Mizuno Wave Run 2010 Review

The Mizuno Wave Run, what can I say about it except that it was a great run but the hills were something else altogether!

Got a little lost getting to the venue even though I recced the place earlier. Ended up getting to the venue 15 minutes later than our original planned time. Both wifey and me like to get to the race venues early cos of the parking issues so this time we had to park quite far and walk to the start location which was quite a distance, mind you.

The race overall was pretty good but like I said earlier, the hills and inclines littered throughout the route were a challenge, especially for one who doesn't do incline training. But I'm pretty pleased with my performance cos I completed the route without stopping even once!

The race started out with the women running first followed by the men ten minutes or so later. I wasn't at all happy with the route cos it was pretty narrow with everyone being sandwiched together for quite a while before it started spreading out.

The first 4 kilometers were spent just cruising and trying to avoid the slower runners who were beginning to walk and block the faster runners. While I respect each and everyone there for even taking part but please keep to your left if you intend to walk and let the other runners through. It's not easy having to weave in and out when you're trying to conserve as much energy as possible to fight the hills at the later stage.

The downhill stretch of the 'aiyoo' hill ...

I was so focused on my running that I missed the water station at KM4 (I think) and went 'alamak, die la!' but good thing I managed to catch up with wifey who still had her Gatorade with her which I managed to take a few sips, otherwise I would have been in real trouble from a parched throat.

KM5 to KM8 was pretty decent with more flats than inclines. I drove past the route way before the race and knew what was ahead from KM8 to the finish. I wasn't looking forward to it and was dreading it cos there was this mother of all hills to fight through before the final leg towards the finish. Even driving up the hill in my car was daunting let alone running up the darn thing!

The finish line ...

I was surprised to see another water station after KM8 (I think) and this time I made sure I didn't miss the darn thing, grabbed a bottle of water, took a few sips and got focused to take on the final two inclines. Oh, another gripe coming up, when you guys and gals queue to grab that much needed water at the extremely few water stations, please for gods sake, don't stop and drink right there at the water station and block runners from trying to grab some much needed H2O! Take your cups, move on or move aside and let the rest through. The rest of us need our water replenishment's too!

The goodie bag queue ...

As expected, the last incline was a killer. You're all tired, exhausted, your legs ache, your lungs are gasping for air and you have to fight this really steep (wifey said people were calling it the 'aiyoo' hill ... LOL!) just before you finish. And the hill went on like forever. The moment I reached the summit of that hill and saw the final downhill stretch I almost cried in delight!

the tired runners ...

It was 1 hour and 8 minutes (unofficial timing) before I finally crossed the finish line to cap my 5th race for the year. Not really one of my better timing but heck, with the amount of inclines along the way, I thought I did good :D

Watermelons anyone?

On a different note, I'd like to thank that guy who pulled wifey out of the way from an oncoming car and probably saved her some serious injuries. Thank you, whomever you are. For the traffic marshal's though, how the heck could you let cars through while there were still lots of runners on the road. In a race like this, the runners get priority before anything else. In fact some of you even had the cheek to ask me to stop so you could let traffic through. That elicited a nice nasty shout from me. Don't ever ask a runner in the middle of the race to stop and let traffic through. I thought it was ridiculous!

And on a sadder note, I'd like to offer my condolences to the family of a runner who collapsed and passed away during the race. It is never nice to hear of such things after a race. I have no idea as to the reason why but whatever it was, may he rest in peace.