JERAI Eco X Country Challenge 2008
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining 44.7km cross country running for the Jerai Eco X Challenge 2008 in Yan district, Kedah Darul Aman.A team of four with my great great friends:Panjang,Hanis and Nana S***U really did a good teamwork ever during the race.It was an epic adventure of staggering climbs,windy peak and long long way across the paddy field which is very close to 40 degrees Celsius.All in all,a great way to end the season 2008
First of all,I would like to thanks a lot to my dearest friend,Ezreen for giving us extra hand by drove us direct from Cyberjaya to Pantai Murni and brought us back safely..The Cooolness is you,bibeh!! We arrived late at the registration counter at 23:40 on Friday night and luckily the organiser still waited for our team registration.Big thanks to Siti and her committee.Right after the registration,we crashed the surau at kaki Gng.Jerai and overnight inside ther.Huahauha..a no budget hotel since MMU doesn't want to sponsor us!!!
On Race Day..
Runners jumping in place and filling the cold air with sharp exhales of steamy breath.I was looking for Abg Nas to introduce my other teammate just to let him know AAC MMU team in case of anything happened to us,then we got company to be with us.I recognized many faces in the crowd as I shed my layers and got ready to race.Tok Wan and other VAT69 team (bnyk kot VAT69 antar team) were also here,really buat kitaorg psycho before race start.What so ever,we still think positive and support each other to cross the finish line within 10 hours.At 8:00am,we were off!
The race start on the beach side and we soon a giant snake of runners winding acroos the coastal trails.The pace was fast and furious up front,with VAT69 team and other professional runners.Many of us ran a more comfortable pace,absorbing the sunlight and enjoying the views.The climb up "Tangga Kenari 1000 Tahun" quickly separated the trained from the untrained, leaving many to walk the steep stairs and some of them "pecah mental" already..The reward was easy hiking trails until the second check point at the peak.We had a refreshment at water station and took Protein Plus since everybody dah merungut kelaparan.The next challenge was easy but when it took so long way down using road,it slowly burnt our feet and mental.Demmm 13km all the way down...That was sux,man!
Next challenge was not because of the course,which consist of running on a paved road to the third check point and across about 5km paddy field.It's tough because of the weather really hot until reached 40 degrees Celsius.Nana nearly mental breakdown during these course because of the heat but my other team members gave her fully mental support while I was "towing" her like nomad.HukHik...after an hour...Alhamdulillah,we completed these course safely.I was damn worried if she or one of us collapsed because of the weather.
We had a refreshment with a short break for Protein Plus again and we got company.There was one men team companied with us to complete the race.We reached the last checked point together,less than 10k to the finished line.Nana just passed by the water station,da mental la tuh.I and Hanis took a quick break at the station for water and caught up to our teammates.The volunteers let us know that there were only 5km to the finished line.Everybody was excited to finish the race but sadly right after passed by the main road,there was a 8km distance sign.Nana da mental balik,aku pon da nak pecah mental gak dok tarik cewek ni sorang2.Nasib la ada si Arif,boleh diajak bual-bual sambil2 ngorat awek kampung.Hilang sket penat.I and Nana took a walk break to get our tunes rolling while Panjang and Hanis easy jog up front.Within a few minutes I and Nana was left alone, Arif and his teammate were far behind us while Panjang and Hanis far ahead.She started buat perangai lagi,these time she doesn't want to take Power Gel.Aku dah garu kepala,I was more worried if she will be attacked by leg cramps.
We meandered back to Pekan Yan Besar (kilometer 39), where volunteers guided us to follow the race marking.The last 3km was terrible!!!The terrain isn't that challenging-it was the heat that we faced as we went through the Paddy field again.I and Hanis had to slow down the pace at the last kilometer waiting for Panjang and Nana.We had to stick together on the last kilometer until we glided down into the finish in 9:34:26 hours,good enough to complete the race within cut off time.Congrats to you guys!! "It's not as easy as you think" Personally,I really impressed with Nana.First time to join endurance racing,this was a big achievement to her by completed the race.A Big thanks to Ezreen:for being our driver :P Panjang:for letting his car jadi kuda kami Hanis:for your effort to turun padang from Melaka and Nana:DARE to take the challenge by accept the offer to replace one of our teammate.We highly appreciate it and you did captured the splendor!!! To AAC:Thanks for light up our spirits and the last but not least,MMU:Thanks for the branding,we proud of it!!
