PBIM-Race report by Mr Lim Chong Ping (KPAC member)

Our First Marathon

The 2008 Penang Bridge International Marathon on November 16^th is the first marathon that my wife, Lay Cheng and I had joined. The longest run we had participated before this was up to 22.7km only. We initially wanted to signed up for the 25km half marathon, but due to Mr. Wong and Mr. Ong of Klang Pacer insistence to give it a try, had nothing to lose, had to wait for other marathon runner to finish anyway before the whole group could board the bus, we duly signed up in August for the full marathon. It was probably due to ignorance, wanting to know our limit and maybe for the heck of it that we signed up for the full marathon.

The biggest challenge before the actual race day was to train consistently. By the time we downloaded ‘Marathon for beginners’ and a simple 16 weeks training program from the internet, we realized we had only 8 weeks left to the race day. For the heck of it, we do what we can, but even then could not fully comply, especially me. Luckily, I had my wife to pull me up from bed on weekends at 6 am for the long run training.

A few days before the run, I was down with sore throat not feeling quite well. My right elbow was also hurting probably due to Genting trail run we joined two weeks earlier. I felt tension and stressed, worrying if I can do it or not.

On the race day itself, the most unexpected thing happened to us. We actually missed the bus which was supposed to take us to Queensbay Mall by a whisker. Contingency plan kicks in and we called for a taxi at 2.00 am. The taxi came and we were much relieved. However, all roads leading to Queensbay Mall was blocked by the police and we could not get in to the starting point. A police officer asked us to go to the Ferry Jetty to get a shuttle as it's the only way to go in. We were worried we would not have made it on time if we were to proceed to the jetty, so we decided to get down at a roundabout about 3km from the starting point. We started to run to the starting point arriving 20 minutes before the race starts. Looking back, it was a wise decision not to follow the police officer advice.

For the race itself, we had a good start as we pace each other at our raining speed for about 20km. After that, we run at our own pace. I was pleasantly surprised I was able to run for about 35 km without much problem. It was only in the last 5km when pain started on my left leg that was most difficult. I was running and stopping, and limping at some point. I had to challenge myself physically and mentally. In the end, I managed to cross the finishing line to clock my first marathon at 5 hour 9 minutes. I was very happy that my wife also managed to complete her first marathon by clocking 5 hour 35 minutes. It was mission accomplished for both of us.

I dedicate my first marathon medal to my wife who had been everything and more to me. This is just the beginning and we shall both look forward to our next marathon. This time, our target would be to better our time. Let’s see.

Lastly, others may have to run 42 km for a full marathon, but we had to run 45 km for our first. Therefore, don’t miss the bus.