Wakin' up at 5am on a Sunday morning (okay, I snoozed 5 times and make that 6am) isn't really my forte. But what kept me pumped was definitely something worth the sacrifice!
The annual Standard Chartered KL Marathon took place in the heart of Kuala Lumpur last Sunday, 24th June and about 28,000 participants ranging from amateurs to elite runners, and 1,400 runners from 40 different countries took part in the race [details taken from Staronline.com]. Can you imagine how huge this whole event was? And, I was definitely honored to be invited to run with the SEEING IS BELIEVING kids, again after the Fun Run held last month at Putrajaya.
Due to the major road closures (literally the entire KL City) and I figured it was going to be a problem even getting into KL. And hence, Cheryl and I somehow came up with an alternative which I thought was brilliant. Parked our car at the Kelana Jaya LRT Station and took the train all the way to Masjid Jamek and then travelled on foot to Padang Merbok.
But no, we weren't the only geniuses. The park car was full even before the sun rose. And the station was filled with SMURFS! (The blue shirts, and hence .. :P ) But its so great to see people actually waking up and making effort for the run, better still its for Charity! Kudos people x
But I must admit, it was a whole new different experience to be taking the train (instead of the conventional way, driving in to KL) and walking in the midst of the concrete jungle. You don't get that very often, do you? Especially not KUALA LUMPUR. But kudos to the team for such efficiency. All the early warnings and heads-up(s) sure came into good use. We were provided a list of road closures even days before the marathon. If not for that, I would've been late for the run *thumbs up!
With Mr. Arif Siddiqui, CIO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad. |
Dayang was a great running buddy. Couldn't ask for more! |
Praise the Lord, I completed the 5km run and came in 5th! Well, can't be compared to those who actually took part in the full-marathon/half-marathon. Cheryl made a good joke though, "Well, I think our run is probably the marathon divided by 5, or maybe more!". Haha I can't complain, it was certainly a great experience and I already cannot wait for the run next year.
For more information, log onto their :-
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SCKLmarathon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/scklmarathon
Special message to Intan: I hope you're feeling well and recovering. Sad that you couldn't join us but I'm sure I'll be seeing you real soon!