NB Klang Pacers Half Marathon 2009

It's been weeks...I caught the flu bug twice last month and recovered from it.

The weather is still bad. Extremely hot, humid and hazy. Last Sunday seen me on the road racing for the third time this year. The New Balance Klang Pacers Half Marathon is another running event organized by runners for runners. Having said that, one can expect a certain degree of quality in this race. Indeed, we were not disappointed at all.

This year the race organizers decided to introduce an entirely new race course instead of having it in Klang like in previous years. Setia Alam is a new township - a huge housing estate along NKVE, between Shah Alam and Klang. As the running route was within Setia Alam itself which is mainly residential and almost zero traffic, it made running safe and free.

The race started in front of the Setia Alam Welcome Center. I was quite impressed with this new venue. Ample parking space, clean and comfortable toilets and many mobile toilets too (extremely convenient for women..hehe!).
The morning air was stale and covered with haze. However, it didn't dampen the spirit of runners. The race course was challenging - typical Shah Alam route with numerous U-turns (which is never my cup of tea). Refreshment stations were adequate and power gels were handed out at 10km. There were no distance markers although ribbons were given at check points every 5km. Plenty of fruits and light refreshments were provided after the race where runners could eat and drink to their stomach's content while bonding with friends and fellow runners. Coupons were not required - something other race organizers need to consider.

I ran conservatively, passing a few ladies from the Women Open Category, and managed to just secure 7th placing in the Women Veteran Category within 1hr 55 mins. The designs of the medal and trophy are attractive too. After this, I am looking forward to run the next race end of this month - the SCKLIM.

Apart from a slight chaos before the race, the Klang Pacers did put up a great event with minimal flaws!