KL Marathon 2008

a) how not to ....

b) How to celebrate your birthday.

Dear all,

A few of us OP's ran the KL marathon, last sunday 30th April. Albeit some only did the half marathon of 21km while others foolishly endured the knee shattering pain of the full monty distance of 42.2KM.

My story is in 2 parts:

Part 1) How not to train:

NEVER come into the marathon without adequate training ie: mileage under your belt. Just because you have done it 8 times before doesnt mean that it wont hurt. No matter how many you have done them before, a marathon is a marathon. It hurts...Though you may be an Ironman, healthy virile young man, a new bachelor, or a permanent bachelor at heart with strong cardiovascular prowess, you have to train for it. The minimum required is being able to run one and a half hours continuously at a steady pace (meaning boleh borak borak sambil berlari). Also good if you had done a semi long run 3 to 4 weeks before the actual marathon. It is advised to do a run half to three quarters of the race distance in that long run.

NEVER plan the next day following the marathon with a heavy schedule thinking that you will have recovered well enough. I know of this young doctor fool who actually thought that he can do long surgery the next day...He went to RMC in the 80's 431549. Stupid fella.

NEVER run like the Kenyans and hope to win the USD 100000 prize money. If you are born in KL and have a name like Kam Kasturie or even Lim ee Van (though Stupes look like an African), you just dont do it. The worst thing is to realise at the 21st km that the Kenyans have already crossed the finish line and you're already having knee pain and a fat old uncle is overtaking you!

NEVER enter the marathon just because the guy you bullied in college is doing it. Though its a marathon, there are many other shorter distances to try your hand in first. Joejo attempted the 21km run in preparation for the next big jump. Bandit will attest that though he bullied the 431549 fella years back, maybe he just cant do the 'same things' anymore.

NEVER attempt your first full marathon at age 56......unless you are OP Chief Kutu. At his age, he managed to beat me and kam. Very well done sir! Also by the way, cikgu adnan also did the full marathon. By the time i was driving home, he was at the 2km to go mark and it was already 7 hours on the clock. Did he quit and walked home after being disqualified? No bloody way! He was among the last people on the road but yet he was still smiling away and running slowly but surely to the finish line. I just hope they give him the finisher's medal. Definitely my hero.

NEVER leave your sense of humour at home and take it too seriously. Its just a race in the end. Learn to enjoy it. Enjoy the sights and sounds.(and smoke of KL). Dont forget to cheer on the oldsters passing you by. Dont forget to feast your eyes on the skimpies too..

I think that's a lot of NEVER / how not to advices for this race. Perhaps when I win like the Kenyans will I write on "how to"

Part 2) How to celebrate your birthday.

Most of us celebrate by getting pissed out and doing silly meaningless things like going out for a date with that chick that you fancy and dishing out large sum of money in the hope for some fun filled activities that women call 'romantic moments' and men call 'sex'. But to a newly single 34 year old handsome and virile Kam, all that he spent was RM 30 for early bird entry fee for the marathon.

In the end, it was the same like going on a heavy date.

He got sweaty...

He got dirty...

His knees hurt...

He was smiling...

He's going to brag about it....

He wants more....

And he has a medal to show too!

Happy birthday Kam !

Ps:

Full monty: Ala, kam, OP stupes, OP chief kutu, KOP's Steve, karoline.

Half monty: Bandit, Joejo, Boot, azmar.

Warm regards

Doc Ala usat.