#11 - Enjoy Green Challenge, the Conclusion

I woke up, peered over my study desk to look at the clock - it says 5:30 a.m. Ah, crud. The original plan was to get up at 3, get prepared and leave house at 4, then head over to that 7 Eleven store (the one near the... in P.J.) and get myself some bananas.

It's one of a handful few 7 Eleven stores that sell fresh bananas.

Well, the best-laid plan had to be scrapped, so we'll move to plan B: just get the Hell out of Bangi quick!

Fast forward to a couple of hours later and I find myself sitting on a curb nearby my car. "That's it - this dirt-ravaged, bruised, and aching leg is the living and breathing testament to me finishing a 15km trail run, for the first time ever!" I thought to myself.

But the cut runs much deeper than skin level...

The one absolute thing that I can conclude from the race is that mother nature actively hates you.

They do - throughout the 10km run inside the thick forest of Bukit Gasing, my leg got tangled by the vines and rotan trees more times than I can be bothered to count. They were all practically, and conveniently, littered all throughout the trail from start to finish like it's some sort of a twisted razor blade-strewn playground made by the Jigsaw guy, just to see how much cuts and bruises are you willing to take on your own body just so that you can finish the game.

Except of course, here, then, nobody died. But there was one moment when I was (kind of) speeding down a slope when (surprise, surprise) my right leg got tangled by a rotan tree youngling (Is that what you call them? I don't care enough to know). If I was going at a much higher speed at that time I would've definitely taken a much more spectacular fall, and a dislocated shoulder is a very real possibility.

Fuck you, rotan kid.

"Fuck you right back, loser!"

"Ooh, sick burn, bro."

The one comment that I would like to make towards the organizer is regarding the route. You guys might have a very good reason for not disclosing the route for the run until the moment you arrive at the starting line that morning - fine, whatever.

But try to consider people like me who have never lived in P.J., and have never been to Bukit Gasing. I mean: how would I know that the hill ascents (yes, ascents - there was a lot of climbing involved) would be THAT steep, and THAT high. The least that the organizer can do is by giving a detailed and vivid description of how the track is like so that we, the runners who have never been to Bukit Gasing, can prepare ourselves better - physically and mentally.

And did I mention about the hill ascents? Because I believe that's the only reason this entry exist.

The 'infamous' hill is somewhere in the furthest horizon in this picture. Ooh, a Nissan X-Trail!

And before I finish my report of the after-race of the inaugural Enjoy Green Challenge 2012, I believe I should say something about the hill climbs: they are very high, they are very steep, and they come in large number. If you're thinking between the number 4 and 5, you can just forget your dreams of ever doing trail running. That damned trail alone has shattered so much hopes and dreams of people who are dreaming of a top 50 finish (mine is one of it), it is a comparable offender similar to that of a member of the parliament right after the general election.

Oh yes - finisher's medal is only for top 50 runners. And I finished in 59th.

So you're saying all that sweat and blood and tears are for nothing?

So, it's not just mother nature that is actively hating us, but the organizer as well.

Sodding hell.

Otherwise, thank you so much Adizero XT. You did not let me down.