A good run

Ready, get set...

Drenched!

My friends are all curious to hear about the run. What can I say? It’s a humbling experience running with hundreds of Pacesetters Club members. My muscles are aching. I didn’t expect the route to be so hilly and wasn’t adequately prepared to tackle an undulating 15-km run. It seemed like we were going uphill forever but luckily the scenic route that’s peppered with beautiful mansions made the grueling run more tolerable. Along the way, playful macaques and squirrels made their special appearance, as if on cue, to cheer us on. Maybe they were sniggering, who knows?

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur after a long coach journey, checked in our hotel and realised we had to race to Padang Merbuk for our race packs. The light drizzle soon turned into a torrential downpour and we were drenched by the time we arrived.

In our rush to get there, I found that walking along the busy streets and alleys had its hazards. I could have fallen into a gaping porthole or sewer that’s missing a cover, or risked getting run over by huge buses while dodging garbage along the road. I had to muster all my courage when crossing the busy streets and I found that traffic lights didn't help very much.

Still KL has its charms. It’s a city of contrasts. Where else can you find a vibrant city with plenty of colonial buildings, a bustling Chinatown lined with street vendors and gleaming skyscrapers in the background?

By the time we were done with the collection, our starving group headed to Chinatown for a hearty meal of beef noodles. Everywhere we turned in the crowded alleys, we were bombarded with vendors calling out to us, “Genuine imitation!” What an oxymoron!

My eyes rested for a brief second on a Swiss Army bag and the vendor pounced on me. “90 Ringgit!” I smiled and declined. “OK, 70!” I started to walk away and he gave a last shot “For you, special. 50 only!” This is a lesson for all of you! If you ever visit Chinatown, remember to bargain or feign nonchalance and you’ll see prices tumbling before your very eyes! But don’t support the fake goods industry. You’ll find loads of other stuff to buy besides these ‘genuine imitations’.

Our run started at 7am on Sunday. We all have our own running style…. my aunt is the smart one who walks briskly uphill but sprints downhill; CH is a consistent runner who keeps going whether up or downhill while I run and walk in spurts... still we managed to pace each other and finished together in almost 2 hours.

What a great experience! We’re already looking forward to our next run in July!