MY FIRST ULTRA MARATHON 50KM ATTEMPT AND I DID IT!

Event: Back 2 Endurance

Date: 30 September 2018

Venue: Perdana Botanical Garden KL

Category: Men Veteran, 12 hours, 2.3km/loop.

Medal:

Below 50km- Bronze

Between 50km and 84km- Silver

Above 84km- Gold

Photos by ET Tey

This is the endurance run where runners will start running and to reach the longest distance possible in 12 hours  from 6.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. The route is to run in loop circling the lake at Perdana Botanical Garden.

I have never thought of doing this.Came to this event last year just to support my friends and took photos only.

Decided to join after a very long personal deliberation in my mind on why should I run beyond 42km or a full marathon distance.

THE PREPARATION

Honestly, unlike when I was preparing for my first FM run and the next 10 FM runs so far, I did not have any specific plan to prepare for this attempt to run up to 50km.

What I did was just to have my regular runs with some lower body  strengthening workouts consistently.The added stuff was I did some hiking activities in recent 1-2 months due to my limited time for my regular weekly gym sessions.It helped and as a result I was able to run more comfortably beyond 25-30km which I often struggled with calf and ankle muscles pain previously.

Another thing that happened almost naturally is I crossed the 200km per month since July and I truly believe that this has helped me to build my endurance for this event.

Another thing that I have some concerns is about the possibility of muscle cramp because I did not know how my body would respond to beyond 42km although I had no cramp in all my FM before.

However, I used the same plan to prevent it for this event but with slightly added amount of salt and water intakes in 24 hours before the FO time.

One more thing was about the gears to prepare for the run.I saw some runners used sandals other than shoes and some just with barefoot  last year. I did not see myself running with sandal but I thought of trying to run in barefoot just for the sake of trying for one lap or more of possible because I knew what type of surfaces to expect that day.

I brought an additional pair of shoes, few pair of socks and another one set of long tight and short with several vests and body tight.I am the type of person who will get sweat very fast and also a lot.Therefore, I did expect I might to change my sock and even my shoes because I truly did not now what to expect after 42km mark.

To start, I decided to wear UA long running tight and top tight as well to minimize the amount of sweat to be retained on my body based on my previous HM and FM runs with these gears.

For the shoes I opted to start with my Brooks Ghost 11 and will change it to my Asics Nimbus 19 if needed later. Just planned to  use my regular Nike running socks with few pairs as the standby because surely I will have to change it along the run.

For the cramp prevention and re-hydration plans, I just added more intakes of ORS within 24 hours before the FO time. For the last 12 hours, I took 2 sachets for every two hours and I hope it would be enough to support the use of salt sticks during the run.

For the re-hydration and refueling supplements during the run, I decided not to use any energy gel and will depend totally on the supplies provided by the organizer.

The other concern is, except running under the hot sun in my FM runs which often only up to 10 a.m. in the morning, I have never gone through any mid-day heat training. So, to run until potentially up to 3.00 p.m. to reach the 50km, I did not know what to expect on how mentally and physically I would respond to that. I was just depending on the experiences running at Miri Marathon and Borneo Marathon this year where I ran for about one hour to 2 hours under the hot sun to reach the finish line.

So, I arrived to start my first 50km run generally in  physically and mentally prepared although I could not eliminate the anxiety or nervousness as a first timer.

My wife also promised that she will come with my kid  to the event venue in the evening if the weather is nice and not raining. She said they will take the train from Nilai and then Grabcar to the venue.  I thought that would be very nice and very helpful because I may been very exhausted to walk and then to drive home after I have finished my run.

THE RUNNING STRATEGY

My goal was very clear and just to reach the 50km mark. However, I know that I can't use the same approach to my previous FM runs at this event. A lot of my friends have advised and reminded me it is important to feel more relax  and don't think too much about the speed for this type of event.

Initially I thought about to run at my normal FM pace but when I gave a second thought, I decided to run at normal FM pace only up to about 30-35km and  then to take it from there.With no COT to be rushed for, I think I would have more freedom to run or to walk after that.

That was  not my main concern because I was more worry about the mental challenge to run in loop for 22 loops to achieve my goal!

I have the mental block where I often get tired faster when I run in loop.

So, until the very last about two hours before the  FO time including the time for my drive from home and  walk from the parking lot, I finally decided to run as the following plan.

• To run at my normal HM pace for 20-25km which is at the average pace 6.

• Then to follow my normal pace to finish a FM distance.

• I will respond accordingly on how my body will react from the 42km to 50km distance for me to reach my goal where if I need to just walking all the way, I will.

• I won't count how many loops that I have finished but I will focus on the distance that I have covered instead.

THE EVENT DAY AND MY RUN

I arrived at the venue at about 5.30 a.m. after about 800m meter walk from the parking lot.We were told on Friday that suddenly one more event took place on the same day at the same venue and resulted in the parking lots at the venue closed by DBKL. I hate that because I knew that walking to car again after the finish won't be easy for me!

Bumped into regular ultra runners when I arrived and we chatted before performing the Subuh prayer.

Other friends from Anonymous Runners who joined me this year were Rizwan, Roszalee and Aidah who are already seasoned ultra marathoners. Deep inside me I  felt more nervous when I saw them were so relaxed before the FO.

It was unfortunate that I forgot to bring a power bank and my phone battery was just at about 60% left.So, I decided to switch it off and to switch it on only when I need it throughout the run because definitely it won't last until I finish my run if I keep it on.

Roszalee and Noran Noranchik from Melaka

The FO was sharp at 6.30 a.m. and the adventure for my first 50km run finally started. It was very relaxed and calm environment seen at the FO and there was no rush to pact at the FO line line in typical running events.

I started my run according to my plan and I was able to maintain the  average pace 6 until  the 17km.  I did not stop to refuel after the completing the first loop and started only from the second loop. For the refueling, I drank plain and cordial cooled water  and took few small slices of watermelon during every stop for every loop. The water melon was so refreshing every time I took it in my mouth and mentally with its sweetness and fluid that passed through my throat. For every alternate loop, I took few slices of banana and/or cake,biscuits and/or cooled soy milk provided. These items truly made me felt energized again after every stop.

I stopped to refuel, spent some time to relax and just took some photos at 20km and then quickly continued.

At 20km and still feeling good to continue.

I crossed the 21km mark at about 3 hours 12 minutes and had my  first toilet stop between 21km and 22km. Then I crossed  the 25km mark at about 3 hours 49 minutes. 

Started to truly feel the challenge of running under the hot sunlight and humid ambient after the about 11.00 a.m. in that morning. That  was the time I started to put on my cap and took more water and watermelon to cool me down and to refresh my body as the mitigation. Luckily at only one side of the lake was very hot with direct sunlight to deal with and with trees that provided some shade on the other side where runners had better ambient to continue the run.

Photos below are by the well known running photographers and also an avid runner who captured our moments when dealing with the hot and humid ambient.

I stopped to apply Vaseline and some potential areas for blister at my foot and arm as the precaution and changed to a new pair of socks between 29km and 30km. Then I crossed the 30km mark at about 4 hours 34 minutes.

Then I decided to stop to have my lunch between 34km and 35km. I drank a lot of cooled water and ate fried rice and vegetables during this lunch break. 

Stopped for slightly longer between 36km  and 37 km to  refuel, rest and take some photos with my friends by one of my friends Dean, who came to support us while doing his regular weekend run.

With Aidah and Dean 

Between 41km and 42km I had another stop to take photos with friends after refueling. I felt so excited at this point because I was just about to complete the FM distance and in the same time my body especially the lower body muscles and joints still was feeling  good to continue. Requested one of the crews to help me to take  my solo photo at the checkpoint.

At 41km and just about to finish another FM distance.Still feeling good to continue.

I crossed the 42km mark at about 6 hours 24 minutes to finish my 9th FM run in 2018 unofficially which was with better time than my FM finish at Miri Marathon 2018 at 6 hours 29 minutes. 

Then quickly I called my wife to check whether she was coming or not because the weather was quite nice until that time which already passed 12.00 p.m. I was shocked to hear my wife's voice to tell me that she had an accident. Fortunately and Alhamdulillah that she was not hurt at all and only the car had some minor damages. 

That was the moment I felt so guilty that I switched my phone off because she told me me that definitely I did not read the Whatsapp messages that she sent.When I asked few more times, my wife assured me that she was totally fine and  I can continue to finish my run and come back home later. Only after that I decided to continue but with some guilt left in me.

So, that news left me with only once option left which was just to cross the 50km mark or 22 loops in total and then go home as soon as possible.

With Arie, an established ultra-marathoner.

I stopped again at the toilet between 44km and 45km. Started walking and very slow running because the scorching hot sunlight was too much for me to push myself. Also started to chat with some runners whom I bumped into along the way.

Photos by Jamal Zabari

Below are my photos by ET Tey again during the last loop of the run before I crossed my 50km mark. The gesture was dedicated to him as the sign of appreciation and thank you for capturing our amazing moments during the run.

Finally I crossed the 50.7km mark and 22 loops in 7 hours 44 minutes with the average pace of 9:09min/km.The best part was I had no blister, cramp and any other problem that I feared may happen especially in the last 10km. Alhamdulillah, it showed that my preparation for the event and the prevention plans worked well enough for me to achieve my goal for the day relatively in a comfortable way.

Immediately after that I  called my wife again and told her that I was done and finished my run and will get back home as soon as possible. Then she told me that if I could go and find a book for our daughter that she could not find any stock in Nilai on Saturday. Initially she thought we could go and buy it together at book stores along Jalan TAR, KL after my run. After she assured me again that she was alright for me to come back home much later, I agreed because I knew it would take sometime for me to clean up and look for the book instead of going back home straight away.

So, finally I completed my mission to cross my first ever 50km mark on my first attempt. This is a new and also totally unexpected feat that I will achieve in my running adventure.

Jamal.The ultra-marathoner and also photographer who came to take photos that day

Moments just after I crossed the FL and collected my medal.Priceless!

With Haqeem who came just to support and Ah Coy(middle)
who helped me to take my photos with my medal at the FL.

With the seasoned ultra-marathoners friends from Anonymous Runners, Rizwan and Aidah.

Lydia Sari Moslin

Zulhafizy, Arina and a Mat Salleh

Me, ..., Sarah Ariana and Herda

The hard and truly earned silver medal for 50km.

THE EVENT

Unlike typical shorter distance running events, the total runners were much smaller as expected which at about 300 runners if I am not mistaken for all  categories.

The environment seen more relaxing where runners seem to know  each other mostly. So, it was much less crowded as expected but it did not kill the excitement and eagerness to start the run at all. As some new to this distance, I tried to make myself comfortable to ease my worry by casually chatting with others.

I don't like running with hydration bag and that was my main reason to choose this event to attempt my first 50km run. Everything was provided for the refueling for runners at the FO/FL area which is also where the timing checkpoint located. I did not expect any problem to get refuel after every 2.3km loop.

Runners were provided with one cup to be used at the refueling station. This is a common practice for ultra-marathon events and some trail running events that I have joined before or they called it Bring Your Own Bottle(BYOB) concept that will eliminate the use of plastic/paper/polystyrene cups which is good in reducing the potential waste to the environment.However I think it may not suitable for shorter distance road runs because runners often wanted to run faster to get good timing.

Some runners brought their own other type of cups, bottles and etc and placed them at the refueling station table which was arranged according to the respective category.I did not know that but the cup provided was enough for me. I may consider to bring something more for me in the future.

I could not compare much because this is my first time to join an endurance race or ultra-marathon event but I have almost zero dissatisfaction. It is simply because all the needs for me as  a runner  throughout the run were available.

• The  location is strategic with more than enough spaces for parking nearby.
• More than enough supplies for the refueling and with plenty of choices and variety as well  for runners.
• Along the route, there were enough number and also clean toilet facilities for my toilet stops which I did twice this time.
• Crews on duty were very helpful and also cheerful.

I truly believe that I have made the best decision when choosing this event to launch my adventure in ultra-marathon run and agreed with my friends who highly recommended me to take the challenge here.

THE CONCLUSION AND FINAL MESSAGES.

My health and fitness level enough for me to finish a 50km run and some already called me an ultra-marathoner although 50km is just the entry level for ultra-marathon distance.

Among the key lessons learned are I need to keep my cool and execute the plan accordingly.Other than I was running much slower than planned before reaching the 30km mark, the rest was very much as how I anticipated it.I felt so relieved after the 42km mark when I had no trouble at all to continue and managed to keep my composure to finish what I intended to do for the day.

I have no plan to be an avid ultra-marathon runner but don’t mind giving a shot at one or two events a year in the way forward to add the variation in my running adventure to stay healthy for my life.

The goal was just 50km and I stopped exactly when I reached it. Happy to finish it with no drama, injuries and muscle cramp.

I have the utmost respect to those who ran until 6.30 p.m. on that day or all the went beyond the 50km that I have achieved because that is not something anyone can just go out there and do it. Congratulation to all finishers and who were there at the FO line to start.All of you are winners to me.

More 50km next? Very likely as long as the I don't have to wear a hydration bag to run at any road.

Three significant things to me that are related to this personal achievement

• Surely because this is my first ultra-marathon and I did it by running mostly before started to run and walk after 44km due to the scorching hot sunlight.
• I have totally broken the mental block of running in loop and 22 loops of 2.3km/loop is to confirm that. So, running in loop or not in the future, just bring it on!
• My healthy body surprised me again and I truly enjoyed the experience just how I enjoyed my first 10km, HM and FM runs before.

Thanks so much to my family for making it easier all the way by understanding and accepting my running routines to stay healthy and fit for my life and for them.

Special thanks to all my running friends out there especially ultra-marathoners in Anonymous Runners who have "worked" so hard to "poison" me with all sorts of justification for me to give a shot. Congrats to them too.

I am a happy man now. Not because I am now an ultra-marathoner(although just the entry level distance) but because I will be 45 years old next year and at 44 years old this year, I am still healthy and was able to finish my first 50km run.

The last time I heard and read that everyone can run but not everyone can finish a marathon. Now I have learned that after finishing a marathon, there is ultra-marathon awaiting for you to try.Impossible will remain impossible  until we start to think about trying and of course with some preparation for a successful try.

"The worst case scenario life in is often not about to fail but when we want something and don't dare to try"