2022 Kuching Marathon

My first time to East Malaysia has to include running a Marathon!

This may come as a surprise for you but by the time this post is up, I’d have (hopefully!) checked Kuching Marathon off my list last Sunday. Kuching is the state capital of Sarawak, the country’s largest state. The marathon is one of Borneo’s two popular marathons, the other one being the Borneo Marathon which run in the state of Sabah.

Only a handful of friends, well 2 to be exact, knew about my plan to run Kuching - Chiam who deferred his 2020 entry and Cheong whom I figured might need a redemption race.

First, some quick trivia about the marathon:

• 1st one was held in 2014.

• Over the years it grew in popularity and the total number of participants across all distances rose to 11,000 in 2019.

• This year marks the return of the popular event since the COVID

• Over 9,500 sign ups received (5,811 Sarawakians, over 3,000 non-Sarawakians, and close to 700 foreigners). I won’t be surprised if those numbers included the 2019 deferred entries. Race sign-ups have been very low as the industry (or for that matter, everyone) continues to struggle with rising costs.

“Why Kuching?”

I slapped together a Vlog entry to explain it. Forgive me for my boring narration. I will not fault you should you decide to quit the video midway. I just feel that narrating is quicker than typing out paragraphs and losing steam in the process (busy!) and a Vlog encapsulates the photos and videos captured better and gets the story out more efficiently.

On to the Vlog entries. Please view in sequence:

Part 1 - Planning, Preps and Packing. Including the answer to, “Why Kuching?”

Part 2 - Travel, Touristy Stuff and The Marathon

Race Day and Post-Race

I’d planned to run with the Insta360 Go but decided against it because I didn’t want to grapple with another logistical element. It was just too dark anyway. This is a short recap but definitely more than what was included in the video above.

With the forecast poor - rain and thunderstorm pretty much the order of the entire day - it was a surprise to wake up after a 1.5 hours of shuteye to a perfectly dry morning. Chiam, Cheong and I had retired to our respective lodgings at 4pm and I just couldn’t sleep, tired as I was. I got up of bed once at 6:30pm and again at 8pm just to get some food into the stomach lest it was due to hunger (I wasn’t hungry) that had been keeping me awake, ensuring that I drank each time I was up. My pre-race meal at 11pm consisted of oats with cream of mushroom soup and 2 corn buns. With 2 bottles of drinks (electrolytes and amino) in my hands and a fully stocked hip belt, I walked over to meet Cheong at 12:15am.

Our 2km warm up routine involved alternating MP-paced effort with recovery jogs before making our way to the starting line. A cosy crowd had gathered and after the formalities, the race was started on time. An interesting observation - the pre-race Muslim prayer by an Imam was conducted in English, which I appreciated as a non-Muslim and non-Arabic speaker. When you understand what’s been said, it lends greater meaning to the message conveyed.

The course rose gradually for a couple of hundred meters after the start. I was still sweating from the warm up so MP wasn’t that hard to get right into. Again, my planned MP was modest, between 4:57 to 5:05/km. A few familiar faces quickly passed me but I stuck to my pace. Cheong had stormed ahead and I lost him even before the first turn. The course meandered through the inner city before heading out.

The first bridge across the Sarawak River wasn’t a big deal - an even gentler climb than what we’ve done in training or even the ones I tackled in Macao. The roads became narrower and darker as we left the commercial districts headed to the older parts of the capital. The areas we ran through consisted of old kampong houses, with the smell of chicken and livestock (you know what I mean) permeating the early morning air. The area reminded me a lot of Ulu Langat. Amazingly, families (adults and kids) were out cheering us at that time of the morning. I made sure I returned their waves as I passed.

I wasn’t running in a large pack, only 4 runners within 10 meters of me, at most. That number will dwindle in the coming kilometres. An occasional cool breeze provided some comfort to the runners. I was moving well and was contented to keep the pace. There was no need to go faster nor slower then as I continued to monitor the race proceedings and my breathing.

It drizzled lightly on and off which also cooled things down but nothing of concern. I stuck to my plan of a gel every 6km. It was around the 20km point that I decided to ease up on the pace after realising that I was passing a lot of runners and there were clear signs that the race was turning out to be one of attrition. You’ve to be very well rested to race well this early, tough luck with the 1am start! Then there were a couple of surprisingly long climbs that came our way. They weren’t steep but they’ll get you eventually. It hasn’t been too shabby at all with a 1:46 Half.

The Marathon is a race that really needs to be run smart, tackled strategically and cannily or it will be one hell of a long slog. In Kuching, I just needed to let those ahead of me drop back. The caffeine in the gels did a great job at keeping me lucid, I can tell you that! I never felt too bored even when running solo for long stretches. I talked to myself constantly, reminding myself to do just enough (it’s never going to be a PR on this course), run comfortably as long as possible, get past the dreaded 32km mark, and hang on to the finish. “Strategic, strategic,” I kept muttering.

Other than the residents, the other bright spot was the fantastic crew - from water station teams to the cyclists patrolling and escorting solo runners along the long stretches of roads. They were a comforting presence and made me feel like I was leading the race!

Like I said, I’d been running mostly solo and the gap between me and the nearest runner in front was something like 300 meters away. But somewhere between 23 and 27km, I realised I was being stalked by another chap in the same category. I’d passed him a few kms back but he had obviously picked up the pace. I let him pass but didn’t allow him to venture too far ahead. Occasionally I’d draw nearer just to let him know I was still around. This play would go on for a couple of kms and when he dropped back for the last time, I made sure my move would be decisive.

The course took a turn for the wicked between the 29-35km with some quad-crushing climbs which reduced my pace down to a shuffle. I didn’t run through the next 2 drink stations, as I took a few seconds off getting the fluids in while squeezing the cold water off the sponges onto my head and legs. The refreshing light drizzle which was much welcome gradually developed into tropical rainstorm soon after. I was thankful to have

That wasn’t the last duel however, as another from the same category popped up and decided to have a go at the race.

It was then that I started wondering if I should pick things up a little. After all, I’d gotten this far into the race to lose out on a Top 10. I’d be pissed should the chap grab the final spot.

My goal was to run and finish comfortably and not get into the situation where I was going to be reduced to an extended walk like GCM22. Finish a marathon on a positive note and good feeling.

Epilogue - B-Roll (discovered unused clips!)