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!

The Strong Brunei Runners @ the Nashata Charity Run

Assalamualaikum my dear friends,

February has passed with 711 km collective mileage by four wonderful runners from Brunei (Moniri, NurAin, Nana and Feeda) and two Nashata runners (Nahsuhah & I). Our target was 500 km and we clearly overshot by 42%.  Brunei was the first country that embarked into NashataRun4Charity and we were truly blessed to have found committed runners who selflessly volunteered to run for an Autism Center called SMARTER Brunei.

Nurain pulled together her friends to run virtually with us, and alhamdullillah, she collected the most mileage – 205km by climbing up and down the stairs and running. That was simply remarkable – running on average 7.3km/day throughout the month! But she did it anyways, raising her bar, one week after another, from 50km to 100km  to 150km to 200km. She lost 3 kg in a healthy way and raised funds for a cause of her choice. I am so happy for her.

Virtual Run

Highest Mileage for Nashata Charity Run Brunei by Nurain

nashata run for charity brunei

Moniri enjoys her weekend runs & challenges

Nana in Support of Autism

Nana in Support of Autism

As for me, I was happy to have run 112km in February. Never have I thought I would run so much in a month. Somehow, throughout Feb, running in the morning became something I had to do, and alhamdulillah I managed to improve my pace. I tried to run fast, as I couldn’t afford to spend too much time running. Towards the end of the month, I was reminded by a friend to slow down to prevent injury. I took it easy the last few days and decided to smell the grass and roses as I ran. I lost only a bit of weight as my appetite increased. The good thing about running is that you tend to take care of your food intake and drink a lot of water.

nashata run for charity

A picture after each run. My Garmin watch kept me on my toes and my Hubby kept me company 🙂

Other than running to my fullest potential, these are some of my other key learning I get from the running girls.

1. Ain’s Achievable Goal Setting Motto : “Desire + Determination + Action = Achievement. We need to set our target, locked it and do it. even if we fall or fail, don’t give up, just get back up and continue.”

2. Running tips to improve timing and prevent injury by Nahsuhah

  • Listen to your body
  • If you plan to run everyday, 5km – 7 km would be enough
  • Eat accordingly,..don’t starve
  • Plan your pace wisely
    For example if you run everyday, pace 6.30 – 7 min/km would be nice
    If you plan to run twice a week, 5.30 – 6 min/km is ok

We raised decently for SMARTER Brunei and we hope to come back to Brunei for the same or other cause soon. I truly hope the funds, although small will help the center to progress. My heartiest gratitude and thanks to the runners and contributors who funded us to run.

Meanwhile, the Nashata runners are running with 4 other runners from South Africa in March. I won’t be running for the March run, but will be supporting the team for sure. There will be more updates by Nahsuhah soon, InsyaAllah.

Finally I’m alive again!

Be prepared….Be very prepared! (I always doubt myself..Am I really prepared for this?)

When Cameron Ultra Trail was announced, I was the extremely excited….until the organizers released the official promotion video,…Then, oh my! Yes! It was no joke!…

The elevation was about 2280 m and the highest elevation that I ever hiked prior to that was only 965 m – the Mount Serapi in Kuching. I did not get to train enough for trail. My daily routine was training on the road after my whole day at the hospital… Yeszz! I thought I would die this time!

I flew from Kuching on Thursday night, after my Sarawak Advanced Life Support In Obstetric (SALSO) examination that evening. It was a busy and hectic week for me. The next morning I went to Cameron Highland for race pack collection and race briefing.

The day before the race, it was raining throughout the day and I was most worried.

Finally the day came. I just wanted to finish strong without injuries, no DNF and if possible, I wanted to arrive the finishing line before Maghrib prayer. I didn’t want to be stuck on the trail in the dark.

We started our crazy 50km at 5 am,..with a hike towards peak Jasar, with an elevation of about 1684m and distance 3.2km. Though the route was slippery, everyone was fast. Everyone started to leave me behind. I feel like a toddler who just learn to walk. I just keep moving at my pace, although slow, I just kept moving and stayed safe.

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This pic was taken after I just had my Subuh prayer , 6.30am at the nearby road. Then I continued to run.

The next big challenge was Mount Berembun, with an elevation-1835m, and distance 10.1km. It was a never ending hiking up and I felt like my both legs were going to separate, I feltl tired and I wished to stop for a while but, no! I needed to keep moving, I wanted to arrive at the checkpoint 3 in time which was 6 hours from the start. And yes! I arrived at the checkpoint 3, 40 minutes earlier. Hooray I made it! And…Alive! Yup I was alive!

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This is Queeny from Singapore. We ran together start from the Peak Berembun as our pace was not that different, we managed to survive together in the forest.

 

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The next route is the BOH Tea Plantation. And yes, I love green!

The next 27 kilometres was by the hillside of BOH Tea Plantation. I thought it would be easy until…. I realised there were a lots of pebbles along the route, and they hurt the surface of my feet. I was grateful, the surfaces were not slippery like previous route. Oh ya, I like the weather at the run; breezy, not that sunny, less sunburn though. For those who wanna breezy run, you can try here,..and after that you can pick up strawberries with total mileage 30 km to Tanah Rata.

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The never ending route!

My tips is..you don’t have to run all the way (if you want to run, go ahead!), but run when it is downhill or less elevation. When you are going uphill, do powerwalk. Am sure you will be arrived every checkpoint in time.

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What motivated me to keep going is the view.. How could I stop if they keep follow me all the way 🙂

Along the race, I saw friendly faces. Every participant who passed by, would cheer up one another, or at least they smile. The marshalls were very nice and helpful, they keep motivating us to be strong. A moment I will never forget is when I arrived at the CP 4; one of the uncles made a cup of warm tea for me, and it was so nice to have it after a long, never ending run. I thought it was the best tea I ever had throughout my life.

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– Finally I found road! ( and yes! I love road more! )

For every checkpoint that I stopped at, I refilled my hydration pack, drank and fueled up with dates provided. Then I continued my run. I just wanted to save my time and be on time at the next checkpoint.

At 4.30pm, I was on my way go back into the trail route which lead me to last checkpoint – checkpoint 3 at the Robinson Waterfall. It was about 8km towards finishing line. As I entered back the forest, it felt dark. I was feeling very tired, but kept moving. I just wanted to get out from it before dark.

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yayy! Finally it almost end 😉

Finally, I reached finishing line at 6.12pm with official timing 13 hours and 12 minutes. Yayy! Mission accomplished! I suffered from no injuries, no DNF, finished strong and arrived before Maghrib prayer. And yes, I was alive. Alhamdullilah!

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That happy face with my new favourite medal 😉

I would like to dedicate this longest ultra trail  to my friends, my family especially my mum who keep supporting me and always believe that I’m far more capable more than what I think. And lastly, I would like to say big thanks to my sponsor, Nashata for the event slot, accommodation, transport and of course big support throughout the event. Without you guys, I might not be able to do this.

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Nashata Runners survived till the end.. Yeah! Women power 😉

Till we meet again, keep running and be inspired! автокредит предложения банков

Run for Vitality @ the MHWH Night Run

The Nashata Runners made their second running debut at the Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run by AIAVitality yesterday in Putrajaya. The first was in Penang.  This time, we had a few runners running 12 km and 21 km while Nur Nahsuhah and Amie Kurtenbach paced the 21 km run.

Alhamdulillah : Nashata Runners Finished Happy & Strong

Alhamdulillah : Nashata Runners Finished Happy & Strong

Selamat Lari Raya

We had our little gathering before the run – a post Eid Celebration. We got a brownie cake specially made by Marathon Baker.  It was super duper yummeh, rich, chocolaty, Nutella frosting – everybody loved it.

Selamat Lari Raya

Less guilt eating a cake by Marathon Baker the Energy Bar Specialist

We shared the cake with others. The cake didn’t hurt our run, all of us – except the busy pacers had our share loving the cake!

Raya Cake Marathon Baker

Sharing the Raya Cake with Other Runners

Nashata Runners – The Pacers

Nahsuhah and Amie were the official pacers at the run. Nahsuhah was one of the official pacers at the Penang MHWH Night Run so she was pretty ok to shoulder the responsibilities. Amie was a little bit nervous as it was her first experience, but she did well.

MHWH Night Run by AIAVitality 21km Pacers

MHWH Night Run by AIAVitality 21km Pacers

Many pacers’s balloons popped along the way, unfortunately. Perhaps, they could wear a bib displaying pace timing on their backs as a back up measures in the future. Both enjoyed pacing, taking turns with other pacers from various running teams to drink and rest and catch up so that the other runners stayed on track and achieve running goals that night.

“Such a nice experience to run as an official pacer HM 2:40.. Monitoring the pace, cheering and motivating the runners are part of the responsibilities. One guy who just recovered from his dengue fever waited at the finishing line and thanked me for pacing him. He managed to finish the run at 2:39.. That moment made me really happy”, shared Amie. 

Official Pacers MHWH Night Run

Official Pacers MHWH Night Run : We dressed them up in yellow Iman Hijab so that runners could easily spot them

Running in the Rain 

At 6 pm, it started to rain heavily at Putrajaya, and everyone involved in the run was giving heads up via whatsapp about coming in late due to jams in town.  I didn’t want to get my shoes wet before running so I tried not to walking around on wet grounds much.  A lot of people were late for the run due to the downpour.  When the 21 km flagged off at 8 pm sharp, many were still running towards the starting point through the gates.

Starting Off

Can you Run Faster in a Cool Weather?

It was drizzling a bit till the first 2 km. I enjoyed the run because it was cool. It was my kind of a weather to run well. After the first 5 km, I felt both my right shoes and sock were damped –  a little discomfort but I kept running.

Just like the run in Penang, the traffic control was good; there were cones allocated along the highway giving a lot of space for runners to run and overtake each other. There were ambulances patrolling along the route and paramedics team was busy assisting runners with cramps at a few stops. One stretch was quite dark when the road lights went off due to circuit malfunction and we saw sparks of fire coming out from the lamp post on the other side of the road. If you plan to run at the MHWH Night Run in Johor, make sure you go to the toilet before the run as there were no mobile toilets along 21km in Penang and Putrajaya.

It was fun & rewarding for me as I get to run with my husband and brother. We ran together throughout the race, overtaking but not far from each other at times. My timing improved and I ran with zero injury – so I am happy.

My Hubby, Bro & I

My Hubby, Bro & I

Azlina, or better known as Along started off her 21 km late but she passed by us very fast and finished strong. She was amazing!

Along and Amie did their first Full Marathon together in 2015

Along and Amie did their first Full Marathon together in 2015

Veteran Runners & Newbies

A mix of new and veteran runners; Intan Suraya, Eda, Zabrina, Sarah and Najmi ran 12 km at 830 pm.

Intan Suraya, the modest veteran Runner

Intan Suraya, the Modest Veteran Marathon Runner, turned 42 recently

Newly Wed Running Couple

Eda & Borhan – The Newly Wed Running Couple is Back on the Scene

Sarah & Najmi : Exciting Times for Newbies

Exciting Times for Newbies like Sarah & Najmi

Every run offers unique experiences – that’s what make running a race meaningful. I look forward for the next MHWH Night Run in Johor for sure. #progressivemuslimah #positivityiscontagious