- Lantau50 race review by Fred Tai -

So the decision to join this race was right after completing my first Vibram HK100. It was the variation of terrain and view that motivated me to sign up for another race. With  fresh pain still lingering in my battered quads from  the uphill and downhill plus endless stairs, I decided to choose the shorter version of the Lantau race as I was curious to find out how I would fare in a 50km race. However, the registration for the race was already closed, so  I went on the waitlist and luckily I got in!

Planning for races is one of the few things I take joy in. Lantau50 was nicely placed 2 weeks right after Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon (SMMM) in Queenstown, NZ. I completed the SMMM in approx. 7:10hours; it was a pristine mountain trail with total elevation gain of 2200m. So coming to Lantau50, which had a total elevation gain of 2700m and 51km distance, I reckoned that I should be able to complete it in about 8:20 to 8:30 hours thereabouts.

I took an evening flight in, arriving late night and checked into the hotel in Sheung Wan, woke up early morning and caught the 655am slow ferry from Central Pier 6. It was cold and breezy once I reached Mui Wo with temperature around teens. 

Met up with many friends there; namely Adrian, Thomas, Alvin, Farhan and a few others. Camwhoring session ensued, and I saw a few of the HK trail elites too.

The Lantau50 and Lantau100 shared the same start time, and at the start point it was pretty much a Singaporean/Malaysian affair, as I saw many familiar faces (though I do not know all of them). Right before the race started, there was a lion dance performance. When the timer went off, we were still pretty much chatting away with each other.  We started off pretty far back on Mui Wo Beach, and ran about 200m to a cone, then made a U-turn to head back to where we came from. After  about less than 1km, we started the climb upwards on Lo Fu Tau (465m). It was a bottle neck when we started the climb as everyone scrambled to be ahead of each other.  Myself and Adrian Wong(AW) started together and we paced each other step by step. Somewhere around here, AW reminded me that the actual action starts after CP3, where the flat ground starts… hmm…I was thinking to myself:Was that a warning from him that he would smoke me after CP3? The climb towards Lo Fu Tau (465m) was not as tough as I thought it would be, so I was hoping for the next climb to Sunset Peak (854m) to be a bit tougher. I cameto regret this in the  later part of the race.

Right before CP1, I saw Kim Hong (KH), Singapore’s top adventure racer. He  was running the Lantau100, and he stopped to remove some debris from his shoes. At this section AW zoomed ahead of me. Towards CP2 it was a bit more of an undulating terrain with some bush-whacking . Somewhere around this section, I caught up with AW and saw Janelle. AW and I continued on our journey. We did some sort  of police and thief action and I must admit that the downhill run was rather fun and technical too. Which also meant that with one wrong footing, one can get some hard knocks! :P

An experienced ultra runner once told me to expect uphill after every downhill. Sunset Peak was all about climbing 854m and it was 9km to CP3. 

Just a few hundred metres into the climb, KH appeared from nowhere and went past  us almost  effortlessly. We were trudging our feet together, again step by step.. The downhill towards CP3 was rather steep and tricky. I was sure that sliding down might be easier than running down, but still, I didn’t want to dirty my new compression tights, so I chose to try to run the downslope instead .. haha…

When we reached CP3, we stopped for a breather for the first time in the race. I gulped down some Coke, and KH who was ahead of us earlier joined us for a chat. CP3 was where the Lantau50/100 participants split up. KH decided to join us to do only the 50km as his intention was just to clock mileage with this run. So after a couple of minutes of chatting, KH asked AW and I , which of us would like to lead the pace since there were  3 of us. I literally gulped when I heard that. So anyway we took off, with KH setting the pace, AW in the middle and me the last. We ran for about less than 1km, and I found myself struggling to keep up. It was technical trails with some climb over rocks on a few dried waterfalls, which to me was not runnable. They were dropping me fast with their pace, and I was struggling to just keep them in sight. CP3 to CP4 was 11km apart. I told myself, AW is darn right, the race actually starts after CP3. Smell no smoke at all!! I had breathing difficulty and was seeing stars, but I trudged on by just walking. It was not wise to try running when feeling giddy on a rocky section. I was trying to figure out what was happening to my body, was it low blood sugar or low electrolytes? My inner thigh cramped up with each steps. So I took in gel for energy, and decided to suck a quarter of Nuun effervescence tablet.  The tablet seems to work, cramp went away, but the feeling of seeing stars and giddiness lingered on until CP4. This was a very demoralizing section, I seriously thought of quitting and DNF. It was purely a mental tussle here, one part of me said it was tough, it was a  hot day, you have got nothing to prove, everyone is overtaking you because u are slow and walking and another part of me said you have completed TNF SG100, FAR114, HK100, so what is a Lantau50, just keep the forward momentum.

As I approached CP4, I saw this familiar faced Master Scout from HK100, a very friendly chap and he was all talkative. Another runner was complaining about the poorly marked section between CP3 to CP4, and I overheard him saying that there was already a Lantau100 participant that lost his way and passed through his CP.  It did not strike me whom that lost runner was, until a few more steps up Lo Yan Shan (303m) and my thoughts gathered back; the lost 100km runner was Kim Hong! I decided to put on my ear phone, and blasted it away. As the music blasted away, I found strength in my legs again and started running like someone being possessed. I overtook a handful of runners, and then more, running every minor ups and downs.

As I passed CP5, the marshal shouted 5km more! So I ran harder, thinking that this last part was to be “flatter”, but no, it still had the small ups to climb and mini downhills. Only when I hit the Mui Wo jetty then I knew that I was slightly over a km away from finishing. I crossed the finish line in 8:18:18(huat ahh!), with gun time showing 8:20. AW completed in 7:58, gun time 8:00. Looking back, I would have DNFed earlier if not for God’s grace and strength, and I could not have asked for a better finishing time given the amount of walking I did from CP3 to CP4. J

*Pics credit to Fred Tai and Adrian Wong.

- Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2013: A race review from a 1st timer Full Marathon finisher, Teck Heng -

Hello again... Yes, I know I was late to complete this race review. The main reason was because I did not have access to BLOGGER.COM while I was in China. Seems like blogs in China are only restricted to using Weibo.com, a China Online Social Network, therefore I didn't manage to get any updates on the full marathon that I did in the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon 2013.

I am going to start off with some experiences I had during the whole trip then followed by photos with captions, maybe one or two small, small paragraph.

• Since I am overseas, I search online for a room to stay in somebody's house. It happened to be slightly more expensive than staying in a shared room in a hostel. Hostel bed would be around SGD30-40 in Hong Kong. If it's a private room it would be more expensive at about SGD80 average. I got a room inside a resident in Hong Kong's apartment at SGD60. What's more, the apartment is just across the street at the finishing line. I can see the finishing line out of my room window. And after the race, it's really hassle-less to go back to that apartment, take a shower and rest for the day or two. (Room is booked via Airbnb.com) 
• I was worried about the cold weather (17-19℃) in Hong Kong. Should I wear more or less? So I went online to search for SCHKM 2012 and viewed the gallery. I found that most of them are just wore long sleeve compression tops and bottom. So I decided to follow suit and just put on an additional t-shirt over my compression top to pin the bib. Actually I used to wear 2 layers of tops for running long distance just for one reason only - nipples abrasion!!!. 
• Unlike runs in Singapore which I joined, I was surprised that most male runners in this SCHKM will just pee at the trees along the route(a distance away from the route). I was too shy to try. Ended up at 25km, I queued up for almost 10mins at the portable toilet. In future, if I need a leak, I'm taking the mother nature's way! (Oppss) 
• SCHKM's water points were amazingly good. The water provided are in sealed in palm size packing. I wasn't sure what drink that was, but it was cooling and refreshing. It was from Wastons I guess. And the water stations were good. The wet sponge were better. The chocolates were awesome. They are unlike in Singapore's running event, just a tentage with 4 to 6 table tops. SCHKM's water points were a long stretch of long table over about 50-60metres and the drinks were arranged in flowing manner. 'Water - Sports Drink - Water - Sports Drink - Water' in that order.
• The First-Aid stations were good too. The volunteers gave some deep heat oil to runners to rub on their legs. I never tried them so I was not sure what they were giving out. No smell unlike the Salonpas which always triggered me snzeee.
• The finishing part of the run was great as well. 
• All the helpers are fantastic too. I hardly see any single helper sitting, sleeping on the chairs or even playing with their phones. They were all in high spirit and cheered sincerely for everyone. One auntie even "scolded" us for running so slowly and she said that she wanted to go home early and told us to run faster.

That's all I can recall of my 1st Full Marathon in Hong Kong and I will definitely be back in 2014 to conquer the SCHKM again. A 'must-do' for any runners !! 

- At Changi Airport T1...So excited. :]
Hong Kong here I come ! - 

- Absoluthal Limikzst - Thanks to him, to collect my BIB as I afraid that I unable to collect them in time. -

- These are the items in the race pack. Quite simple. I like. - 

- Here's my first Full-Marathon bib. 3011 ! - 

- Year of Snake. I didn't know they gave out these medallion every year. - 

- The finishing line, a day before the race. - 

- Recce the place - 

- Planning my pace - 

Was quite excited at night, so sneaked out into a hot dessert snack bar and had my supper..
I was quite worry that I didn't have enough food to complete the 42km as I usually will go hungry when running a 21km run.

- Bib on, Game ON ! - 

- WE ARE READY ! -

- Look at the number of portable toilets and people in the line ! - 

- Watsons water station at the warm-up area - 

- Abs with some runners from SG too ~ I don't know them, never mind la, take photo first. :


Final pose before going to the starting line

- At the starting line. - 

- First photo on the run. - 

- 4hrs mark reached. Still happy with a sub 5hr timing though - 

- These are what they give out at the finish line in a goodie bag. - 

- My 1st 42km medal - 

The results... 4:46:48. My next target timing for a Full Marathon run will be a sub 4hr 30mins !! 
(If you can't see the image, you can actually click and it will give you the original size,
as I adjusted all the images to SMALL for pleasure viewing. :]

Overall, I'm happy that I can complete my 1st 42km run in under 5 hours. With more trainings and determination, I believe I can achieve a better timing in my future 42km runs that I will join.

- Stupid. Crazy. Awesome. : A rare race review by Sasha Farina -

• Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) - Probably the craziest thing I have ever done so far. 
• I mean, who decides to join a race, on a Saturday afternoon, after driving home from JB in the morning and just reorganized and refolded the entire wardrobe and changed the sheets, and oh, folded the the couch-full of laundry?
• Me, apparently. 
• And all this happened while Sam was mid-air. Making his way home from Brisbane. 
• And I have zero training - ha! The furthest I've walked before Saturday was 12.31km. You read right. I walked. I'm so not a runner!
• And on Saturday, I decided to grab the extra bib that was available from one of the Freedom Freaks brothers. This was at 4.30pm. Asree was so kind to help me liase with them. He did everything, I only had to pack my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and get myself to the starting point. He even offered me some energy gels which I declined because I never in my life, have taken them before and I didn't want to start on race day. :D
• Left the house at 5.30pm, and texted Sam in the cab. I remember thinking to myself- he will get the shock of his life when he lands in Singapore and gets this text. *I was right, btw. He was shocked beyond words! Ha!* Texted Asree as well to tell him I'm on my way. His reply was 'This is crazy, you know!' :D 

• I reached the main event site and went to look for Ben Swee to let him know that I will be walking his event using somebody else's bib. He was fine with it and reminded me to listen to my body. Yes sir! :) Mohan and Asree helped me 'change' the name on the bib using some masking tape and markers - so now I'm Sasha instead of Moktar. Perfect. LOL.
• Waited for the rest of the Freaks, and what else? :) Time for some photos before the flag off.

• Spot my mistake number one. Okay, that is wrong. Even thinking of joining TUC at the last last last minute was my mistake number one - then comes texting Asree to enquire about the bib - then confirming and packing for the run etc etc etc - so, spot my mistake number *I-really-can't-count-anymore*. Got it? 
• Yes - black top. While I don't think any other color would make a difference because the heat was almost unbearable for me. Despite running by the beach, there was no sweet, calming sea-breeze. You get bbq and cigarette smoke blown in your face instead. I don't think any other color will make noticeable difference anyway - except if I have a blue/white/red/yellow top with a built-in cool mist sprayer that sprays you maybe every 5 minutes. And oh, ice cubes in my sports bra. LOL.
• We were flagged off at 7.00pm. Merely 2.5hours after I decided I was gonna run this race. I surprised myself when I jogged *super slowly* for the first 15k or so. While I can't say the same for the public who walked 3/4 abreast and blocked the pathway or those who let their 3/4yr olds go zig and zag on bikes with training wheels/skateboards without supervision - I must admit the runners were AWESOME. Everyone was so encouraging and kind. 
• The best thing about being painfully slow at the back of the pack is that almost everyone is rooting for you. The faster runners u-turned and then they see me struggling and without fail, I will hear some 'feel good' words. That helps A LOT! Trust me, when you hear your friends shout "Go Sasha! Good pace, good pace, keep it up. Come on Sasha you can do this!" or as Mohan would say "Pinky shoes are cominnnnnggg!!" - you actually believe that you will not die on the pavement. LOL. Runners - sincerely, thank you for the high-fives and shouts and some of that 'never say die' spirit. 

• Photo above was taken during my break after 20k. If I look a little pale - that must be because I had to stop and pee at 18k. Peeing was okay - the public toilet was not. The smell hit me like a punch to the face, 30m before I reached the main door to the ladies. *shivers* I must admit, I gagged and peed at the same time because I have no other choice (didn't know that the organizers had porta potties available for runners - didn't look hard enough I guess). I got goosebumps even, because I really can't stand the awful smell.
• But look at those guys I call brothers. They were at their 25k break and still looking mighty fresh! I'm envious! :) Ashley gave me some chia-seed drink - you're too kind Ashley, thank you! This was where I had one banana, one slice of watermelon and half a piece of a granola bar. Was that enough? I have no idea. I was hungry but I can't bring myself to eat anything else. 
• Hunger and heat aside - blisters on the edges of my sports bra, waist band and anti-slip hems on the pants were really painful. Another mistake - maybe if I'd have taken the time to get the vaseline from my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and apply some on them I could have prevented them from getting worse.

• Then I walked another painful 5k and met up with the guys again at the rest area. By then, my back felt like I was about to give birth and my right knee felt like it was about to fall off. Ha! I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating but hey, my body is not used to this kind of torture! :D
• Sam + my girls came while I was resting at 25k. He asked if I was okay, I told him let me try walk for another 5k and I will let him know. So I went on what felt like the longest 5k in my life. I passed by friends who said "Come on Sasha, Sam and your girls are waiting for you!" but I just can't go any faster. If I thought rolling on the pavement was possible and will lessen the pain, I would have rolled my way to the pit stop.

• After what seemed like forever, I'm back at the tent again. Checked in with the volunteers for the last time and did the 'throat slashing' sign to Yee Hua to let her know I'm done. Done done done.

10k - 1hr 31mins

20k - 3hr 15mins

30k - 5hr 30mins 

• Could have better timing if my big butt didn't want to sit at every rest area. LOL. In my heart of hearts, I believe this was meant to be. You see, in my family, we consider 23 to be 'our number' for so many reasons (a whole new blog post that I won't bore you with). I said yes to the bib, without knowing that I will have 'our number' with me all through the race. When I collected the bib and saw 23 - that was when my heart said "Let's do this!"
• My heartfelt thanks to my Freedom Freaks family, every single one of the runners at TUC, Ben Swee, Yee Hua and every single one of the volunteers. You guys rock my world. I love you :)
• Thank you to my darling Sam who practically had to carry me home at 1.10am, even when he had to wake up at 4am for his 2XU 21k this morning, and of course my sweet girls who came to the beach with daddy in the middle of the night to support the insane mommy.
• I went with zero training, zero mileage. It was stupid. It was crazy. It was definitely awesome. Will I do this again? Perhaps. I've learnt to never say never.

                                                                                                   Photo credits : Alexander Asree and Yee Hua.

- An action packed weekend for the Freaks -

It was quite an action-packed weekend with 2 running events happening back to back on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

As usual, we had our carbo-loading session the day before the race. It was also a time to chit-chat with other Freaks on the plans for the race the next day.

On the day of event for Twilight Ultra Challenge, there was a suprise runner that joined the event at the last minute.
Started at 7pm, runners have to run in loops till as long as they want.

Please refer to the lady in bib number 23 !! Her name is Sasha and she shocked most of us in this group. Maybe we'll wait for her race review over the next few days.
Hope she's well rested. Hahaha .....

It has been humid for the past few days and I believed it was tough for them to run through the night in this kind of weather.

The next day, a number of us joined the 2XU Compression Run 2013. Most of us joined the 21km category.
Once again, the humidity and the hot sun were a killer. But thank God, the 21km run was flagged-off at 5.30am.

It was a success for all the runners that joined in both events.

More reviews on the events coming up soon.