A Running on Old Legs Race Review Merrell King of Kampung Kemensah
EVENT. NAME: Merrell King of Kampung Kemensah. 30km Trail Run.
VENUE: Kemensah
DATE: 07 May 2017 Time: 06:40 [06:40]
Headline Event Owners: Team PaCat
Event Organising Company: Team PaCat
Race Director: Arman Arshad
Timing company:
Registration company: TransPay Solutions
PLEASE NOTE: This review is based on my personal observations and experience of the event and is intended to be helpful to other runners for their future event selection and also to aid the organisers by giving a honest and unbiased opinion of both the good and the not so good elements as I found them. Where, on the rare occasion I have used information other than my own it will be clearly stated as such and will have been from a trusted source and corroborated by others.
THE EVENT
EVENT SCORE CARD SUMMARY
PRE-RACE.
Entry and information:
Initial event information and updates: From the very outset, the Facebook and web-site information was explicit and up dates were constant, informative and relevant. The registration was also informative and straight forward. A new ‘sign up for updates’ option was also available. 10/10.
Contact: Very responsive. The only problem I came across was only a communication problem with an enforced change of race-kit pickup. [Every effort was made by @Team PaCat to ensure that no one was inconvenienced but the initial change of venue notice did not mention the alternative arrangements that had been made available] 10/10.
Catagories: As a veteran runner of many years I was very disappointed that there was only the open male and female categories available. The RD advised me that this was due to the low number of entrants. This could only have been an historical assumption as I asked on the first registration day [after I had entered as I personally have little worry about winning anything]. Please do not get me wrong I am not advocating taking anything away from anyone but it seemed to me that there were as many veterans in the field as there were women. The cost of a few trinkets to create the additional categories would not impact on the overall costs by very much at all, but, it would have given a great boost to us older runners. 1/10.
Value of entry: At RM 160 [+ RM 10 postage] this was a really good value for money event.19/20.
Race registration and kit collection: Collection point, ease of collection: Postal facilities were available, but, in addition there were two days of central KL collection and e
arly morning day of the event for those who were unable to get to KL. As always I took the postal option so I cannot comment on the KL collection, however, if it was as smooth as the race morning was there was nothing to complain about. 20/20.
60/70
Race site Facilities:
Venue, space and amenities: Space at the event start/finish venue is a little restricted but so much so that it caused any problems. There is a very lightly used road on which to warm up and food and water was available pre-race. 8/10.
Toilets facilities: There were ample clan and tidy porta potties available along with the one, not quite so good, onsite shared toilet. The lack of any signage pointing out where the porta-potties were situated caused unnecessary queues at the onsite loo. 8/10.
Start area: Staffing and information was excellent. 10/10.
Parking and transport: Plenty of parking was available along the roadside but the late comers, or like me those being collected, had a long walk. Further parking was arranged at the Zoo Negara but that was even further from the start/finish and with a charge. No parking was allowed on the course section of the road. 7/10.
33/40 93/110
Care of Competitors:
Starting time, race & safety briefing and control: The pre-race briefing covered all the main safety points and warnings of possible course problems following the heavy rains of the past few days. The race started exactly on time in a well-managed manner. 9/10.
Medical facilities. Start/finish and on course: There was an ambulance at the start and there was evidence of first aid points at some of the aid stations. 16/20.
25/30 118/140
THE RACE.
Organisation:
Course management: As a postal recipient of kit I had no mandatory equipment kit check other than ensuring my headlamp was on at the start. The RD assured me that spot checks would be made and anyone not fulfilling the mandatory requirements would be disqualified. No emergency number was given out so the mandatory phone lost a lot of its impact. With one exception the course was brilliantly marked, I had no hesitation points on the trail at all. My one suggestion would be that at the fifty, thirty trail split the exit points for each distance should have bee marked as such and that the 27.5 km marker be done away with, as a thirty km participant it was very confusing. 24/30.
Enjoyment factor: Excellent – Very High - High – Med – Low subjective 17/20.
Marshaling: There were plenty of marshals out on the course but I am afraid that some were not really focused on what they were supposed to be doing. I was not offered any food at any of the aid stations, I did get to take an orange at one CP, it was given to me by another participant. At the fifty, thirty junction all the marshals were sat on the floor chatting. On the return, admittedly at a junction that would be hard to mistake in that direction, the marshal was laid out and fast asleep. 9/15.
Feed/Aid stations: The number of feed stations was excellent and there was plenty of water, if there was isotonic it was not obvious or offered. The indicated food was well hidden at the aid stations. 8/15.
61/80 179/220
POST RACE.
Finish line: The finish line was welcoming, easy to navigate and full of food and hydration. 9/10.
Resting and cool down areas: Good – Sufficient – Lacking. 8/10.
Finishing information: Placings were available as you crossed the finish line which is always good. I would suggest a top finishers post-board for others to view would be an improvement. The prize ceremony seemed a jolly affair [watched on Facebook as I needed to leave due to vacation time at my accommodation] 7/10.
24/30 200/250
AFTER EVENT
Results: Full category results were posted very swiftly but without age grouping. 13/20.
Post event communication: Good – Limited – None. The prize giving video was posted along with photographs and a couple of race reviews. 9/10.
21/30 Grand Total 221/280 giving an overall score for this event of 78.9%
COMMENTS: Another great event put on by a really dedicated team of guys, thank you yet again.
Would I return to this event: No – Unlikely – Possibly – Yes. Always the first event on my race list.
Happy Running
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
Photographs curtesy of: Kakironda, Delia Willis, Jimmy Yap, Azan Wahab, Duta Foto.
My personal race.
4:36:20 [30.0 Kms] 808 mtrs. ascent.
10th /121 Overall.
Overall a very satisfying run even though I was well over my target time of four-hours.
A steady mid-field start, slowly picking my way through to hit the trail head in the first twenty or so runners.
It was very quickly evident how slippery the trail ahead was going to be, and we were not disappointed. Several days of heavy rain, even though race day was dry and fine, had left its mark on the course. Rivers were running faster than any competitors, puddles resembled pools and small lakes and the climbs and descents had been converted into fair-ground slides. All of which added to the day’s fun.
Knee deep river crossings, through fast flowing waters either clambering over their rocky bottoms or sinking, ankle deep, into the sands. But, how refreshing for those tired legs, an ice bath massage therapy!
At one point, traversing a narrow strip of slippery trail that was exposed between two murky pools of brown water my foot slid off the side of 'terra not so firma'. It is quite disconcerting when you don't know if you are ever going to stop submerging. I did not stop sliding until my leg was in knee deep.
On the competitive side my out run could not have gone much better, if I counted the returning thirty km runners correctly I had made my way up to sixth place at the turn around. I was experimenting by running by feel using the course map and no timing on my watch.
At eighteen kms I felt the need to change my watch information back to time and pace. It was due to a sudden stomach cramp that doubled me up and forced a stop, I feared that I may not start again. At just a tad over 2:20, and, with all the worst climbs over and done with I was, at that point, looking good to hit target.
Thankfully the cramp eased enough for me to continue. However the stomach cramps didn’t just slow me down, they also gave way to the inevitable, toilet stops, three to be precise, deep in the forest, each stop allowing precious minutes to slip by. At the third stop the cramps relented, dissipating as quickly as they had developed, and I could again start moving forward with more purpose.
The last CP before home; where the course split into two trails, the fifty km runners making their way up to the major climb of their run while us thirty km competitors started our homeward stretch. That is unless the three marshals are sitting having a chat amongst themselves and some resting runners and when asked which way to go they direct you onto the wrong track, as of course they did with me. Thankfully it wasn’t too far before I could hear other runners calling to me from behind, they were fifty km runners, that knew I was running the thirty, and they very kindly sprinted the best they could to catch me and tell me to go back, I will never get over the camaraderie and sportsmanship of my fellow runners. Just what I needed an extra one-point-six kms! I duly thanked the marshals for their help and diligence in their duties.
It is hard to know I fared over the last five kms as many of those that I passed would have been back markers from the eighteen km event, but I do know that no one overtook me, well except for Arman Arief who was spurred to new heights by the fear of me beating him, after overtaking him with about a kilometre to go, his renewed effort left me eating his dust all the way to the line.
A couple of misfortunes, a couple of enforced pit-stops along with many great moments running with friends, old and new.
All in all a great day in the mountains.
Happy
Running on Old Legs.
