Having more than 30 runs under my belt, however, this is the 1st time I'm joining this annual run in Klang. The race was organised by Pacers Sports Sdn Bhd. I still figuring out why it is named "Dragon Back". Maybe it is because of the running course (straight and hilly route)
Since I never participate in this run before, I'm highly motivated by the running route. I'm hoping for an exciting route because mostly of the runs were organised at Padang Merbok & Putrajaya nowadays. I bet mostly understand what i meant.
Driving to the race venue was challenging. The starting point is at Sekolah Kebangsaan Meru 2, Jalan Paip, Klang. The school is like in the middle of nowhere. Luckily still able to reach on time, thanks to Waze. I can only see lot of oil palms leading to the school. No designated car park, so I parked at the roadside just like others.
The first surprise came when I reached the venue. The number of runners were totally below my expectation. Not many people actually participate in this event although it is an annual running event as compared to other big boys (Standard Chartered Marathon Kuala Lumpur or Adidas King of the Road). I assumed most do not join the race due to the location. Is very far indeed if someone want to travel from Kuala Lumpur.
Let start off with my 15KM Run. The race started smoothly. We ran out of the school compound and begin our journey. That was when my 2nd surprise came. The route leading to the hill was totally dark. No road light along the way. Many runners just jogged casually due to the limited visionary. The darkness continue when we continued to run for 2KM passing some wooden houses and a mosque. Forgot to mention that the weather on that day was very hazy (is beyond the control of the organiser). I can smell burning due to the haze.
When reached 2KM, the real challenge begun. You need to run 5KM up and down the hill before making a U-turn to continue another 5KM similar route on the opposite. This route is much more tougher as compared to Putrajaya or Padang Merbok route. It was pretty easy in the beginning but started to feel the stress on the calf when reaching the end. Worst scenario, I can smell rubbish and see animal corpses along the way.
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| Gosh! I can only see haze! |
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| Lucky no cars on the hilly route |
The sky was bright when I completed the hilly route. Another 2KM to go to reach the finish line. This time I had to run on the road with vehicles passing through, which was very dangerous. Although some volunteers are doing a great job directing the traffic, I can still feel the vehicle just inches away before they knocked me down. The traffic jam was building up when I was running in the last 1KM heading back to the school due to roadside parking by the runners (I need to apologize for causing the massive jam too).
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| My running pals (Renae & Ben) posing for snapshot |
Finally, towards the end, a number of photographers were seen taking photos of the finisher before the finish line. You can check out the photos from here. The best moment came after you finish the run. You are given eat-all-you-can breakfast comprise of fried meehon, watermelon and nasi lemak. A fulfilling run for my stomach.
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| Race Route |
Let have a glance of the run:
Pros
1. Adequate water stations and organiser even provide isotonic drink on the 1st station.
2. Free flow of food after run.
3. The hilly road was huge enough for fast pacer to overtake slower runner.
Cons
1. Organiser should inform runner in advance to bring along headlamp due to the dark route.
2. Inaccurate distance marker throughout the race.
3. Slightly hazy weather which is not good for health. Bad smell throughout the run.
I had a mixed feeling for this event. I will surely think twice before I decide to register for this run in 2015.
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| The "Finisher Selfie" photo |
"Running is not about distance & time. Running is about enjoyment throughout the race"
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