All Smiles at the Score Marathon Run The Day

The Score Marathon has definitely made my running in the city of Kuala Lumpur a marvelous experience. The route for the half marathon, 21 km took me around the heart of KL, starting from the Berjaya Time Square. What I like most about the run is the route – scenic features of the city skyline, parks and undulating hills of the city.  The route is similar to the Standard Charted KL Marathon, but lesser crowd. There were about 3,500 half marathon runners, 2,700 ten KM runners among the 13,000 participants at the Score Marathon.

I was glad the organiser moved the venue from Bukit Jalil to Berjaya Time Square. Running in the city was truly a lovely experience.

Score Marathon

The roads were well-managed and I felt safe running throughout. There were water stations serving 100 plus and water at every 3 km with one serving banana a few kilometers before the finish line. The run started at 5am and the roads were well lighted with many marshals on motorbikes. I felt safe although it was quite dark until the sun rose at about 7am.

Some of the iconic buildings that I passed were National Mosque, Islamic Museum, Merdeka Square, POS Malaysia, Sasana Kijang, PWTC, Pavilion KL, Bursa Malaysia and close enough to see the KL Tower and KLCC Twin Towers. The runners passed the National Mosque at KM 8, and it was well suited for morning prayers. Most muslim runners stopped at the mosque for prayers.

Towards the finish line – Photo by Marlina Ibrahim

I was not certain if the distance was accurate or not as my Garmin watch recorded a distance of 24 km and so did many of the other Garmin users with extra mileage. GPS can be inaccurate in city area with tall buildings. It was a bit tough to do a personal best due to the famous hilly routes. I was accompanying a friend, Farhani who ran her 1st half marathon and our goal was to finish and enjoy the run. Indeed we did. We took many pictures to cherish her 1st half marathon. She trained really hard for this. Ladies who plan to take up long distance running be it half or full marathon can join .Nashata  Weekend Training

It was a thumbs up experience at the Score Marathon 2019 – from registering the run, picking up the race kit, running and finishing run.

Now, some pictures of the runners and the city of Kuala Lumpur!

Our 1st stop – Sultan Abdul Samad Building

Cool and hilly route, well lighted

Run like a tourist

 

The KL Tower on the backdrop as we cruise on Jalan Sultan Ismail

On Jalan Kuching Photo Credit : Score Marathon

At this point, it was about 2 more KM to go with KLCC Tower on the backdrop

The running sisters – Farhani and Farhati ran the half marathon

With brother and cousin who finished their half marathon

 

 

What to expect from the Mandiri Jakarta Marathon

Pleasant surprises would be my super short answer. Read on for a longer version.

1. Registration

I signed up for the half marathon at the Jakarta Marathon a couple of months ago and the process was not all that straight forward for foreigners. The way the organiser manage the registration was not like my ordinary experiences, nevertheless, it was all good. Basically, you just need to go through the not-so-ordinary process and you will be fine. They will help you get your registration through. I registered via their website and completed payment via email.

2. Racekit Collection

Racekit collection at the Kuningan City mall was well organised, no queue with plenty of space.

Race kit Collection Jakarta Marathon 2017

3 days Race kit collection for Jakarta Marathon 2017 at Kuningan City Mall

The running shirts are in 3 colors – green, blue and purple. They have female and male versions, both sleeveless. So, they assigned your shirt color based on size. I got a blue, due to the size I chose. So, do bring tops, sports hijabs and running pants that go well with all colors to be safe! I only knew the color of my running tee when I collected my racekit. Turned out majority wore their own running shirts!

You can easily check the routes for all categories at the collection center as buntings of the routes were displayed around the area.

What’s in the Race Kit Mandiri Jakarta Marathon 2017

3. The Race, People & Route

This year, the Jakarta Marathon marked its 5th time being organised with about 10,000 participants running the 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km categories. The most popular category was the half marathon with about 3,000 of the runners. The run was held on the 29th October, at the Monumen Nasional like the previous years. The first flag off was at 5am for the full marathon and half marathon runners. It was a bit confusing at first as there was no demarcation for these two categories, and runners from 10km were already flooding the flag off area. I passed the start line 1.59 mins after the flag off time.

At Start Line Jakarta Marathon 2017

Everyone was in a jovial mood. The roads along the first 15km were flat and paved smoothly mainly on Jalan Gajah Mada towards Museum Bank Indonesia, Bank Mandiri Museum and Kota Lama Area. The runners were fast and I caught up with their pace under 7km/min, 2nd km onward. The sun rose pretty early, however both the sun and clouds were super kind to me – it was an overcast morning. In fact, it drizzled 11th km onward and stopped about ten minutes after.  There were water stations, serving Pocari Sweat and water at almost every 2.5km. From 12th km, I passed by the Cathedral Church and Istiqal Mosque on flat roads.

At the point when we turned back onto Jalan Gajah Mada

At the point when we turned back onto Jalan Gajah Mada

It was nice to see major landmarks and to get to know the city on foot. The last 5km was ‘meriah’ – runners had to pave through a street carnival. Thousands of people and hundreds of street hawkers and performers were on the street at Bundaran H1. It was quite challenging to pace your way among ‘macet’ pedestrian and buses. I was running behind a bus at a very slow pace for a few minutes as I couldn’t get pass through human traffic and the bus.

Street Festival from 17-20th km around Bundaran H1

Street Festival from 17-20th km around Bundaran H1

There were many supporters along the last 3 km, offering drinks and all sorts of food. A policeman by the road saw me pacing through pedestrian gave me a good nudge – “Ayoh Bu, Semangat Bu Semangat!”. After that I kept reminding myself to keep my strides strong.

I reached the finish line feeling very grateful. They gave me a banana and a bottle of Pocari Sweat (I like this better than the 100 Plus – not sweet). The finisher tee was only for the full marathon runner. I was happy to walk back to the hotel. Oh ya, it was convenient to put up at a hotel close to the race area. We were only about 700 meters away from the Monumen.

I enjoyed the run and did my personal best.

jakarta mandiri marathon 2017 results

4. The Medal

Mandiri Jakarta Marathon 2017

Mandiri Jakarta Marathon 2017 featuring the Tanjidor and Gigi Balang

It was surely a good way to check out the city of Jakarta on foot with least vehicle around you. It is a beautiful city with friendly people. The locals are courteous and helpful. We made a couple of new friends ; Adni who walked with us from the hotel to the Monumen and Jeffry who took our pictures.

A picture with the Monumen Nasional to complete the race!

A picture with the Monumen Nasional to complete the race! Picture by Jeffry

5. The weather

I was running in the Hooda Racerback Sports Hijab, Heather Galaxy Pink and Dual Tone Leggings by Nashata. I was still in #pinkoctober breast cancer campaign mood. There were good for both hot and rainy weather – only 3 layers of clothing. I had a viser on throughout the run although it was not much of a use. But I was told it was scorching hot previous years. Guess I was lucky.

PickOctober Breastcancer Awareness Mood

Glad I joined the run. It was totally worth it and I hope to run happy in races like the Jakarta Marathon again soon!

Short vs Long Run. Which works for you?

Ever wonder if short or long run is better for you? After a weekend of long runs, and many months of short runs prior to that, here are my findings:

  1. Short runs are good to improve speed
    Frequent short runs are good. Go intense if you want to be fueled by carbs, but go easy if you want to be fueled by fat. Balance your running schedule between running fast and going easy. Running fast or intensely  puts stress on your muscles, but in a good way as it pushes you to improve. Running at easy pace is relaxing on your muscles – much needed in your routine
  2. Push to your limits at long runs occasionally
    You get to improve endurance at long runs. Try run within good heart rates and balance between improving timing and distance. To me, both short and long runs must go hand in hand.
  3. Let your body recover well
    Short or long, fast or slow, make sure your body recovers well. Your body needs to rest and take time off. Here’s a recovery plan for half and full marathon. Let your muscles heal and energy restored.

MY STORY OF LONG RUNS BACK TO BACK

My week ended with much sore and pain after a 12 km and 21 km run back to back. I am a recreational runner who runs for fitness. I hardly go for competitive races for various reasons, but last weekend I did two long distance runs.

Normally, I would run 5 km on average 5 times a week as my focus the past months was to improve speed. Three days before the back to back long runs, I trained and ran 12 km within 1 hr 17 mins. I was happy with the speed but not happy with the after effect on my knee. I felt acute pain on right knee.

When I was running fast and injured my knee after

When I was running fast and injured right knee after.

I rested for 3 days and went to the 12 km and 21 km weekend runs with least expectations – not being able to run at all.  l didn’t want to miss MHWH Night Run by AIA Vitality 12km run at MAEPS so I tried my luck, joined the crowd and started running slowly.

Surprisingly, there was no pain. So, I kept running and increased speed along the way. I finished with no injury at 01:39:02, and felt I should prepare for the PJ Half Marathon, the morning after. At the PJ Half Marathon, I ran slowly the first 5 km and increased speed as I felt no pain on my knee. But the hills, especially along the last 3 km were killers. My pelvic started to become stiff and I was not able to run faster. I completed 21 km within official time 2:43:50. Not my personal best, but thankful for sure!

Elevation Nightmare PJ Half Marathon

My pace & elevation at PJ Half Marathon 2017

The soreness and pain went away quickly and I now realised I should have a better training plan that combines short and long runs to avoid injuries and to improve performance and endurance. No last minute long distance training after this.

All well and done, my knees are fine. Now, here are some captured moment!

  1. MHWH Night Run by AIA Vitality  : 22nd July 2017
MHWH Night Run by AIA Vitality Pacers

MHWH Night Run by AIA Vitality  21km Pacers

Nadia Noi the 21km Pacer

With Nadia Noi the 21km Pacer

After 12km MHWH Night Run 2017

It was Nuha’s first 12km run.

2. PJ Half Marathon : 23rd July 2017

Intan Suraya after a back to back 21km, 12km and 21km runs

Amazing Intan Suraya ran 21km, 12km and 21km runs over the weekend!

More than 4000 half marathon runners

More than 4000 half marathon runners waiting for flagoff

Nashata Runners

WIth Intan Siza – the Nashata Runner. Picture by ActionPixMalaysia

Looking forward to improve training and run better at my next half marathon! A mix of both short and long runs that is!