Craze Ultra 2012

Did the second half of the 100km with Edmund.

The Most Beautiful Thing 2012 Day 5

We had breakfast at the roti canai shop again. Our flight was in the afternoon.

A short but fun trip.

Congrats again to everybody.

The Most Beautiful Thing 2012 Day 4

I had not seen a single red flag or tape for some time now. As I did not see any junctions, I thought maybe they placed it further ahead. I continued going upslope until I came to this big T junction. It was the main road. I searched for the flags or taps on both sides but could not find any. At them moment I realised I am lost.

Nothing much I could do except to back track. Halfway back, I met Ford and another runner who were making the same way up. They asked if I had lost my way. I explained to them I had gone to a T junction and could not find any flags or tapes. They suggested to go back to the junction to take a look. I chose to follow them, thinking MAYBE we were on the correct path afterall. *cross fingers*

When we reached the junction, we searched around again but we still could not find anything. Fortunately for us, one of the 4W land rovers of the organisers drove passed at this moment and told us we had missed the right turn. So we had to make our way back down. The three of us backtracked down and managed to find the turn that we had missed. The red flags placed there were simply not placed obvious enough. By going up and down the slope trying to find my way, I guessed I had done around extra 5km.

The three of us sticked together and continued running and walking. Its lesser than 10km to go. We were near the finish line! Guess what, we got lost again! This time we hit the main road again and we even landed right in front of Strawberry hotel! One of the runners phoned the organisers and they told us we had missed the right turn (a right turn again) and so we backtracked along the path where we came from. Luckily this time it was not far off and we were quickly back on track again. The red flags and tapes were again not placed obvious enough for the runners to locate them.

W12 (around 95km) was somewhere beyond the right turn. End point was near!

Leaving W12, we had to go pass some farmland again. It was going downslope and it was quite steep. We came to the main road and turned right and headed towards the town where the finish line was. We had to take another right turn out of the main road and continue the remaining 2km back to the finish line.

I finished the race in 20:22. My first overseas 100km. :)

Photo from Rabani Ayub (Facebook)

I was so so so famished  and so tired when I finished the race. I quickly had some rice and went to sleep on the mats that were provided.

Amy returned shortly after I woke up. The two of us took the same transport back to Mega D'Aru at around 9am. When the van drove out, we saw Trish turning into the finish line. I slept throughout the journey. Totally knocked out from the run.

When I reached the hotel, I took a  much needed good shower and went out for some more food. I was so hungry!











After the food, it was time for some more sleep.

Zzzzz ..


All of us who went together managed to complete the run. Amy even won #3 for the women's category. Jeri got #2. Congrats to all!!

This was dinner for the night. A very nice bak kut teh in town area beside the Oldtown Coffee.

This was just round 1. We had a second round of the same bak kut teh. Followed by dessert. Hahaha .. :)

Lessons learnt from the race:

1) Using 2 headlights together at night was really useful. The headlight I wore on the head was switched to long beam aiming further ahead to illuminate where I was running. The second headlight, I tied it to the strap of my hydration bag, was switched to wide beam pointing to the ground in front of me. In this way, I could have a clear view of where I was running and where I was going to step on. Sure beats just using a single headlight.

2) In such long distance races, we were bound to run together with some other people for some stretch of distance, when our pace just "matches" each other. There were some whom I had ran with in the race but I did not know their names (like the guy from Sabah who ran 3 - 4 km with me from 50km onwards). Next time I should try to ask for their names and where they were from.

3) Shit happens. When Jeri heard I got lost twice, she said if I had not got lost, I would have gotten a faster timing. Then she added on: "Oh, but this is trail running." I knew I could have gotten a faster timing but I was not upset about it. I just felt relieved to be able to find the way back into the race route. Remember, things could have turned out much worse!

4) Stopping in the tracks to admire the things around me. It is really worthwhile, and do not think too much about the time spent doing so.

5) Respect nature. Need I elaborate more?? :)

The Most Beautiful Thing 2012 Day 3

The few of us staying at the same hotel arranged for transport to bring us to the start point at Kundasang at 0630Hr.

On the way to Kundasang. On the left was Mount Kinabalu. It was just a short ride down the main road.

When we arrived at Kundasang, it was a already hive of activities. People were busy depositing their luggages and bag drops into the different vans. It would have helped if the vans were marked which category they were for.


I am wearing:

- 2XU long sleeve compression
- 2XU compression long tights
- Inov-8 Roclite 295 trail shoes

Another shot with the doctor. :)

A few of us from Singapore. :)

Behind us was Mount Kinabalu.

We were asked to go down to the field below. That would be our start line.

All 25k, 50k and 100k would start together at the same time.

That would be we would need to go up that slope when the gun goes .. :p

All ready.

I learnt this trick from Seow Kong at Mount Fuji. With this chart, not only did I segmentise the race into 10km, I could easily further segmentise them into smaller sections. I could know when is the end of the upslope or downslope and just aim for it, instead of aiming for the next 10k interval.

This was a very useful tool and it really hepled.

The race was scheduled to start at 0730Hr. We were waiting at the back when suddenly everybody just started running. There were no airhorn or any indication the race had started. So I guessed we just had to follow along. :p

Here we go!! :)

The happy face of Osbert.

This would be my first overseas 100km race. I knew my previous strategy of 1.5hr for every 10km would not work in trails. I knew it before going for Mount Fuji and it was proved there and then. Depending on the technicality of the trail, the pace may decrease to a walking pace.

I approached this race with a new strategy. Using my feelings to guide me. Not going to force myself to keep to a certain pace. Not sure whether this would work but its worth a try. (I really hope it works!)

Nutrition wise, it would be mainly based on Hammer Perpeteum Solids mixed with bak kwa at different distances. I also have Hammer Perpeteum powder for 30k, 50k and 70k. Similarly, the bread was also for 30k, 50k and 70k. There was also a tube of NUUN with me.

I would also try to apply the lessons I learnt from Mount Fuji. I believed those are very valuable and we should always learn from past races. Be it the good or the bad.

The start was easy. Running downhill through the town. Probably just to let us warm up our muscles.

Until we saw this. This photo could not show it clearly, but we were able to see runners turning left up the slope. The game had began.

This was the first steep slope that greeted us at 1km into the race.

We came down the down on the left and came up this steep slope.

This was the view on our right as we ascended the slope.

Still climbing up.

The first few km was the race was going through tarmac. I just took it easy and took photos along the way.

We were treated to a view of mountains that spread across the land as we ran.

Amy and Trish.

I met Yim from Malaysia. After doing this TMBT, he would fly to Singapore the next weekend to attempt the Craze Ultra 100Mile!

Running into the wild .. :)

One of the many village kids that we ran passed.

Mount Kinabalu was always in our view when we ran the first half. Until it seems like no matter where we ran, we were still in the same spot. Hahaha .. :)

Coming up from W1 at 10km. We would make a loop and return to this aid station at 27km, which would become W3.

I popped a NUUN tablet into my Raidlight water bottle at W1 after topping it up. I closed the bottle cap while the tablet was still fizzling inside the water. A moment later when I was going up the slope, I tried to open the valve to take a sip of the yummy lemon flavoured electrolyte drink. Little that I know, the moment I pulled open the valve a jet of water shot out of the bottle. The tablet had been fizzling in the bottle and creating an air pressure inside forcing the water through the small hose the moment the valve was opened. (sounds scientific)

I had thought the water inside should be alright after the first burst. However, when I tried to take a small sip again just a short while later, the water in the bottle was forced out in a small jet again. It seem to be caused by the shaking of the water inside as I ran.

Lesson learnt:

- let the tablet finish fizzling before closing the bottle.
- Regularly open the bottle to relief the air pressure in the bottle.

Walking up the slope.

We ran passed a row of pine trees. All the while the weather has been kind to us.

This was the junction where the 25k runners would split away from 50k/100k runners.

The first thing that came to us after the split was this upslope.

We entered a cabbage farm. Never had I seen so many cabbages together in my life.

Workers packing the cabbages. Each bag must have weighed a ton!

Running up the farmland. All this while, the weather was slowly getting hotter and hotter. Yet I did not really notice it as I was all the while focusing on this beautiful views.

They also had a digital camera .. :)

This was the front of the house of the family of the photo above. This spot was used by them to pack the cabbages.

Each time we ran passed such a patch of cabbages, we would scare off the many flies that were feasting on those cabbage leaves.

As I ran, I also tried to keep a look out for the guys behind me to ensure whey were following the right path. At the same time, I kept scanning ahead for the runners in front of me in order to know where they were heading.

Beautiful and green. :)

W2 at 18km.

Mount Kinabalu watching over us as we ran.

The time now was around 1030Hr.

I like the smiles on their faces. They have much lesser than us, yet they seem so much happier.

One of the small streams we had to cross. We came down the slope on the other side, stepped over the rocks and landed on this side where I took the photo.

Another group work workers packing cabbages.

Each bag was stuff with cabbages to the max. I am sure I am unable to lift it up by myself.

There were several gates like this we had to cross. We were reminded again and again to close the gate after crossing it so that the animals could not escape. We were not allowed to climb over it either.

Although the sky was casted, I still got slightly darker.

From around 23km onwards, it was generally going downslope all the way to around 36km. It was now a test of our downslope techniques and how well our quads could handle it.

Its still a long road ahead.

We came to W3, which was also W1, at 27km. I quickly topped up my bottle with water and poured my pre packed Hammer perpeteum into it and continued my way.

The road dotted with runners. At this time, the sun got stronger and stronger as we ran.

Beautiful landscape.

We had to be careful on where we step as the level portion of the route was actually quite narrow.

This was my food for 30km. The lower atmospheric pressure over here (higher altitude) caused the packaging to bloat.

It was now 1200Hr. We were now under the mercy of the sun.

Hey hey hey .. !! .. don't go .. lets take a photo .. !! .. :)

We came down the slope to another village ..

where this group of kids sat by the side and cheered for every one of us passing by.

The route condition was mostly gravel. We had to be always on the alert of our footing in case we step on any loose ground and sprain our ankles.

Other than that, it was still running downslope where I just let my body be "pulled" down by gravity.

The climb started again at around 36km. W4 was further up. It was also the end point of the 25km route.

1249Hr. Weather was very hot by this time. It was a long climb up.

W4 at 38km. The 25km'ers were done. We were not even halfway through!

This table was for the 25km'ers to collect their medal and sign in.

This was for 50km'ers and 100km'ers. We also had a gear check here.

I took a 5 mins rest in the hall, drinking some water while taking a break from the midday sun.

I still felt alright at this point, besides feeling very thirsty from the heat. Good to go.

Coming out from W4, we went further uphill before coming to a town. There was a road we had to cross. I stood at the road side for some 5 mins waiting for traffic to clear but the cars kept coming. Not wishing to stay there for too long, I dashed across the road the moment I saw a small gap in the traffic.

I managed to catch up with Thomas and another 2 runners. We came to this stream where we tried to cool ourselves down.

There was a chinese saying: 久旱逢甘露 .. (seeing water after a long drought). Nothing could describe our joy better when we saw the stream.

The sun was merciless. The vegetation reflected the heat from the ground onto us made it worse.

This was around 41km. From here to W5 at around 45km, it would be upslope all the way. It was hands pressing onto knees, treading our way step by step up the slopes while cursing and swearing at the same time.

Further up, I met Amy and Yim.

"Why the fuck am I here?!!", I exclaimed as I got beside them.

Yim heard me and replied: "Its too late to ask that now."

Hahaha .. We knew we would be suffering yet we still came for it. :)

I tried to play a mental trick to myself. I kept reminding myself of the A8 - A9 stretch of STY. Thinking of that, the terrain that I was going through now seemed a little easier. :)

The slopes were difficult but the view was nice. :)

The runners got more and more spread out as we ran. Quite a fair bit of the route I was running alone.

Leaving W5 (around 45km) at 1447Hr, almost 7hr 17min into the race.

Pacing was alright. :)

Sunburnt from the running. Could wait to reach W6 at 50km.

W6 was in a town. It would be the finish line of the 50km'ers. For those doing 100km, we would go out for a different loop of 50km and return here again.

It was in a school compound. The time was around 1515Hr in the afternoon.

I reached 50km in 07:41.

Our drop bags were placed in this small hall.

One of the podium winners of the 50km.













The only people whom I recognised when I entered was Jeri and Ford. They were taking a rest and getting ready for the second half of the race.

There was food (rice, fried vegetables and fried eggs) available. I quickly located my drop bag (we were supposed to find it ourselves among the many many drop bags) and started replenishing my supplies. I did not eat the food they were serving but had the bread which I brought along. There were cold water and isotonic water available so I made sure I drank sufficiently.

After I was done with the replenishing, I took stock of my body. No feeling of blisters yet, and hopefully none. No feeling of pain anywhere. There was the normal muscle fatigue and tiredness. Other than that, it was good to go.

I left W6 at around 1545Hr. I had spent around 30mins resting here.

In the second half, there would be 2 major upslopes. The first at around 56km, the second at 65km. From 50km, we would follow this gravel road downslope all the way to the former.

Not wishing to drain myself of too much energy, I again just let gravity work its magic on me.

The beginning of the first major upslope. The top of the slope was at around 58km.

Out came my trekking poles. It was a slow and steady walk up.

It was steep, but thankfully it was not technical. :p

Turned back and took a photo of the way I came up.

W7 was at 60km. Took me around 10hrs to cover 60km.

It was around 1730Hr in the evening now. The sun would set in around an hours time. W8 was at 65km at the bottom of the valley. I wanted to cover more ground before the sun sets so I did not rest for long over here.

I wanted to reach W8 when there was still light.

Just as I left W7, there was this "mmmiieeeehhh" sound that came from our side. I turned left and right and what did i see?!

The grin on the face said it all. "Look at all those clowns running pass here."

Hahaha .. :)

It was a race against time for light.

W8 was located in the village at the bottom of the valley.

Time was 1743Hr. Around 45 mins more of light to utilise for me.

Reaching soon!!!

I'm here! Arrived at around 1810Hr. However, I still need to run into the village to get to W8.

At W8 at around 1830Hr.

I took out my headlights and red blinking lights and secured one headlight to the front of my hydration bag and the red blinking light to the back. It gets darker and darker as I tried to prepare myself for the night.

Now, lets hope the reflective tape, which the organisers CLAIMED were reflective, was really so!

Last year the tape were not reflective, and a lot of runners lost their way in the night due to that.

By the time I set off from W8, it was already dark.

The second major upslope of the second 50km starts here. There were two other runners who went off ahead of me around 5 - 10 mins. I wonder if I could catch up with them.

My worry of the reflective was true as I shined my headlight onto it. They were not reflective. They could only be seen when we passed by them. Being so thin (and they had irregular length), it was quite hard to spot them from far. Luckily the red flags were bigger so they were easier to be seen, not that the red flags were reflective though.

There were lights coming from some houses a distance away. I wonder if they people inside could see my headlights moving up the slope.

This slope was tougher then the first slope at 56km. The route was more rough, there were more rocks. I had to keep focusing on spotting the red flags or reflective tapes as I made my way up the slope. Every now and then I turned back and hoped to see other runners making their way up behind me. There were none. When there was a high chance of you losing your way, it would be a better choice to go as a group.

This second climb was also higher. Not able to see far ahead, I tried to walk fast up the slope but it was tough. Recalling something which Tony (my roommate during STY) told me:

"Sometimes you just have to stop in your tracks and admire the things around you."

I stopped in the middle of the track, switched off my headlights, and tilted my head up. My goodness! The sight was to die for! I had never ever seen so many stars in the sky in my life. It was so so so beautiful!!

The trail ended at a highway and we ended up on the highway. I was now running on flat road. All along I was hoping to spot the red blinking lights of the 2 runners who went ahead of me, or any other runners for that matter. I turned back several times wishing to see other runners catching up.

The highway was in the middle of the mountain. There were some cars who drove passed us as we ran.  Other than my own headlights, there were no lamp posts. On the left was a steep upslope, on the right was a steep downslope. Beside me there was nobody else. I was thinking in my mind, if any of the vehicles were to stop, and the people inside were to come and rob us and throw us down the slope. Nobody would have noticed it.

I was getting more and more tired. The effects of the long distance had slowly creeped onto me. I was like shuffling my feet now, just to move forward. I kept running until finally I caught up with some runners at around 70km. I met Jeri among them. Ford was slightly ahead. From 70km onwards, it was downslope all the way till W9 at 74km.

Arrived at W9 at around 2025Hr.

From W9, it was upslope all the way to W10 at around 81km. I was running alone again.

The route brought us though more villages. Each house that we ran passed, the dogs would bark as us. Some would ran out to the side of the road and continue barking but none of them chased ofter us. Some made the action of chasing after us, only to stop a short distance after.

The route to W10 seemed like forever. We just kept running and running. I felt so relieved when I finally reached W10. It was a small hall by the side of the road. I topped up my water and moved on again.

W11 was at around 88km. I ran passed some more housed and got barked at by even more dogs until I seemed to have gotten immune to it. Just as long as they did not chase after me would be fine. :p I learnt to anticipate the barking too. Their eyes reflected light from my headlights and were bright like stars in the sky. Each time I saw pairs of eyes in front of me, I guessed it was a dog and it would start barking soon. If I could, I would stay away from them.

At around 86km, it got a little windy. I felt some water droplets on my face. I looked up and the sky was covered with red clouds. Moments later, it started raining heavily. There was a waterproof jacket in my hydration bag but I was nowhere near any shelter. If I were to stop to take out the jacket, I would still end up drenched. Since W11 was just around 2km down the road (or rather, up the slope), I just carried on. Lets hope this rain would not be like the heavy storm the night before.

Luckily, the rain changed to a small drizzle a short while later and eventually stopped. By this time, I was in a village slowly approaching W11 which was a small hall next to the road.

I left W11 determined to finish the remaining 12km as soon as I could. 12km to go!!

I continued going upslope, cutting through the village. There was this stretch where my headlight shone onto a pair of eyes that reflected brightly back at me. It seemed bigger than those eyes of a dog. As I go nearer, it did not seem to move and just sat quietly by the side of the road. I noticed it had a big body frame and I was wondering what kind of dog was it?!! I kept staring at it as I slowly walked passed, ready to sprint off the moment it jumped at me. Then I realised it was a cow .. sigh .. too fatigued from all the running.

A few turns later, as I turned upslope around a bend, there were (worse!) more than 10 pairs of eyes reflecting the light from my headlight. This time, they eyes were moving around. Seems like dogs! Standing in the middle of the road! As I inched forward, my thoughts were racing in my mind. Turn back? No, this seems the correct route. How to get pass them? Strangely, they were not barking at me. When I got nearer and I saw they were actually sheeps. Sigh .. I need to stop scaring myself. I saw there was a small grass patch at the side of the road so I detoured around them and continued my way.

We were going up along an asphalt road but it was steep. I was going up the slope halfway when a car stopped by and the driver offered to drive me up. It was really hard to resist him. He was kind enough to offer a ride but I knew I should not accept him. So I just smiled back and say no to him. (bang my head against the tree!!)

From W11 onwards, I am not sure why but the number of "reflective" tape had decreased. The red flags were also more irregularly placed now. In 2011 when the race started its first run, the organiser was known not to place many markers along the stretch of a long route. Their rational was that since there was no junction, so its just one way therefore there was no need for any markers. However, they might not had realised the fact that as runners, even when running on a one way route, runners would still require markers to be regularly placed along the route so that they knew they were on the correct track and they had not missed any junctions. With this understanding, when I was moving along this long route where I could not see any red flags or tape, I thought they were using their 2011 rational again.

So I just kept moving forward.