Race Review Powerman Asia Duathlon Championship Malaysia 2018 - Classic 10-60

EVENT. NAME: Powerman Malaysia Classic 10-60-10.

VENUE: Putrajaya, Malaysia.

DATE: 04 March 2018 Time: 07:00 [07:04]

Headline Event Owners: Powerman. Information requested 22 Nov 2018 on their web-site, unanswered.

Event Organising Company: C Plus

Race Director: ?

Timing company: ?

Registration company: Direct via EPlusGlobal.

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: The Powerman web-site had a very detailed schedule of the event with a link to the very straight forward registration site 3/3 the informative Powerman page is complimented by a dedicated event Facebook page 3/3 Updates were regular and relative 4/4 total 10/10.

Contact: Via Facebook discussions, E-mail via their Web-site 3/4 However their usage was non-existent, I asked for organisational information and a question about the prize-giving by e-mail, both went unanswered. A question on their Facebook discussion page had the same result 0/6 total 3/10.

Catagories: Male and female 2/2 open and vet 3/3 and 5 year age groups. All with equal prize money up to 55 then no prize money for the older winners. Having gone that far why not continue to whatever age the oldest person to enter is, a proviso that limits the number of trophies according to the number in each age group could be added. After all if by some complete fluke a 27 year old happened to be one of five to enter in his age group, he could in theory finish overall fifth from last and still collect a trophy and RM1500. My view is it would cost the organisers a tiny amount and if a centurion turned up and completed then they would deserve to have a memento of their achievement and the cash. 4/5 total 9/10.

Value of entry: At RM387.96 early bird it is a very expensive event, but, for me it is worth the cost to compete. total 11/20.

Race registration and kit collection: Collection point, ease of collection: A postal service was not required as all competitors needed to be at the venue the day prior to deposit their bike. The pick-up point, organisation and efficiency were all first rate.

total 20/20.

Section total 53/70

Race site Facilities:

Venue, space and amenities: Venue 5/5. Space 3/3. Pre race water 2/2 total 10/10.

Toilets facilities: Number 4/5. Condition 4/4. Lighting 0/1 total 9/10.

Start area: Staffing 5/5. Information 3/5. total 8/10.

Parking and transport: Space 5/5. Alternatives were ample but there were no signs to indicate additional parking areas 3/4. Free 1/1 total 9/10.

Section total 36/40 Running total 89 /110

Care of Competitors:

Starting time, race & safety briefing and control:

Briefing was by way of a video at the expo, which was watched by a very small number from what I saw 1/4. Chute control was the free for all that we have come to expect 0/2. Start time 2/4 total 3/10.

Medical facilities. Start/finish and on course: Start and finish were well catered for 6/6. Ambulance 5. Mobile 5. Aid stations were either not catered for or they were not evident 0/4. total 16/20.

Section total 19/30 Running total 108/140

THE RACE.

Organisation:

Course management:

Traffic control and Course Safety was of a very high standard, my only concern was that there were instances on the bike course where the police stopped competitors to alow for traffic flow. 23/25. Space on the course was good for the vast majority 4/5. Signage was excellent on the run but hidden on the bike course 7/10. total 34/40.

Course design and enjoyment factor: Excellent – Very High - High – Med – Low (subjective) total 16/20.

Marshaling: [Quantity 5/5] [Quality 7/7] [Friendly 3/3] Cannot give them enough praise total 15/15.

Feed stations:

Run course [as advised 5/5] [Number 5/5] [Staffing # & quality 3/4] [Stocking 5/6] total 18/20.

Bike course [as advised 5/5] [Number 3/5] [Staffing # & quality 3/4] [Stocking 3/6] total 14/20.

Total average 16/20

Section total 81/95 Running total 189/235

POST RACE.

Finish line: [Control 2/2] [Ease of medal/shirt collection 1/3] [choice of food and hydration 3/5] The lack of signage or information after the finish line was woeful. total 6/10.

Resting and cool down areas: Good – Sufficient – Lacking. Subjective total 6/10.

Finishing information: No placings were posted. You could obtain your own placing, if you knew where to go as there was nothing to let you know 0/2. The race commentary was first class, informative, interesting and at times humorous but event announcements weren’t forthcoming 1/2. The prize ceremony was a complete disaster, advised to take place at 10:30 for all categories, which was a joke, I tried to point out to them that some of us older podium finishers would still be out on the course at that time. As it turned out the prize giving started at twelve something and seemed to go on forever as there were so many categories to get through. I felt sorry for the guys who finished an hour or more before me and had to wait around in the blazing sun. It would have made so much sense to have presented the Elite prizes at a specified time and then called in each age group as their respective results were available. 0/6 total 1/10.

Section total 13/30 Running total 202/265

AFTER EVENT

Course clearing: 5/5

Results: Very timely 24hrs 6/6. Full results 8/8. Age Grouped 6/6 total 20/20.

Post event communication: Good – Limited – None. Organisers photo 2/2. Event write ups 2/4 Participants stories 2/2. Future events 1/2 total 7/10.

Section total 32/35 Grand total 234/300 giving an overall score for this event of 78.0%

COMMENTS: A very well organised and enjoyable event that could so easily be improved with some TLC and consideration.

I really believe that the organisers have made some good changes, such as awarding trophies to podium finishers in all age groups rather than just up to 50+ as it was last year. However, their decision to not give prize money to the 55 and above groups is just penny pinching and is not justifiable. My personal view is: We are amateurs and as such there should be no prize money for the age group winners, the prize money saving should be used to reduce the entrance fees for all of us.

Would I return to this event: No – Unlikely – Possibly – Yes.

Besides the fact that the racing is so good the pleasure I get from meeting up with friends NEW and OLD cannot be underestimated.

It is so important to be involved in an event that brings the next generation of champions into our sport, enabling the youngsters to race alongside their compatriots and foreigners of all ages and abilities.

Happy Running and Cycling

When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

Photographs curtesy of: M.ghazali M.Shariff, Barkley Wong, Andrew C.H. Hsien, Nor Fara Ida Noordin, Murk Caine, FizSaid photos, David Lau, AKU, Wong, Rany Tan.

My personal race.

4:10:47 2nd. 65 - 69 Veteran 410th. of 1401 Overall.

My race was a tale of four parts.

Firstly, my race was more of a journey than an event, it was dedicated to Evie. Our last journey together. I carried her name and photo no my back and her memory in my heart. I can only imagine what those around me at precisely 9:30 must have thought when, at the top of my voice, I shouted come on Evie we can ride this last ride together! I will never forget her smiling face.

Supergirl Evelyn Ang Loo

I had set out my plan for an improvement over last year’s performance. On paper, well the computer, it looked so doable 52:30 for the first 10k leg, 1:59:00 for the 60k bike course and 55:00 for the final 10k leg. 10 mins for transitions, I know too slow, but. Target time 3:57:30.

Leg one: Just went perfectly to plan the 9.7km run in 51:27 and I felt good, the cracked rib didn’t bother me at all and the dreaded GI problems were under control.

Leg two: As expected, not being a cyclist of any note, I lost plenty of places on the bike leg. My first 30km loop took 57 mins so I was slightly up on time but my lack of cycling was beginning to tell. Heavy legs so loss of power in the second section saw me getting off the bike exactly on time in 1:50:12 and, although I didn’t know it at the time, in the lead in my age group. However, my slow transition dropped me to second place.

Leg three: This was where it all went wrong! The temperature had climbed into the low thirties and my legs felt like they belonged to someone else. Running on Old Legs, more like Tottering on Leaden Legs, legs over which I had little control. The first k took almost eight and a half minutes but at least by the end I was beginning to feel my legs again and take some control over them and my pace began to increase towards something acceptable until just around the three k mark I was moving well at around 5mpk. Then wham! A stomach cramp that stopped me dead in my tracks, it took about half a k to walk it off and several motivational talks to get me running, of a fashion. The second 5 km loop was an improvement on the first loop and I managed to run the whole loop with the exception of walking through the aid stations.

This 10 km run, at 1:09:27 was not just my slowest ever but the first time I have experienced some one inside my head actually trying to get me to give up. As badly as I ran this last leg I have a positive to bring home from it: I had the will power to keep going no matter the pain and discomfort.