Genting Trailblazer 2010

31 Oct 2010  - This is my first time participating in the Genting Trailblazer. Having heard so much about it from friends and read so much about it on the Internet, I was really excited to be finally here.

The race began with an easy 4k run on paved roads that led into the Genting forest. In the forest, The terrain was undulating, with lots of steep slopes going up and down. You even had to slide on your backsides to get down from the steeper ones. The ground was muddy as it had been raining the entire week. The adventure race that was held the day before only made it worse.

Race Route - 14 Km

Sliding down the slope !
(Photo by Tony Tay)

Hiking does not equate running. I learned this the hard way when I got into the forest trail. The initial 4k had  already exhausted me. I was also nursing a bad cold. Coupled with inadequate training... well I have been to many hikes but have never ran beyond 10k till now.

This is the most excruciating 10k run for me. I was dehydrated and sweating like a hog. The steep terrain variations wore out my already exhausted legs. To make things worse, there were no water stations in the forest !

First I felt tightness in my right calf, then my right thigh. My right leg started to cramp. At this stage i was already limping. Then, My left calf started to tighten, followed by my left thigh which was followed by the inevitable - double leg cramps ! This was a defining moment in my life, which I will never forget. It was a very painful moment :(

It was a very bad place to have leg cramps. There wasn't any water stations or first aid stations in the forest trail. When I finally crawled out to the long house where the only first aid station was, I was only given ice blocks in a pair of rubber gloves to relieve my cramps!

Surprisingly, the ice blocks did help, but not for long. 20 steps out of the aid station, the cramps came back. Hid (my team mate) had to apply first aid to relieve my leg cramps.

I sat on the ground, he straighten my badly cramping legs, held up my legs, his palm on my foot and pushed my foot towards me. I screamed, I shouted,  I pleaded for leniency.  I asked him to stop. He persisted and I almost died of pain. But it helped :)

The cramping continued for the remaining of the race. I was cramping every 20 to 30 steps. A racer saw me and passed me packet of deep heat. Hid applied the muscle rub on my legs. Wow, that worked much better than the ice blocks. Hey organizers, for future races, please supply muscle rubs for your first aid stations !

"If you can complete this race, you can accomplish anything"

During a particularly bad bout of leg cramps, I collapsed on the ground in front of a marshal. She helped me up and encouraged me. Hers words motivated me to complete the race despite the pain. To the lady who helped and motivated me, Thank You !

When I got to the obstacles, I breezed through them. Apart from the mud pools where I hesitated to jump right in,  the rest were all do-able. Especially if you have gone through National Service in Singapore :). I hurried through the obstacles as I also didn't want to cramp while clearing an obstacle.

Enjoying their mud bath ! 

Clearing the Net

Crawling in Mud !
(Photos by Emma Poon)

Cold muddy water is good for cramps. Surprisingly, my cramps got better after the repeated cold mud baths. When I completed the race, I felt much better :). I walked to the MAIN first aid station at the end point and somehow I wasn't too surprised that it only had only ice blocks in rubber gloves for cramps. I walked away ...

I am grateful to Hid for helping me throughout the race, SAFRA runners for their hospitality and arrangements and the lady race marshal for encouraging me when I am down and almost out ! Last but not least, the St John volunteer who attended to my cramps. Despite limited resources, she did her best and even travelled back in a buggy to the start/end point to get muscle rub but only to return with more ice blocks as none were available.

I'll be back ! (:

Despite the pain and the not too great race organization, it was a great experience. I am already looking forward to next's years race :) I will be better prepared to face the daunting challenge !