I was in Kuala Lumpur (KL) for the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 21.1km race over the weekend. So I decided to pay another visit to the Taman Pudu Ulu parkrun.

The previous time that I had visited the Taman Pudu Ulu parkrun was on Leap Day, 29 February 2020, just before the whole world shut down due to what is now known as the Covid-19 pandemic.  

A free, fun and friendly 5km event 

Taking place every Saturday morning at 7:30am, the Taman Pudu Ulu parkrun is a free, fun and friendly weekly 5km timed running event that welcomes runners, joggers and walkers of all abilities.

Always love an overseas parkrun 

I am a regular parkrunner in Singapore, where I live, so I can never say no to the opportunity to do an overseas parkrun.

One thing that I always love about parkrun is the global community, that is how welcoming and friendly everyone is, and how the event enables us to make friends from all corners of the globe, bonded by our passion for sports. 

Go slow as KL is hot and humid

Arriving at the Taman Pudu Ulu park at about 7:10am, we were in good time to make it to the start.

Weather wise, Kuala Lumpur is always hot and humid. So if you are not used to the heat, then I strongly recommend you to slow down and run at a comfortable pace. Do not push it as the humid weather will sap you and tire you out quickly.

On Saturday, we were blessed with an overcast sky so this helped to dissipate some of the heat. But still… please don’t underestimate the tropical weather in this part of the world. 

A small park but central location 

It is quite a small park, so Taman Pudu Ulu is a multi-lap course.

Fortunately the location is quite convenient, just outside the KL city centre. It is about 4km by Grab (Malaysia’s version of a taxi-hailing app) from the Bukit Bintang area where we were based. 

KL has another parkrun at Putrajaya, but this is quite a bit of a drive from central KL. 

The start point of the parkrun is quite easy to spot: Just look out for the large white canopy and you will find it.

The first-timers run briefing was given at about 7:20am, followed by the flag off at around 7:30am. 

There were one or two familiar faces at the parkrun: it was nice catching up with parkrunners whom I had previously met! At the same time, there were lots of new friends to make.

The three-lap route 

Our route this week was their usual route, consisting of two large laps and one smaller lap of the park. 

I ran the parkrun at just under 5 mins per km pace, aiming to use this as a chance to practise my half marathon race pace and see how I felt at the end of the 5km run.

Though I have run at this event before, the route was still quite confusing especially on the first lap. I guess it has been way too long since my previous visit. 

Signages and marshals were good

There were lots of signs indicating the direction of the course throughout the entire 5km, so as long as you pay attention to the signs, you will not get lost.  

As well, kudos to the marshals along the route for being attentive in directing the parkrunners and making sure that none of us got lost along the way. 

The terrain 

It is a fully on pavement course with slight inclines but nothing too challenging. The terrain is easy to run on and you do not need to worry about mud at any point, even when it rains.  

Finishing

I finished the parkrun in 24 mins and 39 seconds.

It is not an overall personal best, but it is my personal best for the Taman Pudu Ulu course. So I’ll take it. 

The parkrun coffee

For the parkrun coffee, it was at a local coffee shop just across the street from the park called Restoran Nikhman Bistro. 

There were a few of such coffee shops within the area, so we actually got a bit lost trying to find the correct one.

Photo: Taman Pudu Ulu parkrun

But it was a nice place, complete with cute robot servers to send the food to our tables. 

The roti canai was good – I strongly recommend trying this and washing it down with their teh tarik if you’re visiting KL. It is a great Malaysian way to end your parkrun morning.