Penang Bridge Run 2007

I was writing on and on about the food I had in Penang last weekend when I realised this was supposed to be a running post. So the foodie stuff, pictures and all will come later in another one. Hehe.

Anyway, the Penang Bridge Run was the most badly organised run I'd ever been to. Imagine lots of people lining up at Queensbay Mall, waiting for their t-shirts and running bibs only to be told they ran out of them. The organisers (Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia and MPPP) told everyone to return at 6pm for a new batch of T-shirts to arrive.



At 6pm, the t-shirts were still 'on their way'. Tempers were brewing as it was a hot day and some people had been waiting all afternoon. An angry runner got upset cos he had a movie to catch at 6.30pm. He almost got into a fight with a rude administrator at the counter, with threats flying. Wah, drama.

After awhile, I couldn't wait anymore, so I just collected my registration card and left. Good thing Fun Runners don't need bib numbers, or it'd be a longer wait. The t-shirt wasn't very nice anyway. Cheap, thin cotton, with an ugly design and a million sponsor logos on it. Bleh.

Geekchic took us for a nice dinner (I could go on about the food again but I'm restraining myself here) and then we went home for an early night. They all had Smirnoff and Sprite without me. Sniff sniff. Some more taunt me with "Aiyah, no need run la... wake up then have leisurely breakfast laaa..." :-P

When I woke up at 4am, the thought of a leisurely breakfast at a less ungodly hour was tempting. But I forced myself to wash up, ate an apple, drank some Gatorade, and drove out to RECSAM, the starting point and stipulated parking area. Parking area my arse. The roads were all blocked, so I had to drive around to see if I could find another way in. Didn't help that I got thoroughly lost. I was going to be late for registration, so I gave up and parked by the roadside about 5km away from the starting point. Half walked and half ran to the place, and arrived just in time to watch the Penang Minister flag off the 10k runners (high school kids and Fun Runners).

Great! I was late... but I wasn't the only one. So I ran in to hand in my registration card to get my identification wrist band, only to be told that they RAN OUT of them. There were over a hundred of us crowding around the organisers asking for the bands cos we weren't supposed to run on the bridge without one, according to the rules. We were finally told that we could. What a circus!

I hit the road at an easy pace, but the school kids flagged off earlier got in my way... they were walking, some hand in hand, forming human chains or walls here and there. Sure, it's a Fun Run. But it said Fun RUN, not Fun WALK. So I had to weave my way around them, which slowed me down. And it was so tiring to run, stop, excuse me, run, stop, excuse me, run, stop sorry, excuse me, run, stop for at least the first half of the run. Aaaaarrgh.

I really enjoyed running on the bridge though. It was quite nice to know that a few hours later, only cars would be allowed to pass. The sky was a dark shade of midnight blue, slowly turning bright as the sun came up. The water was still, and reflected the pretty lights from the shore.

The run felt relatively short compared to my previous 10ks in KL, and was over pretty quickly. I finished in 1:18. Slower than my KLIM 10k in March (1:12), but oh well. At least it's not my worst. So much for hoping to finish below 1:05. Sigh.

Crossed the finish line at the big USM field. Got my certificate. A pretty okay goodie bag (2 soft drinks, some vitamin samples, a bar of soap and a tube of analgesic cream. And walked another 5km back to my car. Gee. It's like doing a 20km man. Bwahahahaha!

After the run, I went back to the apartment for a nice shower while the rest were still asleep. Then D and I went out to Pulau Tikus to get breakfast. Which became brunch. We were stuck in traffic for an hour and a half (the roads around Penang were still closed for the run and caused a backlog in the backroads). Good thing the food in Pulau Tikus was worth the wait (yes, yes, foodie report to come soon).

So all in all, it was probably not the best run I've had, but I sure enjoyed this trip. Many thanks to Geekchic for having us. She was a lovely hostess, even as she hobbled along with a painful, red ass-cheek. Kekekeke. Now not only do I know where she lives, I also know where she works *evil laugh*. At least until this weekend anyway, when she leaves the island for good. Kam sia, Ah Geek!