AS the cliché goes, age is just a number. I had thosai with Johan K, a man who’s closer to 70 than 60 as he related to me his attempt to be a full marathon runner.
He has been cycling and jogging regularly in the last few years. But competing in a marathon was not in the plans until recently. He’s yet to run the full marathon, but he did the half-marathon twice.
Listen to his narration: “The recent Twin City Cyberjaya Marathon was my second half-marathon, having made my debut two years ago at the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered (KLSCM). At 68 years old, I’m grateful to Allah for blessing me with good health to complete the race.
“Preparation — physical, mental and discipline — is the key. Having run 5km regularly and completed 10km several times, I believe I had the necessary confidence to have a go at the half- marathon (21km).
“Preparation for a half-marathon requires between six and eight weeks with proper guidance. For this, I must thank my coach Edan Shah of Smart Athletic Club (SAC).
“That’s not all. Nutrition and strength are essential too. The tests come on race day! Any runner will tell you the anxiety and anticipation that surface the moment you wake up in the wee hours of the morning.
“Half-marathons are flagged off at 5.30am or earlier, depending on the organiser. As expected, runners dashed off, jostling to the front, forgetting at that moment that is a 21km run and not a 200m sprint!
“Mind you, 5.30am is still dark, and the roads were dimly lit in certain parts. At some stretches, there were no lights and we ran just following the person in front of us. There were also cars parked indiscriminately forcing runners to slow down as we ran elbow to elbow.
“I had a simple race strategy in my mind. Theoretically, I would be done within three hours. That was the plan, but my body had other ideas. The first 3km was just easy pace but the hills came early, and they came one after another. This slowed me down and was tough on the legs, especially the calves.
“There were ample water stations along the route starting at Km3. I passed without stopping. At station two, I took a breather for about 30 seconds and, at the 7km mark, I took the first of two energy gels I brought along.
“I ran with a heart rate monitor strapped to my chest and linked to my smartphone. This allowed me to monitor my pace, heart rate and distance covered.
“At the 10km mark, I noted that my time was one hour and 40 minutes. I knew then that a sub- three-hour run would not be in sight today. I then resolved to achieve my personal best on the timing. I ran with discipline, and controlled my breathing and tempo for the rest of the 11km.
“There is where the training pays off. I managed to stave off a possible cramp in the last stretch. I finished the last 200m strong although exhausted. It was such a joy!
“For the record, I clocked three hours and 30 minutes — nine minutes less than my debut run in 2018. Considering the terrain and the difficulty level, the run was much better than what the time indicated.
“Post-run recovery is as important as the run itself, if not more so. On Monday morning, I did a short recovery run and on the following Saturday ran 5km at the Putrajaya Parkrun in 42 minutes.
“What else can I wish for at this age? I discovered the joy in running rather late in life but I’m now looking forward to my next half-marathon on June 15, with a Powerman Duathlon in mid-March.
“My dream is to run a sub-three-hour half-marathon and the full marathon eventually, InsyaAllah!”
The writer is a former NST group editor. His first column appeared
on Aug 27, 1995, as ‘Kurang Manis’
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times