MacRitchie Runners 25 (Singapore)

 Background

I went for this race with Kien Mau’s adult group from Mileage. We arrived at Siem Reap on Thu 3Dec and we spent the days prior to the race visiting the city and of course enjoying the food. Among the places we visited are the Artisans d’Angkor, the markets and the National Museum and also the temple of Angkor Wat. There’s quite a bit of walking around the city, mostly between restaurants and the hotel. The temples are very nice and it’s amazing how people of those days actually carried these blocks of rocks over distances to build these temples. Some of us have been here before and according to them, there were only locals at the temples and not many tourists then. Now, what you see at the temples are motley assemblages of tourists. Some of the steps at the temples were very steep and high, I am sure these temples are venerated by all those who see them.

For training, for over about 2 months I have been consistently doing 2 interval sessions per week, on Tuesdays 10k pace (88s pace) and on Thursdays 5k pace (80s pace), usually with Kien Mau. For the last week, I did track intervals on Tue 1Dec with Ben Chua, planned 7x1km @ 88s, R60s, our usual 10k pace, but I could only do 3x1km and 3x800m, feeling too tired from previous Sunday’s hard long run (10k @ 40:04 followed by 4.5km easy then 3km fast in 12:24). Also, Monday I had a massage. I could have done the 7x1km, but for the sake of tapering, I went by feel and didn’t want to push too hard during this last week. Considering the previous Tuesday we did 5x1400m @ 88s + 5x600m @ 86s, this 7x1km @ 88s should be very easy.

So my legs were a little tired for the interval session, and on Wednesday I did my own easy run of about 42min, legs not fresh either. The guys from Mileage rested on Wednesday and planned to do an easy run on Thursday and I decided to join them. We did it at a nearby park in Siem Reap near Victoria Hotel. Apart from my right knee feeling tight and swollen (had to put Kefentech, ice, apply Tmax for the next few days), my legs felt rather fresh and rested suddenly, compared to the tired feeling from Mon to Wed. I was glad for it because I was a bit worried I will be tired through till Sunday. Friday is a rest day, visiting places and on sat morning, we went to recce the race route on our minibus and did a 20min jog near Bayon temple and 3 stridings. Legs felt fresh, knee no pain while I run, though the tight feeling is still there whenever I flex my knee too much like squating. I was looking forward to the race and confident to go at 4min/km pace, which will give me a PB for the half marathon. At the same time, I was a bit concerned about how I will feel after 10-12km because during past 2 Sundays hard long run, after 10k @ 4min/km pace I was already quite tired (2 Sundays ago was 40:32, last Sunday was 40:04). I knew the race will not be easy going at this pace and I had spent days mentally preparing myself for this, knowing that on race day 4min pace should feel easier than during training. Also giving me confidence is the recent Mizuno Wave Run (13 Sep 2009) at AMK which I did 17km in 1:09 which is 4:06/km pace.

Race Day

Kien Mau believed that during overseas races we rest better. Probably. Despite walking quite a bit during the day, I felt well rested because I sleep well every night. On the race day, we were to leave the hotel at 0500h. I woke up at 0415h and managed to have a heavy breakfast of 4 slices of whitemeal bread with peanut butter and jam, and a mug of Milo. Went to the toilet twice but did not pass out a lot. But it didn’t bother me much. We set off on our minibus at around 0515h. I was still feeling very sleepy – had difficulty waking up and I could have even slept on the bus. Instead, knowing that the race is going to start in about 1hour, I find ways to wake myself up instead. I blinked my eyes, widened my eyes, did some stretching, and looked outside the windows. On the bus, Kien Mau asked me if I am wearing my HRM, I said I’m still thinking about it. He said he is also thinking about it. Later, we both decided to wear it. But he said, “I think it’s ok for me to wear because my HR is usually low and it can make me push myself. But your HR is usually high, so not a wise idea as it may be a distraction.” I decided to wear it anyway but will try not to look at the HR readings during the run. I wanted to have the HR values of the race as a feedback.

The traffic was ok until near Angkor Wat temple area it went slow due to people going to the race site. We only managed to park the minibus and start to warm up at about 0550h. I jogged for 15 minutes and did 4 stridings. By then it was already around 0615h and very bright. Sunrise there is typically around 0530h. The majestic Angkor Wat Temple faces the startline, and with her outline sketched by the rising sun at her back, she appeared indescribably beautiful, as if lighted up by an enormous lantern.

We saw our friends from Singapore – Vivian Tang, Tony Seakins, Sumiko Tan, Ronnie Teo, Terry Nair. There was a big crowd but one can see that only a small number are serious about the race. This is one good thing about this race having not many participants and therefore there are no barricades. Thankfully, we were able to do our stridings very near the start line. The weather was quite cold and even after jogging I wasn’t sweating much. After the striding, I wished I had some sports drink. I had a bottle of water but didn’t drink too much of it in case I need to use the toilet. Later I managed to get half a GU gel from Aziz. Just about 10min before the start, Kien Mau and I managed to squeeze ourselves into the phalanx of competitors at the front of the start in the middle by crashing in through the sides. Just before the start, I asked Vivian Tang and Ronnie Teo what pace they each plan to run. Vivian was 3:56 and Ronnie 4:03-4:05. My plan was to follow Vivian Tang but upon knowing she is going at 3:56/km, I couldn’t come up with a quick enough calculation for the 5km splits (I intended to lap my watch every 5km), so I decided that I should run my own race at 4min/km and keep a look out for her.

The race started very promptly at 0630h without a countdown. From the time of us doing stridings and the flag off was only 5-10 minutes, which was good, it meant that we didn’t have to waste time standing around the start line waiting. The weather was so cold it wouldn’t give us any benefits standing around. Even after striding I don’t feel as warmed up as like in Singapore.

After the flag off, I found myself in front, even in front of Kien Mau, but of course he soon overtook me and went for the lead guy. But I did not see Vivian or Ronnie. So I decided that I have to run by myself.  Tony Seakins came up maybe after 1km or so. I found myself at 11th place at the first bend. The race hasn’t settled down yet, so I told myself to run comfortably and be patient. I was very relaxed though I knew my pace was most likely faster than my target 4min (due to my tendency to start fast). Throughout I kept reminding myself to stay relaxed and be patient. The pace felt very comfortable but I had to remind myself that the first few kilometers are surely comfortable, so all the more I must relax as much as possible. There were a few guys around, including some Cambodians, and we kept changing places. It’s quite fun and exciting running with ‘overseas strangers’! It was only after about 3km that the race settled down. Some of the Cambodians obviously started too fast and dropped back. A Japanese guy who was very strong and with patches all over his legs came from behind, I tried to follow him but couldn’t (he eventually finished 6^th). At 3km mark I checked the time on my watch, it was 11:40, same split as last Sunday at ECP from carpark C2 to B1. I was happy that I was above target and feeling comfortable and told myself to stay that way. The weather was very cooling and I don’t feel tired at all. First 5km time was 19:42 (3:56/km) which I was happy when I saw it. Although I was wearing my HRM, my eyes only saw the time as looking at my heart rate reading might distract me.

As the competitors settled down into their respective paces, they were also juxtaposed with the people of a similar pace. I was now running with about 3 caucasians and 2 of them appeared to be friends, and occasionally they even chatted along the way. I think there were some people following behind us. The pace was about right (I felt I was maintaining my starting pace) so I just tagged along behind them. Let’s address them as Mr WHT (wearing white), Mr BLK (wearing black) and Mr YEL (wearing yellow). With this group we managed to overtake a group of 3 consisting of what it seemed to be 2 Cambodians (couldn’t remember very well after the race). Mr WHT was stronger and soon opened a gap. I stayed with Mr BLK and Mr YEL. The gap between us and Mr WHT gradually opened and he pulled away further and further away. When Mr WHT opened a gap and I sensed that he is running away, I was initially deliberating whether to follow him or stay with Mr BLK and Mr YEL. My dilemma was based on: I was feeling rather comfortable at that point of time vs it’s not yet even 10km and this is the first time I am trying 4min/km pace for a half marathon and I am above my target pace. So I decided to be patient to avoid making mistakes too early in the race. Now upon reflection, I think I could have tried going with this guy, it may be faster than I could cope till the end, but it can at least give me a chance to break away from Mr BLK and Mr YEL. Who knows, anything can happen. But I did not regret staying with them because overall, I still had a good hard race, especially the final 3km, which you will read about soon. Mr WHT is fit and even though he was in front, it looked very easy for him and he even ran in a zig-zag manner in order to shake hands with the village children along the way.

At 10km mark my time was 39:34 (3:57/km). The 5km split was 19:51 (3:58/km). I was happy that I was able to sustain this sub-4min pace so well until this point and it made me more confident. I was eager to see my time at 10.5km mark and I probably sped up a bit. It wasn’t marked out, but during the recce yesterday, Aziz pointed out the spot and it is at the “Cambodian People’s Party” blue signboard next to a few village houses. It showed 41:07, it meant a possible 1:22 finish. Now, how can I possibly take only 1:33 to run 500m? Maybe I lapped my watch too early. From this point on I kept telling myself to stay relaxed and if I can do that for the next 6km, I can aim for a 1:22. I still stayed with Mr BLK and Mr YEL till 15km, occasionally I surged ahead because I felt they were slowing down the pace. But whenever I went ahead they always kept up with me. I suppose this kept the group going, otherwise who knows who might come from behind? When we reached 15km mark the time was 59:30 (3:58/km). From 10km to 15km the split was 19:56 (3:59/km). I was still feeling good, so I decided to make a move and break away from them run the next 5k hard on my own with a good split of 19+ as I know that down to the last 1km I will be able to do it. I hoped to leave them behind forever. So I pushed the pace a bit, and they didn’t come along, but I could sense them following behind not too far away. I think certainly the gap was widening. Then I saw one lady walking along the road and she called to me ‘6^th’. Then she called out ‘7^th, 8^th’. It gave me an idea how far back Mr BLK and Mr YEL were. Was she telling me my position? If it was then I am surprised because I was sure there were more than 5 guys in front – Kien Mau, a Cambodian, Tony Seakins, a Japanese, Mr WHT and definitely more. If it was true I would be happy.

It was when we reached Elephant Terrace that disaster struck. There is supposed to be a left turn followed by a right turn towards Bayon. I had thought that at the first junction I was to turn right, and forgot that I had to turn left first. There was no one ahead of me and the policeman at the junction didn’t tell me anything. He just stood there, probably didn’t see me. I glanced at the ground and there was a white arrow on the right side of the road. So I turned right, but wasn’t sure if I was correct, until after running a short distance I heard one of the Caucasians (realized later it was Mr BLK) behind me shouted ‘Which way?’ to the policeman then followed by ‘Hey! This way!’ I realized he was calling me and I quickly turned and realized my grave mistake. According to Vivian Tang, she said I reacted quite fast. She was behind our pack and was approaching the junction and wanted also to shout at me, but I had already turned back. I should not have committed such a serious mistake because yesterday during the recce, we also initially thought this was a right turn but realized that on the map we have to turn left first. When I turned around to run back on the course, Mr BLK and Mr YEL were already some distance ahead, maybe 50m. It affected my focus and concentration to see me suddenly behind them when I worked so hard to break away from them. The first thing I told myself was that I have to quickly catch them because I was supposed to be ahead. If I were 6^th I cannot drop to 8^th because of a mistake. Before the mistake I was actually feeling good and strong and motivated and pushing the pace. Then in a reversal of fate, I found myself behind them and working very hard to catch these 2 men and it actually made me tired suddenly. I eventually caught them after a few minutes but it took a lot of effort. At this time, there was another Caucasian, Mr GRE (wearing grey) who suddenly came from behind (he was with us in the beginning and must be following us all this while) and overtook the 3 of us and sped ahead. If he became 6^th, then I would have to fight with Mr BLK and Mr YEL for 7^th place. I tried to follow Mr GRE but could not, as I was tired chasing and I decided to stay with Mr BLK and Mr YEL until maybe last 1km and ‘whack’ them. This was maybe around 18.5km to 19km.

I followed them and before we reached the 20km mark, I heard very small and quick footsteps coming and recognized immediately that these must be those of Vivian Tang’s. True enough, she appeared from my left and even signaled to me. However my legs were starting to complain especially the right quads, and I let her go past me. Mr BLK went with her and even paced and encouraged her something like ‘Way to go, lady!’. They managed to open a slight 5m gap which I made sure not to let it open further. It was already down to less than 2km, I told myself that I had already made a bad mistake; I cannot afford to lose so many positions (3) because of it. I tried very hard to hold on to this gap of 3-5m (Mr YEL stayed with me) as I was sure if I can do this, there is a good shot at me sprinting past both of them over the last few hundred meters. At 20km mark, the time was 1:19:43 (3:59/km); my 5km split was 20:13 (4:03/km). So I lost maybe 20sec from the mistake.

It was maybe the last 800m or 600m or so (by then I couldn’t judge the distance well but I could see the bridge to Angkor Wat Temple which is opposite the finish line), when there were crowds along the sides of the road that I started to push and overtook Mr BLK and Vivian. There was a lot of shouting and cheering I think because Vivian was the first woman they see and also we are coming in as a bunch. Before us it was only Mr WHT and then Mr GRE. Though I was ahead of all of them again, I knew that all 3 of them (including Mr YEL) are close behind me. When I approached the last bend, I couldn’t tell that all the shouting was also because there as a bunch of 4 of us coming in together. I should have known that it was also a signal that someone was closing in on me, and after making the last right turn, I saw Mr YEL coming from my right. He was coming to get me. I sprinted harder and my right calf nearly cramped up, and it was just a couple of metres before the finish line, he past me and in denouement, finished just a step of me and it caught me by surprise. It was really unlucky because it was so close. I was ahead of all these people, then went the wrong way, caught them back and then lost it at the last few seconds. Kien Mau later said he was there at the bend shouting at me that ‘he is catching me’.

After the race, my legs were very sore and I had difficulty doing a proper cooldown jog. I jogged back onto the route to cheer for the other Mileage guys. My last 1.1km took 4:02, which translated to a 3:40/km pace. I also realized that I had blisters under the ball of both feet. Socks too thin? Upon returning to the hotel I saw a blood blister under the ball of the left foot. I looked for Mr BLK and thanked him for shouting at me when I made the wrong turn.   

My finish time was 1:23:46 on my watch, although the official time says 1:23:54 – I don’t know why, since I formed up right in front. Though it was my PB, I wasn’t very satisfied right after I finish because of the mistake I committed. I should be very happy, since I shaved about 6min from my previous PB of 1:29 (AHM), but I felt I could have run a better time. I’m glad I achieved my target of 1:24, and this would give me confidence when I approach future training sessions.

Summary

Based on 39:34 @10k the average pace is 3:57/km, it would have given me 1:23:29 for 21.2km. Based on last 11.1km (1:23:46 – 39:34 = 44:12), the average pace was 3:59/km.

Based on 1:23:46, the average pace is 3:58/km. Well, the good thing to know is from first 10k and my pace didn’t drop very much, though last few km was really tough.

AHR: 177, MHR: 190 (191 and 192 are erroneous)

After the race, upon checking Sumiko’s finish line photos, I realized I was 10^th. So I was not 6^th according to the lady on the road. Glad that I can still squeezed in top 10, though I wasn’t expecting any finishing position for this race, just a PB. There are only prizes for top 3 and no cash prizes as this race is organized by a Japanese organization for charity.

The right knee was not good after the race, it’s probably due to tight muscles around the knee pulling the knee the wrong way.

Christian, Johnson and myself were holding Singapore flag and raised up to the sky in Giza in Egypt. Our 250km journey in Sahara Desert for 6 days is eventually over in front of Pyramid. Even camels look like smiling and congratulating us. It took us 42hours and 2mins 55sec in total and our Singapore team “Mixed bags” came in 2^nd team overall. My timing was 2^nd female overall although it wasn’t recognized as we registered as a team.

About the 4 Deserts Series:

The 4 Deserts is a series of seven-day, 250-kilometre (150-mile) self-supported footraces across the largest and most forbidding deserts on Earth comprising the Gobi March in China, the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Sahara Race in Egypt and The Last Desert in Antarctica. Each of the deserts is unique with the 4 Deserts series taking place in the driest, hottest, coldest and windiest places on earth testing competitors’ limits both mentally and physically.  The 4 Deserts series is a world-class sporting event open to anyone who is ready for the journey of a lifetime. Time Magazine recently ranked the 4 Deserts #2 on its list of the world’s top endurance competitions.

For more information on the Sahara Race, please visit www.4deserts.com/sahararace.

Preparation

Christian, Johnson and Steven Lim did Gobi March race last year and I was a so called replacement. I was nervous if I could manage to take place of Steven in this testosterone team. Since they came in 3^rd team last year, surely they want to place well in this year as well.

Since we signed up as a team again, 3 of us have to move together, stick together and finish together. It’s not as easy as it looks, apparently 50% of teams split up for some reasons and turn to individual competitors. We hope we stay together till the finish line.

Johnson is an Ironman triathete and a trail runner. He enjoys trail races like Kinabalu Climbathon, Hong Kong Oxfam, North Face, etc. Christian is a seasoned adventure racer and he did Namibia desert race in May this year. They are more experienced in the desert and on the rough and tough terrains. They are always carrying heavy weight at least 8-9kg on their back for training. As for me, I try to cheat all the time and usually my back pack has “only” 5kg rice bag inside, as otherwise I cannot keep up with them on the trail. Well, they are more than 70kg body weight and I am only 43kg… 5kg loading is already more than 10% of my body weight. However, I have to carry the same weight in the race (I cannot reduce the food. I know I eat more than anybody). The thing is I tend to twist an ankle with a heavy backpack. I kept twisting it in Bt Timah Nature reserves, Durean loop and MacRithcies and fed up with it.

I did some easy and relaxed run with my neighbor friend, Kevan on every Mondays. I let him carry 5kg rice bags with me (mine is Koshi-hikari expensive Japanese rice and his was Thai rice). We ran only on the road not on the trails but I started getting used to running with weights.

The race already started when we were packing. Since we carry our own stuff for 7 days, we should make it lighter as light as possible. There are mandatory items such as food – minimum 2000kcal/day x 7days =14,000kcal (the heaviest out of all stuff), sleeping bag, medical kit, blister kit, head lamp & back up, survival blanket, alcohol gels, clothes, national flags, etc. The organizer will check our backpack to make sure we have everything in it. If anything is missing, you will get the time penalty.

Christian bought us the smallest compass ever we can think of and attached the watch. Johnson lent me the lightest knife from his daughter. We all refilled the all dry food from the original containers to ziplock bags and reduced 500g. I weighted all my t-shirts and chose the lightest one. We have only 2 sets of attires – one for the race and another one is when you are in the tent. Our uniforms for Mixed bags are 2XU t-shirts sponsored by Key Power International (KPI sponsored nutrition stuff too). The shirts are in nice red color and most importantly the color matches with the gaiters. I sewed Japanese flag on my right shoulder and Singapore flag on my left. Christian has Swiss flag on one side and Singapore flag on the other side. Johnson has Singapore flags on both sides. Mixed bags are from 3 countries, got mixed tighter and stronger here in Singapore.

I borrowed sleeping a bag, super light back pack and other many crucial things from Steven Lim and a sleeping mat and titanium utensils etc. from Steven Wong. Only what I bought myself were trekking poles. They are titanium & carbon and very light, strong, cool and super helpful. Apparently using the trekking poles reduces your 30% of weights from legs and balances with arms. I loved my poles and used them every day. I couldn’t have completed the race without them.

Aziz came for taking a photo and sending us in Changi airport. We have promised him that we are having a good race as being representative Singapore and MR25.

My bag was eventually packed in 7kg plus excluding water, which is only the organizer provides us (plenty), except for tents and medical assistance. Christian and Johnson’s weights were about the same. The organizer said our bags were one of the lightest out of all competitors. It’s like carrying a road bike on the back and should be happy with the weight. Apparently the average backpack weights about 9kg and some Japanese guys’ bags were more than 10kg. They carry a lot of rice.

Pre-race, Cairo to Camp Calcrete

We were staying in the hotel in Cairo on the first day, where we leave other baggage and coming back to the same hotel after the race. I poured hot water in the bath tab and enjoyed the last bathing.  From now onward we cannot take even a shower for 6 days, despite of hard exercise. I have had my hair cut as short as possible in Singapore. I was jealous of Johnson and Christian as they don’t have much hair on their head.

My room-mate in Dusit, Cairo was Murakami san, 59 year-old Japanese lady, swim instructor and Ironman triathlete. I named her Japanese “JJ”. She never stops talking and very funny. She says she has done Sahara marathon (Morocco side) and had a culture shock, watching women peeing by standing. This story reminds me the movie “Full-Monty”. She had a nice experience there as she was the last runner before of the longest stage, the organizer provided her a camel for the company.

After 7 hour of bus ride from Cairo, we arrived at the first campsite, Camp Calcrete. It was already around 10pm and we all settled down into the tent and prepared the bed (well, sleeping bag). I had a little walk after finishing my first experience of toilet in the desert. The air is chill and crispy. I looked up the sky and speechless. I have never seen so many starts in the whole sky… and it was the largest sky I have ever seen. Nothing was blocking the whole sky… just me, desert and sky.

There are 8 of us in the same tent. They divided 120 participants to 15 tents and 20% women were mixed to all. Besides 3 of us Mixed bag from Singapore, German Tobias and Italian Paolo were here as familiar faces. Tobias used to live in Singapore, moved to KL 2 years ago. We used to do Ironman races together and he got qualified for Hawaii for several times. He has done Triple Ironman (1Ironman on the 1^st day, 2Ironmans on the 2^nd day) and won a MR25 ultra marathon once. He did Sun down Ultra marathon this year and was the 1^st runner up till his escort bike got lost and gave up the race in the 2^nd lap. He was going to do this race with a team but turned to individual when his colleagues pulled out because of the health reason.

Paolo is a good friend of Christian, also a brilliant runner and came in 4^th in Gobi March in racing planet last year. We expected those 2 friends would be doing the race very well.

DAY1. Stage 1 (34.3km) “Arabian Nights”

It’s the beginning of the long race. Everybody looks a bit reserved and nobody was moving so fast. Our strategy was going a bit fast at the beginning and move forward as far as we could while it’s still cool. The temperature is higher and higher towards the afternoon in the desert. The highest temperature was 49 degrees. It’s not easy to run in this heat.

I am an always slow starter. I start slow in any long races and try to keep the pace even in the whole way. It was hard to keep up with 2 teammate boys at the beginning. Also this heavy backpack and soft and deep sand makes the steps moving difficult. The next moment my boys are out of sight. I started regretting I always cheated in the training. I should have carried more rice and trained properly in the trail….

Christian “Meeks, you should shout when you are dropping. I don’t have an eye on my behind”.

I was breathing heavily, “Why you don’t want to turn around, bro?”

Thanks for not spoiling me. Soon we are all smiling, running stronger and tighter together.

There are check points every 10km, we refill the water and take care our blisters. The heat doesn’t bother me much as we are used to it in Singapore. The breeze was nice, dry and comfortable. However, this almost 50C merciless sun dries up all moisture out of your body. When I saw the photos of Gobi March, to be honest I was in shock to see other friend of ours, Steven Wong’s figure. Indeed they are great photos but Steven looked much older than he always looks (He is about my age. Usually he looks young and great). I know the sunshine in the desert is very harsh and destroyable. I thought that moment I didn’t think I was doing this extreme race. Not my cup of tea.

At least I decided not to bring a camera (unlike Japanese) and covered myself completely to avoid the sun. Covered with a cap, sunglasses for top half of my face, buff for bottom half of the face, half sleeves t-shirts and arm covers, gloves, 2XU long compression tights and trail shoes with gaiters is what I wore. People cannot exactly tell who this person is but I was eventually feeling safe. Actually I feel cooler with covered with those clothes rather than exposing the skin. I did more sun-tanned when I do racing in Singapore and Malaysia than here in Sahara, although I was still getting darker somehow through clothes.

DAY2. Stage 2 (44.0km) “Marathon el Qarawin”

I was surprised to discover we were in the 2^nd team so far. We even beat the first team “Trifecta” today. Those 3 are American and Australian Ironman triathletes and Ultra marathoners, the age of late 30’s and early 40, also experienced desert racers. Obviously looking much stronger than we are, which have a small auntie in the team. The fact they started anxious that we are chasing and pushing them well motivated us. We shook hands and hugged with Trifecta at the start line every day to wish good luck. However, we know none of us really wishing the best luck each other from bottom of the hearts. Christian said “Look, that biggest guy may not have endurance as much as we do”. It’s only the 2^nd day and the race has just started. See how the rest of the race, especially the longest stage goes.

Anything would happen in the extreme race. We have to be reserved and do not underestimate the desert. One of Japanese competitor Yoshi was running well and came in top 5 in the first day. He was proud to report me that he was running with Paolo (and got lost with Paolo). Everybody including of him expected that he would keep doing well from the 2^nd stage. Even he didn’t know what happened to himself. After the 1st check point, he got sick immediately, lost balance, even couldn’t manage to walk. He confessed me that he thought about “death”. He was dehydrated. He kept drinking isotonic water but it was too much concentrated and the body couldn’t accept that. 29 yrs sub-3hours marathoner stumbled to get on the rescue 4WD car just like that.

Apparently our good friend, Steven Lim had a similar experience. He was a member of Gobi team with Christian and Johnson last year. He is the youngest and fastest runner of all but suffering from the dehydration on the first day. He never pulled out the race though. He and his team mates are too strong and determined to give up the race. Johnson said “even though I had piggybacked him, we would have still kept going”.

In this Racing planet race, provided you pulled out in one stage, you can still continue the next day although you are not recognized as a “finisher”. Everybody spent a lot of money and preparation for the big race. You might as well keep going the whole course.

They encourage to keep going till the last stage unless you are seriously injured or ill as I understand the numbers of cars are limited for 30 of staff, volunteers and medical team.

Yoshi didn’t want to continue the race and offered if he could join the volunteer team but he was not very welcomed because of that.

In dinner time, He couldn’t even finish a small bowl of udon-noodles in front of him. He says in tears, “I am scared. I am scared if the same thing happens tomorrow”…. Paolo, medical doctor himself stopped by and advised to keep drinking water, not too concentrated one. I said he should take part tomorrow otherwise he can never overcome this fear. I told him stories hopefully cheered him up as he kept quiet in front of udon-noodles, still in tears (I actually tempted to finish his bowl). I noticed when I speak Japanese, I am quite talkative. I reminded him he is a good athlete and be confident. Go rest well tonight, wake up and try to eat something before start tomorrow. Maybe he should find company just in case and it’s more fun with somebody. I tapped his young and muscled shoulder, “Why don’t you take time to enjoy this outstanding scenery tomorrow. Don’t have to push or rush anymore. It’s our life time experience marching in Sahara desert”.

The next day he came to report me he did very well again in that stage.

DAY3. Stage 3 (42.5km) “The Roman Ruin”

The backpack didn’t seem to get lighter although we keep eating everyday. Japanese Yutaka who carried a lot of rice eventually wanted to get rid of it. Here comes Paolo… he was pleased to receive all, put olive oil, parmesan cheese and made risotto. I had some share from Paolo and it was simply delicious. Only we can have is hot water and we have variety of meals every day, Teriyaki Chicken, Lasagna, Ramen…etc from our dry food stock. As for other buddies in our tent, Italian Raffaele brought a lot of prosciutto and American Murray (vegetarian) brought Tahini sauce in a huge plastic containers. Most of Japanese people brought packs of miso soup and enjoying, quite jealous.

During this race, only what we did was run, eat, sleep and run, eat, sleep. The meal time was something we always look forward to and the most wonderful moment in the day (except for the finish line).

DAY4. Stage 4 (40.5km) “Ice Cream Cone”

Every morning top 3 positions are announced before the start. Tobias is in the lead and Paolo is in 2^nd. We are very proud both are in our tent. Our team “Mix bags” is still in 2^nd team after Trifecta.

Everyday we were running first 20km (up to check point 2) then walking steadily the rest of the terrain till the finish. It was not easy for me to keep up with 2 boys at the beginning but I didn’t mind running a bit more in the later part. However, Johnson’s blisters made difficult continue us running.

Having blisters was the issue for everybody. Christian says “If you feel something, immediately stop and take care of it otherwise it gets crucial”. It’s so annoying you are still fine the rest of the part and cannot run well because of blisters.

I also felt blisters and announced to all. The next check point will be still far away. Christian, “OK, Meeks. Lie down on your back pack, now”. It’s in the middle of the desert. I lied down on the ground, faced up. He let me raise one leg in the air then he removed my shoes, socks and started taping efficiently and quickly”. He did the same thing for me on another foot in the check point too with Johnson holding my both feet. Japanese volunteer Sandy was watching us and commented, “What a treat, you are so lucky Mika! Such a great team work!”

DAY5. Stage 5 (87.6km) “Black Desert March”

We went into sleeping bag at around 8pm last night and woke up 4am for early start. It’s going to be a long day today. They divided 2 starts today. Top 16 finishers start 9am and we start at 6am. We are pleased we take off before it’s getting hot.

Christian said we should go forward faster to avoid the crowd. I nodded but not sure if I could go fast.

As I expected, I was dropping from the boys again.

Johnson “Meeks, what happened to you? Even the ladies team has gone far ahead”.

Mika “I don’t care the ladies team. I am saving my energy”.

We are always like this to start with. Soon after, however, we are smiling, running tight together and start catching the ladies team and others, one by one.

Christian fixed my blisters, Johnson’s blisters seems to be fine. Actually I was kind of waiting when Johnson’s blisters make us walk but it never happened.

We were still running after check point 2, check point 3… and check point 4. We only were walking in the rough trails. Some parts are too tough to run, such as deep sand and dunes, white rocky places, and we had too strong head wind sometimes.

Oasis turns up without any notice. Eyes are attracted by a sudden green and it gives us comfort in the desert. There are even villages. We recognized some cute children are there but be careful of them. Those kids approach your behind and steal your back-up red lights.

Paolo caught us at the check point while we were sitting. As soon as we called his name, immediately he disappeared! He fell over into the hole in front of us.

“Paolo, are you OK? You are flying”.

Paolo “Nice to see you all! Tobias was just behind a while ago. He is coming soon”.

At check point 5 (50km) we were treated by a hot tea and at check point 6 (60km) we had hot water to cook meals. We decided to sit down for 20mins and had a quick dinner as planned. People who arrive at night can sleep there and start next morning as long as you leave by 6am. We arrived there at around 5pm and still before the sun set. We wanted to go as much as further before getting dark.

Johnson sets a pace in the front, I am in the middle and Christian is behind me.  How long we did this trail running. Johnson’s pace was just beautiful, I had a feeling I could run for good, moving forward as if we became wind. Hard to describe how comfortable I was. Didn’t even feel legs were turning. They are automatically moving. It must be so called “running high”.

I was watching Johnson’s steps, sometimes looking up the face and seeing mountains in the distance. The sun is about to set. Golden Sands and the volcanic stones continue in the orange world, the breeze is cool and dry on the cheek.

This happiness didn’t last long. I was feeling something but tried to ignore and pretended that didn’t exist, but eventually it strongly insisted on being there. It’s my enemy since 2006, Achilles tendon pain. However, this time it’s on the left leg not my usual right leg, and it’s usually just above the heel but this time it was just below calf. Actually I was expecting it hurt much earlier but it didn’t bother me till 230 km of running. It must be because of the soft surface? I know the impact of hard road is bad for Achilles. I was happy it didn’t happen till now but shame it eventually turned up.

“Sorry I cannot run any more. My Achilles tendon hurts”.

Christian, “OK, let’s walk”.

Johnson, “I told you if Achilles hurt, you shouldn’t have come”.

Mika, “It’s on the other leg, bro”.

I was so sad and disappointed. I am totally fine, and was running so comfortably just only before then. I know my team mates must be more disappointed but I sulked for a while. I was angry with myself.

Johnson, “Mika san, you are doing very well. Your timing is 2^nd woman over all”.

Mika “……”

I never said a word. Kept quiet and walking, very slowly.

We reached to the last check point. The long stage is about to end…only 8.7km to go to the finish line from here. A volunteer guy poured water into our bottle and said, “Forget about everything we came through today and only focus on this 8.7km!  You can do it”.

It’s almost 8pm. 14hours passed since we started already. I had no idea how long it would take with this leg.

Mika, “You guys go ahead and wait for me before the finish line. It’s gonna take me very long…  I could force to run with blisters but never with Achilles tendon pain otherwise I may not be able to run for long time, and…”

Christian interrupted me, “Shut up, Mika. We are going together”.

After the sun set, the temperature went down dramatically and very cold once we stopped moving. Let’s make a move.

It was the first time for us to walk in the dark. The dark means pitch dark. We have been following small pink flags on the course but cannot see any more.

Christian and Johnson are about 25m ahead of me, not too far, not too close to make me feel too much guilty. I was following two red lights of their back packs.

We were worried about one thing. Tobias never passed us so far, although Paolo said he was just behind Paolo and other several runners who started later already passed us. Maybe he got lost? No surprise if it happens in the desert. If he got lost, it’s rather OK but if he collapsed? We kept asking about him in the checkpoints but they didn’t have any news.

8.7km must be the wrong information. It seemed much more and the course was really difficult. Dunes are everywhere and very deep. I was stuck… I thought I could never make it… till Christian came back and drag me up from the top of the hill.

We saw even a 4WD car kept trying to climb the hill but just engine was racing and couldn’t get over it

It was the longest 8.7km in my life. Eventually we saw the lights of camp site in the distance. We hold the hands again and crossed the finish line.

It was 10pm at night. It took us 16hours in this stage.

Tobias came back around midnight. He said he was having a bad stomach, walked and finished with Erica from South Africa, the leader in female division (and she won this race). She is a strong runner and won Augrabies Extreme 250km Marathon as well. Erica had ITB problem and she said later Tobias did the same thing Christian did to me, dragging her up the hill on the dune. Tobias lost 9 toe nails after this stage.

The last runner in this stage reached to the camp site at 3pm the next day. 33 hours of trip. All of us already relaxed in the camp came out from the tents and meeting her with a big applause. I wasn’t so touched by our own finish, as maybe just too tired but very moved to tears to see her finish line

DAY6. Stage 6 (1.1km) – Pyramid, Pizza and Beer!

The race result is already up and the timing in this stage is not counted, it’s only for “finish in front of pyramid”. We were in the bus for a few hours to get to Giza in the morning.

Paolo snatched a dramatic victory after the long stage yesterday, which he ran 28hours 14minutes in total, the 90km distance less than 10hours was a new course record! He is about my age, 49years old and typically runs 150km a week. I am so happy for him and proud of him.

What is waiting for us after the finish line? Pizza and ice cold beer! We were eating as if we had not been eating at all for 6 days. The beer was the most delicious beer as long as I could remember.

Post-race

While I was struggling in the last stage, I announced to boys, “This is my first and last desert race. I will never do it again”.

Are you sure? I remember when I finished my first Ironman race in Langkawi 2002, I thought I would never do it again, although I did my 9^th Ironman race this year.

This is just like when you hold a toilet bowl, you think you will never drink again. But maybe you find yourself in the pub a week after.

We all forget the pain and only remember wonderful memories.

The life there was not too bad either. No telephone, no electricity, no shower… Didn’t really miss anything, actually (although I am now very appreciative of having a proper bathroom and comfy bed). Maybe we do not need any of them.

I had a feeling we are getting back to animals every day. In another month or so, we all may get tails. Even as for toilet experience, we are shy on the first day, second day you are used to it, third day you become animals. Mind you, they have toilets – 3 toilets out of 150 people, which is a carton box for water bottles and just placed in a small tent. Very difficult to make it neat with proper squat and no wonder it’s not so busy any time of the day.

This simple life of run-eat-sleep may have suited me and I even put on 3kg of weight after the 250-km run. Maybe I was the only one who gained weight (all the men got skinner and hairier every day). I wondered why my body was swollen up after the long run. Not only the legs and feet, but also my face and hands, everywhere was swollen. First time I saw myself in the mirror in the hotel room after 6 days, I screamed when I saw my round face. Probably it was due to my poor blood circulation as a result of the extreme fatigue.

Dear all friends, thank you for all encouragement and congratulating. Appreciated being following us during the course by internet and sending emails. Thank you, Robert and Eddie from Key Power International for sponsoring the team wear and nutrition bars.

And thank you, my two brothers, Christian and Johnson for the priceless experience together.

You are right, Johnson. Me too, I miss desert every day as well.

So, when is the next?

3 of our MR25 members – Jacob Johnson, Christian Stauffer and Mika Kume formed the Team Mixed Bag and they are currently racing in the Sahara Desert, one of the destination of the 4 Desert Race series.

It is Johnson’s 2nd Desert race after Gobi (with Christian and Steven Lim last year). In March this year, Christian completed the Namibia Race.  It is Mika’s first Desert Race.

So far, they have been doing very well overall.  At stage 2, Team Mixed Bag came in 2nd overall.  Mika Kume was the 2nd women to complete the stage.

Check out their progress at the Racing the Planet website.

Update from Sahara (end of Day 3)
“We are doing ok and the spirit is high.  The heat is tough around noon (and the rest of the day) and some long patches of soft sand too.  We are trying to keep up with the 1st team who is quite strong but we took them about 15mins today we see on the long day.”

Update from Sahara (end of Day 4)
“Today was another hot day.  Tommorrow the long one… no comments.  The spirit is high”

Update from Sahara (end of Day 5)
“I am relieved the long brutal race is over and we are all relaxed in the final tent. Christian and Johnson were full of beard and scruffy but look slimmer. Yesterday was the toughest. We were running 80% of the 87km long stage despite of blisters of both feet but finally my painful left Achilles tendon (not the usual right one) forced us to walk. We had deep soft sand terrain and a lot of dunes and the back pack didn’t seem to become lighter although most food was eaten by yesterday.  I didn’t feel hungry as much as I worried and wondering if we all should start Sahara diet after coming back. We all need only 2000kcal a day I am looking forward to a lot of water, something like swimming pool and needless to say, ice cold beer!

The weekend of 1^st and 2^nd August saw JJ visiting my home town of Glasgow to watch her daughter Ellie play touch rugby for England in the British Home Nations Championships and this gave JJ a fantastic opportunity to run one of my summer regular races – The Helensburgh Half Marathon.

Firstly a small history lesson.  Helensburgh is a small coastal town which was the birthplace of John Logie Baird.  Who you may ask is he?  Well that’s the man who invented TV so it’s thanks to this small Scottish Town that we get to watch American Idol.

We had spent the day before watching Ellie and JJ was very nervous about the race as she’d been injured for a while.  She was however persuaded to go out and enjoy herself.  As JJ was staying with my brother Gerard (above in stripes) he agreed to collect me to go to the race.

Come race morning no sign of them.  Surely JJ hasn’t talked everyone to death? No quite simply my brother got totally drunk the night before and turned up dying of a hangover.  I had no sympathy with him and only got angrier as he made me stop the car repeatedly to allow him to be sick.  Compound this with JJ and my sister wanting to get comfort breaks it was not a happy Michael who lined up at the start.

Still it was fantastic day weather wise and I had to dispel the demons of 2008 where I dropped out at 10 miles due to the freezing cold and wet weather.  No such excuses today.

We set off right on time at 9.30 am and quickly got into our stride.  Gerard to his credit was running with me but wasn’t his usual self.  At three miles there were a few inclines and where he would normally force the pace he was backing off. By 5 miles I had pulled ahead of him and to be honest thought that was the last I’d see of him.  Pace wise I’d kept it steady and after 8 miles began to pull in a few runners.  Through 9 and 10 I picked more off and after hitting 11 miles I thought it was time to give it a bit of a push as the hard work was over.

The last mile though was as painful as I could remember.  You can see the clock tower at the finish point but it’s a LONG way away.  Still nobody caught me and I just kept my pace all the way to the end finishing in a creditable 1.21.29.  Given the week I’d had before that travelling to UK then USA I felt it was a decent effort.

However I’d barely finished when who comes through the line but Gerard.  An impressive 1.22.20 with a monster hangover. He claimed he sobered up at 5 miles and began to recover at 8 but just couldn’t catch me.

Sadly my sister was at the finish line.  No PB today for her as she’d pulled out at 1 mile.  Turned out her hip was out of place and she had a stress injury to her toe.  My other brother Chris had also dropped out although I think his reason was quite simply that he had a bad day.

We all then settled back and waited for JJ.  Soon enough she came storming in with a fantastic time of 1.44.21.  While not a PB it was a great run considering her injuries.  We could barely stop her talking afterwards.

With the weather being so nice we all headed back to my parents for a well earned barabeque.  Of course as soon as I started cooking the first sausage down came the rain.    However by that time nobody cared.

Gerald, Jet Jon Shepherd (JJ), Michael

While on holiday in Hat Yai, our members Lim Lian Hock, Roy Ang and Ee Ah Seng had a thrilling experience at the recent half marathon race .  At first they were skeptical about winning because Thailand is known for its middle distance domination.  However, with will and determination they managed to surge forward with outstanding results for each of their age category.

Roy Ang (Men 50 – 54 years) – 1:37 – 5th
Lim Lian Hock (Men 55 – 59 years) – 1:38 – 5th
Ee Ah Seng (Men 60 – 64 years) – 1:44 – 3rd

Roy Ang (4th from Right)

Lim Lian Hock (receiving the Prize)

Ee Ah Seng (receiving the Prize)

From Left (Ong Kok Tiong and Roy Ang)

On the ground of the Gobi desert march 2008 ran with Johnson Dan Jacob and Steven Lim in the Team MR 25 Gobi, I decided to register for the Namibia 09. The organizer Racing The Planet is running the classic 4 Deserts series every year (Gobi, Atacama, Sahara and Antarctica) and for the past 3 years have run an extra one called “Beyond the 4 deserts” with the third occurrence being in Namibia (South Africa). The decision was taken as I had never run in Africa and a few friends were joining. Being on my own this year it was tougher that get into the discipline of training regularly and the push given by training in team was not there. Fortunately, supported by some running friends I did manage to put on a few miles in Bukit Timah and Mac Ritchie reservoir.

The closest we were to race day the more I realized that this time the number of outstanding competitors was growing! More than 80% had already run a 250km or more and more than 50% had done it twice. Some of the competitor’s names were familiar and the level was going to be much higher than Gobi. The terrain will also be less predictable as no one had ever run in that country and in that desert. Anyway, after a night in the plane and a connecting flight from Johannesburg to Windhoek, it was time for a check-in of the gears and the medical at the Windhoek country club. Again a few familiar faces, everybody getting more anxious and a bag weighting 9kgs…a bit more than expected!

The first shocking news came at the initial race briefing where the long stage was brought forward to Day 4 and extended to 100km non stop…. no comments. The med recommendation to watch out for snakes and in particular the lethal Puff Ada was quite frightening. All of us tried to get some confidence in saying that if you can do 80km you probably can do 100km. Early departure during the night in full racing gear (we will not see our luggage until the end of the race) to the Camp 1 starting line, a trip of 10 hours down south to the edge of the Fish river canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. Nice trip and the occasion to start befriending with tent mates, we will spend a week together in tough conditions. The race being self supported, the organizer is providing only water at check points (1 liter every 10 to 15km) and tents for sleeping at night camps. Your tent mates are surely the closest things to a family during the week.

The arrival at the Canyon was just stunning and the last meal will be taken before attending to the gear and finding some sleep before the big start.

Stage 1 “Fish River Canyon” – distance: 40 km

The stage one was short and warm up for the big descent in the canyon (no running and no passing were allowed).  We had to climb deep into the Fish River Canyon, crossing rivers, climbing rope ladders and vertical rock faces on our hands and feet just to get out of the canyon t. I thought more in an adventure race than in a running one and it took me over 4 hours to get out of the canyon with a couple of people being dehydrated on the way. When I reach the edge at the top I felt relieved but it took me a few minutes to take back my breath. The next 20kms were much easier but the Canyon had taken its toll on the joints and I arrived juts before sundown at the camp.

Stage 2 “Leopards and Cheetahs” – distance: 41km

I spent a large part of the night to rub my tendons and joints of both knees and felt very sore at the start. The second stage was mostly about rocks and. …Rocks. Not very rolling. Then came a 60m sand dune slowing down the progression with a finish to the Camp.

Stage 3 “Huns Mountain” – distance: 35km

The pain in the knee was still present but I decided to start pushing it with the aim of having a quick running time and therefore more rest in prevision of the long stage the day after. I was aiming at getting to camp by early afternoon and get maximum rest as usually the start for the long day is very early in the morning by bus first to the staring point. I ran most of the flats and down and took it easy on the up hills but made it to camp by 2pm.

With my tent mates from left to right: Edward, Tony, James, Sandy, Marta and I.

Stage 4 “In the Footsteps of the Bushmen” – distance: 100km

100km…well it is 100km and this is what even some experienced racers are forgetting. The start was at 830am after 4 hours bus ride and you can feel that the temperature was going to be an issue. It looks like sand al over the place. The first stage was slow for me and the Temperatures hit 43°C for the next 20km during which we crossed plains as far as the eye could see. At check point 3 I started seeing the casualties with three of my tent mates that were neutralized by the medic. I tried to “argue” with the medic and checking whether Sandy wanted me to stay around and continue together but the medic made me understand quickly that this was not going to happen. Medics are great people and fortunately they do have the right to stop people that are going over the top of their health. I decided to go on my own and try to reach the 60km CP as soon as I can and decide at that point what to do. At 40km the sun started going down at 50km I was really dark and my poor night vision slowed me down with the terrain becoming really rough and a lot of really steep sand dunes. The progression was really slow and fatigue got in. I finally reach the 60km mark and decided to have a real break and sleep. I had a warm meal and slept a few hours…this was not very “competitive” but will not change much to my result and will allow me to finish strong. At this point it was really tough and I guess anger kept me going on. I was angry toward the organizers to have mapped such a tough course but I was also resolved to stay on and “punish” the guy that map the course by making sure that I will finish it. By then close to 60 participants have given up. I left that checkpoint the sun was starting to raise. It was cold and foggy.

The entire 40km were in the sand with a mix of soft and harder sand, we can see very well that we were getting toward the sea and that the dune desert was in front of us with amazing landscapes. The last CP was further than expected but I made it back to camp with a more than 23h on the legs….

Stage 5 “Out of Africa”– distance: 21km

I felt quite good that morning and ready to “take revenge”.  Stage 5 was scrambling over and down the famous sand dunes of the Namib Desert, which at times was an adrenaline boost with its sheer beauty. I ran most of it with a few absolutely spectacular dunes. Climbing these dunes was an inch per inch progression as one get sand up to his thighs. Going down toward the camp was stunning with the Ocean in view and dunning plunging into it…simply stunning. The Campsite was allowing washing clothes in the cold ocean water. What a feeling! The best campsite I have ever been and amazing sundown. One tough element was that I was running out of food and luckily was able to share some with Tony and Matt my two remaining tent mates. At that point the race was over and we were just preparing for the last 8km.

Stage 6 “The Diamond Trail” – distance: 8km

The last 8km was a run on the beach to finish in the port town of Luderitz. It is a heavily guarded area, as it is owned by a diamond concession. The start was staggered allowing everybody a finish together; I was in the first batch and decided to run strong to the Finish line. At the beginning an English competitor and a Japanese one took me over and I decided to observe them. The English man gave up in the dunes and I was following the Japanese one. I had seen him a couple of time during the previous stages and I decided to let him drive the run until I was comfortable to take him over and be the first man to cross the finish line while of course not even being the first on the stage….as it was hard to explain to the Namibian TV. My only thought at that point was to my family that always supports me and … finding some food.

Leow Kah Shin, Fellow utra runner and good friend.

With world class Marco Olmo at camp site

My fellow Swiss companions the Mosimann’s brothers – amazing guys

Conclusion

It was a grueling and taxing race, way above the expected difficulty. A lot of racers were not so happy about this but well…this is part of the unexpected. I made it to the 115th position and only 167 racers did complete the race out f 215 that started. I learned again a lot and came back with amazing pictures in my eyes. Ready for Sahara 2009!