KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL MARATHON 2005 RACE REPORT by LIM FANG HAU, JASON @ PM 23

This was my maiden marathon. I arrived at the starting point 5 minutes before the race began. For this race, my strategy was to cover the first 30km before 3 hr 30 min and continue until 32km before hitting the wall (most likely at 32km). Then, I would use the walk and run strategy for the remaining 10km. Before running I applied some deep heat rub on my legs to prevent muscle cramp.

The race started at 5am sharp. The weather was fine in the morning. I was using my normal pacing of 6 min per km for the race. The first 10km was very fine for me and my timing was 59 min 31 sec. I was surprised that I paced my self too fast. For the next 11km I still managed to maintain my 6 min per km pacing. My split off time for the 21km mark was 2 hr 12 min. At 21km mark I used up my first Power Gel. This helps me to keep on going as my legs muscle started to feel a little tired. For the next 9km my pace started to drop to an average of 7 min 46.67sec per km. 1 km before reaching 30km mark, I took the second Power Gel. I reached 30km mark in 3 hr 22 min. I continued for the next 2km before I started to hit the wall.

After 32km mark, my legs muscles started to get stiff and I could not push my self harder. I dared not push my self faster as I was afraid of the occurrence of the most painful incident in my life since taking up running seriously. That was in my first half marathon in Ipoh last year when I collapsed at 19km mark due to severe muscle cramp and had to be carried away in the ambulance to the finishing point. So I decided to use the walk and run strategy for the next 10km. My pace was quite slow and at certain stretches I had to walk as my leg muscles was too stiff for me to move. I tried using the 3rd Power Gel at 34km mark and 38km mark. It helped me to keep on going and preventing my muscle from getting severe cramp. Along the last miserable 10km, I had to apply the pain killer on both of my leg muscles to prevent muscle cramp 3 times at 35km mark, 37km mark and 40km mark. I arrived at the 40km mark at 5 hr 15 min. With remaining 2km to go, I decided to take the Plum Powder (mixed with water) to keep me going.

After 40km, I started to increase my pace faster. With less than 150 metres to go, I decided to abandon my jogging pace and I sprinted as fast as I could to the finishing line. I clocked 5 hr 32 min 5 sec (Official time). My chip time was 5 hr 31 min 55 sec. Overall, I was happy with my performance as I used the correct racing strategy and I was expecting to finish around 5 to 5 ½ hours. I managed to get my first marathon medal.

There were sufficient of water station. The traffic control at Jalan Pahang roundabout was bad. Some runners had to stop for a while to allow the vehicles to move. Perhaps in future there should be total road closure for the race rather than partial road closure.

The distance markers at certain stretches were misleading. At the 21km marker there was no timing mat to step on. The timing mat only came after the 22km mark but my timing split based on half marathon distance was 2 hr 22 min 8 sec as compared to 2hr 12 min based on the distance marker. My 30km timing was 3 hr 39 min 5 sec as compared to 3 hr 22 sec based on the distance marker. Can any of the experience runners explain this? Which is correct, the chip time at the split of 21k and 30km or the distance marker time?

Another misleading distance marker situation was at the 32km marker. The timing mat was located less than 500 metres before the 32km marker. There was an indication to indicate the remaining 10km distance. I followed the distance marker closely and when I was approaching Wisma Tani from Mahameru Highway, there should be 3 more km remaining but I was told by the race marshal that there were 5 more km remaining. Isn’t it misleading? Did the marathon runners run 44km instead of 42km for this race? Can any experienced marathoners reply to my queries?

For this marathon, I had prepared for 3.5 months with weekend and public holiday training only and my mental toughness actually got me through. I was very focused and determined to finish the race. With sufficient practice run, I managed to complete the entire marathon. In actual fact, the real battle started at the last 10km. Physically, I was not tired at all but my muscle stiffness slows me down. For those intending to run the marathon for the first time, always remember this, “Nothing is impossible”. As long as you had put in sufficient effort in your training, you can finish the entire marathon and do not give up easily.