KUCHING MARATHON 2014 - THE BEST FM SO FAR! TOTALLY UNFORGETTABLE =d

"Welcome to Kuching, Sarawak, Land of the Hornbills!"

Hi there... Happy Friday to all of you guys out there... Have a nice day ahead!

I know, I know this is a long over due entry. I have to admit, I was pretty lazy to blog about it before. Maybe I was bedazzled by its beauty? Or perhaps I really need a proper time to sit down and pour my heart and soul out for this special race report? Hohoho... Ngengada la ko Hafiz Aizat...

Actually I'm sooooo looking forward to come to Kuching for this inaugural Kuching Marathon 2014. For the record, once the announcement has been made for its date, I've booked the flight tickets and secured the accommodation immediately. Rashid and I also registered on the very first day they opened for the online registration. Punyelah teruja punya pasal... All the basic preparation had been made in advance despite knowing that I had to run in Kuching 20 days after Eid ul Fitr... Because I had faith and believed that the organizer of KM 2014 had already did their homework and vowed to offer an unforgettable experience running in Kuching to all the runners. =D

So on the Friday, Rashid and I took on the night flight to Kuching. Met Gme at the KLIA 2. Apparently we were on the same flight. What a lovely co-incidence. It was a bumpy flight indeed due to the bad weather and strong winds. Thankfully we landed safely and took a taxi to our hotel. Had a lovely dinner while waiting for others to arrive. Mr Faiez and Khubaib also joined us for the dinner and some chit chats. We kept on talking about running events, what else la kan! =P

Sarawak signature Nasi Goreng Dabai and Pisang Goreng Cheese... Drooled!

After a nice lovely dinner, both of us went to Tune Hotel for the check in. It was still drizzling ya that night. The room was so cozy and I dozed off once checked in. Oh before that, we've planned to have a nice stroll @ easy morning run along the famous Waterfront and around the Kuching.

Credits to Uncle TLK for this picture... =D 

Funtastic Three ehh... Rashid, Me, Pais

Sesekali feeling elite runner in style... Gaya je lebih nih hahaa

It was a wet Saturday morning. There were five of  us at first but only four of us (Rashid, Gme Idola, Faiez and I) wanted to run. We could not resist to snap some photos at the well known landmark Cats statues before we start running... Even had some selfies along the route. From the waterfront to Kuching Reservoir Park. We had a lot of fun running while gossiping eh.... We ran towards Satok Market just want to savour the famous mee kolok @ sapi. Gme had two bowls all for himself! It was super yummy and worth running to this famous resto! Hehee... Easy fun fun run done in 8-9km on that wet morning.

Mi Kolok tok nang wajib makan mun kitak orang ke Satok... Sik lengkap asanya eh... 

We headed back to the hotel and had a rest before we went to Kuching Merdeka Plaza to collect our race pack. We heard that there were some problems regarding the REPC in the afternoon due to the huge surge of participants during the lunch hour. The runners had to wait long to collect their race pack. So we decided to come and collect it around 2pm. Luckily there was no crowd and the REPC went smooth and silky. Met Azim and his sister, Kak Tie, Yahya Iskandar, Shin Wong and Mohan during REPC and took some photos too. =D

Met Yahya the well known FOMR Blogger Marathoner there....

The usual cuplrits with a FMV runner... hehee...

Bumped into Gjoll at the G Floor... Nice knowing ya bro...

After having our lunch there, we've decided to go to the hotel and getting ready for our evening stroll across the Sarawak River. By this time, Mr. Taufik has arrived and joined us. We went to Dayang Salhah Kek Lapis Sarawak for some layered cakes shopping. We had a simple dinner before we headed back to get some early sleep. Early la sangat... I was already felt so tired and really need to hit the sack asap. Couldn't care less to prepare my running apparel before I dozed off... Decent rest is numero uno priority...

Rombongan Kak Ti dah bersedia nih shoppingthon!

Wajin singgah yer beli belah di Kek Lapis Sarawak Dayang Salhah nih... Meriah!

Simple dinner carboloading light2 gittew before the most anticipated run

On that Sunday morning, I woke up lazily and getting myself ready for the run. Luckily the starting line was 1.5km from our hotel, just nice for us to do a warming up run. Saw some familiar faces at the venue and took some photos with them. Snapped some pics with Meek Soon, Gme, Azim, etc... Exactly at 3am, we were being flagged off.

The first 10km we were running through several Malay villages. Kg. Masjid, Kg. No.2, Kg. No.5, Kg. No. 6, Kg. Sungai Lajim and Kg. Tupong Batu, just to name a few. I was amazed by the support from the fellow villagers who were still awake at that ungodly hours. They stood in front of their houses. Some even cheered and gave us high 5s. I still remembered this one particular makcik said to me, "Laju gik, laju gik berekot ya" (Run Faster, Run Faster!) I was pumped upon seeing there was this band of young men playing kompang and gendang while singing joyful patriotic songs and waving Jalur Gemilang too. Felt like running in the overseas where there were so many spectators along the way,  well at least for the first 10km. Did 1:16:52 for my first 10km.

Once I reached this huge roundabout, it was almost 11km. Nothing much to see here along this stretch until I ran along Jalan Tun Abdul Rahman, moving towards Jalan Semariang and Jalan Sultan Tengah. It was a long boring stretch along Jalan Sultan Tengah. Bumped into Azim at KM18-19 and requested him to be my pacer from there onwards. Hit 21km mark at this dull stretch with the cumulative time of 3:03:55. Not a bad timing despite my bugging knee and mental chalengging route hehee..

From KM22 to KM30, we were running side by side, sometimes we sang out heart out, just want to kill the boredom and simply easing my mind off the dreadful neverending straight flat stretch. Maklumlah pace sendu super selo melo saja... Around 8-10 minutes per km during that time. Circa KM29, we passed through Bako National Park and crossed the first bridge Managed to clock in 4:31:03 for my KM30. huhu.. There were many Water Stations along the route, each WS was equipped with enough drinking water, isotonics and bananas at KM34/35. I was relieved upon seeing Borneo Convention Centre Kuching at KM34. 8KM to go.. Must keep moving no matter what... Saw Mohan and his disciples at this stretch. Tried my best to keep my feet moving eventhough my knees and hamstring were screaming at that moment. It was already bright with less traffic.

Marvelous view of mighty Sungai Sarawak

From Jalan Keruing we ran towards Jalan Pelabuhan and crossed another bridge. I could see Santubong River on my right side and Sarawak River on my left side. I thought I was looking at the sea already! It was huge. Reached KM40 at Jalan Padungan in 6:25:05 and tried to finish my run within the 7 hours cut off time. It was tough. I had to run carefully along the last 5km, especially along the China Town as they have already opened the road to the traffic. No safety cone anymore. The last thing I wanted to avoid was to be hit by a vehicle at this final stage of my run. Saw Yahya Iskandar, Arman and Sis Suzie along the last 1km. Thank goodness, I managed to cross the Finishing Line in 6:49:22 (6:42:50 moving time according to my GARMIN watch). Yayyy...

Almost there... Credits to Divana Gme for this picture! =D

I was super tired and overjoyed at the same time. Too bad there were no more refreshment and snacks for late finishers like me. Thanks to Kak Tie for taking the big bottle of 100 Plus for me and Azim. I took my finisher tee and medal and it was time for photo ops. Didn't wait any longer and went to the Rajah Brooke Cafe for my brunch with all my running buddies... =D

Me, Gme & Rashid... Congrats Divana Icona Idola Gme on your PB of 4:55 uols!!! Nangess kagumzz!

Rashid, Me and Eina... Congrats Eina on your FMV in Kuching... Laju btol, xnampak bayang pun... =D

Kita makan dulu!

Sarawak Laksa, creamy spicy laksa... Simply delicious!

Overall, it was a very well organized running event. Excellent traffic control, sufficient amount of WS with cold drinking water, isotonics, iced sponge and bananas. Super friendly volunteers at every WS. Cheerful and chirpy villagers were a winner for me... It was totally unexpected and definitely unforgettable moments ever. Plus the finisher medal and tee design was ok simple and nice. Not bad for an inaugural race. Well done organizer, Kuching Marathon Association (KMA) for being one of the best organizer in Malaysia... Glad I finished my #13th Full Marathon here... hehee =D
   

Kamek Sayang Sarawak! Kelak kamek balit sinun gik owhh hehee... =D

P/S: My GARMIN data is HERE.... =D