27th November 2018

I woke up to the sound of the thunder. The clock dimly showed “6.10am”.

Loki barged in to my room and gave a sloppy kiss on my lips. My legs and arms were feeling slightly sore as I stretched to another comfortable position, also trying to move away from Loki’s sloppy kisses. The rain was beating down so heavily, that the noise outside the roof caught me awake for a little while before I dozed off. Not less than 10 minutes later, another sound of lightning greeted my ears. This time, it jolted me awake in my bed. The familiar sounds of the rain and lightning reminded me of something. It’s a bit weird for something like that to happen to me, but for sure, nothing like this is as normal for someone who joined the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM). Because the first thing that came to my mind was the night I ran a marathon in a thunderstorm. 

* * *

Race Day

It was my 2nd attempt at a full marathon, and I wanted to complete this last leg of my running hobby at this iconic Penang Bridge before moving on to triathlon training. 

I couldn’t sleep much the night before the run. Despite a satisfying carbo load few hours before, the freezing aircond and bed-sharing with 2 more of my roomates on a King size bed is not something my body and mind was familiar with. Waking up 11.45am was also slightly too early for me, even when the flag off time was 1.30am. Even so, my roommates were all up and ready to head for war, while I was trying to convince my brain that I wasn’t sleepy. 

Few minutes before the flag off, I inch my way through the crowd to the front of the starting line (it was also my first time being so up closed to the starting line), passing through grandpa’s and grandma’s that looked like they have done this a million times and they can outbeat me anytime. This is it. My heart silently spoke to me. If this is your last, make it your personal best! My brain, on the other hand, was pretty logical. If you could make this your best, that Suunto Sparta Sport Watch will be yours! Sounds pretty convincing and rewarding right? 

BANG! 

My legs started to leap forward, one step after another.

And so, the race begins! 

The 42km Journey

At KM1- KM3, my heart and brain was still stuck with the “BEAT YOUR PERSONAL BEST” mindset. I was pacing myself with the 5:30 pacers. Yixuan on the other hand, disappeared through the crowd in front. My mind didn’t stay at the personal best mindset for long because at KM4, my heart was already cursing. WHERE ON EARTH IS THE WATER STATION?! My body knew this situation very well, as it clearly reminded it of Newton Challenge 2017. I also foresaw this to happen after hearing so many rumours about the water shortage from my friends who had joined PBIM before. Luckily enough, my body was trained during the last few weeks to not “die” when there’s no water. The air was still and slightly humid, and I was secretly hoping that it could rain. Nevertheless, I was still able to keep pace with the 5:30 pacers. 

At KM5, when I was almost at the brim of dehydration, the water station appeared! And it was really chaotic. 5k of dehydrated runners charged right at the water station, grabbing anything in sight to quench their thirst. Some even grabbing the whole bottle of 1.5 litre of water and run. Now I know why and how this water shortage problem exists every year. 

Between KM6-KM16, I tried to keep myself entertained by reciting the multiplication timetable while trying to stop myself from asking : WHERE THE HELL IS THE BLOODY BRIDGE?! I PAID TO RUN ON A BRIDGE, NOT A FREAKING HIGHWAY! But it only helped me until the fifth multiplication. I tried to think about my other aspects of life, like work, relationship, etc. but it seems like my life is all sorted out and had nothing much to think about. Lol. I had no idea how am I going to keep myself entertained till the end of the race, but I was literally screaming (in my heart) : NEVER AGAIN. NO MORE MARATHONS! 

Only at KM17.5, I finally stepped foot on the iconic Penang Bridge! It felt really magical and unbelievable. Some runners even purposely stopped to take a quick snapshot of the bridge, but me on the other hand, kept moving. I was really far behind from the 5:30 pacers, but I tried not to let the 6:00 pacers catch up to me. At this point, my foot was starting to slightly hurt, but I tried to not pay too much attention to it. I could hear a few thunders not far away, and the cloud seems much darker than the night sky. Somehow, I kinda regretted not making my wish cleared enough; because the rain looks like it was never going to stop. Sky, when I said I wanted it to rain, I meant to rain for a while, not all night!! 

At KM21, it really rained. Damn. This law of attraction theory actually works. But a few minutes later, the sky started pouring like it had lost control of its cloud bladder. The chilling rain made me more awake than ever, but the wind and the lightning made me slightly worried about my safety. Many runners started moving towards the Bridge divider, trying to shelter themselves from the rain and wind as much as possible. The rain only got heavier and heavier even until KM35, and it started to hurt like a motherfucker as if there was someone throwing rocks at you. It was so freaking cold that my nose started running as well. I had to run slightly faster to keep my body warmed up. One good thing about the rain though, that it didn’t made me feel dehydrated. In actual fact, I was too hydrated that I actually have to pee. I was thinking to pee while I ran, but my bladder system wouldn’t let and Mother Nature refuses me to do so as the rain started to slow down into a drizzle. Damn. Why do you always have to eavesdrop Mother Nature?! 

The rain and lightning never stopped until KM37, but most of the runners just kept moving. For runners at my pace, we were roughly running around 3hours in the thunderstorm. It felt like swimming, just that we were actually running, so I called it : Land Swim.

At KM37, I promised my legs that I would allowed it to walk after reaching this milestone, but I was really working hard to lose track of the 6:00 pacers. So I made another promise to my legs that I will reward it with a good massage after the run. It was still slightly drizzling, but the damage has been done as I was already all soaked in rain water. My iPhone 5C can finally rest in peace because it's far beyond savable looking at how soaking wet it is.

At KM40, the 6:00 pacers caught up to me. Fuck. Somehow, I regretted going to the loo earlier. Dammit. I should have just peed while I run! I could see buildings from afar but wasn't sure if it was the finishing point. Is that Queensbay Mall?! Why the flying fark it’s so farking far?! 

At KM41, fuckity fuck fark farrrrrrrrrrrrrrkkkk! If you have heard of Aerosmith singing in high pitch, just imagine my foot was actually screaming in that same tone, just that it was done so in silence. My legs were fine, but my foot wasn't.

When I finally reached the finishing line, I was slightly disappointed that I missed my personal best by 1.52 minutes. I just wanted to take in the disappointment into my heart and mind, but the tiredness was more overwhelming than my disappointment. 

But what matters the most, is that I completed my 2nd full marathon injury free!

The full marathon squad with our finisher medals!

The medal can glow in the dark! Pretty cool! Ok lah, the additional RM10 for this is worth it.

* * *

Overview 

Overall, it was a very different experience completing this final leg of my marathon. Comparing to my first marathon, this experience was more memorable to me because :

1. There was a mixture of fear and worry during the run (due to lightning and hypothermia)

2. I was completing the race all by my own

3. First time in all my running experience, that I actually used a loo in a middle of the run

4. Completing the top 3 running events in Malaysia (SCMKL, PBIM, and KIM)

5. It was much harder to train prior to my 2nd attempt of full marathon

6. 2 weeks before the run, my favourite running shoe got stolen/missing which further demotivates me 

Looking back, I think my mind and body really deserve my salute and respect for braving through the sweat, rain, thunder/lightning, cold, demotivated feelings, and lost. Really salute and respect to all the runners out there who braved through the bad weather to complete the full marathon! And to the person who stole my running shoes, FUCK YOU. 

However, particularly for the PBIM experience, it’s a running event that is a must-try for all runners, but it’s not something that I would return to year after year. It’s an average budgeted event, not many water stations, and even their checkpoint wristband turns out to be a hairband. I mean, what am I supposed to do with the hairband after that, tie my hair? 

Below are my scores and verdicts on my whole experience : 

Price : ★★★★☆ 

RM100 for a full marathon experience on the iconic Penang Bridge is pretty much at the market rate. RM10 more expensive than SCMKL, but with the additional RM10 paid, I wish they could at least do better with their water stations. 

Race Pack Collection : ★★★★★ 

Unfortunately, I didn’t collect the race kit myself this time. So I trust that the process was good, if it wasn’t, my friends would have complained. Also, good because they have numerous RPEC dates to ease crowding and last minute collection. 

Set Up, Event & Program Flow : ★★★☆☆ 

Flagged off started on time, but this time no fireworks or confetti popping compared to previous years (that’s why I said, it’s so budgeted until that extend lol). However, at one point where it started raining heavily and there was lightning, there was no precaution given and no announcements were made to cancel the event. I was questioning myself how would the organizers deal with the situation if someone dies from lightning strike. It would be pretty bad. 

Additionally, finisher recovery collection booth was pretty bad. I was exhausted and my feet was pretty much in pain, but the collection was slow and we had to queue for at least 10-15 minutes to collect the finisher medal and goodie bag! The queue started out with 10 lanes, which ended up squeezing into 4 lanes, plus the marshal had to direct which lane goes first. I almost wanted to rage, and I knew there were a lot of impatient and exhausted runners feeling the same way as me because they were all getting pushy. 

Parking : ★☆☆☆☆ 

I think parking would have been extremely difficult that time round because all roads leading to Queensbay Mall are off limits. It’s either you come earlier or you walk farther, which is at least 5km away from the starting point. Plus, there is no shuttle bus to the starting line (previous years they have it). 

Running Route Difficulty : ★☆☆☆☆ 

Easy. Not much steep inclination. Out of 100%, there was only about 5% of incline which is the tip of the Penang Bridge. Even so, it wasn’t that difficult to run. 

Water & Carbo Stations : ★★★☆☆ 

They should really do much better in the water station. If it wasn’t for the rain, I think the dehydration would be much worse. They should put at least a few more stations during the beginning route (recommended for 1 water station for every 3km), so that the runner bodies won’t go into shock and caused a commotion in the first water station (which is at the 5km). I really pity the volunteers who were at the first water station, as all the thirsty runners were snatching and grabbing on to waters as if they were about to die. Plus, usually there would be a long stretch of table for runners to go to, but there were only 2 short tables, and everyone was cramming into the table for water. Carb station was good and abundant. Bananas and gels was also served. 

First Aiders : ★★★★★ 

Good! Almost every station has medics, and they even provide ice packs to all runners! ABUNDANT of ice packs (which is extremely rare and difficult to keep)!! 

Route Marshals & Volunteers : ★★★★☆ 

For them to be able to work under the rain and to serve the runners, I think that’s good enough for me. I saw one volunteer even giving out extra raincoats to the runners. Although not much excitement and encouragement like those cheerleading squads, they had done a pretty decent job on the road. 

Overall Rating : 3.25 / 5