|
Adidas
/ FTAAA / Pacesetter 4×3km Road Relay 2005. (Event date:
19/6/05)
In
the last Penang Round the House Road Relay 2005, we
came, we saw, we conquered. For this Adidas / FTAAA /
Pacesetters 4×3km event, we not only conquered but also
set records! Since the Senior Veteran Category is a new
event, our first placing means our time is deemed a
record until another faster team comes along. KLAVA also
have the distinction to grab both first & second placing
in this Senior Veteran Category! That’s another record
to cherish!
I’m
pleased to think that one of this two so called records
will not be easily broken unless another club can occupy
all the three podium positions i.e. 1, 2 & 3. Come to
think of it, KLAVA could have done it this time. It
would have been possible if our Thanes & K.F.Yong are
still competing & at their best. They, together with
Y.S.Liong & Ramanaidu if there are also at their
previous best may have snatched 3rd placing.
It would be Klava’s dream teams. We hope to be the ones
to beat (the record) next year. To borrow Adidas motto
as printed in our sponsored running vests:-“IMPOSSIBLE
IS NOTHING”!
This
year our Men Junior Veteran A team was quite strong.
Even with the exclusion of Nanchappan who have to run
for his sponsored team Adidas, we felt that we can
perform better this year although first & second placing
is out of the question. Team Adidas comprising 4 of the
best veteran roadrunners in Malaysia is in a class of
its own. The only other team able to compete with them
is one having much younger runners like those in
Pacesetters racing teams. This event’s unconventional
age grouping of 35 to 50 years means that Pacesetter can
field younger runners below 40 years. As for KLAVA, one
has to be 40 years to be eligible for membership. Most
of our junior veteran runners are already above 45 years
old. Hence, KLAVA junior veteran teams are competing at
a disadvantage. It is like a handicap in a non handicap
race. We could only fight for the 3rd to 5th
prizes.
Our A
team had quite a good start when our first runner came
back third. However the 2nd runner of the 4th
position team overtook us. We’re still in 4th
placing when our 3rd runner followed another
runner into a wrong route which leads to a dead end! Two
other runners also followed! Our runner lost several
minutes trying to find the correct route. By that time
it was too late. Even though, our 4th runner
overtook 2 runners, we could only manage 10th
placing. I feel so sorry for them. Our B team was also
unlucky to lose the 5th placing & could not
regain back the position in spite of our intense
cheering him to move forward nearing the finishing line.
The 2nd
start at 9.15am saw our Men Senior Veteran & Women
Veteran teams in action. After the earlier setback, our
deputy president Thaneswaran told me it’s time to show
our stuff- to make amends so to speak! With about a
hundred teams sprinting off & leaving the tracks
(stadium) for the road we could only see our men’s teams
in the middle pack. Some of the junior boys were
speeding so fast as if this was a 400m race. In less
than 10 mins. they were returning back when low &
behold, our men’s team were now in 1st & 2nd
placing among the front pack. There were a lot of
excitement & cheering. The 2nd runners of
both KLAVA teams maintain their respective position upon
returning. I found myself feeling the pressure even
though I was in the 2nd team (team D). What
if the current 3rd position team runner is
much faster than me? What is the chance of being
overtaken? The heat as a result of the late 2nd
start is a factor. Fortunately, yours truly managed to
complete without losing our position and still have a
wide gap to spare. There was no need for our ever
reliable Iyanar to do any hard work to follow home in 2nd
placing behind our first team (team C). So it was a one
two finishing for KLAVA.Thus, we have proven that our
winning the Pg.R.T.Hses.R.Relay,’05 is not just plain
luck.
As
for the women veteran category our 1st team
(team F) first runner returned in 7th
position. Our 2nd runner, Agatha overtook 1
runner for 6th position. Our 3rd
runner maintained this position. Finally our 4th
runner, Tengku Maziah overtook another runner to finish
fifth for prize contention.
Our
men junior veteran seems to be short on luck ever since
the Pg.R.T.H.R.R.’05. where we could have won if our top
runner, Nanchappan have not withdrawn at the last minute
due to family reasons (as told) & had to be substituted
by an off-form (injured) reserve. In the previous 4
years history of these 4×3 events, there was no known
case of runner losing his way! Hence, we did not expect
the unexpected. But this time it happened to a few
runners including our A team 3rd runner who
was unfamiliar with Bukit Jalil, as this was his first
time representing KLAVA in this event. Prior to the
start, he also could not find his way to this Komplek
MSN,Bkt Jalil! He has to wait for his friend to shoe him
the direction. If not for the delay his team leader
would have let him run the 2nd leg. Then the
scenario may be different.
Our
men junior veteran B team 6th placing was an
improvement to last year’s 8th placing but no
medal were awarded after 5th placing unlike
last year. Overall it was still a respectable finish
considering the tough competition with 22 teams in this
category.
I’ve
previously mentioned that our strength is in team relay
with 8 or more runners per team. Now I stand to be
corrected! In this 4×3km event of 4 runners per team, we
have to split up our top 8 runners into 2 teams based on
time trial. Surprise, surprise with the split we grabbed
both first & second placing!
We
are grateful that the organizers paid heed to my
persuasion to add in a separate category for men 50
years & above. KLAVA & also the Pacesetters Club have a
lot of runners above 50 years. In fact, quite a lot of
KLAVA participants are senior citizens i.e. Sallehudin;
Lim Than Yen & Mookan. Some are pushing 60s i.e.
Ramanaido, Phillip & Iyanar. It takes an exceptional
athlete of this age to complete with someone more than
20 years his junior!
I’ve
been explaining this to Pacesetter former president, Mr.
Wan Yew Leong & also Adidas Running Head, Mr. K.Krishnan.
Even though the Entry Forms were printed very much
earlier, but it was a good thing they were flexible to
add in this category. Although less publicity was
generated due to the non-inclusion but a good respond of
10 teams proved I was right. I’m sure all the 40 runners
are happy to compete among their peers & not in a
category with tremendous age differences. That includes
the pacesetters teams who finished 3rd. These
4 runners may not have won anything if there was no
senior Veteran category. (Pls. also read Iyanar comment
in the Star Metro dated 23/6/05)
I
believe there will be even much better response next
year if the organizer award more prizes instead of for
three placing only as in this year. These are the
feedbacks I gathered from the average runners- those are
the ones who make up the majority of the participants &
determines whether the event will be popular or
otherwise. For the majority, the objective of taking
part is not to make up the numbers but to challenge for
something. If they repeatedly go home empty handed, they
will be disappointed and discouraged from taking part in
future.
This
report would not be complete without a word of thanks to
all the KLAVA participants & team leaders. We appreciate
your efforts & strong commitments for KLAVA. Not
forgetting our helpers & supporters, including Lim Yoke
Fooi for timekeeping during the time trials, Thaneswaran
for timekeeping on race day, our former president, Chow
Teng Song as digital cameraman & Peter as ‘acting’ video
cameraman, K.K.Wong & Jenny Lee (non-member) for being
so gracious to be on standby as substitutes if required.
At the moment, our members may be small in numbers as
compared to Pacesetters but we want to be the chilly
padi when it comes to performance!
Reported by: Eddy Choo
Date:
23/6/05
|
