The New Balance Pacesetters 15km Race

Day 1: The Journey From SIN-KL

The group of us, mainly SgRunners and SAFRA MF runners have booked ourselves for this annual Pacesetters 15km race in KL. A total of 20+ of us went by coach to KL for this event, one which I heard would be well organized and have a good atmosphere. I woke up bright and early on Saturday to meet the group of SgRunners at the Waterfront Plaza to take our Aeroline coach into KL. DO and I shared a cab, and upon reaching Waterffront, we saw the Philippina runners Roda and Josie. They too were going on the same coach to KL, to meet their friends from the HomeTeam. We went into the lobby and met with Divey, Brokie, Vincent, Cokiee, Seal, Bug, Elaine, Eileen, Francis, SV. Bee and Kelly came to send us off after their movie marathon..we all had some group photos before boarding the bus. I brought along some ‘Ear Biscuits’ for all to try, and Bug brought a whole back of snacks for the 5-hour coach journey. We all set off feeling very happy as we chatted and makan-ed on board the coach. We spent time in the ‘meeting lounge’ discussing about the runs we will be organizing and joining. We planned to do New Bug Really Run (NBRR) which will cover the final half of the Army Half Marathon route in August, preparing SgRunners for a taste of some of the slopes of the new route.

We reached The Coronade Hotel at about 1pm. The place was really 'buzzing' and ‘happening’. Nestled in the heart of the central shopping district, next to Lot 10, and near to Sungei Wang and Chinatown. After check-in, the group of us went for lunch at the food court in the shopping malls, visiting a Nike shop and basically walked around soaking in the atmosphere….lots of sidewalk cafes, and its great to see the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan way of life. There was an incident of some of our belongings getting stolen, but we were not really sure when that happened...fortunately, it was not something very serious. We are still investigating. After some shopping, we proceeded to meet Lai Chee and Eddie in Chinatown for dinner. Lai Chee showed us to her ‘Ninja’ carbo-loading restaurant, and we had a sumptious meal of loh-shee fun, lemon chicken, ‘Black’ noodles, lots of vegetables, claypot tou fu, ampang yong tau foo, and a few other dishes. It was a nice dinner for the 13 of us, as we carbo-loaded more than we should for the run the next day…hehe. After dinner, we walked along the night market in the busy Chinatown area, and settled at a roadside coffee-shop for very nice coffee and drinks. It was fun chit-chatting with everyone, and Lai Chee was very happy sharing her experiences of her previous stays and runs in KL. We went back to the hotel at about 10pm, and DO, Brokie, Divey and myself continued chatting and yakking about the running posture of Brokie, the injury and insoles for Divey, the various happenings of the day and the people at SgRunners. It was really fun, and after all the excitement into the early morning hours, I could not really sleep…must be the coffee…hmmm, and before I knew it, it was 4.30am with DO waking up and getting ready for the run. I did not sleep at all, mostly resting in bed the whole night. However, I did not feel too tired and was quite fresh actually.

Day 2: Race Day

The group met at the Hotel lobby for the 5.30am bus transfer to the run site. Met up with the SAFRA Runners Alan Chao, Kumaran, Teck Hou, Uncle Lim, and there were a few other runners from other groups too. The SAFRA runners did a 3km run to the race site as warm up. The rest of us took the bus, and soon we arrived to the site with blaring music, and many signboards of New Balance, Milo, PowerBar, etc. There was a carnival atmosphere, and many runners were gathering along with the setup of many of the tents and stages. I visited the NB store a little, before proceeding to do a warm-up job around the area with DO and Eileen. It was quite a cool morning, and as we ran, I could see many cars parked along the sides of the quiet housing estate, and many runners lined along the roads changing into their running shoes and doing stretches, warm-up, or otherwise chit-chatting. We were informed that The Pacesetters Club in Malaysia was a large organization with more than a 1000 members, and they are actually a extension of the same club in Boston. This year, they will be celebrating the 100years of the founding of the original club in Boston. Met with with lots more SgRunners the the race site…IronmanDreamer and gf, Yulan, Igloo, Richy, Spyfish, gtow. I took a bit of a banana (earlier took a small loaf of raisin bread back at the hotel), gulped down some water, and proceeded to the start line. Took a few photos, chatted with many of the friends there, and was warned of the very hilly course we will be covering. Someone mentioned we will have lots of slopes just after the 4km mark.

The Race

We started off with a blast of the horn at 7am. A slow shuffle to allow the front runners to move off, pressed the start button of my watch, and off I went. I started off at quite a fast pace, and was trailing some of the familiar runners, as I negotiate around the bunch of runners. I settled into a steady pace after 1km and eased into what felt like a 4:45min/km pace. My mouth felt a little dry, as I continued into the nice housing estates. There were light traffic on the roads, and as I ran into the estates, it was a picture of serenity and coolness. I could see DO in front of me, and I decided to just follow his pace. We reached the first water point at the 4km mark, and I had a much-needed cup of water. Igloo was running quite near to me as well, as have a few other familiar runners from Singapore. After the drink, I noticed everyone slowing down, including DO, and soon I realized what had happened. There was a long slope in front of us, and that was the start of the climb of the series of slopes and rolling hills they all spoke about. As I ran up the slopes, many of the runners were dropping back, and by about the mid section, some were power-walking while others were huffing and puffing… however, there were many steep downslopes too, as I took them with care not to have too much jarring on my knees. Many of the runners whom I overtook on the upslopes, ran past me on the downslopes…and they really ran, very fast. I decided to just take it easy and not risk my legs, hoping to catch up with them later on. I passed the 5km mark at about 23min.

Just as I thought the series of slopes would never end, I finally reached the top of the last one....phew!, and began a smooth long descend to catch my breath. Collected a colored wrist-band from the officials, as indication I had passed that point. There would be a a total of 3 such bands we needed to collect, in exchange for the finisher’s medal. It was quite a hard ascend, and a few runners had fallen behind by then. I ran all the way to a large overhead bridge on the main highway, and recognized that portion to be part of the finish at the KL Marathon I did in March this year…hmm. On that gentle upslope after the bridge, the signboard said ‘4km To Go’, indicating we had 4km to the end of the first larger 10km loop. I increased pace at that portion to back in more miles in anticipation for another series of challenging slopes. I reached the 10km mark in about 47min. I had lost DO infront by the 8km mark, as he ‘chionged’ the downslopes. I ran up and saw Eddie at about 9km and decided tgo just tag along. Just after the 10km mark, IMD called out to me as he went ahead. I was surprised IMD was behind me all this while. IMD went further ahead and ran past Eddie and I decided to just run along their pace. Soon I saw the 10km mark, next to a nice white house. Time check showed I had taken 47min to reach the 10km mark....not too bad considering the slopes I faced. My legs had just recovered by that point, after the massive lactic build-up in the earlier slope run. Soon there was a slope again, as I ascended that with quite heavy legs. I overtook another bunch of 5 runners on that slope, including eddie, who was already suffering from his flu. I told Eddie to go steady as I moved on. I was running more conservative then, reserving my strength for the slopes that would appear. As I ran, those slopes did not come, and I moved on faster as I noticed the highway again. It was 3km more to the finish. I ramped up speed and by that time, I had collected all 3 colored-wrist bands. On the second time up the long gentle slope across the highway, those with the 3 bands were guided to turn right for a 2km finish. I was still quite wary of any steep slopes that would be coming up, as two Caucasian runners ran past me discussing about the km readings on signboards, and how they were a bit confused. I decided to trail them, and with a final 1km to go, I made a dash for it. The cheerleaders were lined up along that final 500m stretch, as I increased my speed, after seeing my time read 1hr7min. As I ran into the finish area, I could hear the announcer calling to attention of more finishers. I overtook a few more at the end, and at the finish, I made a dash hoping to make it to below 1hr10min.

Alas, the runner in front slowed down, and as I finished, I was totally blocked by him….shucks. No photos for me crossing the finish. Even Divey’s photo of me showed I was obscured by him. I hope the organizers will be able to record my timing, since they do depend on the finish photos to confirm timings. Well, at least I know I made it in 1hr09min. A good run for me, and I was happy and satisfied. Collected my finisher medal and immediately dashed off to take lots of water-melon and iced milo. It was heavenly. Very nice food and drinks. I was feeling so thirsty. I congratulated the SAFRA Runners who did very well. Teck Hou (1:02), Alan (1:03), Kumaran (1:04), Bug (1:06), Claire (1:17), Eileen (1:07) and she won 4^th prize in the Women’s category…great run. SgRunners did well too…DO (1:08), Richy (1:09), IMD Ben (1:09), Dream (1:09). After I had taken my 4^th cup of milo, I went to cheer the incoming runners…Yulan (Sub 1:20) & Brokie (1:20) finished in fine form, Timothy (1:12), Igloo (1:12), and many others. Roda finished 1:09, and won 2^nd in her category…Congrats. MR25 Yee Ah Seng also finished 1:09 and won 5^th in his category. Cokiee (1:23), SV (1:29) and Seal (1:40) all came in feeling very satisfied and happy. We had lots of group photos. I ate soft bean-curd and they were lovely. Divey also had some fun and excitement being the group photographer, and she had photos taken of her by the Pacesetters photographers too….KC Leong of KC & The Sunshine Runners. We hung around to see the prize presentation, and had great fun cheering for the Singapore runners, especially our Eileen Babymon. Bug got lucky and won a nice camelback and yoga mat in the lucky draw. The atmosphere was good, and this must rank as one of the better organized races I have attended both in Singapore and Malaysia. I will be recommending more people to join Pacesetters runs when they do organize them.

Day 2: Post Race

We stayed till the end of the event at about 10am, and proceeded back to Hotel for a nice wash up. With out return coach at 6pm. We still had much time for some good carbo replenishment and some walkabout to remove lactic acid from our legs…hehe. The group of almost 20 of us went to the New Balance Shop to redeem the vouchers that Eileen had won. We also had 30% discount vouchers given by the organizers to shop at the NB shop. After shopping, we proceeded to Times Square for makan….Alan, Kumaran, Teck Hou and Uncle Lim left after lunch to catch their earlier coach back. Divey, Brokiee, Cokiee, SV Bug, Elaine and Claire went for more shopping in Times Square. DO, Seal and I visited the spa place recommended by Alan for a foot massage. It was really ‘shiok’ for me, as I was kneaded off the tiredness from my legs, with nice piped-in music and aromatherapy candle oils. The 3 of us went for more coffee and dessert, and had some intense discussions about SgRunners runs and upcoming activities. We met up with the rest to take the Aeroline coach at 6pm back to Singapore. I had a mild headache, probably from too much caffeine (according to DO, caffeine rush). Along the coach ride, I felt better. We had a not-bad tasting dinner on the coach, stopped for a 20-minute chit-chat break, and after some jam at the Tuas checkpoint, we finally made it back to Waterfront Plaza. It was a nice outing for all of us, nice company, nice run, nice makan, nice time…Thanks to all who made this possible.

Distance Ran: 15km ____Time:1hr09min_____Pace:4:39min/km


Other Runners' Accounts:
The Cokiee
Baby Monster
The Carbo Man