BHP Orange Run 2011 Race Review

It feels good to be running again, especially in a race. I've been on a one week break due to injury and was back pounding the roads this morning in this year's installment of the BHP Orange run and I must say that I had a great time. The injuries didn't materialize one bit and the entire run was a good one for me.

Wifey and me arrived at the race location rather early, around 5.45am cos we wanted to make sure we got decent parking which we did. We parked at e@Curve which was right next to the start/finish and then walked around for some warm up and stretches. The women ran 10 minutes before the men so I wished wifey good luck and headed out to wander the start area and bumped into Jamie. Chatted for a bit and then it was time to start.

Now, I was a bit apprehensive before the race cos I was actually wearing my new Green Silence without ever trying it out for a run prior to this. I've never run in an unbroken shoe and this would be my first. I also had on the 2XU compression calf guards, which was also a first time for me. To my relief, they both came through better than I expected and needn't have worried about it too much.

The shoes performed beautifully and was so light that I hardly felt it. It was like running in my socks ... LOL! The legs held up nicely with hardly any leg fatigue and was I even able to perform better in the final few kilometers. That's the way I would love all my races to turn out :D

The route was something I've never run before so it was basically running blind and not knowing what kind of terrain and elevation was waiting ahead though I knew there would be an incline or two along the route. Caught up with wifey somewhere around KM2 or 3, I can't remember. I kept to an easy pace for the first half of the race, conserving energy for the second half of the route which I generally knew to be pretty flat.

Overall, it was a nice route except for having to pass a stretch that was under construction and was littered with sand and whatnots. The first water station was a little far off at somewhere around KM5 and on an incline some more. Since I was still well within my pace limits, I stopped, took two cups of Gatorade, stretched the legs a little and was off in under 40 seconds. I was seriously expecting the water station much sooner than that. There was another station at the 8KM mark, at least I think it was 8KM la.

Crossed the finish line in 57 minutes and was feeling really good :D Went through the usual collecting of free goodies and drinks and then proceeded to wait for wifey to come in. Caught up with Jamie and Frank for a bit and also managed to meet Suren Haris there. Good to finally meet you, Suren :D

Before I sign off, I have one bit of complaint to make in regards to this idiot who queue jumped in front of patiently waiting runners to collect their goodies. All of us were tired but yet everyone queued patiently. This idiot who is a staff from BHP with the tag number 'J5' just cuts in and doesn't even bother that there were people lining up, just to get his free goodies. BHP, if you happen to read this, you should really teach your personnel proper queuing etiquette and some manners!

With that said and done, I'm looking forward to the Shape Men's Health Putrajaya Night run next Saturday :D