Running - The Melawati 10KM

My major form of exercise currently is running. Running in KL is a mixed bag of good and not so good. KL is a crisscross of highways as I have mentioned in previous posts and it is difficult to run far before you are soon sharing the road with 6 lanes of rampaging steel which have zero tolerance for the crazy Gwai Lo (Cantonese for foreigner/westerner) bloke on foot. It is not illegal to run on a motorway/freeway, just very stupid. So careful route planning is required.

On a Saturday morning I have made a habit of ‘The Long Run’. It starts at Lake Gardens (termed by many as the lungs of the city), and is a beautiful, central space that runs through some equally pleasant, quiet bush clad neighbourhoods. They call one of these suburbs (Bukit Tunku), the Beverley Hills of KL, complete with celebrities and the Malaysian well connected.

Usually, my only company is a few family groups of monkeys that scurry across the powerlines.

It is important to start early here. 7 o’clock is ideal as it is still a balmy, but very manageable 23 degrees and dead calm. No slogging into a raging southerly/northerly/ wherever the bloody wind is howling from that day, as is the case back home. By 9.30 on a Saturday I am home again and Lina will have surfaced.

With 2 months of decent running under my belt I took the plunge and entered my 1st competitive race in Malaysia. The world renowned?! 2009 Melawati 10 KM. The run was a slog to be fair, but the event was great and I got a medal……….just like everyone else!

As everyone knows, I am a sports nut and love the atmosphere that a collective sporting experience provides, anywhere in the world.

My next race is the New Balance Pacesetters 15 KM in May, with tentative plans to compete in the June KL ½ marathon. My definite goal is the Angkor Wat ½ marathon in Cambodia raced in December. The route follows the famous temples and raises funds for the many people that are still affected by landmines in Cambodia.