Hi Everyone,
Some of you may have heard that I've been participating in various running events for the past two years. Here's how it got started.
I picked up sports again from 20o4 as a form of exercise and to keep fit. I started jogging and playing badminton with my friends and colleagues. Sports improve my overall health and reduces stress. I sweat a lot and feel much fresher after sports. I feel happier after I exercised. My athletic capability is not the best of the best. I have not considered joining competitive running prior to that.
A good friend, Daniel Teo encouraged me to pick up competitive running in the middle of last year. He knew that I've been jogging and playing badminton each week. He asked me to consider about joining the McDonalds Olympics Fun Run 2012. He also participated in several running events that time. I told him I will think about it.
A lot of my friends from school and colleagues joined Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012. Some joined the Energiser Night Run. More and more people are joining competitive running in the past few years. After some time, I thought that I can try running a 5km or 7km event. I then signed up for the McDonalds Olympics Fun Run 2012 together with Daniel. It was a 7km running event held at Dataran Merdeka. I started to train myself for the run. There was no official timing for the run thus I do not know the results but overall it was an achievement. I never knew that I could complete 7km. It was a good run.
I signed up for the Brooks Marathon 2013 earlier this year after that with Daniel. We took part in the 10km run held at National Stadium. I completed the run in a net time of 1:30:09. It was another achievement. The medal is the small silver trophy that you see in the picture below.
I've decided to join the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013 (10km Cruise) after that to challenge myself. Maybe I can be faster. My time was 1:32:38. It was slower but I still completed it. I then signed up for Adidas King of the Road held at Sunway Pyramid in October 2013 with my school friend, Kevin. My time was slower as well, finishing in 1:34 with 3 minutes toilet break after the first water station. I have been training prior to this by jogging myself or with my colleagues every week but my time seems slower each time. Each run that I went to have different kinds of terrain. Uphill, downhill, straight road, slope, curving and passing through tunnel are among those terrains. My timing is consistent across the 3 races.
Joining these competitive running events have these benefits:
- Challenge myself to finish faster
- Very good exercise and burn calories
- Feel fresher and happier
- Running at different locations
I can see places that I never saw before. For the McDonalds Fun Run, we ran past Bank Negara, Memorial Tunku Abdul Rahman and other government agencies along that area. At the Brooks Marathon, we ran past Bukit Jalil, IMU, Astro and Kesas Highway before ending at the National Stadium. As for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013, we run from Padang Merbok and passed by KL Sentral, Brickfields, Majestic Hotel, Masjid Negara, Lake Gardens and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Last but not least, we ran along the NPE from Sunway Pyramid until slightly after Continental tyre factory and heading back to Sunway Pyramid at the Adidas King of The Road.
The biggest marathon event that I've gone to is the Standard Chartered KL Marathon with 33,000 participants. This is followed with Adidas KOTR with 11,000 participants. I have signed up for the Multi Purpose Insurance 8km run on 5th January 2014. I wish to participate in the following running events next year:
- Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2014
- Brooks Marathon 2014 (maybe)
- Adidas King of the Road 2014
- Putrajaya Night Run 2014
- Mens' Health Night Run 2014
Come and join me in the next run! More friends running together creates more fun. I want try going for night runs next year. We can train up together and improve our timings.
Cheers,
Rogerkoo
