Looks like the runs are taking me places. Never in my wildest dream had I had the inkling that I would step into a F1 circuit!Only a mad person would pay a fortune to see cars speeding past him at 200km/h in a jiffy with an eardrum shattering screech in the heat of the agonizing scorching tropical sun in a bare open surrounding. Sure, for the dwellers of temperate-climate countries this is paradise. For us, our alternative is the comfort of our arm chair, cable TV and the cool ambience of our homes.
It brings lots of foreign exchange, right? Wrong! The last time I heard the F1 venture was a money losing one even after 10 years of inception.
Sepang International Circuit (aptly abbreviated SIC), is the pinnacle of verbosity of capitalism. Here you have an expensive sport only dared to be ventured by the super duper rich, burning rubber, petrol to spoil the environment while the poor make do with their 10 years odd bone shaker running on RON95 and rethreaded tyres and third party insurance to cut cost.
It is a reminiscent of the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in Zaire where the Zaireans can only drool looking at the foreigners flocking their country to watch the coveted 'Ali vs' Frazier' boxing bout when the locals could hardly make ends meet.
SIC also invokes memories of the dark year of 1998 when many bad things happened in Malaysia. The biggest averted attempted coup-de-tat of sorts happened when the PM finally shamelessly accused his deputy of sexual misconduct and described in detail graphically his former nemesis' sexual escapade on national TV! It was the year where the haze showed its ugly head for the first time after which it has become a perennial annual pastime (guessing the API). The Commonwealth Games, of which the accounts have not been rectified and closed, even after 2 other Games came and went (accounts closed too!) was held here in 1998.
Another griping point about SIC is the misery of the Prang Besar and adjacent estates workers who were displaced, terminated and relocated far away with no other living skills beside tapping rubber to make way for erection of this megalithic mega-structure for forced national pride and to fatten certain quarters. The displaced estate workers, whose ancestors toiled the land for the prosperity of Malay(si)a, had to fend for themselves after being strewn to squatter areas all over the country side and found ingenious ways to make money through crime and manage to show their mark in the police's wanted list.
With that pessimistic view of SIC, I did not expect much of it. What actually metamorphized was pure mayhem. C-H-A-O-S with capital letters was the order of the night. The long never ending journey (1 hour) to the venue was already draining us (Suresh and I) out just to find a non-ending queue for non existent car park spaces. We had to bribe a RELA volunteer RM10 to sneak our car to park in the already full car park as time was catching up.
If that was not enough travelling, from the car park started a 2 km journey on foot to the starting point through stairs, claustrophobia inducing tunnel with tiny exits and almost non existent directions. It was a scene of the blind leading the blind. Everyone was just following the crowd like it tide flow in 'Finding Nemo'!
One of the highlights of the Energizer Run was the head lamps given to the runners. This time around, they had a secret unannounced hideaway place to distribute the lights where nobody seem to know. By the time, we came to find out, they ran out of lights! in fact, most runners had no lights. And the ones wearing were wearing every where else except their heads, flashing all over the place to the annoyance of all.
The run started right on time, though. The runners around 1,000 maybe, however, had to squeeze through a tiny strip of floor mat for timing check. We just ran.
The run took us out of the circuit into the highway and the tarred country road behind the circuit. The water stations were there at about every 3km. The outer loop was about 11km. It was kind of okay, except for a few inclinations.
We made back into the circuit. Now, here started the pinnacle of chaos. All supposed 18,000 runners (5.5km, 11km, 21km and 42km) were to run in the circuit. Each lap was 5.5km. The 11, 21and 42 km'ers were to run 2 laps. There were many not so serious runners who sauntering around aimlessly hogging the inner track. Some lovebirds were jaywalking holding hands walking under the starlit skies of SIC! There were even some who took short cuts through the grass patch. There was only 1 water station on the track serving cans of drink. The scene was ugly with rubbish strewn all over the tarmac of the F1 circuit.
During the second round, there was a bottle neck again at the timing carpet. After finishing the run, more brouhaha were to follow. The organizers had to call in the Police as there was a free for all during the distribution of medals and goodie bags. Then came the dangerous back home. 10,000 over participants squeezing through a tiny opening through the stairs and tunnel. And the long drive through the car park exit back home.
'Boo!' to the organisers. With the lure of money as many people are running have drawn in inexperienced organizers running events. And 'Boo!' to participants who went on a rampage to gobble up all the goodie bags and medals. If you civilized people behave like this at a time of peace, I dread to think how you would do at a time of disaster. We all can learn from the Japanese about civil obedience.P.S. Suresh 21km 1h59m; Asokan 21km 2h14m; Jagjit 11km 58m; Raj 11km (awaiting official results)
well said bro, total CHAOs.
ReplyDeleteMalaysian behaving like this.... so uncivilized....
ReplyDeleteThis is bad.... Malaysian behaving like hooligans .....
ReplyDelete