It was a perfect night to race in Putrajaya. It rained before the race, so it was a cool night. I had been anticipating this race for a couple of weeks, everything seemed ideal. The air was crisp, the sky was clear and the crowd…….OMG was huge!! Parking was easy because we arrived early and the traffic was heavy but under controlled.
Okay, let’s begin with a quick rundowns of the PROs:
THE GOOD:
- It was a “night run”. It had a totally different feel than a morning race would have, which I enjoyed.
- The flag off was on time. ( We even had fire works displayed)
- The scenery was superb! It was awesome to run around Putrajaya. I love the buildings and the atmosphere.
- The course was nice and flat, not to hilly, so it’s really easy and nice.
THE BAD:
- At the beginining of the 15km flag off starting point, for a moment I thought I was at a “pasar malam” (night market)! Why..? Hmmm…The volunteers were shouting and yelling at the top of their voices…..saying, “15KM! 15KM! Last call! Last call! 15KM! 15KM! I thought a cheap sale or an auction was on going, only to realised that the volunteers were calling the 15KM runners to the starting point to be flagged off. (100Plus- in future please provide good sound system lah!)
- I might be acting a little picky with this one, but I thought the volunteers were a little rude. I want to see smiling faces people! I am giving you my money to run, I’d appreciate a little kindness and some professionalism!
- 100 Plus!! It was a 100 Plus event right? Hmmmm….But there were no 100 plus drinks in sight! The water stations, were just water! It was badly organised! Runners were pushing, squeezing and shoving one another to just get a cup of plain water!! Sight!! (100 plus on a budget ahh?)
- As far as logistics go, it was probably a disorganised race. To my opinion, there were too many runners. 10 KM flagged off, runners were pushing, squeezing and shoving one another to be ahead and to be in front…Ah yooooo, runners, why so kiasu?? Runners were running in a bottle neck all the way. The organisers just put cones for just one lane for the runners. 100 Plus, being a huge and esteem company and organisation, please buck up la!!
THE UGLY:
- The 15KM runners were reaching the finishing line, only to be greeted by the “Mat Rempit”. Thanks to the Malaysian Government, The “Mat Rempit” were gathered in large groups, showing off their skills and racing on the other side of the road, while the runners were running the opposite side. To make matters worst, towards the finishing line, huge, thick smoke which were released by the “Mat Rempit”, the runners suffocated and were coughing and choking with the smoke and smog! 100 Plus, please take note and please do something about it!
- Free drinks were just mineral water (new trend set by the Ministry of Youth and Sports ahhh?)
- The medal was so tiny- 10Km and 15Km, no difference.
- No goodie bag (Only 1 banana and 1 packet of mee hoon)
- Toooooooo many runners
A piece of advice, don’t dwell on one single disappointment race. Relish the victories and move on from the defeats. By learning what caused a race to not go as planned, you can have more success in the future! See you at the next race!
chrisywong.com 