DECEMBER 26 — When I first bumped into Karen “you’re not pushing hard enough” Loh on the sidelines of a press freedom event a few months back, I was curious to know what plans she had for next year’s edition of the Malaysian Women’s Marathon (MWM). Her response: It’s going to be amazing. Join us and you will see lah!
Anyone who is a regular on the local running circuit will know of this annual intrepid race which started off with a bang in 2013. Helmed since its inception by Karen as race director, it consistently attracts more than 3,000 runners each year.
Shrugging off a setback in 2014 due to the seasonal haze, the MWM has grown from strength to strength and now proudly enters its fourth year as still the only marathon of its kind for and with women in Malaysia. The race is scheduled to be held in Shah Alam on March 6, 2016.
It takes guts, resolution, fortitude and endurance to run a marathon. MWM has made a mission of wanting to empower and inspire women and girls to break mental and physical barriers towards believing and achieving long distance running. That they have all that it takes to be a member of that tiny percentage of the Malaysian population that has run at least 42 kilometres.
There have always been rubbish excuses to prevent women and girls from running. Someone doesn’t want women to run or lift weights, so they invent a bit of cerita dongeng lah.
Perhaps you have heard of some of them: running will cause you to develop muscles which will reduce your femininity; women are unable to have the stamina and endurance to run long distance; and the exercise will cause you to have weakened knees and hips. The gold medal goes to “running will shake your ovaries and uterus which will cause reproductive health problems and complications in pregnancy and child-bearing.” Tell that to running legends Katherine Switzer, Catherine Ndereba and Paula Radcliffe.
This time around Karen has engaged a stable of experienced coaches and mentors led by Karsten Korbel and Sweeny Choong to run its series of running clinics.
What distinguishes these particular clinic sessions from those commonly held in advance of similar races, are the time trials and customised running plans that are developed for each participant.
This is what they tell you: join the sessions, follow the plan, maintain consistency and discipline, and you will see results on race day. Coaching sessions and expert guidance which would usually cost in the hundreds of ringgit, are provided by the team both during the clinic and online.
It’s pretty daunting, at the same time inspiring, to learn that Sweeny, with a personal record of 1:38 won 1st place for the Half Marathon at MWM 2013 and was also 2nd runner up for the Malaysian Women’s Full Marathon category in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon in 2013 with 3:38. The latter being only her second full marathon race.
Karsten is a certified Personal Trainer under the American Council on Exercise (he bloody well looks it too!). When he is not winning the top 5 positions in any race he enters, he is a pacer supporting running events in different parts of the country.
This is a crack team of running coaches aka “slave drivers” (I’m looking at you, Darren). Not counting the whip marks on your back (just kidding), you will get results from consistent participation in the clinics. There are six sessions scheduled from now till race day. What more can you ask for?
There are many inspiring stories behind the runners of MWM. Take for example, Lily Zarima Zakaria, 47, who works as an administration executive at a GLC and is a mother of four. She ran her first 5km race in August last year, ran the half marathon with a PB of 2:51 in the MWM 2015 edition and is now gunning for the full 42km distance in next year’s race.
Lily first started running as a way to lose weight but now sees it as a challenge to push herself beyond her limits and pushing herself to go further and faster. Her next objective after the marathon? An ultramarathon. Her spirit of determination and perseverance is what the MWM is all about.
Being 13 years old didn’t stop Beatrice Liew from joining runners at the first running clinic. Because of her age, she had to “audition” to secure her spot in the 10km run. Let me tell you, with her getting 8th place during the 5km time trial and a time of 28:23, she aced her audition and will be running in that race! And yes, I was far behind Beatrice when we crossed the finishing line.
Not many Malaysian races have bragging rights at consistently bringing in jaw-dropping running legends to motivate, to give guidance and to inspire. In 2013, MWM saw a visit by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run Boston Marathon officially with a bib in 1967. The following year saw the appearance of Catherine Ndereba, 4 times Boston Marathon women champion, 2 times world champion and former world record holder.
Once again, the upcoming race will have dialogues and presentations during the Race Entry Pack Collection expo by guest speakers on subjects ranging from carbo-loading to stretching. There will even be a running apparel fashion show!
But the highlight for the expo programme is the presence of United Nations human rights lawyer, freelance writer and competitive ultrarunner, Stephanie Case. She will speak of using running and outdoor adventure to empower and educate women in conflict affected communities to overcome the harmful effects of gender, religious and ethnic discrimination.
Karen sprang a surprise on me by suggesting that I become a pacer for Lily, who as we know, is running the full marathon. Having only acted in that capacity for a half-marathon, this will be a new challenge for me and one that I am looking forward to. Takut gila.
Anyway, check out the Malaysia Women’s Marathon website and Facebook as registration for the clinics and the race itself is still open. Be one of the thousands of women who will hit the streets of Shah Alam next March.
Each month, I will endeavour to share my experiences and that of Lily’s in going through the sweat and tears (hopefully no blood) training for the full marathon in next year’s MWM. It’s going to be a fun! Meanwhile, don’t forget to run during the Christmas weekend and New Year’s Day.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
