QUOTES

"If you run into a wall, climb it, go through it or work around it"
Michael Jordan

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm"
Winston Churchill

"Life is full of surprises. Just remember that the glass is always half full and not half empty"

Friday 4 July 2014

A Journey to My First Ultramarathon (84 km) Part 1

Penang 100.

The first thing you have to do before you run an ultramarathon is to register for one. So I took the first step, i.e. I registered for 84 km of Penang 100 which will be held on 6 September 2014. The saying goes....."A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step".

Helping out with the launch of the event by the Chief Minister of Penang, YB Mr Lim Guan Eng

There is actually a 50 km and also 100 km. So why did I choose 84 km? Since I have done 4 full marathons, trying to complete a 50 km will not be too big a challenge. But what about 100 km since it sounds like a bigger challenge? The difference between 84 km and 100 km route is Penang Hill. The route for 84 km and 100 km is similar in most aspect except you have to hike up and down Penang Hill. I have hike up and down Penang Hill a few times and certain stretches are extremely steep. I would not want to run more than 60 km and then having to hike up and down Penang Hill which is about 10 km. The downhill will be most risky on tired legs. We are given a 15 hours cut-off time to complete the 84 km and 18 hours for 100 km.

After running the Penang Run 2013-2014 1st Series then it struck me that I have to really focus and prepare for this race. I started counting......oh...I have only 14 weeks which is much shorter than I expected. Time to press the panic button ! Because I have not started to gather information about how to prepare for my ultramarathon.

To be continued....