Kenyir Triathlon (10 April 2011)

It is a very nice Triathlon. Quite possibly the best OD race in Malaysia. It can really rain on the East Coast, and rain it did, for 24 hours non stop.

I honestly thought the whole race would be cancelled, but Chee Seng gave a very nice safety briefing on race morning and it ended the safest race around.

I have never been to Kenyir, I heard the race is hilly. The hills are not that bad (and I'm useless on the hills) but makes the race interesting.

The bad bit was the travelling on the official bus. Nine hours to get there and 10 hours to come back. Uncomfortable, passengers left behind, wrong turnings, slow, unnecessary stops, just awful. Luckily I took Monday off.

The bus ride had its good bits though, our little group in the bus comprised Patsy, Richard, Rupert (new friend), Din (new friend) and Tip, so it was non stop bantering. Patsy especially is a laugh every second.

I gave the RM600 to Tip, she was brilliant. It was nice to see the runners from the car park (Pui San, Winnie Wong, Bryan Lee, Terence) Terence and IM Lee Puh Heng, before the start. Non stop pouring

IM Nor Juliana Ali. I like her, she does a lot for sports people

L to R: Kohing Antak, OP Azam, Awea and Zuhar. Kohing is a genuine Orang Asli. His brother works at the place we were doing our Charity run last week. Many years ago I gave Kohing the latest full race attire (which even I didn't have) to encourage him. Zuhar took part at the recent Asian Games (he did well). I gave him RM50 for fun (he was initially shy about taking it)

View of the Lake from the Resort

View from the Chalet

Its always nice to talk to OP Chan. Many people had to stand during the briefing. Its still the best race briefing in the world though Tip got this shot. I'm useless uphill and downhill and on the flats too.

These are the military cadets from the National Defence University (UPNM). In all my Triathlon days I have always had a soft spot for the Military people. They are all polite, respectful of elders, fit etc. Through the years I have given the military triathletes all kinds of gear and money.

The cadets have to study for their degree in a Military environment. To leave the campus, they need to get formal approval and must return by the specified time. The chap second from left is OP Chan's protege. He is doing medicine and came in second overall, even beating Barry Boy. He kept on calling me Sir all the time. After their degree, they will undergo about 4 months of full time training to get their Military commission. I am so proud of them

First time I properly chatted with Paul's wife, Helena. She is bubbly and very jovial. Lucky Paul.

Yip (2 hrs 13 mins), Richard (2 hrs 29 min) and Rupert (2 hrs 38 min) with our winnings

The Resort has a unique setting. We stay in chalets and move around by calling for the buggies.

Swim was in the Lake. Surprisingly the water was quite warm in spite of the non stop rain. I havn't been swimming and wasn't sure how I would do. 28 mins, coming out a step in front of Yip (so it was OK then), Jap Sam was a bit behind, but friendly Dave Spence had long gone.

Bike

Yip promptly powered by me up the first hill on the bike. Rainy and wet but OK. Everyone was extra careful I suppose and nothing untoward happened. Jap Sam, OP Farhan, Richard everyone as usual seemed to blow by me. I'm not good at drafting. The dreaded hill wasn't that big.

T2

Very slow for me as I didn't arrange my things thinking the race would be cancelled.

Run

The route was beautiful, up, down on the Dam crest. I was slugging it out with Carmen. She got me on the hills every time.

Finished 2 hrs 39 mins. 4th in Age group