5:30AM – My running buddy, Syed, picked me up and we drove into the darkness towards Puncak Alam. Syed’s face was sunburnt from the unforgiving sun at Port Dickson from the day before. Even worse, Syed was plagued by an acute tummy upset. As soon as we arrived, Syed marched to the toilet, while I collected my race number.
7:00AM – All runners gathered at the START LINE. The race organiser warned us about watching our step when running on the trail as there were mud & stones along the course. The leaders were told to keep on course and not to overlook the signs. There would be drinking stations on the 3rd & 6th kilometre.
7:15AM: Bang! I got off to a fast start & kept-up with the leading pack for the first 1km. In no time, the faster runners were moving out of sight. Around the 4km mark, there was a steep incline for a 300m stretch before a U-turn back downhill. As I reached the bottom of the hill, I spotted Syed starting his incline: He must be in bad shape. From then on, I kept a steady pace and started admiring the course with it’s dirt track, grass patches, pebbles, and mud surfaces.
8:05AM – I crossed the finishing-line so fast that the marshall told me to slow down. The marshall passed me the note with my position of 82nd printed on it. Then, I headed to the Milo& Cornflake stands to replenish my energy.
8:15AM – Syed crosses the finishing line & heads strait to the loo. I went to collect my medal.
8:30AM – Met-up with Jason & Leong who shared with us their exploits in the StanMa in Singapore & how they completed the 100KM ultra-marathon in 17 hours. Am I actually comptemplating in running 100km? Surely, not. That’s just too crazy! Right?
09:30Am – Syed & I drove back to Subang Jaya for a delicious bowl of soto as our post-race recovery meal.
Overall, I enjoyed the whole morning but I felt bad for Syed.

Off to a great start