升。。。。。Salutation to sunrise (opposite is Mt Rinjani)

暮送夕阳下。。。。。Farewell to sunset
这情景就能在Gili岛上体会到。。。。。One gets the best of both in Gili Island

The half an hour show of sunset was spectacular and immense. Projected on a humongous stage spanning over miles, the stage lighting changed from glowing bright light to flaming iridescent gold, and gradually paling off to a hue of gray. I was unspeakable, except uttered to myself that it was a perfect show!

美丽的景色已被我的相机冻结于永恒。。。。。 Voila! A perfect show of Nature……..
Rinjani trek is relatively tough. But with reasonable level of fitness, coupled with a pinch of determination and sense of adventure, plus a dollop of humor, the journey would be a memorable retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. As for me, I have just added another feather to my green Arabian hat…….and with a short memory that I have, I am already looking forward to my next trekking trips……..
Mission Accomplished - A group photo at the peak of Mount Rinjani
Please click here to view photos taken by Jayne Aw.

Do click here for all postings on Mount Rinjani. Scroll down the pages; at end of web page, click "Older Posts" for more.

By Jayne Aw
18-24 June 2011
Posted by KC Leong