Mizuno Wave Run 2008

If you think you can, or you can’t, you are always right. –Henry Ford

Extraordinary things happened in Mizuno Wave Run 2008. And all the extraordinary things are achieved none other all the amazing runners who participated in this run. Some runners got their medals in their convincing style, some runners smashed their own 10k record and some of them who were rookie runners merely finished the race, but not without pride and honour. It’s no longer the matter of how fast you finished the race or it’s not even about the medal you got, it’s all about another dream-come-true for every runner. And yes, once again kudos to all the Infinity Milers who managed to finish the race, regardless of how fast you were, you were all amazingly extraordinary.

On 19th of October, exactly one week after New Balance Klang Pacers Run, 57 Infinity Milers participated in Mizuno Wave Run which is renowned of its difficulty as well as the goodies bags reputation as one of the most difficult 10k in Malaysia. However, our Milers’ spirit was unbeatable. Just look at the time our Milers woke up and gathered in front of IMU on Sunday morning, it’s an ungodly 5.30am! Not even charm of Fahrenheit or F4(sorry I’m a bit out of touch with this) can drag our medical students out of their own bed at this ghostly hour.

We reached Padang Merbuk just in time to do our warm-ups and be mentally-prepared for the challenges ahead. Thanks again for Ray Mun’s motivational talks during the training we had before the run, everyone expected the coming of the worst and because of his intimidating inspirational talks, we managed to sail past every challenge with ease (subject to personal experience hehe).

The race started at 7.30am and despite of the big crowd, I personally think that the organizer was doing a very good job in ensuring the race started off very smoothly. Off we go… the first 2km was relatively easy and I suppose most of us had no problems in conquering that after the disastrously strenuous training(Vista B tower debacles) we had before the race.

Then we all came to the highlight of the race where the inclination was getting steeper and steeper. You can get a bit frustrated when you see people just cruising past you every time you slow yourself down. That’s exactly what I experienced during the race because apparently, most of the runners there were real pro. They seemed to race uphill without even sweated themselves out. On the other hand, I was trailing and toiling to close the gap between me and the other runners.

And to my utter relief, I reached the water station. But only to find out the water station was crowded with runners. Luckily, just before the race I did some research (haha) and some experts recommend runners to go all the way to the last water station instead of the first because the first ones are always congested. I dogmatically followed the instruction and went to the last station.

The rest of the race was just like the first part of the race. Endless uphill and downhill run… breathtaking scenery… sweaty runners… and AUNTIE WITH RIDICULOUSLY-COLOURED-HAIR. One thing very frustrating in the race for rookie like me is, in any given part of the race,you will constantly have thousands of runners in front of you, and thousands of them behind you as well. It’s monotonously boring unless you find something to entertain yourself. In my case, I was trailing behind a purple-coloured-hair auntie for good 2km and constantly had myself amused by her hair. I know it’s bad to laugh at other people but her hair really served as my source of distraction as well as inspiration (especially when the race became very torturing).

But I lost track of her later in the race. What a pity… And one more reminder for everyone, never believe in the volunteers of the race. If they tell you there’s 3k left, they actually mean ‘more than 3k left.’ In one occasion, I asked the volunteer the distance left. He told me around 3k left. I gleefully accepted the ‘good’ news and forced myself to run until I realized I was conned. Duh…

Nevertheless, I finished the race in slightly more than 1 hour. The finishing line was crowded as well and we actually had to queue up before we crossed the finishing line. If I have anything to say( I shall not use the word ‘complain’ since it’s one of the ‘C’ in Infinity Milers) about this tournament , it’s the finishing line. They really need to improve that.

Although I didn’t get the medal, the experience itself was priceless. Running uphill and downhill incessantly in 1 hour, how often in your life will you do that? I came to realize that running, again is not about medal and finishing time. It’s about yourself, how you challenge yourself and eventually tell yourself, “yes, I did it.”

Hence, congratulations to all Milers who joined this run! For those who got the medal, GOOD JOB. For those who finished the race, YOU ALL DID IT! Hopefully I will see you all in the next race and together we shall run again,

To Infinity And Beyond.

-sihan-
23rd Oct 2008