Another achievement!

My first Ultra marathon

Total: 60km

Start: 12:05am
Finish: 7.50am

Team mates: Hoo Ching Chong, Ching Tai, Tey Eng Tiong, Kenny Choo, Tan Khee Meng & Phyllis

The pain and suffer tend to blur with time and only the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie remain after 3 days back from Hatyai.

I would like to thank Tey Eng Tiong (marathon expert) for inviting me to the race. Being adventurous (and NOT totally crazy) and hardly a second thought, I decided to give myself a try for this special Ultra marathon (in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s ascension to the Thai throne) in Hatyai, Thailand. Without much preparation and did not train at all (not even 20km for the last 3 weeks), I hope my previous marathon training will be sufficient to take me over the finishing line. What a gutsy thinking! (Worst come to worst, I just hop on to the ambulance).

My aim is focusing on race completion rather than being ..World Champion.

We met some Malaysian runners (from Ipoh) and having a group and individual photo before the race started. At 12 o’clock on Sunday morning, the race began with a beep sound (soft until I almost miss it) and approximately 300 runners started off to tackle this 60-kilometre race that would end at 9am.

Let the real fun begin!

It was a starry and light wind night. I wondered what am I doing here in another border at the midnight and not on my bed. I started with a slow pace as I don’t want to end myself up to go back in the ambulance. Tey, CCHoo and Ching Tai were in a steady pace too. However Kenny Choo and Khee Meng were already out of my sight. Two team leaders were competing with each other.

Along the way, there are some cyclists who act as road marshals. They will lead the runners along the way to prevent them from getting lost. Thanks for their flashlight for showing us the route while we pass by the rubber estate road which was so dark. Some runners alerted others by shouting out before they crash with each other. Overall, the route is flat and straightforward. Not many turning points.

The first 20km flew by and the heat wasn’t yet oppressive. My body was hardly drenched with sweat. This is the advantage of running at night that you don’t need to worry about the heat taking you out of the race. Water stations were seen at every 2-3km. They provide plain water at most of the water stations. Some water stations will serve with watermelons, ‘Fanta’ drink (a soft drink brand produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Bottling Co), sweets and Jelly but hardly any bananas. Most of the time I will use the plain water to refresh myself.

I met Ching Tai and Tey at 30km marker and my watch showed 3hr5min. Voila, I am half way through. As usual, Tey will never forget to take the picture.

Then 3 of us ran together after the 30km. When I was at 38km mark, I thought I have 4 km to go to end the race. I kept thinking why the Thai King is celebrating 60 anniversary and not 42. “This is not a marathon, the night is still young, mate”

Anyway, it is too late to regret now. I kept on my pace and my legs didn’t give me much problem except my feet has begun to blister. The sky was quiet and even though all the sleep deprivation there was no hallucination. I felt awake maybe because of the excitement or the effect of coffee before race.

Another 18km to go when I cross the 42km mark. Tey told me that you may start to count down. I was bewildered, will it be too early?

“Running over a long distance is tedious at times and you will begin to replay past events in your mind, but also focus a bit negatively on what is happening at the moment and what you wish were happening.” This might be a good method to overcome it.

It will be a lonely journey after 46km as Tey was forced to stop for a break. Ching Tai was 1km away from me I guess. I hardly saw any lady runners on the way back. Anyway, it is quite safe to run alone while enjoys the rural view.

Looking at my watch, 5h30min, 10km to go, hmm arrive at 6h30min is a dream for me. Never mind, I think I can complete within 7 hours. I guess I have to forget about the free ride from ambulance as I hardly see any medical support car on my way back. Hmm, what if someone need it?

While stop by at the last 8km water station, I was asking for any toilet nearby with my limited Thai language plus some body language. The so-called International language is not working here. He pointed me to the ‘hidden toilet’ in the bushes. Squint with unbelievable. I can’t see any mobile toilet at all. Anyway, I decided to proceed after saying thank you to him.

The sun slowly illuminates the globe for us and the morning temperature is still bearable. I was starting to keep an eye for the marker because every single km less will make me great. “You have 5km to go, keep on it”, a bike marshal told me. I was lightened up!

Another 3km to go but it is enough to torture me as I was almost out of fuel. My legs were reluctant to listen to my order even merely 3km away. Luckily I met a woman veteran runner at the water station who stopped for a break. We were so happy to see each other. She spoke to me (in Thai) and I told her that I am from Malaysia. We pace with each other in a slow and steady pace. Her eyes burned with the kind of hardened determination only attainable through years of intense training or passion of running. What a samurai spirit!

At last I saw a cheer team welcomed us with big hand at the finishing line in 200m. Yeah! Finally, I am there.

I managed to finish in 6h50min, which was a good deal slower than I thought, but, hey, does it really matter? This is my first most significant run of my life. Another step further….