Nike running' 2010.

        On 10th October 2010, I participated in a running event organised by Nike. the event was named "KL vs SG: Nike City 10K". two categories of lengths were offered; 5km or 10km. Runners from Malaysia were competing with Singaporean runners to win the most numbers of runners that were able to complete the 10 kilometre run.  the more successful 10Km runners, the more the number of kilometres accumulated & the winning country would obtain USD30,000 for Charity. Therefore, it was highly recommended for participants to enter the 10KM category.

The Finisher Pose. =P

        I knew about the activity when I heard some of my friends chatting about Nike things which was related to running. One of my housemates, who was a guy that loved branded items, excitedly wanted to buy Nike shoes & attire while my other housemate kept talking about it was the time for us to buy Nike stuffs as we were given 50% discounts for any item in Nike store IF we entered the event.  I asked them, " Dudes,  what is the event that both of you discussing about?". They replied enthusiastically, "It's a Nike City 10K run, man!". I immediately wanted to join it. My reasons of entering the event were slightly different from them. I wanted to get a certificate & enhanced my stamina. Still, the 50% discounts influenced me a lot. We filled in the application form & submitted it to student association department. Everything went well and we got the 50% discount coupon. 

       Everyone was very excited once we received the coupon. All of us only focus on the discount and nobody bother about the terms and conditions. I told them I was a little bit suspicious about the discounts but they said I was too concern. Yeah, right!! to cut short, we went to the Nike store in Sunway Pyramid. We did window shopping first, surveying what stuffs each of us intended to buy. we went to the counter to pay for went to the counter & asked about the validity of the coupon. The salesperson told us that it was only valid to buy the Nike+ sportband. Only, a single Nike+ sportband. Oh man..so disappointing. At the end, no one buy anything.

       As for our preparation, we planned to train together along with other friends who were determined to join the event. Why did I said "determined"? It's because there were some who filled in the form just to get the coupon & receive the shirt but did not want to run. They were not even present during the running day. We only managed to train 3 times before the actual occasion as all of us were very busy with our projects and reports. The third training session was done the day before the event which was on 9th October 2010. Six of us running together after dawn because the weather was still cold. We trained on the running  track at MPSJ sport complex where the full circle is about 420m. So, to reach 10km, we need to run  the track circle 24 times and must complete the run within 1 hour 30 minutes. The running was at constant pace and we ran in the "arrow head" formation. 

       Why do we choose this formation? it is because we want to create an aerodynamic feature that  is known as drafting. "Drafting can significantly reduce the paceline's average energy expenditure required to maintain a certain speed and can also slightly reduce the energy expenditure of the lead  object" (wikipedia, 2010). In another words, the one with excellent stamina will be in front of others and he/she can help those who have lower stamina to be at same pace together. When the leader was exhausted, his position was replaced with other member so that everyone can arrive at the finishing line together. My average finishing time was about 1 hour 17 minutes. Even though it was not the the fastest, it indicates that I am able to finish the run. An unfortunate thing happened. I got blisters on both of my feet while tomorrow was the day. Nevertheless, I didn't see it as a problem. Although the doctor advised me not to run, I will run & I was running.

The group

       My group members and I gathered as early as 5.30 a.m at the university's foyer together with other participants who represented our university. We reached the location which was at KLCC area around 6.00 a.m.The Muslims participants performed our Subuh prayer at KLCC mosque. There were huge number of people wearing bright green-colored Dri-fit T-shirts which were the official T-shirts of the event. We started the running at 7.15 a.m sharp with the 5km runners being released first. My group ran together just like during our training but when we reached at the 6km checkpoint, my legs were hurt so bad especially my feet. my friends pushed me to run & I was able to follow them but only a short distance. I asked them to keep running and do not  worry about me. I stopped for awhile to gain strength & I ran back with the crowd of runners. The blisters hurts me badly which caused me to walk for several times instead of running. 

       When I reached at the 8km checkpoint, I got my ultimate positive spirit. I said to myself, "If I can arrived until the final checkpoint, why can't I finished the run?!". I ran at my full heart. At last, I reach the finishing line. Although my time was slightly later than the average training time, I am very satisfied with what I have achieved. When I met my friends, we congratulated each other and everyone was very supportive. I haven't receive the certificate yet but I got a vinyl figure from the organizer as a souvenir.

The one on the left is the souvenir. I called it "The purple dude".

It took almost a week for the blisters to heal. So, yup, I think I am finish, See ya!

-Ancora Imparo-