Sunday, May 27, 2007

Run Up Genting Highlands

I've been dreaming of running up, and today is the day to do it. I drove from Cheras to Genting Sempah, and parked there. It was a nice chilly morning. I have the foggiest idea how tough it would be, and how far is the distance. The only information I got is the distance from Genting Sempah to Genting Highlands is about 20km. I have only drove up genting once. From Google Earth, Genting Sempah at 561 meters. Genting highlands is at 1700 meters. That means an estimate uphill climb of 1139 meters.


Genting Sempah parking lot...

For breakfast, I had 2 bananas and water. That's it. I brought along a powerbar, just in case.


First police station...

I started running at 7:30am. And already at the start, the path is hilly. After Genting Sempah, there's a police checkout point. I was wondering if they allow runners on the road. But seems like they don't mind. The initial few kms is all hard uphill climb. When I looked back, at the hills below, it's amazing how steep the roads were.

It's all uphill from here...

Direction is easy to spot on...

As I ran up, Genting Highlands appeared over the hills, and it was a breathtaking sight. I have ran lots of hills, but never on a mountain. The view gave me some ideas on how hard the challenge would be.


There's 15km more....

Genting highlands on top...

However, after that, there's some relieve as the road dips downhill. Soon, I reached Hotel Seri Malaysia. I could see lots of buses around here. So, after that, I head for Genting Highlands path. But there's another police checkpoint. Fortunately they don't seem to mind.


Hotel Seri Malaysia....

Second police checkpoint...

After this point, the path started to get steeper. I try to sustain my pace, although slowly, but still running. Suddenly, a bus slows down. A man appeared at the door, asked me if I am going up, and probably wanting to offer a ride. I smiled and just made a refuse gesture. Was too tired to talk.


The hills are like #$&^%#

As cars, vans passed by, some gave a look. A few cheered me on. Maybe if I got cheered all the way...the run would have been faster.


It's all green around here...

There's some part of the road, that's just too steep. Almost 45 degrees. And on average...I am running on 20-30 degrees inclination.


Where are the cabel cars?


Still going up...

Damn steep road...and it's all the way up..

Soon, genting highlands came nearer onto view. I was excited. As I was reaching the top...I had to slow down a bit. Sometimes I had to walked a bit. The nice thing about the path is that, there's distance markers. So you know how far yet to reach the top. For the last 200 meters, I revved up my legs, and made a final run. Funny how you get more energy when approaching the finishing line. My time was 2:43:06. And the distance is estimated at 20k from genting sempah.


Approaching genting highlands...elated for awhile...

Another steep bend...my legs are killing me..

Nearer....

Almost...only 0.7km left...


How they built stuff here?...

It was misty all around. And a bit colder, but not really that cold. I was expecting it to be colder, but was surprised it was not so bad. I had some chicken porridge and iced milo at MacD, for refuelling. Did some walk around genting just for sight seeing.


Genting highlands is not cold...probably global warming..

The clouds and genting are one...

Genting is not genting if not for this picture...

At 12:00, I started to run back genting sempah. It was probably the nicest run, as I did not need to make the effort of going uphill. It's all downhill from here. And the mist surrounding the air made me felt as though I am running in the sky. Sort of..


Got to go back...where's KL?

Running in the mist...notice it's only like 10 meters visibility..

Mist hugging the hills...

Chin Swee temple...looks majestic in this one...A flying dragon would be nice...

Still a long way down..

It's a crazy steep bend....

Soon, I reached Hotel Seri Malaysia...but then needed to run another 10k back to Genting Sempah. There's some uphill here...so I had to walk part of the uphill. It's just too much to go up again after Genting Highlands. As I ran down, I realized, the climb is very steeper than I had thought. You could see the road below, which is like 100 meters down.


Still going down...

I reached Genting Sempah at around 2pm plus. Just glad to reached back safely. Total distance covered is 40km.


Finally back to Genting Sempah...

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo!! You have my salute and standing ovation!!

bola2api said...

wow.. that was amazing lah

sbanboy said...

Pengsan .... next time tell me when I wait for you in Genting and I can drive u down the hill :D

yipwt said...

sbanboy...running down is enjoyable...coz running up, you can't really enjoy.

sbanboy said...

Haha ... ok ok then I drive u up to Genting and you can run down :D

princessren said...

wah... u're 1 heck of a runner laaa.. u're like a forrest gump in reality if i may describe what u're doing....

Raymond said...

gosh!u really ran up fr genting sempah huh......hey,20k up n down is no small feat,may i suggest u be listed in the most hardcore runner haha.
I injured my thigh in kenyir,dun think can follow u run up to genting oredi la :-(

Raymond said...

wah my fellow anesthetist fren also here leh hehe
U so popular la steven!

yipwt said...

hi raymond,

oh..sorry to hear you injured in kenyir.

It's ok...wait till you ok, then we go..

I will just do normal training around my area.

C-CUBE said...

Yip ~ if i hv ackonwledge u correctly. U really hv push urself to the limit. Salute2. Must get to know you lah. you must hv one heck of the determination and the spirit to run up Genting Highlands and back, thats almost ~40k round trip. Amazing!!!!

Keipo said...

wah...salute u bro....amazing...!!

CP Waterman said...

Wah lau 20k up to Genting! Bravo & Salute!
Those days (1998)I ran 10k up Batu Lapan (Cameron highland) through lots of Orang Ahsli settlements and I thought I was 'nut' until I read your blog today and discovered that I am just normal,whew!
Thanks brother (Yip=Yap)!

-H2O
Paris

Anonymous said...

Yip, extraordinary feat! Bravo! Bravo! Now you've proven impossible is really null.

yipwt said...

hi guys...thanks for the comments...but i think any runner can do it with more training...especially on hills...

but oh...it's nice running in the clouds...u know that kind of..."I must be in heaven" feeling...

Anonymous said...

Hello!! I cant believe you ran that far and uphill! I cant even walk for 20 mins without getting tired.

When did you start this craze? And why? I am really interested to know

yipwt said...

hi anonymous...if you are a runner...you would know why we run...

by the way, try running...small distance...then you'll feel better in life.

I run to challenge myself...just for the fun...

Anonymous said...

I dont know if I can run even short distances. I have always been a walker. Lol..

Think I can join the walking marathons (if there are any?)

yipwt said...

hi anonymous...i think there's big walk...the one you always see in the papers...

a marathon is 42km distance. I don't think there's a walk race that far. maybe 10km got la...

if you have not run...try running short distance. Then slowly build up mileage.

TriStupe said...

bro...let me know when u next want to do this. a few of my friends did this before and i mised out on it everytime.

i cycle up genting and down genting like 2 or 3 times a year. time to pay different kind of homage to Genting la...

one way is 21km, that is why my bike meter tells me consistently...

and KM4 is like $*&%^ eh? ;-)

yipwt said...

oh...the last 10km up...is really tough...there's one part...almost 45 degrees...it's like you are..climbing stairs.

yep...sure..will invite you next time . Raymond hee also wants to run up...

Anonymous said...

You know, the strange thing is, I keep getting this aching pain near my heels after walking fast for short amounts of time. I need to get that checked before I start running.

Btw, how much weight can one lose? Lol

yipwt said...

oh pain...please go see a doc on this one. That's the best person to advice you on what's wrong with your heels.

You can lose a lot of weight..if you run everyday for like maybe 30 minutes...:)

Fyi, most runners experienced injury, pain..from time to time. But then they got used to it, endure it...and knows when to back off from running into self destruction.

blueameba said...

Amazing!
My expression is just... WOW!

wawi said...

lu memang 'gila' arr... wa tabik spring 40 kali (one for each km)...
next time kasi cakap awal2, wa ingat mau join sekali la...

NEZZ said...

hi YipWT, thanks for yr comments in my blog. Admire yr uphill running gusto!!

Unknown said...

First time at your blog because of Haza's link. Congrats on your feat. I cycle up the same route on Saturdays. Did think of running up before. Now that you have done it, I am thinking again.. If you want to do again, one thing though be very careful with the traffic, the fast cars, the super bikes, the buses and the lorries... They can come really near to the side. I think a safer uphill is in Hulu Langat, going towards Titi. You ran that hill before?

yipwt said...

hi ngae..i agree...lots of buses...cars..lorries..and yes..superbikes...

once a bus passed so close..i think he didn't realize i was there...

Yes...i did run the road to titi...but not yet. just stopped at genting peres...

I am planning to run to kuala klawang, and then back.

sbanboy said...

Wah .... so many comments ... hehe...hey be kful Yip when u run leh .... must wear bright bright t shirts.

Anyway I am driving to Genting this Saturday ... need a ride :D

Have a great weekend man

yipwt said...

hi sbanboy...

thanks but gonna run other routes this weekend...

enjoy your trip there...

Raymond said...

sbanboy go genting this weeknd to gamble ah!
Yip,u r famous now after that historic feat!Everybody gave u standing ovation :-)

yipwt said...

hi ray...it's not a publicity stunt..just a run, and sharing the experience. I think most runners can do it too.

by the way...if you are feeling ok..we could try genting again...maybe different route. There's actually 2 routes to awana...one from batang kali if not mistaken. I just read men's health..got an article on cycling up genting. He said...the other route (from rawang is much steeper...).

sbanboy said...

Ayo Raymond di di ... I dont gamble lah ... go there to take pictures .... photography relaxes me ...wanna be my model ?

Acong Fikri said...

wow bro.. im interested to climb up genting highland..

what is ur tips and preparation for the trip?

im using a mountain bike... is it proper to go up there..

thanks man! nice blog u have!

williammuk said...

Well done. Thank you for the information.

a hao said...

Lol~ You're afraid of police 👮 😅