Hi … Just wanted to share with you my experience on running on the longest bridge in South Eat Asia last weekend; 22/Nov 2014. This is the first time it was held on this bridge as it was just open to the public in March 2014. Previous runs were held on the 1st Penang Bridge since 1985.
The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge or Penang Second Bridge was completed on Feb 2014 and it is 24km in length (Length over water is 16.9km) and it’s main span is 250m long.
Each year, this run attracts thousands of people locally and also internationally. This year’s run saw more than 62,000 people participating in the Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10km and also the 7km Fun Run. The races started in staggered time where the Full Marathon started as early as 1.30am. For me, I took the 10km Men run which only started at 7.30am. Yup, so the bridge was totally crowded with people from early morning. LOL!!!
Anyway.. here are some shots. Runners warming up and getting ready for the run.
While some lazying at the side while waiting for the race to start to enjoy the beautiful sunrise.
Shot of the Penang Second Bridge from the shore from the island side.
Starting point for the runners. All ladies gathering up waiting for the countdown.
Look at the crowd!! That’s just only for the ladies open. I believe the line stretches all the way back to 200m to 300m behind (or even more).
It took about 30 mins to get 99% of the ladies to cross the starting line before the men could get ready for their starting.
This was the starting for the Men’s 10km run. Yup… you can see that the sun was already up in full force.
Approaching the Main Span…
Some runners taking a slow walk to enjoy the view.
Yeah… the finishing line..
Anyway.. to cut it short. I made it within the stipulated time and I got my Medal. Kinda nice right?
My goal for 2015… is to run the Half Marathon for this run. =)
Outlook in Life 
how do you all run marathons in the sweltering heat without dehydrating? that’s why we have marathons in hot places of the USA
well.. the marathon started really early; from 1.30am to beat the heat. For runner doing the 10km run, that started at 7.30am. They had water station along the way though, so it wasn;t that bad.
Hope we learn to adjust
you will. =)
Nice photos! Did you run with the camera round your neck?
haha.. no. I was either holding on my hand during my run or in my running pouch. I had to stopped on n off to take some of these shots. Can’t resist it although I was also running for time. LOL!!
thank you for sharing this! my family is from penang, so this was so cool to see…i’ll have to add this on my list of things to do for 2015 🙂
You should. =) I will doing it again in 2015 and on both the bridges.
What an awesome experience! I started dabbling in the occasional 10K a few years ago and then decided to train for a full marathon. It was the best decision I ever made! You can do it!
I just ran a 10K in my Korean “hometown” and hope to get myself prepared for a full or half next spring. Good luck, fellow runner!! 🙂
Thx!! I will definitely train up to a full marathon run but I will take it step by step (to get my body up to that stress level. lol). My next goal is to complete a half marathon and then move on to a full 42km. =)
Good for you.. well done for completing it. I love running and keep thinking I should enter a 10 k somewhere.. 😉
Thx!! Well.. you can always plan for a 10k run next year in Nov in Penang and then, you can have a rest at the beach hotel after the run. =)
Goodness, starting group run @ 1:30 am ?? That would not happen in Canada. Probably earliest would be 6:00 am. I’ve lived near major bike routes that were used for major mega marathon runs.
What was the distance?
The weather will get hot if it start later in the morning and if it completes by noon, a lot of people will not be able to complete it. The 1.30am start is for the full marathon (42km). 21km starts at 3.30am and for the 10km, 7.30am.
but still, starting from 1.30 am is nearly, after midnight.. woow cool event, photos, and nice medal 😀
haha.. yup. It does really disrupt one’s body clock. But anyway.. it is not always that one can run after midnight and also to run on a bridge (of length 24km) free of traffic for 10hrs.
That looks awesome! Just incredible! Definitely no place to do a best time. 😉 Good luck with the half marathon.
Jana
https://meandmyveritas.wordpress.com
Thanks! =)
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