Mount Nuang: Muddy trails

The peak..

It was muddy to the point of quick sand at certain sections after false peak..

some injury...

It's been ages since I've been up the peak. With TNF looming, I think it would be a good idea to do some runs up.

Arrived there around 8:30am before heading up at 8:40. There was KC's group going up as well, as part of their Kinabalu Climbathon, who had left 30min earlier.

With some consistent running uphills, I managed to reach the 1st waterfalls around 30min, then it's up to Camp Lolo, and soon it's heading up the muddy path towards Camp Pacat. Managed to reach Pacat at 1:20. KC and his earlier gang was there. I actually passed by Jason thiang before Pacat.

Then it was the almost vertical section where one have to use all fours to haul yourselves up. I found myself panting and really out of breath. Thank god I am not doing kinabalu, because the whole race up is basically pushing at what your heart can't tolerate for 2.5 hours!

Once i reached the false peak, I gulped down a powergel. I was abit worried, as I had only that for food. Just before reaching the real peak, bump with the Edwin (part of KC's gang) who was going downhill.

Reached the peak at 2:14. Sat down for awhile, then after 5 minutes it was back on the trails. Now the hard part is really the muddy and slippery path. I almost fell a few times. Scrapped my shin against some protruding root. The rocks were sharp and slippery, unlike clear trails like FRIM.

I tried to move fast enough, but my legs weren't working Running was reduced to jogging. Once i reached the first waterfall, it's another 4km. Tried running, but lack of energy is making me more delirious.

Finally reaching carpark after 3:46. It was my best PB from 4:15. But I think it wasn't the best of run. I could do faster if I had enough food, or fit enough to tackle the technicalities of moving fast. Instability was a major problem.

GPS route up

GPS route down

Sabah Mount Kinabalu Climbathon 2009: Another DNF

Mount kinabalu view from the park

At the start of the race, just a few hundred meters from Timpohan gate.

This is as far as I went up. Almost 7.5km mark.

Freezing cold...

A runner going down..







Another rest house at Gunting Lagalan...

Going down...







The prize giving ceremony...


With Isidro (center), who reach the peak in 2:25. He's also in the Philippines para Olympic team. His marathon PB is a 2:36




Chong would made it to the top in 2:45 and he only runs indoors and MTB!


As part of the sky running circuit, this is labeled as the steepest mountain run compared to the other nations. 2300meters vertical up in 9km..This year, it was my 2nd run up.

After Tony, Tey, and Yee Choy came back from the men veteran, Raymond and I was left with a bunch of advises on how to tackle it. Tony managed to reach Sayat-sayat, while Tey reached laban rata and decided to snap photos afterwards. Yee Choy did superbly well and game the peak in 3:13, and reach the finishing line just after 5 hours. Georgie, an aussie girl, even managed to get 15th.

It's only this year, I finally figured out the right strategy to tackle the mountain within 2.5 hours. You've got to reach laban rata in 1.5 hours, and another hour to reach the peak.

I wasn't nervous of the race as last year, but I knew, it won't be easy. No, suffering would be the right word.

The horn blew at 7am, and the whole bunch of us ran. Passed right through Timpohon gate, for a brief downhill before slowly running uphill. As I was wearing the heart rate monitor, I could see I was pushing 170..then 180 as we reach the stairs. Everyone was panting, and trying to push as hard as possible going up.

I think I made the first 1km mark in 11 minutes. Roughly, you'll need to run at least 15min/km just to reach laban rata. So I was pretty happy about it. But how long could I pushed in this zone?

Soon, I'd figured out using huge steps might helped. Rather than using cadence, I was trying to gain as much height per step. Cycling does helped in this case, if you've train on high gear. It works almost the same way. However, at 5km mark, I had some cramps in the left calf, and had to stop to nurse it.

With some rest, and caution, I was able to continue.

But with higher altitude, I could sense my movement was slowing down. And it was getting colder.

And I finally reached Laban rata at 1:43. However the next route up Sayat-sayat wasn't easy. I think I did pushed too hard, and was left with not much energy to tackle the rest of the route. It was going a few steps up, stop to take a breather, then continue on.

The clouds have settled and it was sure cold. And my fingers went numb.

To my dismay, I reached Sayat2 at 2:30, which is at 7km mark. I knew it was futile, but continued nevertheless, as I wanted to see how far I could go.

Then I was surprised to see Leonard from behind. He didn't made it last year, and had wanted to try it out again, but he said it's always the same spot he had reached. Now, the air was really cold. Walking up seems like impossible without stopping for a few breath.

I was amazed with the guys coming back from the peak with wristbands. They ran down the slopes like it was a flat.

Soon, I turn around and headed down as fast as possible. The path down wasn't a fast one. I had worn the Adidas Kampung and it's only good for uphills, but downhill, you would go limping if you stepped on a sharp rock.

At the finishing line, was happy seeing the rest of the gang. However Raymond Ng had a fracture on his finger after falling down the steep stairs. And I've seen some blood on the trails as well.

Although it's another DNF, but I think I've given all I got. The thing lacking was having an inferior engine to do it. So, for next year, it'll be high heart rate zone training.

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The race is tough because of the cut off time of 2.5 hours up to low's peak, then another 2 to reach the finishing line. You just got to be able to hold a high heart rate zone for at least 2 hours to make it to the top, which is pretty hard. But not impossible.

The best option is to reach laban rata less than 1.5 hours, and given you have still gas in the tank, make it up to Low's peak within the next.

Genting Highlands Night Run #3

The descent proves to be chilling as well...I ran with both arms wrapped around the body.

Beautiful Pagoda Arch..

Note how steep the descend is...

Third time. The problem is I've got bored of Genting. But some of the same group of people still want to organize it for the last time before Ramadhan, so that pulled me in. But this time, the group was larger. Ngae informed us, his friend working at the Resort had prepared for us, some hot beverages when we reach the top.

This time, as usual, I've strapped on the light pair of Saucony Type A2, anticipating a quick run up.

For the last 4km, the cold damp wind proved to be bone chilling. And as I near the last 1km, met with Mac on the way down...wondered where he was heading to.

I managed to clock 2:22 on the way up, more than my 2nd attempt. Then I went straight to coffee bean to get a hot cup of coffee, which is one I really need to keep warm. I soon found out that they had a Sammi Cheng concert up there.

Met with the rest of the gang at Starbucks. Elaine, Dino, Ngae were already there. I opted to run down just after 1am, because I did't want to reach home too late.

And after 1:55, I reached Genting Sempah again. Total time was 4:18.

A few other fellows also did ran down: Alex, Elaine, Zac (hungary guy), Jacq and Nurashid.

And no, no more Genting after this. Maybe next year.

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I am planning a 200km run 11th Oct, achievable by running 10 loops bkt aman - sri hartamas. Only one loop around Petronas station. Estimated time is 1.5 days. Is it doable? I am not sure, but will give it a try.

Genting Highlands Night Run #2

Descending from Genting Highlands...

Where's my bed?

Before the run, I had an invitation break fast at Hotel Impiana near KLCC. The food was pretty good and as usual, different varieties of food were laid out. While the rest of the diners plunged into a variety of almost everything, I took a few bites here and there. Didn't want to stuffed up with food before going for another run up Genting Highlands....

These days...any middle age working adult person would start the conversation about the political uncertainty in Malaysia. Frankly, I've had it with politics. I skipped political news and blogs, and only glanced throught the headlines. The details were not important... Sometimes, I had wished they would talk about something else...like running :)

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9:30 pm sharp and a bunch of runners were already there. Notably Steve, Alex, Julie, Dino, Kam, Ishal, Jaclyn, and a few other new faces. This time, I laced up the Saucony Type A2. I want to run as fast as possible to set a PB.

We set off around 10pm. For the first few km, I quickly find a suitable fast pace into the lead, and kept on to it. One caucasion guy (zach..), was tailing around 50-100 meters for the first 3-4km or so. Pretty impressive. This time, less lights were lighting up the road. And fewer cars as well. At times, we were running in total darkness, saved for the faint white road line. Soon I lose him.

Downhill section was after 5km mark, so I pushed it here. Managed to reach the 10km mark in 0:55:11s. As I reached the last 9km mark, I was wondering if I could do sub 2 hour, which required a pace of 6min/km. However as the road starts to elevate higher, I knew I was just hanging on to a slow pace. The last few km was tough, as knees radiated pain and minor cramps. I kept reminding myself not to stop and keep on running. Finally I reached the top at 2:13:58. Although far from sub 2, somehow I was pretty satisfied with it.

Then I had iced blended coffee at Coffee Bean... and some dates. Some of its' patrons were wondering the attire I was in. The weird part ought to be the red LED blinking light at the back...

After around 15minutes...I slowly walked back to Starbucks. No one was there, and it was freezing cold. So I started the descent. Now..the motivation is to get home and sleep. I was missing bed terribly. But I got to run another 20km to get back to Genting Sempah. As usual, it was pretty alrite saved for some uphill after 11km.

But it wasn't the pain in the legs that struck me the most while descending. It was the tranquility and clear night sky. Stars vividly showed their brilliance, and there was hardly any wind. Reminds me if this was the Night of Power (Lailat-ul-Qadr). But then I should be doing some prayers then, and not running in the midst of hills.

Reached back the car, drove to MacD, and had sahur. Woked up dazed with millions of endorphins in the blood stream....the most legal way to experiencing getting stoned.

Genting Highlands Night Run

Azmar, Alex, Shazly, upiq, Kai Yen, Sean Chang...before the run

Ironman Robocop Stupe

At goh tong jaya

At the top!

The planned run starts from Genting Sempah and up to the top of Genting Highlands. Distance up is roughly 20km.

So a bunch of us, mostly runners, a few on bikes gathered at McD at around 9:30. The fellows were Stupe, Shazly, Upiq, Ariff, Julie, Ishal, AJ and some others I have met for the first time. Some have done it. Some the first time.

Stupe and I started just before 10pm, because the plan was, to run down as well later. Stupe was dressed up more like a SEAL member with all the gadgets like GPS, headlamps, and a back pack with stuff inside, which is almost 3kg!. I wore a pouch bag, some dates, money, and holding a small water bottle, and also wore the red back light lamp.

So the first 5 km is all the way gradient at around 5-10, the most 15 degrees. Since running at night is pretty dangerous, I paced with stupe. Amazingly, this is his first run after desaru, as he have to wait for his foot blisters to heal.

We reached Goh Tong jaya at around 1 hour later. Then as we hit the last 9km, this is where it gets a bit harder. I have to leave Stupe behind at the last 7km, then I started consistently running non stop to the top. After doing Kinabalu, Genting looks so tame. So I convinced myself not to walk, but just keep on running.

I crossed the arch at 2:47, pretty ok time, but could have been better. While waiting for the rest at Starbucks, I was wondering if I should run down.

Soon the rest came....julie, yusran, rashid...I bet the patrons sitting at Starbucks have no idea what we were up to.

Then I made the decision to run down. Stupe has yet to arrive...and i thought it would be too late if I keep on hanging around. I was already freezing up there, so running down fast would be a better idea.

Running down is perhaps the easiest and enjoyable experience one can have. Not much work need to be done. While going down, one could see KL basking with lights and it's simply a nice view. There are a few tough parts, which is after 12km mark, which I have to run some 1-2km uphill.

Soon the rest of the guys in support cars were coming down. It was nice of them to offer a ride, but since I have just like 3km left, I could finish it. However running in this kind of hour and place reminded me of running at Genting Peres at midnight. It's a surreal experience.

I reached back Genting sempah around 3:36 am, which took 1:56 to come down. So total distance covered is 40km. The mileage for that day was 46km, since I had ran in the morning 6km as well!

There's another genting run next week as well...so if anyone wants to try it, I would say just do it. It's actually not so hard running up.

Sabah Mount Kinabalu Climbathon 2008: DNF

Sabah...here I come...

Look at the sheer size of Mount Kinabalu at the back...

Yusran and AJ in the mens veteran category...

At the starting line for the mens veteran and the women open...

Kadazan traditional music was cutely served by children...before the start.
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Sayat-sayat hut..

Twin donkey's ears peak

At 7km mark...
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Awesome view at 3800 meters...

This is taken on the descent...

Another view of the sheer steepness of the cliffs...




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AJ finishing the race with Yusran



this is the highest i was allowed to go...If at 8km, I would have seen low's peak

Misty clouds can be dangerous

Donkey ears again...
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Abu and fairuz ahead at Timpohan Gate...we have to ascend 8.72km up.

View at 2km mark





The record for the champions...it's crazy

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It was my first time in Sabah, and I was eager to look forward for this race. Had a quick flight from LCCT and reaching Kota Kinabalu at around 12:30pm. Then rendezvous with Abu, Fairuz, AJ, and Yusran at the Sabah Tourism building, before boarding the bus to Kinabalu Park.

At 1500 meters, KK park is higher than gunung nuang (1493 meters), and the weather is always cold, and misty.

Saturday was the mens veteran and womens category. Yusran and AJ was in this group. And as the wave of runners departed, the rest of us took a stroll up to 2km up the trail, snapping some pictures on the way. What amazed me was the sheer size of the mountain, when I first saw it appearing in the morning. Usually the clouds will settled in during the afternoon, so the best view is early of the day.

Yusran and AJ completed the ascent with the time of 3:55. Cutoff for veterans and women is 3:30.

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Race day:
I had 2 shirts on, a bandana, and a cap to protect from the low temperature. The gun went off at 8am and all of us soon started the climb up. I was moving from the back pack, and slowly pass many front guys who were already panting. I think I passed Abu at 1km plus mark.

The full distance up from the starting line is 9km. In theory, if you could do on average 15 min/km, you could finish it within cut off time of 2.5 hours.

The path up the first 3km can be described as going up stairs build with a thick small horizontal wooden plank anchored to the dirt path. For normal runners like us, going up the series of stairs at fast pace is like pushing your heart rate to more than 150bpm. And you have to sustain that for a long time.

I tried to keep a consistent manageable heart rate, worrying that pushing it way beyond the limit, will be tough for the later part. After 3km, the path turns out to be sharp rocks.

However looking at my watch it turns out that I was moving slower on the run. I had a feeling I won't make it, but kept on anyway.

Soon I reached laban rata, and things turn out to be harder here. This is where we need to scale the sheer granite wall, while using thick white ropes as support and guidance. I told myself however slow I was going, I will keep on pushing.

And I was out of breath, as I was not used to the elevation and also low temperature. Since the air is thinner, I found out I couldn't move fast.

But one thing that amazed me was the speed the pros were doing. They were literally running down the mountain. One wrong step, and you can tumble towards death. Yet they control their descent so smoothly.

At 7.5km, I knew there's 1km plus more, but this is not any 1km run. It's another ascent of 200 meters up. Finally the marshals stopped me at 2:45 on my watch. If only I had another hour, I could reached it, but they don't call this the world toughest mountain race for no reason. It's tough because of the cut off time. So, I took some pictures up there and spend some time enjoying the view from 3800 meters on top.

Now for the descent, it's clearly as hard as well to make it within 2 hours. I tread slowly at some parts because I don't want to get into injuries.

..and I finally reached the finishing line at the time of 5:15.

Abu and Fairuz managed to reach 7km, and they managed to descend before 5 hours, which qualifies a medal. Amazingly, they have not done any hill training!

Although I didn't made it to the top, the race is well worth it. Management was great, and the goodies they gave us for RM 60 is worth more.

Tey is right when he warned on how tough the race is going to be. I can race up nuang (1300 meters up) in 2.5 hours, but for kinabalu, the total ascent is 2300 meters. So, in theory, I will need to push faster, perhaps sub 2 hours for nuang if I have any hope of reaching Low's Peak.

I highly recommend this race. Yes, it's tough, but the experience of racing a mountain is so different than that of a normal road race.

On the way back at Kota Kinabalu airport, I bought some postcards with the mountain on it. That'll give me the motivation to complete it next year.