Perhentian Island Challenge 2012

I stuck to tarmac & pavement all these years bcos i have weak ankles....running on any uneven surface scares the hell out of me.  and thats the main reason why i've given trail runs a wide berth.

But 2012 is a year of awakening for me.  it dawned on me that if i dont try new things now, i might never have the opportunity ever again, not with age closing up on me... and that realisation have somehow given me new courage i guess lol.  so i registered for salomon trail run @ UPM, bought myself my first pair of trail shoes and allowed myself to be persuaded into joining PIC 2012.

Salomon X Trail Run 2012 (UPM 30/09/12)

My bib & new trail shoes

Daybreak & the trail round UPM

Finally the finishing line lol

For better for worse, here's sharing my PIC experience.

I cant really give u guys a fair account of the run bcos i cant compare it to anything else since this is my first trail run (UPM wasnt really something i'd consider as trail, more like muddy road ekekeke). personally, it was pretty tough.. 21km measured flat (the steep inclines makes it so much more), 4 hills in total and 3 of it was before the cut off checkpoint. all along the way people were moaning & groaning, me included...in fact i was screaming obscenities while climbing the 3rd hill, the hill face was almost flat and i was totally dependent on natural vines & foothold.. thank God for the soldier's spirit burning deep within me.

There were no marshalls placed within the jungle route and there were long stretches where nary a soul was in sight, very solitary and very 'its just u & me God' kind of situation.  only 4 water stations and they were definately too few and far between. i came across many runners weak from dehydration,  a few were even desperate enough to drink from the small streams trickling down parts of the hills. and i'm not talking about maciks like me but strong young men & women who probably pushed too hard, forgetting to pace themselves.

In total 12 checkpoints, 5 wristbands and checkpoint no. 6 was the 5hr cut off (initially they said 4hrs but they found out it was just generally too tough so they extended it to 5hrs) . i reached checkpoint 6, 35mins too late so i wasnt allowed to continue but honestly, if given the opportunity i would've wanted to see it thru...i might not be fast but i felt i still had it in me to finish.  all in all i heard only 20-30% made it thru, the rest DNF, me included.  the organizer left a lot to be desired..starting with limited medals, limited finisher tee, limited participant tee, limited food, and a less than committed crew... but perhentian island is so beautiful that one is inclined to forget all that hehehe...so if things go right, i might just be giving PIC another try next year  :D

Perhentian Island Challenge 2012 (11/10/12-15/10/12)

Base camp at teluk keke.. we were the first group to arrive

Then the rest came in droves lol

PIC briefing

The morning of PIC 2012.. lets do it

At pulau kecil waiting for the elites to swim across

 And off goes all the novices

I didnt make the cut-off checkpoint by 35mins 

Favourite pastime at perhentian...snorkelling

And feeding the ever hungry fishes

View of pulau perhentian kecil from pulau perhentian besar

And we were the last group to leave hehehe