Oren Sport Royal Klang Town Run 2012 – 5.5km

Date: 16 September 2012

Venue: Klang, Selangor, Malaysia

Distance: 5.5km (Garmin: 5.05km)

Timing: 26:35 (Gun); 26:34 (Garmin)

Pace: 5:15 min/km (Garmin)

Result: 4th (Women’s Open) (results from Moey’s page here)

Website: Info on The Marathon Shop here

A small local race in Klang put up by the local community, municipality and Pacers Sport. Since it was 3-day weekend (National day) plus a larger event in Taiping, I was surprised by the larger-than-expected turnout (read: I had problems finding a parking spot!). The event featured 2 categories: 12km and 5.5km starting from Stadium Kota Raja Sultan Sulaiman in Klang. This was a looped course taking in some of the streets around Klang with the 12km starting at 7am (from an earlier scheduled 6:45am) and the 5.5km, 15 minutes later. The slight delay was probably due to the rain earlier and thankfully abated to a drizzle just before flag off.

This will be a very short post because I was surprised I even showed up that morning. I had some internal debate about running right up to parking the car and stepped out into the rain/drizzle. Ok, maybe even while waiting for the flag off…under Lim Soon Chung’s brolly.

Photo credits to Leong Ann Lok

Km1: I put myself where I wanted to be at the start: dead right on the last row. The extremely crowded start leading to the main road helped keep my pace in check: 6:04min/km. Look, I didn’t need to fark my heel any further, not after the previous morning’s painful “test the foot” run. The first km was getting out from Little India.

Km2: Feet warmed up and surprisingly it held up ok. Upped the pace slightly. Ok, maybe by nearly a minute.

Km3: Probably the only section with “hills” – very manageable elevations on road.

Km4: Just after km3 was a Chinese temple – I remembered this distinctly because a few folks smiled at us and I was thinking how quaint it was to have steaming “paus” (buns) for breakfast outside the temple. Also some wafts of smoke from the incense.

Km5: Right about cue, we were back in Little India and I was enjoying the sights of the shoplots in rain drizzle lens. This morning was about enjoying the run (baby-ing the heel) and soaking in the sights of a small part of Klang. Soon, we were back in the stadium.

Thus, ending the run with this was a more than pleasant surprise and bonus! Score!

Photo credits to Leong Ann Lok and Best of Running

Pros:

a) Well organized event; Pacer Sport has been doing a good job with local races (mainly around Klang). Definitely a plus after the fiasco and mess of Taiping on the same weekend. Here’s a note to organizers: don’t get too big-headed and ambitious – put up something small to begin with, get it right before moving to larger events and as with most majors, the race director has to run the course prior – this should give you an idea of what logistics etc you need.

b) Good post-race management with well marked categories in the finishing chute with volunteers handing you the finisher’s medal and swag once you cross the line.

c) There was one hydration station for the 5.5km; I reckon there should be another 2 for the longer distance. Water and isotonic at the finishing point/stadium as well as another water bottle in the swag.

d) Post-race grub included watermelons and Vico chocolate drink.

e) The start outside the stadium eliminated some of the choke point of Larian Perpaduan Little India (started from inside the stadium) although it was still crowded until we got out to the main road.

f) Was surprised to see quite a few booths at the finishing; wasn’t expecting any expo of sort.

Cons:

a) No road closure (and it’s really not unexpected for a small race like this) but unlike Taiping, all the intersections were manned.

b) No distance markers – this could be a problem for those without GPS-enabled watches if you’re watching your pace, timing etc.

c) Delayed start – this is really a minor point and I’m guessing the organizers were hoping for the rain to abate and it did. I guess anything longer than 15 minutes (Taiping was a whole hour!) would have everyone up in arms!

d) They should just eliminate the speeches and get on with the prize presentation – I’m OK with some performances eg singing etc while the results are being tabulated but the speeches by the GOH and government official appears more for “syiok sendiri”.

My apologies if this post had a lot of comparisons to the Taiping “International” Marathon 2012 but I can’t help it after the various comments I’ve been hearing this past week.

Photo log:

Swag