Dataran Merdeka turned into a sea of blue last Sunday morning, with 40,000 runners participating in the 11th edition of the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM) and a record 13,000 runners taking part in the Full Marathon category too.

This had been the second day of the event’s new two-day format, with the first day having featured the Kids Dash category, as well as the 5km race and the Friendship Run.

The premiere running event in Malaysia, the KLSCM has grown year-on-year, to become the most anticipated distance running event in the country, where, for the first time this year, public registrations had to be balloted.

Took part in the Full Marathon

I had been among the 13,000 marathoners, and with the Full Marathon flagging off at the early hour of 3:45am, I was up at 1:30am for my pre-race rituals before then heading down to Dataran Merdeka, reaching the site at about 3:15am.

And it had felt extremely crowded there, especially with everyone heading in the same direction – that is, towards the start pen.

Finding my friends 

After much searching, I eventually managed to find my friends, Ethan and Jerry before the race, and we took a quick selfie before making our way into the pen together. 

Flagging Off

We were a bit late for the official flag-off, but with the throngs of runners who were still heading to the start area, we simply joined the crowd and we started running the moment we crossed the start line.

Running at a comfortable pace

Ethan, Jerry and I were pacing together for about the first 8km of the race, going at a comfortable pace of just over 7mins/km.

The first hour or so of running took us on a tour of KL City, and even though this segment was relatively flat, the air felt particularly warm and humid and I found that I was losing a lot of body fluid from sweating. 

So it was good that there had been ample water stations, located approximately every 2km apart, and well-stocked with ice-cold water or 100PLUS or both.

Unfortunately all the drink stations were rather crowded and I found that I had to stop and find my way past all the sweaty bodies, in order to grab a cup of drink each time.

As we ran, the three of us chatted, in order to take our mind off the running. 

It was still in the early stages of the race, so our legs were pretty fresh and we were feeling good at this point.

I lost my two friends amongst the large crowd at one of the drink stations somewhere around the 7km to 8km mark. From then on, I had to motivate myself to continue the rest of my journey alone. I have to say that it definitely helps with the boredom, whenever I am running with friends.

Dark paths and a hit-and-run accident

The race route became more boring upon leaving the KL City area and entering the highways and the only sounds that could be heard for miles, were the pounding feet and heavy breathing of thousands of runners.

There were several very dark paths along this segment of the marathon route too, that were not well-lit so I found that I had to watch where I was running, for fear of tripping or losing my footing on the uneven roads.

Furthermore, instead of these roads being completely closed, there were only lane closures instead, with the lanes reserved for runners being cordoned off by orange cones. 

As a result, cars and motorbikes would zip past runners at high speeds on the adjacent lane. It felt dangerous there.

Somewhere around the 18km mark, I ran past a couple of runners lying on the ground. There were already several other people waiting there and tending to them, so I didn’t feel the need to stop and offer my assistance too. 

I later found out that these runners had been involved in a hit-and-run accident, where a car had plowed through the event’s safety barriers and knocked down the three runners, leaving one with serious injuries and the other two with minor injuries. 

The incident had happened at the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road heading towards Gombak at about 5:30am. And it is also not the first time that such an accident has happened at a running event in Malaysia.

Perhaps in the future, entire roads should be closed, rather than doing lane closures, in order to further minimise the chances of such accidents occurring, as there are always bound to be irresponsible drivers out there, who have no respect or regard for the road closures.

Kilometre signages

As I was running, I noted that the kilometre markings stationed at each kilometre were accurate enough, with the differences between the official distance markings and my GPS watch averaging about 200m apart. This is within my acceptable range.

Also, at the route cut-off points, these signages were much bigger compared to the rest, and with neon lights indicating the time of day. I thought this was a good reminder to alert runners who are near the cut-off timings – to speed up and increase their pace.

Gels, bananas and shower points

Besides the provision of drinks, there were also gels, bananas and wet sponges given out to runners along the course. I had brought my own gels anyway, but it was good to know that the gels being provided were the same brand as the ones I use, just in case I had needed extra ones.

As well, I spotted two shower points and a mist tunnel to keep runners cool. When running in Malaysia’s tropical and humid weather, bringing the body temperature down, is so important and I was really grateful to these.

The marshals were attentive

Marshals were also on hand along the route to direct runners and point them in the correct direction. 

This was crucial when it came to the split-point for the half and the full marathon somewhere around 28-30km, because even though there had been large signages present, there are always runners that are bound to miss seeing these, especially with the routes full with runners from both categories at this point.

Infamous Bukit Tunku Slopes

The final 10km of the race took runners through the infamous rolling hills of Bukit Tunku.

Having run this event too last year, I thought I was prepared this round and knew what to expect, but facing these hills, head-on, was still not easy, and they really tested my legs, especially after more than 32km of continuous running. 

Together with the tropical heat, this made the marathon, which is already a difficult distance to attempt on two legs, even more challenging than ever. I was tempted to walk up the hills but I didn’t want to lose my momentum. 

But I have to thank the regular hill training sessions with Coached at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, for helping me to pace myself appropriately at these hills, without my heart rate shooting through the roof whilst doing so. I was also glad that I had started the marathon at a slow and conservative pace.

Last year, this was the area where I had hit the wall and come unstuck during the KLSCM, so I am happy that it did not happen again this year. 

While my legs were beginning to get quite tight and stiff as I slowly jogged up each hill, at least my planned gel and salt tablet strategy was working, so I did not actually cramp during the run this time around.

I was also grateful to some of the residents at Bukit Tunku, who had come out of their houses to provide runners with cold drinks, which had included isotonic beverages and flat Coke, as well as foods such as sweets and fruits. It was kind of them to do so.

The race volunteers also did a great job to push the runners forward during these hilly segments, constantly encouraging us and motivating us to keep on moving.

Nonetheless, I was really glad though, to finally see the end of the never-ending hills after what had felt like forever.

Last few kilometres 

Exiting the Bukit Tunku hills, the final 3km or so of the marathon route, was where the full marathoners merged again with the half marathon runners.

Due to this, I found myself weaving in and out of walkers from the half marathon category, which was quite annoying, especially with my exhausted legs feeling as though they could give way anytime. And I didn’t feel like clocking any more extra mileage than was necessary with the weaving.

Finishing the race

In the final few hundred metres of the race as we were nearing Dataran Merdeka, throngs of people were out to cheer us on. 

These consisted of volunteers as well as runners who had already completed their race, and it was very motivating.

And these crowds, which had been absent throughout the rest of the race, had helped to spur me on to pick up the pace slightly and completed the KLSCM 2019, in an official timing of 5 hours 06 minutes 16 seconds. I was pretty happy with how I had executed the race.

My finisher entitlements had comprised of my hard-earned finisher medal and finisher tee, as well as a bottle of water, can of 100PLUS and  some fruits. These were an apple, a pear and a banana.

Crowded end point

Upon my completion of the race, Dataran Merdeka was extremely crowded, with the bulk of finishers from the full marathon, half marathon and 10km events all having completed their runs at roughly the same time.

As a result, it was very hard to find my way around the end point, and the searing heat, which had come out in full force by this time, did not help either.

So I just wanted to find somewhere cool and shady where I could rest, and I ended up seeking solace inside the media tent, where I rested my sore legs whilst munching on a chocolate pastry.

Perhaps the start and finish times for the various categories could be staggered for future editions of the events – so that the Dataran Merdeka field does not become so congested at the end of the race.

Cheering on the final finishers 

Towards the end of the event, the KLSCM running community gathered at the Finish Line to cheer on and provide moral support to the last runners to finish within the cut-off time of 7 hours 15 minutes. 

These runners had given their all to finish the race and were given a rousing end replete with confetti blasts to coax them home within the required timing.

Organisers and sponsors are happy with the race

And the organisers are happy that this year’s race had been able to take place – because of the threat of the haze which had been looming over Malaysia for the past month.

Said Rainer Biemans, Project Director of KLSCM and Director of Dirigo Events, the owner and organiser of the race, “The 11th edition of KLSCM has proven to be an exciting two days of action and competitions. People who have spoken to me have been very happy, saying that the event was well-organised. But then again, this feedback comes from people who know me.”

He also said, “It is a miracle that the race even took place, because I was having so much headache over the past few weeks because of the haze.”

This is because the haze had been hitting unhealthy levels in Malaysia throughout the month of September and causing plenty of concern amongst registered runners.

But it had cleared up in time, the week before the race.

The haze comes from the smog produced by forest fires in Indonesia, and is blown in by unfavourable winds.

Explained Biemans, “Whatever call we make regarding the haze, there would be 40,000 different opinions on the issue, and a group of people that would not be happy with whatever you do. You can never please everyone, but 98% of runners collected their race packs which was a good sign. I have yet to find out how many runners had started the race, though.”

He also added, “At the end of the day, though, it is important to be health-conscious but do not go out and force yourself to run a marathon that you are not prepared for.”

KLSCM once again saw the Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia returning as title sponsors, along with a host of returning and new sponsors including Seiko, Under Armour, 100 Plus, Jaybird, TudungPeople, Banana Boat and Pacific Regency.

Said Anwar A. Abrar, MD and CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia, who is delighted with the turnout at the event, “Being title sponsors for the past 11 years, we are delighted that we’ve once again managed to successfully pull this event off, with our biggest numbers to date.”

He also continued, “From pioneering the concept of being the first running event to run through iconic landmarks in Kuala Lumpur, KLSCM has never stood still and has set the benchmark and gold standard for running events in Malaysia.”

Review: KLSCM Friendship Run