Penang Bridge International Marathon - Results

After many hours of sleep and gallons of fluids to rejuvenate, I realized that I have gone through my very first official half marathon.

Before the event, I wanted to get some shut eyes, but excitement got the best of me. I did not get any rest and with the butterfly in my stomach, I left for the event wearing my old pair of New Balance shoes, my polar HRM and my Nokia phones.

I hooked up with an old friend of mine at the Penang jetty and took the shuttle bus down to the race event. There were thousand of participants at the site and can feel the adrenaline in the air. The marathon is one of the biggest in the region with 24 thousands participants. The full marathon started at 2.00 am, and the racers already left when we arrived. The half marathon was schedule to start an hour later.

15 mins before the half marathon started, thousands gathered around before the starting line doing stretching. At 3 pm sharp, the race started with the loud speakers voice keep reminding all racers to step on the race mats to record our time from our champion chip tied to our shoe.

This is how it looked like after the half marathon started half hour.

On the bridge, we ran accross the bridge until near the other side of the island. At about 3 km from the mainland, we made a U turn running back to the island. This is where it got interesting.

It started to rain! And boy the rain was so heavy with the wind blowing over our heads and the rain drops hitting on all our faces made our journey back feels like 10 times harder. Every step become heavier, and the rain coolled down my body, making me feel even more tired. I could see other runners started to slow down, and my shoes was making some squishy sounds like water in a bottle.With my body cooling down, I took a deep breathe, then I tried running faster with the music still playing in my headphones.

At about 5km left in the race, my phone failed as it got wet although I tried to keep it dry by wrapping it with a plastic bag. It stopped playing music and my sports-tracker stopped recording my work out. I ran the rest of the course in silence. With shots of isotonic drinks, I continue the race and completed my 21 km in nearly 3 hours. At the finish line, I stepped on the final running mat and a volunteer passed me a bottled water. I couldn't take any more pictures as my phone has died. I joined a queue to collect a finisher's medal which look like this.

I slept for 12 hours straight after I got home and I realize that it was a great feeling to finish the race. The result was published on the organizer's website on Monday evening with my time 2:44:49. Not bad for an amateur.

Would I do it again? Of course! I feel a great sense of accomplishment in finishing this race.
See you next year, Penang Bridge International Marathon.

The Great Run - The 2010 Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM)

I was never the avid runner like those who runs with a passion, who can finish a full marathon in like 3 and a half hours with muscles built up their thigh and calfs that you can spot those muscular legs from across the street.

I always like running as a simple exercise. All I need is a pair of shoes and with my headphones, with Fall Out Boy & Funeral for a Friend on my playlist, then off I go.

I came across the PBIM (Penang Bridge International Marathon) back in July, then I thought it would be cool that I could participate. I signed myself up online here.

Weeks passed, with a couple of training session at a nearby park which I could do some rounds in the evenings, I received a goodie bag last week, just a week before the event.

Few things in the bag, Running Bib with 4 pins, running chip (to be tied on to your shoe), a singlet, and some gifts from the sponsors. There is a New Balance 30% discount voucher that is worth mentioning here.

Here is how the contents looks like.

The runner's timing chip that you tie onto your shoes with your shoelaces. The chip looks like this.

And for those who like wearing a yellow sexy singlet to run (not really my kind of thing), here is how the front piece look like.

and the back looks like this.

For different categories, the color of the singlet will be different. For full marathon (42km) participants are given light blue singlets, for half marathon (21km) the men are given yellows and women are given red singlets. For the less challenging 10 km run are given green singlets and for fun run participants are given a T shirt.

There is another gear which I usualy would bring along is my HRM (Hear Rate Monitor) which I can track my hear rate as well as the burnt workout that I did, so that I wouldn't over do myself and pass out on the Penang Bridge with people come after me with a stretcher. That piece of gear looks like this, it is basically a watch and a chest band that will show my hear rate when I run.

The events starts early in the morning and I understand there will be a concert being held tonight, before the run begins. My only hope is that I will be able to complete my 21 km in 3 and a half hours so that I can get my medal.

Better get some shut eyes now.