RIFLE RANGE BOY

From the outset, things were not going as planned. With a bout of diarrhea and loss of precious electrolytes, I experienced stiffness and soreness over the knees and feet. On the race day, the newly replaced Garmin GPS watch went kaput on me and the music pod went on strike. So it was me left to fend for myself. For pacing, it was left to me to run pacing to feel and for auditory stimulation I was made to listen to my body! Even though the organisers boast of 60,000 participant in this inaugural race in the new Penang Bridge, the starting line had only a thin crowd waiting to be flagged off at 4am. The runners were released in batches all the way from 1.30am to 8am depending on the length of the races and their gender. Whilst waiting at the starting line, an old friend from KL appeared from nowhere. After the initial cursory, he complained that there was not such of eye candy for him to lay his eyes on. I told him that he was in the wrong category, the veterans. That itself was his ...

This year's Penang Bridge International Marathon was a quieter affair than its usual pomp and lustre. Missing most conspicuously was the loud music and unnecessary announcement on the PA system which kept occupants of nearby hotels fuming mad. Maybe because this Bridge run is the last one on the soon to be the old bridge. This bridge which I had the honour of seeing its conception, development and expansion (to 6 lanes) has slowly attained its limit of capacity. In a way, this bridge, which was the brainchild of the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, has reached senescence gracefully and is now like in the case of a first wife who is soon going to lose her glamour and attraction to the soon to appear wife No. 2. The new wife, in this case, being the Batu Maung to Batu Kawan New Penang Bridge. Even though the Malay term for being left to marry another is 'madu'. Honey is also referred to as 'madu.' But believe you me, any first wife will vouch that it is no sweet ...

So it is that time of the year again! It is time for me to exhibit my filial piety by visiting my old folks in Penang. Hey, wait a minute! There is a run there too. Yeah, my as well run the run while I do the do - 2 birds; one stone for the killing. Getting a good night's rest was already a challenge before the real challenge started. We had all passed the stage of going to bed at 9pm but had to, as the race started from 2am. One guy actually suggested doing a MJ-Murray Conrad combo cocktail of propofol! Luckily, common sense prevailed - as if propofol was lying around at our disposal. So, the next best thing to do was counting sheep. Unfortunately being the meticulous shepherd that I am, I just could not complete stabling the sheep as they were just too many. Before I knew it, it was time to get up and I did not even need the alarm. No thanks to the location of the hotel. Despite being housed on the 11th floor, I could still hear crystal clear announcements on the ...