MUDS UKM that was...

I was supposed to compete that day but because my lovely colleagues loved me too much, I was adviced not to join the race to save myself for PD triathlon the next day.

Oh well, there's 2 more duathlons coming up, right? Hopefully I am able to join either one.

OK back to saturday's story..

From left: Malakoff Corp. Berhad's MD/CEO, En Ahmad Jauhari , LeTua's coach, En. Rahim, Endie, Hamid and Azli

As usual music were blaring from the speakers to give the 'party' atmosphere. Every race still gives the participants the nerves no matter how long they have been in the game. Having some distractions and friendly chats and banters with the others do help keep the anxiety under wraps.

National duathlete, Mariana and Stephanie Chok with yours truly

The morning was cloudy and we were expecting rain or at least a drizzle to happen in the race. I don't know which is worse, to race in the rain or the blazing sun. Cloudy is good, but please no rain. Steph was joking with Mariana, "We'd better finish this race before it rains.. hehe.." You are pro, girl, of course you can finish it fast. Well, it's definitely better than racing in the scorching sun.

If racing in the rain, just open your mouth for water.. don't need to stop at the water stations maa.. hehe

Starting line frenzy

The racers gathered at the Start line a few minutes before 9 a.m. Adele blew the horn at the start of the event. Many ran as fast as they could while some held back and paced themselves wisely. This is a multipart sports. Think endurance, not short-term glory, i.e. finishing the first run fastest, then suffering on the bike and puking on the second run.

Things seemed to run smoothly and the racers looked like pro, although some might be first-timers and as usual, kekalutan memang tidak dapat dielakkan, i.e. forgetting to take off running cap before putting on the helmet.. Hmm, it wasn't even sunny, why do you need a cap on? Well, maybe it was out of habit, it's OK, no worries.

Cycling and second run were done in the rain for some racers. It's part and parcel of racing. Organizers can help to manage the transition areas, water stations, food, but weather was beyond anyone's control.

At least they had a cool climate to race in ;)

Some finished faster than others :)

Most of Malakoff Cycling Club members did well. One puked 3 times and had to DNF(did not finish). He was not used to running and probably thought running 3km was do-able without training.

Youngest participant, 12-year-old Darimi with his parents, Mejar Kalam and Nurina

Congratulations to all Finishers! I know all of you had a great time and were glad you didn't sleep in on a saturday morning :)


Next race - MUDS @ UM this saturday.

Are you ready yet?

Yes, MUDS 08 at UKM has been a success!

8.55am: All the du-ers on the mark and getting set

9.00am: Off they go

Participants started to bike at transition area

PowerBar surely supports the race

Healthy competition: MUDS 08 at UKM finishes on a high

Contestants joyfully and resolutely ride out the damped and cold morning race

Fantastic three: Mejar Kalam, his wife and their 13-year-old birthday boy come all the way through to significantly complete the race

Successful finishers are well pleased with respective certificates

Thanks to their chipping in: Potential best duathletes from UiTM showed some impactful appearance as well

The ex-UiTM fellows add zing to MUDS 08 at UKM. Thanks a lot.

Watch out, UTM's duathlon princess may show a more forceful performance in MUDS 08 upcoming legs.

A well-deserved round of applause to UPNM clan who've showed up a great force at UKM. Keep it up! Yet, "our blogging team" challenge the rest to try to surpass their great showings. Go everybody!

And the key credit goes to MALAKOFF!!!

Tons of gratitude to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

A million thanks to PowerBar.

Great appreciations to Quick Release Adventures.

Also significant admirations to everyone who makes MUDS 08 a great event, essentially, all participants and media. See everyone in following legs.

Izwan Md Sumairi from TV3, effectively put his name at top in the "scoreboard" of the Media Category

Utusan Malaysia is also proud with their two members spot themselves among the top three finishers in the Media Category. Well done!

Stats - Duathlon More Popular Than You Think

First of the duathlon is more popular than you think. The first leg didn't see the highest possible participation because the PD triathlon was on the next day, and the more hardcore types had headed down to PD to train in advance. We're expecting more of you to turn up at UM this Saturday.

Here's the tale of the tape:

Men's university – 62

Women's university – 10

Men's Open – 91

Women's Open – 12

Men's Relay – 8 teams

Mixed Relay – 10 - teams

Media – 8

TOTAL Individuals = 183

TOTAL Teams = 18

TOTAL participants = 237

But where were the women? The ladies who turned up did great but where were the rest of you?

And the sign-up for the team relay - its much easier and a lot more fun than it appears.

Results - Men's University

Ooooo...the drama; the ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat; and the pull-out-the-hair-by-the-roots moment of realising that you've taken the wrong way to the transition area. As Chan Juan Shen of UPNM and Ong Wei Xiang of UTM found out - they earned a 4 minute penalty and still managed to place in the top five.

See what you're missing by not being at the finish line? Put this in your scheduler for July 26 now - University Malaya - 8am to 10.15am - MUDS 2008. Must be there.

This does not in any way detract from Mohd Suhaimie Tolek's win - he was that fast!

5 A016* Chan Juan Shen ‐ UPNM Malaysia 0:49:41
4 A056* Ong Wei Xiang ‐ UTM Malaysia 0:49:35
3 A045 Mohd Syahidan Alias ‐ UiTM Malaysia 0:48:44
2 A049 Muhammad Farid Abd Fatah ‐ UPNM Malaysia 0:48:35
1 A044 Mohd Suhaimie Tolek ‐ UTM Malaysia 0:47:12

* Time Penalty of 4 minutes added for taking wrong route into transition area.

Full results at www.duathlonseries.com.my.

Results - Men's Open

Race to the finish - Jusery and Krishna battle it out - only 3 seconds separate the two

Neobike has to get back to work and has asked me to continue where she left off. Here are more results this time for the men's open:


5 C385 Sharul Ambri Mohd Noor ‐ 0:48:50
4 C397 Badrol Hisyam Abu Bakar 0:47:40
3 C371 Ong Soon Seng 0:47:21
2 C337 Krishna Kumar Jayaram 0:47:05
1 C331 Jusery Gani 0:47:02

The timing for the top two was very close - and darn exciting to watch. Even if you don't participate get on down to UM on July 26 to check the sporting drama at the finish line and throughout the race. It's way more exciting than sleeping late.

Full results at duathlonseries.com.my.

Pix can be seen on the picasaweb photostream - earlier post by Sam.

Results- Women's Open (first leg)

Mariana out of the transition area - she finished 10 minutes ahead of the rest of the women's open field

Women's Open Results for First leg (UKM)

5 D503 Kashimah Kasiri 1:07:29

4 D505 Lily Kuan 1:05:22

3 D501 Azlinawati Husain 1:02:26

2 D504 Lee Yan Neo 0:59:12

1 D507 Mariana Mohammad 0:49:12

Hmmmm...to those who are new to reading results - the number 5 to 1 is the placing. The DXXX is the race number, followed by the name and finally the time taken to complete.

Full results at www.duathlonseries.com.my. Pix up soon.