The Malaysia Women Marathon (MWM) is such a nostalgic event for me. I ran the first edition of this race in a skirt with Kelly who is now having the time of her life in New Zealand. This was where I got to rub shoulders with one of the greats in running, Kathrine Switzer who never stop inspiring us.  I kicked off my awesome journey of running 12 marathons in 12 months starting from this very event last year. So to say that my obsession in running long distances started from this event would be quite right.

Oddly enough, I wasn’t planning to run MWM 2014 at the beginning of the year. Was thinking I should perhaps volunteer and give my legs some much needed rest. After being persuaded by Reyne, I thought, what better way to be part of this event than to help a woman who cared for us like a mother to achieve her target. Reyne had been gunning for a particular timing for the longest time and I was determined to make it happen.

Pre-Race Event
This year’s MWM was fortunate to be graced by Catherine Ndereba’s presence. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with Catherine until her name starts popping up on almost every article about MWM.  Dubbed the Marathon Queen, she is twice World Champion and four time winner of the Boston Marathon. So off I went on day 2 of the pre-race event to attend her workshop. She shared quite a few inspirational stories from her own career in running, in particular how she struggled to finish her first marathon. But what amazed me the most is how she blends faith and God in all her running. Very spiritual person and very humble.

As usual, I got to make my rounds at the race expo and was really happy to meet up with Andrew and Sue O’Brien of Partnerunning fame. I first met them during last year’s MWM expo and have since built quite a friendship with them. We shared our 2013 race experiences: Sue’s win at her 100 miler, my DNF at TMBT and how Sue injured her legs from yoga. I even for a chance to ‘poison’ them with Craze Ultra, Singapore’s 100 miler in September and hope that they’ll join me this year for Craze.

Race Day
Stepping out from my car at Shah Alam that morning, I knew there is no way the event could carry on. The acrid smell that day from the annual haze in Malaysia is the worst I’ve experienced in recent times. Runners still braved themselves and gathered at the starting line. Quite a number of the runners have decided not to run. Wise decision in my opinion.

Karen Loh the race director announced that the race would be made into a non competitive event and runners could stop at any water station and end their race there. Prize money will be donated to charity organizations. The mood at the race site have quickly changed from a gloomy situation to quite a confused one as people started discussing about how far they eventually planned to cover. Reyne and I decided to at least run up to 20k before deciding if we’ll do the whole route.

From the very start it was clear to me that the route profile for this year’s MWM is different than the previous edition. 2013’s MWM was relatively flat until we reach the 20k point. This time we’re served with a series of undulating hills to test our legs from the very beginning of the run. The hills weren’t very tough, but I can see why some newbies struggle on it. Was quite surprised by the amount of water stations along the way too. Was supposed to be every 2 km, but at some points water stations are available every km of the race.  It’s a good thing, but again some people may tend to overhydrate especially in this hazy condition.

At around the 15k point, when we stopped for water stations, I felt a woozy sensation while walking. Never had that feeling before, I suppose its from the haze. Quite scary to be honest and I started to worry if I’ll faint half way. Decided not to take any risks, I slowed down from that point on.

Soon we reached the 20k point and a decision had to be made. We stopped to take a breather and had to decide if we’re going to turn in for the finish and end our race prematurely. Reyne opted to end it then. I thought, we should go for a little more since we’re already half way there. In the end I persuaded Reyne to continue so off we went with the intention of completing the race.

We merged with the horde of 10 km runners that have just left the starting point at that stage.  All of them were in cheerful spirits. One thing I noticed, women runners don’t really wear skirts to run in Malaysia. Only a handful does. At that hour, the road traffic from the vehicles started to build up too. Traffic is again a problem of MWM. Last year the runners had to literally dodge all the oncoming traffic from the roundabouts, seems like this year we had the same issue again. I was disappointed with this aspect, traffic was the biggest complaint from last year’s race and they should’ve improved it this year with a change of route.

At the 25k point, something peculiar happened. We followed a sign to turn right into a road. The race marshall up ahead told us that we are heading towards the wrong direction and should be turning  left instead. Went back to the sign and there it was, asking us to “turn right”. Few runners were as confused as we were. Moments later, another marshall came and told us that the intended route has been closed and the race is officially cancelled. All runners are redirected back to the race site.

I cannot mask my disappointment at that point. But a decision was made for us, and I accepted it. Off we went turning back into the race site. Since the race is already cancelled, I thought might as well have fun along the way. Started to cheer all the runners along the way. In the final 2 km we bumped into Andrew and Sue O’Brien! Together we ran that stretch and had a great time taking photos with all the supporters that cheered for us. We finished the race with the 4 of us together. What a way to end the run. Who knew that because the race was cut short, I get to complete it with a bunch of awesome friends at the finish line.

Met some of my friends after the race. Clearly some of them were disappointed, but some were on high spirits coz MWM is always a fun event. At the end of the day, given the hazy weather, I think the event went as well as it could have. I know it was a difficult decision for Karen to cancel the race, but perhaps this could be a good learning point for next year’s MWM. Hats off to all the brave ladies who came down to Shah Alam and ran despite the haze, many of them first attempt on a new distance.

PS: I got a finisher skirt and bracelet from the run. But I don’t really keep finisher items for a race that I didn’t complete. The skirt is sent to someone I missed dearly and I remember her everytime I think about MWM. Anyone wanna venture a guess who? 🙂

** All photo credits to the respective photographers.

** Once again I ran this race in my trusty Saucony Mirage 3. Thank you Saucony Malaysia for that shoe that have gone further with me than any other shoes before.