To be honest, I really do not know what the CIDB stand for, but upon checking up the AI I got this answer Construction Industry Development Board in Malaysia. The race was held on 14th Dec on a Sunday at Putrajaya, a new area for the government offices in Malaysia, the nearest hotel there was Dorsett Putrajaya.
Signing up
The sign up as usual is online, its the Check point website. I signed up for only 30 SGD which I felt was really quite a deal as you get the goodie bag and and shirts. This time I took a direct bus to Putrajaya near the IOI mall and also the Mariott resorts. We had a stop at Yong Peng the usual big rest area for buses selling a lot of local goodies. The ride was smooth , we started off 06:30am from Jurong East MRT, and taking the second linkway. By around 11:30-12pm I was at Putrajaya already.
Race Pack Collection
As Putrajaya is a little bit further from my bus drop off point, I decided to just chill around IOI mall first before heading back. It was a seriously huge mall with a lot of shops and facilities inside. After getting all the stuff, I ordered a Grab to bring me to Putrajaya Dorsett and also the race pack collection. The race pack collection is at Auditorium Tun Azizan Zainul, Kompleks Perbadanan Putrajaya which is near to the start line and hotel. There was not much of a race expo and only 2 stalls selling gel and some strangely trail items. The staff on duty was friendly as since there was no crowd,
After the collection, I checked in the hotel and went to the gym for a short walk just to freshen up from the morning long bus ride. I roamed around the area after that and found a Mr DIY shop and I bought some dried food from there. I retired early, the room was large and comfy and they had some movie channels so I decided to rest early as the race starts 04:30 am.
Race Proper
Been to the start line so so many times, yet I still get the chills about doing well and going to the race. There were really not many participants for the 21 km, but it is better also because that would mean we get more space and not too crowded. I actually brought along a drop bag this time despite the proximity of the hotel. I thought of maybe doing another ten k with the ten k runners when I come back or maybe just hang around to soak in the atmosphere of the place so I decided to just bring along change of clothes and slippers to make sure I am more comfortable.
The race started around 5 minutes late, it was not so crowded, as usual I need to bash through a group of runners before getting a really clear space for myself. It rained the night before so generally it was a cool and breezy run, despite having to grapple with a hamstring problem which results over usage over this year, I was actually feeling okay and well for this run. Anyway, 21k should be really not a problem, unless I really want to got for some PB. I still wore vibrams this time there were some pain around 13km but it was slowly taken over and I had some pain killers when I woke up, so I thought should be really good to go. The route was nice, roads were closed all for the runners big 3 lanes and 4 lanes, marshalls were clear anyway there were not many junctions or turning, its really logical one straight road mostly. So your job is to just keep going in front. This is so much more relaxing than running in Singapore where its really humid and the road closure can make things really confusing.
The best part of this route is that there were no really dark moments like most Malaysian races have, because there were bright road lights all the way through. From the beginning 2 ladies over took me and one guy who was pacing one of the ladies lagged behind to tell me to try and overtake her, but I guess I was at my limits. I told him we shall see, we ended up running a bit together but his ITB worked and we parted.
Nothing significant to report just that there were good water points all 7 of them through and it was luxury. Young friendly volunteers make my morning 5 am so much more easier to go through. Before I knew it I was going home run and I charged my last bits of the finishing line. Needless to say, there were many photographers throughout the race you can get the photographs with a nominal fee.
ENDING
The ending was nice I was given the 7th tag as female open potential. I was not looking for any prize just to make sure i do not become slower compared to the one I did in Feb, so it came as a surprise. I walked to the tentage to get the finisher entitlements, refreshments. As it was still early, many of the vendors have not started to operate. I walked around and after fifteen minutes, the ten k flagged off. I decided to do another solo run around the Putrajaya lake about 8 km. It was nice and tranquil and did not felt like in Malaysia. When I return, I saw the winners all starting to grab their prizes so I presume ceremony was only for the top 3. I just went and took my 7th placing medal. After changing up, I went back to hotel for the breakfast, chilled a while at the pool before I took a Grab back to the IOI area to take bus back to Singapore. Overall, it was a nice race and I enjoyed the me time as usual.
