As a part of preparing myself to run a full marathon next year I have promised myself to run a half marathon at least once every month (this is still insufficient but I will slowly increase to 30km very soon). So for this month’s training, I ran in the 3R International Marathon under the 21km category.

I looked forward to this half marathon because it was held in Putrajaya. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Putrajaya is my favourite venue for road races. It is a conducive venue for a run because parking is easy and there are not many cars. Scanning the map given, these were some familiar routes that I have ran during past events so I already had a mental note on hilly paths that will take up energy or straight, smooth roads where I could sprint.

I can feel the energy buzzing with excitement at the starting line.

We were flagged off at 5.30am sharp. I ran straight until it was time for Subuh (Fajr) prayers, did a detour with the crowd into the motorcycle lane, and took a quick break to pray.

Putrajaya is still a magnificient view even in the dark

I managed to complete the half marathon in about 3 hours. I believe that I could do better next time, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

These grey Riada pants are so light, I could fly in them

Overall, the event when smoothly without any major flaws. However, what could have been done better:

–        the organizers should have a goodies bag. This run boasted some very notable sponsors yet what we got at the end of the race was just a medal, a banana, and mineral water.

–        the organizers should provide markers at every kilometer. It is frustrating for runners to keep on guessing if we are going too fast or too slow, how many more to go, etc.

–        Please brief your volunteers on how many kilometers or water stations that are left. For the same reasons as above, runners will know how to pace themselves according to the distance left in the race.

Until next week,

The Weekend Runner

P/S: It’s funny how girls can bond over clothes. I was asking for assistance to take a photo of me from a random lady, and she told me that she had the same Nashata Tron t-shirt as I was wearing, “We could be twins!”  she gushed, but today she was wearing her heather green Ultra top instead.

Dear Green Heather Lady, I’m sorry I forgot your name. But you look like a regular runner, so I hope to bump into you again in the future!