While Zalina Mohd Som does not quite recreate Elizabeth Gilbert’s adventure, she joins a marathon which changes her perception of Bali
BALI was not my favourite holiday destination. The Indonesian island was, to me, too touristy, over-commercialised and packed with foreigners playing the role of beach-loving party-going tourists.
But that was then. The village of Gianyar Regency, a hilly at the south-eastern part of the island, changed my perception.
I spent the early hours of a Sunday morning — running and walking, okay, mostly walking — along the half marathon route of the third BII Maybank Bali Marathon, held recently.
Not only did the run give me a fresh perspective of Bali but I also had the best run of my life — though the three hours and 40 minutes record was not my best time.
While it confirms that the Bali Marathon is the most beautiful run in the region, if not the world, it also proved the island still has its natural, unpretentious beauty and charms. One just need to go beyond the tourist spots.
As runners went inland towards the villages, the scene changed from busy morning traffic to scenic countryside of paddy fields, charming houses and a mist — blanketed mountain in the background.
While the sight took away my mind from my aching muscles, the friendly smiles and cheers from the villagers — old and young who lined the narrow road — warmed my heart.
Some villagers were already at the starting line near the entrance to Bali Marine & Safari Park, before the full marathon runners were flagged off at 5am.
Dressed in pyjamas or beautiful traditional costumes, they waited outside their homes to cheer the runners. Others put up cultural shows.
“These shows are voluntarily organised by schools along the route as they want to showcase the island’s artistic and cultural heritage,” said race director Thila Nadason who is also BII finance director at a Press conference after a grant presentation to schools in Gianyar held a day prior to the race.
But Bali Marathon was not just beauty without its purpose. For the sake of competitive runners, its route which has been the same for the past two years has enough challenges and difficulties.
“One, there’s the heat factor as we’re on an island and then the undulating terrain that reaches as high as 120m above sea level,” said Thila.
The run has been included in the official race directory of the Boston Marathon which means runners who finish in the minimum qualifying time can register for the prestigious US event.
Maintaining its Push Your Limit theme, the Bali Marathon has three categories — full marathon (about 42km), half marathon (about 21km) and 10km run. A wheelchair runner from Belgium took part in the full marathon this year.
There was also Children’s Sprint, which had two age-based sub-categories of 100m and 450m, for children up to 5 and 12 years of age respectively.
A specific category for disabled participants is introduced this year. Forty wheelchair runners competed in the 5K run.