Back To Nature Relay 2008...

Event: Back To Nature Relay 2008
Venue: Taman Metropolitan Batu, Off Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur

Date: 14 September 2008
Time: 7.30am
Distance: 3.9KM per loop X 3 runners
Shoe: Mizuno
By Lionel

Although my present focus is on marathon running (training for a sub-4 timing for December’s Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon), I thought of getting some change from all those long “slow” runs. So I signed up for two middle-distance races, the Back To Nature Relay 2008 and the Pacemakers Track Meet 2008 1500m.

The Back To Nature Relay 2008 was held at Taman Metropolitan Batu which simply required each runner to complete a 3.9km course around a lake. There were three in each team and my team, The Pacefollowers, included Chin and Johari (coming all the way from Johor Bharu). The race was scheduled to start at 7.30am but it was then delayed till 7.50am since a lot of people had trouble finding the place.

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Runners getting ready to start...

The Pacefollowers...

After gathering all 159 runners for a group photo, Chin made his way to start for the Pacefollowers. Johari took the second leg and I anchored. During the race, the runners couldn’t be seen except at the start/finish area. So not much fighting could be seen =P. For our first two legs, Chin finished his lap in 00:14:20 and Johari did his in 00:15:02. For both legs, the Pacefollowers were in fifth position. Still following the pace well!

Chin at the home stretch...

And yes, when my turn came, my body was pretty numb from all the waiting. For the first 1km or so, the anchor runner from the senior veterans winning team worked really hard to catch up with me. I could hear his breathing and pounding gradually getting louder. Eventually, he did catch up with me, though he didn’t hold that pace for long.

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Waiting impatiently for my turn...

I was pretty much going solo after that, with the next guy quite some distance ahead of me. But after catching up with the more casual teams doing their second leg, I soon saw Naresh ahead. Given his position that time, he looked to be conserving for a good finishing kick. So when I did overtake him, I told myself not to keep up with him if he responded to my overtaking. Fortunately he didn’t respond. Towards the last 800m, I also saw Suresh within sight. But this time, there was not enough distance to put up a fight and we finished fourth with a time of 00:43:44. My lap time was 00:14:22.

Overal results (For full results, hit the link)
Team Pacefollowers (Team 4 out of 19)
F1) 00:14:20 > 00:14:20 - Chin Teck Sin
F2) 00:15:02 > 00:29:22 - Mohamad Johari
F3) 00:14:22 > 00:43:44 - Lionel Lee (Captain)

I was generally pleased with the organization. The organizers, though understaffed, did what they had to do and got everyone in order quite easily. The only other thing I hoped for was a designated area to put our bags safely. Next up… the Pacemakers Track Meet 2008.