Rachel Runs

Rachel Runs...PJ Half Marathon

repeat the experience with all the other great races available. What I didnt mention was that this was my fastest half marathon after having kids which was a boost to my running confidence.

Pacesetter Back to Basics

As the title suggests this was a stripped down, basic 30km run to be used as training for those competing in the upcoming Penang Bridge and Singapore marathons. Im not entered for either of these but I do like to run a long way and have been interested in learning the pacesetters route for some time. They dont come much hillier than this! We ran over Bukit Tunku, round Publika mall and past Bank Negara. To be honest, Im not even sure, but it was hilly, challenging and low on traffic. There were plenty of volunteers, no points where you could have lost your way and water stations about very 3km. The start time was a punishing 5.30am but it was pretty close to my house and I was able to park easily close to the start line. 30km seems neither here nor there, its a stretch further than a half marathon but you are not going beyond the wall of a full marathon. There was no prize money (as if thats ever a factor for me!) and no pressure and I just really enjoyed the route, meeting up with a few friends and pushing myself on the hills. It probably helped that it was a beautiful morning. The only crushing blow was that the route was actually two circuits of the same track! Regular readers will know this is a pet hate of mine and I felt gutted for about 2 miles until I talked myself round to it (at least I knew where I was going and I might learn the route, neither was true but this kind of brain training is an essential part of my game plan). My timing was a very respectable 3 hrs 5 mins which, over a full marathon distance, Id be happy to maintain. At the end I was cheered over the finish line by a handful of volunteers, given a cool T-shirt and medal and then there was watermelon! Perfect! So, it was very low key in comparison to the PJ half but as we all know, in certain things, size isnt everything!

fter this event the organising team asked for feedback on Facebook with the caveat that this event is more of a carnival than a running event and anyone who came to run is missing the point. If thats the case, why not just host a carnival and leave the running event to people who know what is required in organising one of these. The following is more or less the feedback I gave.
1. The start line was a bottle neck which is both dangerous and boring! 2. For the first few miles of the race, the path was so small that it was impossible to overtake other runners and get up to a comfortable speed. 3. The route was all boring highway running with nothing to look at and some sections of it went through unlit tunnels. Did no one consider this may have been unsafe? 4. There were lots of sections which doubled back which I find pretty soul destroying. 5. At the water stations there were no drinks poured so you had to stop and wait for the helpers on the stand to pour one out.

Photographs by Eng Tiong 6. No finishers pack. A t-shirt is nice as most of us dont get chance to wear the medals in our day to day life. 7. After the poor hydration management throughout the race I couldnt wait to cross the finish line and have a great big drink of water from my finishers pack. But there was no finishers pack. I had to then fight my way through crowds and queue up to get a thimbleful of liquid for my parched mouth. 8. I didnt see a portapotty on the whole route unacceptable! Fortunately, I didnt need to go but running can have an effect on the digestion sometimes. I feel sorry for the poor runners who experienced this at your event. 9. At 5.15am before the race had even started, I had to jump over a river of urine to use the toilets at Kelana Jaya stadium. 10. Great work getting Golden Screen Cinemas on board as a sponsor and I would have loved a money off voucher or some of that tasty popcorn in my finishers pack! However, as Ive said, there was no finishers pack and the queue for the popcorn was full of non-runners who were already eating some whilst queuing up for some more. I found this event chaotic, maybe even shambolic, and would be very unlikely to

by Rachel Joseph