MSIG Ekiden Run 2011 : The Sweet Taste of Our Sweat

Last weekend i made history.

Well, my life history. For the first time ever in the entire almost-26 years of my life, i ran a marathon!

A few weeks back, Chuna ajak join this Ekiden Run. As always, without thinking long and hard, i said yes on the spot. Typical bimbo me.

For Ekiden Run, participants have to form a group of 5 people (mandatory to have 2 women in the group). Instantly Chuna, Mariah, Puvee and i formed a group. Disebabkan tak cukup orang, i forced my brother, Redha to join. Seperti selalu, Redha pon dengan rela hati mengikut perintah. Hehe.

As days go by, i forgot that i signed up for this. Sampai lah hari Rabu lepas, i just hit me that i have to run on Sunday. Tak sempat nak training apa sangat. i only managed to jog once at KLCC Park. 3 rounds for 30 minutes. Itu pon dah semput cam orang gila.

We don't put high hope in this competition. Not there to compete, completing the run is our goal.

Ekiden Run is not like any other marathon. It's a relay race where we have to complete 21km run. There are 5 runners; runner A and C have to run 3km while runner B, D, and E have to run 5km. We were given a sach instead of baton to pass to our teammate once we finish our runs.

Runner A started their run at Dataran Merdeka. Runners B, C, D and E were taken by the respective buses to the respective checkpoints to wait for their teammates to finish their leg and pass the sach to them.

Ekiden Run is also a charity event. MSIG Insurance Company will donate RM100 per Ekiden participant to Japan tsunami victims. Click here to know more.

i was runner D. i was taken to my waiting point which is in front of Stadium Badminton Bandar Tun Razak. i had to run 5km all the way to Pavillion, Star Hill. Never in my life would i imagine walking/running all the way to Pavillion!

Ini lah keadaan di check point Zone D where i waited for Puvee (Runner C) to come and pass me the sach.

Time ni kol 6am camtuh.

Yang tengah lari tu adalah mereka yang lari for Standard Chartered Full Marathon. 42km hokay. Kau ado?

Puvee passed the sach to me at precisely 7.56am. i ran as fast as i could to finish my leg and pass the sach to my brother, Redha. Tapi tak lah fast sangat aku lari pon. Mula-mula je semangat. Pastu slow jog berselang-seli fast run dan berjalan. Penat tahu tak. i passed through Maluri, naik Jalan Tun Razak, passed RHB HQ, lalu depan Prince Court, passed Audi and Porsche showrooms and tamat di hadapan Pavillion. Passed the sach to Redha at precisely 8.30am. My time was 34 minutes. 

5km run in 34 minutes is an achievement for me!

For me, the moments leading up to me passing the sach to Redha is a little bit emotional. During the 5km run, i almost give up. Ye lah whaddehell ko lari tanpa arah tuju sejauh 5km? Kalau ikot hati, malas dah nak lari. Nak jalan je lenggang kangkung. But the thoughts of my team mates kept me going. Ye lah, tanak la sebab aku, all their efforts wasted. Tanak sebab aku, kitorang jadi the last one finish. Tanak sebab aku, team mates kecewa. Memang tanak. So i kept running. Walopon otot betis rasa nak tercabut dan tekak rasa tandus macam padang pasir Sahara. i kept on running. Bila sampai depan Audi showroom, i saw Redha. Nuuuuunnnn dia jauh di sana, di belakang garisan penamat. He saw me and he smiled. He looked so excited to see me. Agaknya dia heran camne kakak dia yang gemok tak pernah merentas desa ni boleh lari camni. He was my motivation at that moment. In that last 100meters, i sprinted. It was an uphill run but i sprinted. i passed the sach to my waiting brother, smiling, and i managed to shout "Good Luck!!"

As a result of commitment and team spirit (haaa.. patriotik sangat ayat ini kannn?), we finished at 11th place. We couldn't be more happier. 11th out of 30 teams is not bad at all. At least we're within the top 15.

  Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011 : MSIG Ekiden Run 2011 Results.

Taken from http://www.kl-marathon.com/

It's not the placing that makes it sweet. It's the fact that i ran with my girls from work, Chuna and Mariah. It's the fact that i made friends with Puvee, Mariah's housemate. It's the fact that i did this with my brother, Redha. They make this sweet.

Oleh kerana bas yang membawa saya ke Dataran Merdeka (from my finishing point at Pavillion) terkandas dalam kesesakan lalu lintas, saya sampai lambat di Dataran Merdeka. Tak dapat tengok Redha amek medal. Dah la tak bawak phone, saya sesat tak dapat jumpa team mates. Nasib baik ingat parking kete katne, so cari mereka disitu. Tak sempat pon amek gamba team di finishing line. last-last kitorang amek gamba kat depan umah Mariah je. Hehe.

Ini adalah gambar kegembiraan just after i finished my 5km run. Diambil di check point E, depan Pavillion.

The only photos of myself that i have during the run.

Photo credit to Mohd Reduan, the official photographer of SCKLM.

My team mates, of whom i ran for.

From left; my brother Redha, Puvee, Mariah and Chuna.

Depan rumah Mariah pon bolehhh..

Sweet fruits of our sweat and muscle ache: Ekiden Medals.

The Story of Us.

:')

Sweet momentos that will remind me of my first ever marathon; Ekiden medal, Standard Chartered KL Marathon medal and my Ekiden run bib.

Harap tahun depan ada lagi. Harap di-invite lagi.

p/s: Now i can cross off one of the thing in my "30 Things to Do Before i Turn 30" list :D