3rd Penang International 12hour Walk

from Australian Centurions Newsletter

Khoo Chong Beng, the organiser of the Malaysia International 24 Hour walk, put on another enjoyable and very well organised edition of his annual Penang 12 Hour Walk. An amazing 495 competitors in a 12 hour walking race! As is to be expected, conditions were very hot and humid even though the race was held during the night . It has been described as more of a “Survivor Penang” than a race.

Peter Bennett (C 24) and Charles Arosanyin (C 46) were both in attendance and both performed magnificently in the tough conditions. Peter put in the following very comprehensive race reportAt the end of Novembers I joined about 490 other competitors in a 12 hours walking race around to the streets on the Esplanade in Georgetown, Penang, which is an island off the west coast of Malaysia. The event was the 3rd Penang International 12-Hour Walk 2006. The race was organized by IAAF race walking Judge Mr. Khoo Chong Beng and the Race Walking Association of Malaysia. It was a very well organized and run event considering the large number of competitors. The organizers also had the support of a large number of generous sponsors.

The race started at 8pm on the Saturday night, just as it got dark. It was still hot and the humidity was oppressive and nothing much changed over the next twelve hours. An hour before the race I was sweating profusely just sitting under a shady tree sipping copious amounts of sports drink. I had arrived in Penang two days before the race and spent the time sight seeing and trying to acclimatize to the equatorial conditions. I had made up my mind as soon as I walked out of my air conditioned hotel for the first time and my glasses fogged up that I would not be walking for distance but rather survival.

The course was a fairly scenic rectangular loop around the Esplanade .Each lap was 1,078 metres and the laps were counted electronically with competitors having a micro chip attached to a shoe. It took quite a while for the competitors to sort themselves out and there was a lot of zig zagging to get through the masses of walkers.

Judges were on the course for the duration of the race and any infringement of the race rules earned competitors a one lap penalty(which was deducted from their total at the end of the race). Besides the normal race walking rules you could also lose a lap by not putting your drink cups and rubbish in the bin .

A group of 10 or so competitors had lapped me after the first hour but in the steam bath conditions it didn’t take much to resist the impulse to lift the pace. Cold water, sports drink fruit and power bars were available to competitors throughout the race. More substantial food was put on at three hourly intervals. Some of the competitors would have a long rest and only get back up to walk when the food was brought out again. The venue was well lit with music played all night and a crowd of supporters and sightseers coming and going during the course of the race.

During the night there was constant lightning but no rain to cool things off. There was a lot of heat radiating from the pre-dominantly bitumen road course and was I hoping there would be a downpour. My feet especially were feeling the effects of the build up of heat and were bright red for days after the race. Other than that I didn’t suffer any other ill effects due to a conservative approach to the race. I was alternating large cups of cold water and electrolyte sports drink every kilometre, slowing right down to make sure I drank every drop but even then I was dehydrated .

The race was conducted in categories so there was no overall winner declared. I was fortunate to win the Men’s Senior Veterans Category with 86 laps (92.708km) which was the same as the winners of the Open Men and Men’s Junior Veterans category. Many of the early pace setters had taken extended breaks or had slowed right down as the race wore on. By midnight, the rest area was full of competitors with blistered feet, cramps and muscle strains.

Fellow Australian Centurion club member Charles Arosanyin (C46) from Nigeria came second in the Men’s Open Category after setting off at a blistering pace. Alex Vandenhoeck from Belgium who would normally exceed 100 km in the first 12 hours of a 24 hour race was a victim of the conditions. Alex had been weakened by illness a few days before the race and was completely drained a few hours after the start and unfortunately had to retire from the race. The walkers from Hong Kong showed what tough competitors they are by dominating the trophies in the women’s categories. They may lack a bit of technique but they are very determined and brave competitors.

The presentations were made immediately after the conclusion of the race. All competitors received special participation medallions and the eight competitors who covered more than 50 miles received a special achievement plaque. Trophies were presented to the top six placegetters in each category. After the presentations I walked the kilometer back to my hotel with my sports bag, trophy and a carton of sports drink (which was part of the placegetter prize), had a hot shower and went to the hotel restaurant to get some breakfast. I then returned to my hotel room to drink the can of Tiger beer I had been thinking about over the last three hours of the race.

It was a very enjoyable trip and it was good to catch up with old friends and to enjoy the warm hospitality of the Malaysian people. The race strengthened my belief that no matter where you compete, walkers are always courteous and supportive of their fellow competitors. The sightseeing and the abundant variety of tasty and inexpensive food was an added bonus. There was some talk of pushing to have a Penang 24 hour walk but that would be far too dangerous. Much better that they stick to holding their 24 hour race in the cooler climate of the Genting Highlands even though the Malaysians reckon it is far to cold up there!

Regards,

Peter Bennett (C 24)

Men Open

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 3 A080 MOHD HANIZAM BIN HARUN A MAS 86 92.708

2 4 A176 CHARLES OLATUNDE AROSAYIN A NGR 82 88.396

3 5 A147 LIM KOK CHEONG A MAS 82 88.396

4 17 A071 AIMAN CHEAH TIONG CHAP A MAS 70 75.46

5 18 A076 LEE KEAN EWE A MAS 70 75.46

6 25 A175 MUNIANDY A/L M’NISNA A MAS 66 71.148

7 33 A146 MALEK REDONE A MAS 63 67.914

8 36 A166 LOO JEE CHYE A MAS 63 67.914

9 40 A150 TEY ENG TIONG A MAS 62 66.836

10 44 A067 MUHAMMAD HARUN TEE BIN ABDULLAH A MAS 62 66.836

Men Junior Veteran

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 1 B205 YOW KANG HUAT B SIN 86 92.708

2 6 B211 LIEW THO FATT B MAS 79 85.162

3 7 B291 ABD. HALIM B MAS 79 85.162

4 8 B215 LEE CHOON KEAT B MAS 77 83.006

5 9 B206 NG HUAT BENG B MAS 77 83.006

6 12 B262 CHEAH SIN CHOR B MAS 75 80.85

7 19 B208 DR.DEVINDER SINGH B MAS 69 74.382

8 22 B240 KRISHNAN A/L RENGASAMY B MAS 68 73.304

9 23 B220 OH KEAN CHEONG B MAS 67 72.226

10 35 B286 MIRZA MANIRAJAH BIN ABDULLAH B MAS 63 67.914

Men Senior Veteran

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 2 C462 PETER BENNETT C AUS 86 92.708

2 10 C360 HOR AH SIEW C MAS 76 81.928

3 13 C465 MOHD JAFARI BIN OTHMAN C MAS 74 79.772

4 15 C378 WONG BOO WIL C MAS 71 76.538

5 16 C364 YUM BENG SOO @ YUM PING FOOK C MAS 70 75.46

6 20 C377 HJ.IBRAHIM BIN ASMONI C MAS 68 73.304

7 24 C392 LIM SOON HOCK C MAS 66 71.148

8 26 C370 ANG THEAN HOCK C MAS 66 71.148

9 27 C435 A.NAMADASON C MAS 65 70.07

10 38 C391 LO KE SAY HONG C MAS 63 67.914

Women Open

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 11 D539 KWOK CHIK HA D HKG 76 81.928

2 37 D540 CHAN YEE HUNG (CAROL) D HKG 63 67.914

3 42 D508 LING KING CHOO D MAS 62 66.836

4 56 D541 KASTURI A/P MUNIANDY D MAS 58 62.524

5 70 D509 TAN YOW YEE D MAS 55 59.29

6 71 D542 NOR JULIANA BT ALI D MAS 55 59.29

7 76 D545 KATHLEEN MUJAN NANDONG D MAS 54 58.212

8 78 D544 TAN KUAN LING D MAS 54 58.212

9 84 D531 LOY KIN D MAS 52 56.056

10 90 D543 TAN MIN PAU D MAS 51 54.978

Women Junior Veteran

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 14 E651 MAY, LAI YUET-MEI E HKG 73 78.694

2 21 E652 WONG YUET-WAN E HKG 68 73.304

3 29 E653 IRENE, TAI SAU-KING E HKG 65 70.07

4 30 E648 ECHO, YEUNG MAN-CHUN E HKG 65 70.07

5 31 E605 CHEAH BEE TIN E MAS 64 68.992

6 32 E650 BETTY, CHAN WOON-KAM E HKG 64 68.992

7 34 E607 LIM SIEW LEAN E MAS 63 67.914

8 46 E611 LIM CHENG HOON E MAS 61 65.758

9 63 E621 TAN CHOOI KHIM E MAS 57 61.446

10 67 E608 LEONG SIEW HAR E MAS 55 59.29

Women Senior Veteran

Rank RankTot Strno Name Cat Nation NetLap Dist (km)

1 28 F708 OOI POH CHOO F MAS 65 70.07

2 41 F706 LIM MOOI KIANG F MAS 62 66.836

3 47 F720 KANG BEE LOOI F MAS 61 65.758

4 50 F703 JACINTA CHIN AH LAN F MAS 60 64.68

5 51 F729 OOI POH KEAH F MAS 60 64.68

6 62 F726 MARY GERALDINE PHIPPS F MAS 57 61.446

7 65 F731 NORMA BT MAN F MAS 56 60.368

8 66 F707 TAN HOI TIANG (TINNY) F MAS 56 60.368

9 81 F713 LEO TENG WAH F MAS 53 57.134

10 100 F711 GOH NAN YANG F MAS 50 53.9

Full results may be analysed at http://www.championchip.com.my/