Monday, June 05, 2006

Pacemakers Anniversary Run

Having been with the Pacemakers for less than one year, I did not have the privelage of being part of last year's anniversary run. When I asked Ron a couple of months back if we were going to be having the run again, he hesitantly said it was unlikely, and when I probed further, I found the reason behind that was the fact that his family felt he was taking on too much as it is and did not spend enough time at home.

To cut the story short, I offered to help him organise the run with the help of others. This is how the idea to have a relay of 4 people in one team came about. As the weeks went by, we managed to get a very good response from both PM members and fellow running friends and the registration was declared full and closed very quickly.



The excitement that led up to the run was quite overwhelming with many of us taking the challenge to PR at the track with pm1's encouragement. The adrenalin rush that I felt in the time trials alone were enough to get me really excited and I could hardly wait till the actual race day arrived.

The day finally did arrive, and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Initially it looked like rain, but the skies held and the cool temperatures with mild breeze was just what we needed. I was there by 6.40am since the 100plus and bananas were with me. Once everything was unloaded, the runners started arriving in small groups.

I was really happy to have the chance to meet so many runners whom I have only heard of but never met before, including Tan Boon Seng, William Chan, Eric Teo, Tony, Tan Boon Keat and many others.

I could see the excitement in everyone even while we were doing our warmup laps. There was also a little nervousness in the air as this was a team event and everyone wanted to do their best for the team. However I could see that everyone was really here to mainly have fun and to do their best not for the sake of winning, but to just simply show how much they loved the sport.

Since pictures speak more than words, I would let the following pictures show what I meant by the excitement and fun we all enjoyed. If I were to rate all the running events that I've particiapted in, I would have to say this would be the one which I most enjoyed.



Ronnie and me carrying out the initial briefing of the simple rules to follow



The 'Fantastic Four' team, from left Draco, Ryan, Ronnie and me



The first batch of runners make a mad dash across the starting line once Tan Sri Rohaizad started the race



Me passing the baton to our second runner Ryan after clocking a total timing if 11m18s for two laps



Everyone is a winner. The beautiful and elegant trophies ready to be presented to all the participants.



The Fantastic Four team having received our trophies from YAB Tan Sri Rohaizad.

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