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Supplement To Team Manager’s Report On KLAVA’s Participation In The Penang Round The Houses Road Relay, 2006. We came, we saw, we conquered again! Too bad, we were unable to capture both crowns. One of them slipped from our fingers just when we thought we would wrap it up with a double. It was that close! I suppose we cannot have the best of everything, especially since we did not have a full strength team for the men’s senior veteran due to some last minute withdrawal. Apparently, we not only have to compete against other teams but also against another event, Larian Rakan Cops which offered good cash prizes for the top runners. If only we have a national body to coordinate so that there’ll not be a clash of dates for major road race events. Then, deciding which event offers better reward will not be an issue for those top runners.
As your truly repeatedly said, our strength is in team event consisting of 8 runners or more, we can have a balanced team unlike some others. We have also come a long way since we participated in 1998 where our team finished 7th out of 10 teams! However, KLAVA name was nearly not in this year’s winners list if not for a kind sponsor who, hearing our plight, offered to sponsor the balance of the subsidy sum in order for the teams to make the trip. Our hearts and thoughts of thankfulness go to this person who in spite of his generosity, wishes to remain anonymous. Besides this person, we also wish to show our appreciation to our vice president, Mr S.G Samy who contributed RM50.00 from his own pocket. We are also very grateful to our treasurer, Agatha Wam for contributing RM100.00 after her effort to provide us accommodation thru’ her time sharing hotel package did not materialized due to heavy booking for the Easter Holidays.
Having said that, yours truly wish to put on records that this is the 3rd time in 2 years that yours truly have to appeal to outside kind Samaritan to so called “bail us out” in order to make the trips. On all 3 occasions the teams returned either champion or runners up which means our efforts did bear fruits. It must be noted that the runners are participating unselfishly. (Why? They sacrifice other individual event with cash prizes on the same day and participate as teams for the glory and good name of KLAVA). Through these good results, we have continued to generate sponsorships. This is the 2nd time that Adidas have sponsored our teams running attires i.e. quality running vests and shorts. Compared to the previous times, our requests for these sponsorships were getting easier. We have Adidas head of running department Mr. Krishnan to thank for. On our part, we hope to be able to generate some mileage (publicity) for them in reciprocate.
Back to the event proper, this is where the excitement and adrenalin flows! The following is a brief narration of the event as the scene unfolded in sequence. The descriptions may appear confusing but this was akin to the actual scenario at the baton exchange point. Things were happening so fast. The action was err….exciting and at times, suspense! To assist you to follow the commentary, remember the different categories and the different starting times. The men’s Junior Veteran started off 1st before the men’s Senior Veteran. Usually the teams would place their fastest runners as the lead runners. By the time the men’s Junior Veteran first leg runners started to return, our Raja (his real name) was 4th. However, there was only a mere difference of 22 seconds separating the first 4 teams. Then our men’s Senior Veteran first leg runner, Yasan came back in first placing. He had given KLAVA a big lead of nearly one and half minutes from the 2nd runner. Our men’s Junior Veteran 2nd leg runner, Selvam also did a fast time but so were the other 3 teams in front! Although we were still 4th, we were confident to catch up knowing our consistent strength and also our high team morale. Coming back next was our men’s senior Veteran 2nd runner, Radzi who extended the lead to almost 2 minutes. Our Junior Veteran 3rd runner, Mahendran overtook 1 runner to advance to 3rd placing. Our Senior Veteran 3rd runner, Yap returned, still with a lead of one and half minutes. Then from the horizon, we can see our Junior Veteran 4th runner, Malik approaching in 2nd placing. He has overtaken another team’s runner. Excitement was mounting! It was now up to our Junior Veteran 5th runner, Vincent to prove his mettle. Whether he can come back first or not?
There was also suspense in the Senior Veteran category. Whether our 4th runner, Philip was able to come back without being overtaken? He happened to be the slowest in the team after the time trial. Then, low and behold, we could see from the distant, Vincent indeed overtook the 1st runner to take the lead. We were relieved when Philip completed his lap without being overtaken and with still more then a minute to spare! My respect goes to these 60 years old gentlemen. Still running strong!
For the Junior Veteran category, it was a foregone conclusion as the rest of the runners increased their lead and improved their previous year 3rd placing to become champion. We salute you all for the gallant team effort! We were caught by surprise that our Senior Veteran 5th runner, Salehuddin was overtaken by our arch rival Team Old & Young “A” runner. Not to give up hope, our 6th runner, Chan fought back to regain the lead. Now it was yours truly again to carry the load! Of course, yours truly was “kan cheong”! The pressure of maintaining the lead was greater unlike last year effort to overtake another runner. Yours truly tried to focus on pacing the distant as much as possible. Ahem! In the end, yours truly managed to maintain the lead by more then 1 minute. Everyone thought this was again a foregone conclusion but surprise of surprises, our rival managed to finally caught up with our 8th runner nearing the finish. What a pity, KLAVA have to settle for 2nd place in this Senior Veteran category. Lastly, we wish to thank our reserve runners, Peter and Naidu and our cameramen, Siew; part-time timekeeper (pardon the pun), Lim Yoke Fooi for their great support and assistance; not forgetting Julie’s and others’ congratulation messages. Please refer to the attached official results from the organizer, PAAA and also photos taken of the event for more information. Reported by: Eddy Choo |