Continue reading »]]> I recently ran the UTMF, one of the must-do races for me. However, things didn’t go too well and I DNF-ed at ~100km, due to the inflammation of my ITB.

That being said, I hope this post will be useful for future runners, as I was caught unexpected in parts of the race.

This year the race was set in a clockwise direction with 169km and 9500~m of vertical. Comparing the 100km I did to the Lavaredo Ultra Trail, the verticals were less steep, but still one to reckon with. OF course I missed the Tenshin mountains at UTMF, which is said to be the toughest 20~km.

Route Profile: 9500~m elevation over 169km distance
Cutoff time: 46 hours
Terrain: Mountainous
Race type: Semi sufficient ultra trail marathon

I reach the Kawaguichiko area 1 1/2 day in advance and went to check in early. But apparently, many other runners have reached. The equipment checks were really fast though, as well as the race check in. So kudos to the organisers for that!

It seems like a good time to hold the UTMF, with the Sakura and all.

Runners in all shades and colours, very typical of ultras!

The race started at 3pm, quite a late timing. I would like liked it to be 12-2pm! As there are quite a number of runners for the race, the startline is rather packed and with everything that exist in smaller size in Japan, the first part of the run was unbelievably narrow, causing a huge human traffic jam from the first step.

The rather small start line

With the sun setting around 5pm we managed to ascent to quite a delightful spot before the nightfall descent. The temperature ranges from 15-20 degrees, which was comfortable for running.

However as the night fell, it got really cold in the night as we ascent to a higher grounds. There was this part between A1 to A2 of the trails with steep descent and a traffic jam resulted. I was lucky to have waited just 10-15 minutes. However, I heard from fellow runners after the race that the people at the back had to wait up to 2 hours!

It got really cold in the night and the temperature dropped rapidly. I believe it was nearly 0 degrees. As I entered A4, I was shivering uncontrollably and really hit by the cold between A3 to A4 as my clothes were wet too. My left eyes was fogged up (my googling showed that I had immense stress which resulted in the constriction of blood flow to my left eye). In essence, it was really tough to run with a 1-D vision at night.

I ended up staying for 2 1/2 hours at A4, hugging one of these warmers (I took the picture at W1 though) for 2 hours before a japanese runner told me that there’s a warm room at the back (face palm moment). I had wanted to drop out at A4. After a major 2 1/2 hour of trying to get warm, I took off from A4 anyway, with the intention to reach A7 before dropping as my food is there in my drop bag. As I have spent too much time shivering in the cold, I knew it is almost impossible to achieve my intended completion time with the state that I am in.

I still had trouble with my left eye as I left A4 but it gradually got better as the sun rises and the day got warmer. Weird I know.

I reached A6 in just sufficient time to enjoy the really good gyoza soup. Ended up having 3 rounds of that. Otherwise, the close up view of Fuji during the sun rise is a beautiful moment too.

As I was nearing A7, I met a fellow Singaporean runner and chatted with him. He was really determined in getting to the finish, even with a bad plantar on one of his leg and a really big swollen ankle on the other. At the moment, I thought it will be great to have company anyway, and told him that I will follow him as far as I could.

As I left A7, my ITB started to hurt. We had about 15km to go to W1 and we took it slow, looking at runners resting on the roadside. This is my first experience with the back pack of runners and it was pretty interesting. Pace is slow, people looks happier and less antagonised

It was a slow 3 hours to W1 where the last 3km approach started to feel really painful in my ITB. The last 1km was basically a limb to the water point.

Sat down, and the doctor taped my leg and asked me to take 2 steps asking me if there was any differences. I said ‘nope’ and he asked me better to drop out of the race. I told him to give me an hour to consider, but 30mins in, its a no go, too painful.

It’s a pity, but considering the fact that the next portion of the race, the Tenshi mountains ,where it is supposedly the toughest portion, the choice is probably a wise one as it is not going to do my ITB any good. I couldn’t even walk properly at that point of time.

I was transported to the A8 checkpoint, which is a major checkpoint before the Tenshi mountains. It has a huge rest area and lots of free massage and food. A good place to hang out!

One critic at this point is probably the way DNF runners are supposed to wait for spectator bus to get back to the Kawaguichiko city. The bus has an itinerary that take 5 hours to reach back to the city, which is absurd, considering the ~100km distance. Furthermore, the bus service is not frequent, and if you miss one of them, you gotta wait 3 hours til the next bus.

All in all, in this 2014 edition, the weather was fantastic and I saw quite a number of great photos. And of course, definitely do not miss the onsen with a Fuji view experience while you are there..

Til’ next time!

TIP: One of the most unique aspect of the UTMF is the emphasis on local food tasting at each rest station. There are tons of good food so do not miss them!

Continue reading »]]> Last weekend was spent in Kota Kinabalu region where I attempted the Summit course, falling just short of the summit and reaching the finish line as the last person to cross it for a total of 31~km. (full course is pegged at 33km)

This was my 2nd attempt on Mt Kinabalu on a wholly different and tougher course. Although I am actually on a ‘break’ from ultra running for the year, I found myself utterly lacking motivation on the trails.

The realisation kicked in when my friend asked me at the start line if I was feeling excited about the race. I actually wasn’t. I was feeling tired more than anything else. This was probably the first time in my past races that I was feeling so low while toeing the line at the start of a race.

The lack of motivation troubled me then as I knew then that it was not going to be an easy race.

“This is going to be a long grind”, sums up my thought while we were flagged off the start line with just 44 males and 8 females mountain runners.

I started off on the first 4km of upslope on tarmac feeling okay, with a really grouchy stomach. I wasn’t too slow, probably slightly ahead of the mid pack.

What really irritated me was when I entered the trails and started climbing. I was climbing slower than my previous attempt in 2010. I felt abnormally stressed (probably due to stress from my work) and couldn’t keep up with a good pace.

Fast forward, I reached the checkpoint above Sayat Sayat in about 3h40+m and was cut off from any summit attempt. I hung around the area, took some photos and got going at about 4h into the race.

Sped down to Layang Layang in less than 1h and unknowingly made the cutoff to Manilau trail which i spent about 2hours within 6km trail. The lack of any form endurance running throughout year is taking some serious toil on me it seems. A lot of time was bending over staring at ground thinking if I should just drop since this was not going anywhere.

But, I kinda told my friend that I will see her at the end while she was speeding down from the summit, so I had to get there somehow. Anyhow, I wasn’t too interested in adding another DNF to my tally.

I got out of the trail with not much left and was told by one of the helper in the trail that the last section is about 6km. So I ran down hill at a good pace for abit and then I saw a signboard “8km left…”

“Shit!”

It was a tough grind til the end which I cross the line at about 8h30m with the organisers waiting for me so that they could wrap up their day. They did kindly present me a finisher medal although I just made a mountain race look like an ultra. 33km at 8h+? Not sure if I could stomach that lousy pace

Other than my bad stomach throughout the race, I have to say that I troughly underestimated how much I should have trained for this. In my alter-ego as a technopreneur, training has always been particularly hard to fit in. But not impossible.

And so, the year is ending and I have one DNF and an uncompleted race to add to my tally.

Looking forward, I think I am starting to rediscover my running mojo. Bit by bit.

I will still consider this year’s running break a good one. I still believe that a good break goes a long way for the soul.

I never considered myself a competition racer but I am looking forward to complete a few races next year at a pace that I can be proud off while of course, taking enough time to bask in the beauty of mountains, which was what got me started on mountain running anyway

Cheers to motivation and a great 2014 as I will embark on my first 100 miler!

Recently a few elite runners have their fair share of issues and I thought that these articles are worth sharing too:

Lizzy Hawker: http://www.thenorthfacejournal.com/lines-the-ones-that-we-cross-and-the-ones-that-we-dont-lizzy-hawker/ Another great article from Lizzy!

Dakota Jones: http://www.irunfar.com/2013/10/dropping.html Dropping out of races as an elite sponsored runner

Anna Frost: http://www.irunfar.com/2013/07/reigniting-the-fire.html On dealing with motivation and injuries

Continue reading »]]> The Mount Fuji mountain race in it’s 66th edition had just finished last Friday. I was there to take part in the race although it was unfortunate that I DNF-ed near the top (at the 8.5 Station) due to cutoff timing.

A brief note about the race is that it’s one of the longest and toughest climb in Asia with +3000m in a mere 4 1/2 hours along the popular Yoshida route. The starting point at the Fujiyoshida City Hall is at an elevation of 770m. A runner needs to reach the 5th Station (2300~m) in 2h20m and then followed by the 8.5 Station (3400~m) within 4 hours and summit Mt Fuji by 4 1/2 hours to be considered success.

Tough race! I didn’t managed to take much photos on the way up as compared to my other races just because this race is real tough.


The above is an rough elevation chart for the summit race which I got from other runners!

The Japanese runners are real orderly on the startline!

The race is short, just 21km in length with +3000m of climb.
The first part of the race from 0 to 10.8km is brutal. I was completely caught by surprise by the speed of Japanese runners. Man, they are fast! It was almost a 10km fast pace at roughly 6% gradient and that is real brutal for someone who trains in flat Singapore.
The elevation gain at this portion is roughly +680~m to 1450m in height of Fuji over 10.8km to check in at what is known as the Horse roundabout point. I reached the checkpoint in okay time (had a real bad stomach due to the (really awesome) Japanese breakfast in the morning) of about 1h10m.

I took this picture at night, which shows the relentless 6% climb through the city’s tarmac.

The second part is a climb up to the 5th station. This section is roughly 4.2km (+850m) and the 5th station is 15km into the race. The 5th station is located at about 2300m in elevation and the cutoff to reach here is a challenging 2h20m! I got to this section in 2h15m. However, just before this station, there was a massive jam in the trails and I had to queue to get up there. (The checkpoint is not the exact 5th station, somewhere on the side of it).
I think the Japanese runners really gave their all in the first fast section and many of them suffered during the climbs from here on as I start to pick up my pace and take over a few runners every minute.

I thought I was in good time and I was pretty sure I was going to make the summit.
But.. the lack of training starts to show soon.

The portion after 5th station is simply a relentless and monotonous climb over quite a well paved path. At 18km (+800m from 5th station) at an elevation of 3100~m, all was going good and I was in good condition as I start to pick up my pace. I reached the elevation of 3200m at about 3h37m (saw the time on someone else watch as I don’t carry one!) and things start to breakdown. My legs weren’t feeling it’s best, lack of strength and the lack of training shows. Many runners beside me was panting but I was not really panting. However, my legs just couldn’t move fast enough and it starts to get cold. And as you know, cold causes cramps. My front quads started to cramp as my muscles got cold as my climbing pace was simply too slow. I struggled up to 3400~m (+200m in 30min?!) and made it in 4h10m, which is really really slow.

The cut off at the 8th station (3400~m) is 4hours and I unfortunately didn’t make the cut! But I am not too bothered about that as I know that with a better, more intensive (and less procrastination) training plan, getting to the summit should not be a huge challenge the next time round!

Runners who didn’t made it were happy-go-lucky people anyway, and instead they had a fest at the 8.5 Station! The owner must be beaming right now with the amount of business he receives there.

The route down is pretty easy and well paved. However there were too many runners and the volcanic ashes can be quite irritating!

And the summit (3776m) was just up there! One last look before going -1500m back to 5th station.

And of course, the food festival at the end point is awesome. We descented to the 5th station (shown above) and took a bus down to the food fest(below) where we were provided with a 600yen complimentary food tickets.

One cannot miss the prize giving ceremony too. It’s really formal and showcase the Japanese way of gifting… the top runners received like 7 medals from different persons!

All in all, a great event. One of the toughest in Asia (thought it’s not marketed as such! It is however not too technical as the likes of the Kinabalu Climbathon which I attempted a few years ago.

I apologise for the lack of updates on this site. This year I am taking a short break from Ultras and will update from time to time. I am looking forward to see if I can get into the Summit course for Mt Kinabalu for this year too though! Fingers crossed.

Continue reading »]]> Today, I found another gem, this time in an obscured race in Indonesia!
I have always wanted to trail run Mount Rinjani after trekking there once before a few years ago. Unforgiving uphills plus a unique and wonderful sight of the crater lake at 2000+m, what’s not to like?

And now it seems, someone has made a race at the location itself which will commence on the 13th of August 2013.
The uphills looks crazy for the distance. UTMR at 51km with +5200~m and RAR at 21km with +1980~m.

Check out the course profiles on their website!

The Ultra Trail Mount Rinjani is a playful name on the UTMB, as well as the UTMF, don’t you think so? Well, even their logo…