This must be the most "relax" race I was ever involved in! "Relax" in that I can truly enjoy myself when the race was on-going because, urm, I was not going to race. No, wrong choice of word since I never race. It was a "relax" race because I was there not to run. :)
Nevertheless, on race day morning, I woke up slightly later than Sharon, who would be running the 50km race. She was almost ready when I climbed out of the bed. I didn't have much to pack since the purpose of me waking up was just to send her off. In fact, after that I would be going back to sleep! We went down to the hotel lobby soon after and set off for the pick-up point about 15 minutes walk away with Molly, Tekko, Brokie and Vincent, who were also running the 50km race.
Getting Ready to Leave the Hotel!
All smiles as We were Approaching the Pick-up Point!
There were many buses at the pick-up point. And many more runners! Runners had to queue up to "check-in" for the bus ride, before depositing their drop-bags. I saw June Kit, Frances, Shariff (Singapore Blade Runner) and Nur Duad too! Brokie, Molly and Sharon decided to visit the loo so I waited near the bus registration point for them. A while later, I heard someone saying that those doing 100km and 50km should load their drop-bags with the lorry that just arrived (apparently). This set-off a series of actions, where the runners looked frantically for their drop-bags that were now all jumbled up in a heap of bags. Tekko (and perhaps also Vincent) were nearby and managed to retrieve their bags while I told Frances and her friend when they both came back from the toilet break. I also tried to look for Sharon's bag and managed to find it. It seemed strange that something so important (at least to me) could be left literally unguarded. Imagine I was out there intending to steal, I probably would have succeeded. Then again, most runners are honest folks right? :) Soon, all were back and they were all ready to board the bus, with rest of the runners! I wished them all the best before retreating to the hotel room for more sleep.
Frances and her friend (Left); Brokie and Vincent (Top Right); Molly and Tekko (Below Right)
Winnie Wong and her Friends!
Shariff, Nur Duad, and their Friends!
Sending-off for Brokie, Vincent, Frances and her Friend!
I woke up at about 9:30am. Went for breakfast before heading to the shopping centre to sort out my data plan. Once done, I decided to check out the cost of renting a car, which was my plan all along. Before I left the shopping mall, I asked the taxi driver about the cost of riding to the resort. near Mt KK, the ending point of the race. "RM300!" he said. That's too expensive for a one-way trip so I gave up the idea. There were about 7 rental car companies but all the cars were booked except for one. The catch? It was a manual car instead of automatic. :( Having not been touching the manual gear since 2005 when I drove a truck transporting feed harvest from the field back to the in the cow farm in Footville, USA, I decided against renting the car using manual gear. I got back to the hotel and enquired booking a cab through their contact. "It would be expensive. About RM400 if you want now (11:30am) to about 19:00pm. Why don't I check out if there's any car for rental instead?" the receptionist asked. I agreed happily. She wasn't able to secure a car at RM400 (for slightly more than 8 hours) - way cheaper than a one-way trip of RM300 quoted by the taxi driver at the mall.
Had Roti Prata with Egg for Breakfast!
Once done, I went up to the room to get ready - my water, camera, CF card, wallet, backpack. I guess the driver was not used to my idea of driving to Mt KK to wait several hours till 17:00pm before driving back. He suggested a few stops of interests to visit, and I agreed since it was a tough race and I doubt any of my close friends would finish in 8 hours, i.e. 15:00pm (with the starting time at 07:00am). My first stop was at the "Upside Down House". Everything inside was upside-down, including the car, house and things in the house. I decided not to visit the house but just take some photos as souvenirs to save time.
The Upside Down House! - Where Everything Is Upside Down!
The next stop was some place that sells souvenirs. About 10 minutes after leaving Upside Down House, it started raining. While it was not that hard, I could feel the sianness of having to run in the rain after a gorgeous morning. When we reached "Gerai Pekan Nabalu" (should be the name of the souvenir place), the rain sort of stopped. But just before I got back into the car, it rained even more heavily than before!
Shopping Time!
As we got closer and closer to Mt KK, I saw someone running along the shoulder of the road. Then another. I quickly told the driver that we need to start looking for some place where we could park the car safely. Then I saw Henry. The driver spotted an opening about 500m further up and I quickly get out of the car, armed with my trusted Canon 5D Mark III. Rain had stopped somewhat (but would start raining again). Soon I saw Henry and he saw me as well. He was smiling and doing well. He said the mid-point / finishing was about 8~10km away and that Jasmine was further up. I asked if I he needed anything although I had nothing to offer him! :( I wished him good luck before he continued. I stood at the same spot and waited for the other runners. Most were happy and smiling when they saw me with my camera. And then there were a few who called out my name but with their faces hidden underneath the rain jacket hood or head covered by buff, I couldn't really recognise them. There was a period where the weather turned really cold with the road covered in mist. Vehicles slowed though it still looked scary to be running next to the narrow road.
All The Runners Whom I Managed to Capture!
At about 16:00pm, my driver suggested that we should drive to the finishing point near Mt KK. Since I targeted to leave the finishing point at about 17:30pm, I agreed. The drive took about 20mins. Rain had stopped eventually. I surveyed the finishing point: drop bag areas were neatly setup under shelter, a cozy food zone area, and a resort with a "e-mart". I received a whatsapp message update from Molly and Brokie! Apparently, Molly and Tekko had decided to call it a day after the weather turned bad. They were waiting for the bus at WS2. Meanwhile, Brokie and Vincent had already left WS3 (and soon, they would have reached WS4 just before we left the finishing point). I asked Molly if she was moving towards the direction of the finishing point or waiting for more runners. Turned out that the transport was already moving. I told her not to worry and that I would wait for her and Tekko, since it would be faster and comfortable for them to travel with me in the cab back to town. They eventually reached at around 17:35pm and after retrieving their drop bags, we were all ready to return home! On the way back, my driver stopped twice and showed us the best view of Mt KK, as well as the stunning sunset! I also spotted Sharon on her way to the finishing about 6km away.
The TMBT Mid-point and Finishing Point for the 50km & 100km Runners!
The Resort, Food Zone, Molly & Tekko @ Finishing, and Mt KK!
Stunning Views of the Sunset!
It took us around 1hr 30mins to reach the town. And after washing up, Molly, Tekko and I headed out for seafood dinner. It was very refreshing to hear their war stories, from waiting to cross the bridge, to the sliding and falling and climbing of the mountain, to rain and stream turned raging river! Through the Facebook, I also updated the rest of the runners whom I saw. Glad to hear that Sharon, Brokie and Vincent made it within the cut-off for the 50km, as well as Henry, Jasmine and Fred. Some had to drop out but in hind sight, a wise decision as you never know what might had happened if you push through in such unfavourable weather condition. We can always try again next year. All in all, it was a fruitful and enjoyable trip. Would I attempt this race myself? Well, I think I better don't after hearing the falling and sliding from the mountain. :)
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