Different strokes for different folks

KUCHING (Oct 3): The 7th Kuching Marathon on Sunday morning was not all about coming in first or even top 20. Many braved the rain and the gruelling distance more for personal experience and memories.

Omar Abdullah, the 41-year-old senior taskforce staff of F&N Sibu, drove all the way to Kuching to get the feel of running in a full marathon.

“This is a wonderful experience for me although this is the first time l have joined the Kuching Marathon or participated in a full marathon.

“The weather was okay until there was a heavy downpour at the 33km stage where l got drained. It was harder to run because my wet socks and shoes got heavier as l slogged on,” he told The Borneo Post.

He believed he could have achieved his target of finishing the 42km distance under four hours if not for the rain.

“But l completed the race in four hours 18 minutes to finish among the top 200 runners, which I think is already a great achievement for me.

“I learnt of this event online so l told myself l want to take up the challenge and see if I can challenge myself to run. I am very happy that I can complete the run without any injury but I certainly felt very tired after the race,” added Omar who promised to return next year.

For 71-year-old Lim Ping, age does not matter and he wants to encourage other senior citizens to run for health.

This is the former Telekom Malaysia Bhd employee’s third Kuching Marathon in the 5km category, after having participated in the 10km in his first try and 5km in his second.

“This is a good run and I am planning to go for the 10km run again next year if my health permits,” he said.

Sharing Lim’s sentiment is his 74-year-old cousin Lawrence Lim, a former staff with the Drainage and Irrigation Department Samarahan.

This is his first run and he did so at the invitation of Lim Ping to run it together.

“I was not worried about the rain. It was in fact cooling. I will join the run again next year,” he declared.