Forever 28~

This was my second time to go for half-marathon in Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon (SCKLM 2011). I was so nervous a week before the run. Due to my work and laziness, I didn’t go for proper preparation this time. Unlike last year, I went for various training to increase my stamina

However, I was able to complete the 21.1KM run at the end. This year, I spent 2 hours 23 minutes and 48 seconds to finish the half-marathon and ranked at 655. I ranked at 413 last year. According to the statistic, there are 2573 people participated in the Half-Marathon Men Open category in 2011. So, I am still in the top 20% of the runners.
If you ran in SCKLM 2011 too, you can check your result at http://www.kl-marathon.com/reports/check_race_time2011. Hope you get good ranking this year!

The Malaysian of Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) organizes two times of fair in a year, we usually named it as MATTA Fair. This year, the first MATTA fair in Klang Valley is on 11-13 March. I plan to visit to the Philippines, Phuket, and maybe Melbourne in this year, so I went to MATTA fair on Saturday.

As usual, you need to pay for RM3 for the entrance fees and you will get a bag and MATTA fair newspaper. But most of the contents are just advertisement. We went to PWTC about 11am and there are already very crowded. Since I plan to visit oversea, hence I skipped the local tourist package hall.

There are a lot of exhibitors fighting for customers. Honestly, if I go to places like Phuket, Bangkok, Krabi, Bali, or South-East Asia countries, I would prefer to arrange my own schedule and look for the hotel deals from the internet. I don’t think the free and easy packages offered by the exhibitors are impressive. However, there are a lot of good deals if you plan to go to Korea or China.
At the end, I didn’t buy any package from the Matta Fair. But, I get a lot of information booklet or pamphlets from Australia, the Philippines, and Thailand Tourism Department. These are very helpful for me to plan for my trip!

If you are not from Klang Valley and missed the MATTA Fair in PWTC, you can probably look for the upcoming MATTA fair 2011 in other states:

1. MATTA Fair Johor 2011
Date : Mar 25 - 27 2011
Venue : Ground Floor, Danga City Mall

2. MALAYSIA TOURISM EXCHANGE 2011 (MTEX 2011)
Date : May 22 - 25 2011
Venue : Mahsuri International Exhibition & Convention Centre

3. MATTA Fair Negeri Sembilan 2011
Date : Jul 8 - 10 2011
Venue : Terminal 1 Shopping Centre

4. MATTA Fair Penang 2011
Date : Jul 22 - 24 2011
Venue : Penang International Sports Arena (PISA)

5. MATTA Fair Melaka 2011
Date : Jul 29 - 31 2011
Venue : Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall

6. MATTA Fair Sabah 2011
Date : Aug 20 - 22 2011
Venue : Suria Sabah

7. MATTA Fair Kuala Lumpur Sept 2011
Date : Sep 9 - 11 2011
Venue : Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC)

8. MATTA Fair Perak Sept 2011
Date : Sep 16 - 18 2011
Venue : Stadium Indera Mulia

I had participated Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon (SCKLM) since 2009. The first time I’d participated a 10-KM run, and then I’d participated half-marathon last year in SCKLM 2010. And now, the SCKLM 2011 is open for registration. The run is on 26 June 2011 (Sunday).

At first, I was thinking to challenge myself with the full-marathon which is 42 KM. But then, I was lack of training for quite long, hence I’ve registered for half-marathon in SCKLM2011!

I think the registration fees have slightly increased this year. The early bird discount is from 17 January to 28 February, so if you have made up your mind to participate, do register earlier. If you pay by Standard Chartered credit card, then you can enjoy another 10% discount! So, I paid RM 49.50 for my half-marathon in SCKLM 2011 after early bird and Standard Chartered credit card discount!

Hope to see you all there!

registration fees table derived from http://www.kl-marathon.com

Finally, I did it.

I completed my first half-marathon on 27th June 2010. It was a milestone for my running record. I started my very first run for 10km at SCKLM 2009. Then, I soft of addicted to running. Hence, I decided to take this challenge, to compete at half-marathon!

I was the 655th runner to complete the half-marathon and it took me 2 hours 11 minutes 57 seconds. I am glad with my achievement especially I could complete it within my targeted time. I ran continuously without stop (except very short period for taking sips), and thanks to the flat route as well.

Should I challenge full marathon next year? This is still a big question in my head. As I aged, my stamina decreases drastically. Let’s finish all the up coming run in this year first, then only think about next year~

Check your personal time and position at SCKLM 2010 here: http://www.kl-marathon.com/reports/check_race_time

This will be the second time I joined Standard Chartered KL-Marathon (SCKLM). This is the biggest marathon event in Malaysia. I joined 10 KM run last year. Then, I decided half-marathon (21.5KM) this year.

I went to collect the race pack on the first day of the distribution. The collection venue is at Stadium Titiwangsa. I have no idea how to go there, luckily, they provide shuttle bus from Titiwangsa LRT station to Stadium Titiwangsa.

Compared to last year, the collection procedures are better than last year. At least it is in air-conditional environment. I went during lunch time and I spent less than 45 minutes to collect it. Besides, I like the NB vest this year. Finally I got a vest which is fit to me!

There is NB booth outside the venue. They give 30% discount on all shoes; hence I bought another pair of running shoe! At the same time, the running socks are selling at RM18 (original price RM49), so I grabbed the chance to get a pair too!

I am so excited for tomorrow’s run. It is my first half-marathon. See tomorrow!