Limping Marathon Runner

.... A long race field report. Warning. You might just fall asleep .....

My alarm sounded off at 3.30am before I took a shower and went through the usual ritual of getting dressing for the race. A yam pastry (I bought yesterday) and museli bar was my breakfast that would see me through my first 21km (at least). With Angelo, we gathered at one of their rooms. At 4.15am, we flagged down a Tuk-tuk to bring us to the start point. While making our way there, we felt slight drizzle once we saw the wet roads along the way. Not good. Not a very good sign. The second half of the journey appeared to have dry floors. With loud music and Emcee speeches, we were sure that the race was about to flag off. It was about 5mins away from 5am and I went to relieve myself. I did my warm up stretches and there was a countdown in Thai. Flag off!

I was right at the back and 5 metres away from the start line, there were puddles of water seen!! I walked my way out to the main road and took a slow start. The first few kms of the route was pretty dark. The sun was visible to other parts of the globe. Keeping my pace to relax mode, I saw a fellow runner (Pacesetters) with a tag on his back that says, "In memory of Terence Leong, Penguin 6". Friends remember you as a runner forever because of the bond. Before the 8km mark, I did a left turn at a wet market that was already busy with activity. By this time, the sky turned to a light blue as first light approaches. The far and beyond hills had clouds above them. Not a positive sign for a sunny day. *Fingers crossed* I went on. At 11km mark, a slope was clearly seen ahead of us. 'Push it through!' It is after all a hilly course. Further down the course, I stopped for a toilet break and spoke to a fellow countryman, Benard, who was waiting for his partner. Water stations were ample and well spaced with plain water and energy sports drinks as well. At around 12km, it started to drizzle. I held on to my digicam since it was not exactly pouring yet. A runner was seen on the return at the other side of the road (24km). I flashed a thumb up to each runner that was seen on the other side of the road. Things started to change at 14km. It was raining heavily. The roads had puddles of water. Mud puddles formed across certain roads. I was drenched. 'What could be worse?', one might ask. Lightning flashed across the sky before a loud boom from the thunder. I monitored the skies for a second flash. It never came again. *Phew* I was joined by two Caucasians which one of them called me "Kung Fu man" because I was seen doing my stretching at every 5km mark after 10km. He thought I was doing some Kung Fu moves. A brief chat along the way and I did not wish to affect his run. I was ran this marathon as a leisure race and it does not mean anyone else would have the same objective. At 18km, Nai Yang Beach was in full view as we ran along the stretch. I paused at various points to take some pictures of the sea. I did a U-turn and headed for towards the 21km mark. One of the water points served bananas and watermelons! Energized by a up of sports drink, I stopped just slight after 21km (at an open area) for my stretch. A quick time checked showed that I was faster than expected. Nevertheless, I "refreshed" my legs with some good stretches and it was as though they were given a new lease of life! I noticed a group of dogs started to close in on me, I began to slowly walk away. Fearing that they would pounce on me, I turned occasionally to check. By then, they grew a little aggressive, started growling and surrounded me. I stood my ground and displayed signs of aggression. Acting as though I had something to throw at them, it took me around 30 secs to break away from them before they picked on other runners. What's up with them?!!! Yeah, probably they felt I was a slacker and needed some push. Occasionally, the rain came and went off (more like passing showers). I recalled passing by a mosque and several Wats (temples). There were a few rubber plantations with tapping that were going on. All these reminded me of my younger days that I had to walk to school each day on foot for 30mins. Rain seemed to have stopped for good when I reached 28km. There were enough water in my shoes to make my toes feel squishy. Nearing 29km, a Thai runner chatted with me, or at least tried chatting with me. I could not decipher a single Thai word he said with my limited knowledge of the language. He spoke very few words in English. I asked if I could take a picture of him at 29km and he promptly agreed! While near 30km or 31km, I photographed a couple of water buffaloes that were by the side of the main road. 'Don't charge at me!', I hoped for the best. They appeared a lot friendlier than those dogs at 21km. Streets at 34km were full of energy that led me to believe most people were already up and out of their bed. It is a rainy, lazy Sunday! 'What am I doing with wet shoes?' I should be in bed! I would like to say that the volunteers were great! They stood in the rain and took turns to seek shelter from the rain. Some even volunteers even took the initiative to run across the road (water point at the opposite side of the road) to offer ice cold drinks to us. That saved us some precious energy have to cross the road to get a drink. *Grateful* Some volunteers even took the opportunity to treat the rain like Songkran Festival. I kept myself busy looking around and soon arrived at 38km. Scent of the ocean was in the air. Runners ran with Layan Beach, followed by Laguna Beach on their right. I passed by the exclusive beach front of Banyan Tree Phuket resort. 'Can I stop?' It certainly was tempting. I had to press on. The stretch of road ahead looked familiar as volunteers cheered, 'One more km!!'. Indeed, I saw a 41km sign. In a matter of minutes, my name was announced as I crossed the finishing line. 5:50! I slacked and looked like a total n00b with this timing which reminded me of my virgin marathon!! Haaa!! What is most important to me is that I enjoyed each race!! Yes .. the rain dampened my running momentum, as I am not a fan of running in wet socks and shoes. The scenery and things I saw along the way made up for it. My target for this race is to come back with 5:30 - 6:00 (hrs). Penang Marathon is just a week ahead.

Just around the corner, I was greeted by friends. I am glad for each of them because they enjoyed their run as well. We did not hang around the race venue going through the tents. Maybe I shall try the complimentary massage next time. I took a couple of bananas and a drink before taking a cab back to our hotel. Taking my well deserved shower, Shamrock was kind enough to make coffee for us!! Good service, eh?! With a shot of caffeine, I was still able to sleep like a log for a few hours. We regrouped at 5pm and our lobang queen (local terminology for having knowledge on plenty of great deals and offers), Shamrock, brought us to Royal Paradise Hotel's cafe that served $199 Baht buffet! Carbo-reload! For what we paid, it was indeed a good lobang and seemed like a frequent place for tour groups too. I would say that is one place to recommend for "all you can eat". We made our way back to our hotel as the rest watched Seal and me pack. It was time to say goodbye as the rest will be staying longer in Phuket.

It certainly was a great race and fantastic holiday for me. The best deal? A bunch of nice people to escape away from daily struggles in life. Yikes... back to reality soon.