Perth Marathon 2012: First in the Land Down Under

With my Aussie bling

Years ago, a trip to Australia seemed impossible. And yes, thanks to Jobstreet.com I got enough funds and the courage to travel...alone. Not that it was my first time to travel overseas alone but just to venture into an unknown territory is still a tall order.


Other people have this dream. To run a marathon in all continents. I have only run in two--Asia and North America. Australia is my third. 

Before the race

Endless googling--during office hours--led me to Perth. And to Perth Marathon. I was a bit hesitant but maybe my instincts were right. Perth Marathon was just 'perth-fect' for my first race in Australia. The scenic route along Swan River was more than enough to keep me going. The energy emanating from the cheering crowd gave the extra ump to rally on especially for someone like me who does not know anyone from Perth except for the few runners I met in other races. And yes, being close to my goal of 4:30 (I finished the race in 4:36) is more than enough to make it all worth it.

It was not a totally easy peasy ordeal as I struggled heavily against depleted energy level brought about by not eating enough breakfast and not enough sleep. But just crossing the proverbial finish line and my name announced by the host, just to reiterate, is more than enough to make it all worth it.


Thank you to the organizers and the ever-so-kind volunteers for a succesful event!

I am hoping to run this race again. Maybe in the future. Maybe.


And Sydney, which I loved a lot, is a whole different story.

SCKLM 2012: My Last Hurrah in MY's Running Scene

After the race

I am a fan of the fleeting, of the ephemeral. After four hours and a half of pounding the pavements of Kuala Lumpur, my last race in Malaysia, my home for 9 months has come into conclusion.

And months ago, a 4:30 target was just a dream. A dream conceived in Penang in November and failed. Tried again in Bali, SG, Phuket and Perth but still failed. Perth was close with a 4:36 finish. But then, KL gave me a big suprise. I finished 4:28:55. I was expecting to fail with not enough sleep and my legs still sore from last week's Perth race. But the weather was perfect, the crowd (except for the last stretch of fun runners--no, I'm not elitist) persevered till the end and I guess, there is always some truism in what they say about saving the best for last. And the dream target is in the bag!

With Bryan Kho, crazy ultrarunner from Malaysia

I did away with my usual 6:1 run/walk ratio which I have been using for the last two years now. This suited me well when I do my ultras and when I clinched my sub-2 in a 21K race a year ago. It was in Phuket three weeks ago when I tried just walking after every hydration station. Did it in Perth again but I guess bad breakfast got the better part of me. And energy was out of the window.


Standard Chartered KL Marathon of June 24th 2012 finally provided me the avenue to prove something new. That despite the ambivalence of hitting 4:30 looms in the horizon, my spirit strengthened by my faith in the Lord Almighty led me to the finish line within my target time.

Maybe!

Malaysia. 9 Months. SCKLM 2012. New PB. Good times. Good times. Terima Kasih!!!