Ages since my last post

Hi guys,

It's been ages since my last post here. So sorry about that. I've been epically busy with my new job as well as the personal crisis management part that I'm left with little time to write.

Lots have happened recently in this 2 months of absence. SCKLM have been postponed. I've recovered from an injured ankle which have caused me to have a downtime of over 1 month. The haze have come and gone. I've tried out new gears which I should be writing about, but have yet to have time to do so. I'll try to do so hopefully by next week as I've been busy travelling alot recently.

Yeah. Just a quick note to let you guys know I'm still alive :)

Run for Nasam - People Giving.

First of all, I need to apologize for the lack of posting recently. I've recently had a lot on my plate. I'm in the midst of moving to another company so I'm busy with preparation as well as handing over my job duty to my replacement. I've also been busy with preparation as well as my trip to Osaka end of May. Yes, yes, I promise to write about it at a later post but do give me time for it.

As some of you may have known, I've already signed up for the Half Marathon for SCKLM this year. What you may not know is that I've been asked whether I'm interested in running for a charitable cause. My thought was since I'm running anyway, why not? It'll help to benefit those in need as well as to draw attention to their cause.

I hope to be able to post more in the coming days but this week and the following week I'll be super busy. I'll try and post more after that. In the mean time, do hop on over to the campaign page and support the runners and do help to share it out.

My Campaign Page - People Giving

It's been a year

It's been a year. A year where my old life had ended and I was forced into the position I'm in now.

It's been a year. A year of solitude, grief and sorrow. A year of anger, frustration and pain.

It's been a year. A  year of loneliness, picking up the pieces, and starting over again.

It's been a year. A year where promises made had been broken, life made had been broken, and a journey began, ended.

It's been a year. A year since you told me you want out. You want your old life back. You don't want anything to do with me anymore.

It's been a year. A year of suffering internally while making sure other family members and friends do not get the backlash of your decision.

It's been a year. A year full of internal tears and scream. A year full of anger at myself and self-loathing. A year full of questioning oneself and insecurities.

It's been a year. A year of empty smiles and laughter. A year of assuring everyone everything is fine when nothing is. A year of daily struggle to live a meaningful life.1

It's been a year.

I praise the Lord for being with me throughout this year. Constantly reassuring me that I AM loved by sending the right people along when I'm at my loneliest and lowest. Constantly giving me the strength to go on.

I praise the Lord for guiding me throughout this year. Without his guidance, directly and indirectly, I would have been a lost sheep.

I thank the Lord for watching over me throughout this year. He hath provided for my all. When all things fail, when no one seems to care or help. He is always there for me.

I thank the Lord for sending me his angels throughout this year. I've met old and new friends throughout the year who have selflessly given of their time and care to me. You have touched my life and fanned new hope in my heart by the simple act of being there and being a friend.

I thank the Lord for this year of learning. I have been a firm believer that things happen for a reason. I do not know the whole reason for what had happened, but throughout this year, I've grown to be more matured, more independent, more reliant on other's compassion, but most importantly, more reliant on God Almighty.

As this year pass on. There are still new challenges ahead for me to overcome. I pray that the Lord will continue to watch over me and guide me for the days to come.

Amen.

KL 10K Road Race Report and Review

This report and review is a little overdue but with what had happened on 15.04.2013, I felt that I should defer posting this up by 1 week as a sign of respect to the victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.

REVIEW

Ok, first thing first. KL 10K Road Race is organized by Cadence Project Services and supported by DBKL. It's Co-Sponsored (quite last minute I would say) by Milo, Kinesio Garage, and Protex. Just so you guys know, I couldn't google up anything on Cadence Project at all and I've always been good at finding information of these sorts. The main reason for me to join this race was to have consistent "higher" (by my then current standard) mileage race to continue to motivate me onward in my training. Below is the review in point form:


The Good:
1. Dry Fit Round Neck T-shirt. I'm a sucker for them since I'm kind of shy. Vests are too sexy for my taste.
2. Smaller number of runners result in less traffic congestion for runners, making it easier for us to run.
3. Great volunteers. They direct clearly and cheer you and encourage you along the way.
4. Marshall and RELA members escorted vehicles through the runners safely. Good job on that.

The Bad:
1. Information seems to be slow in coming out. Race Kit Collection was announced about 1 1/2 Month before event, and Race Route was only out 2 weeks before the event. Is this due to lack of preparation or lack of experience or lack of personnel?
2. Race kit collection was poorly done. There was no direction provided to get to the room. Wisma OCM is multi-faceted. Where should we go?
3. Bib was made out of paper, which disintegrated before I finished the race and only realized it when I wanted to take it off.
4. You're required to write your own name and emergency contact number. Not a biggie but we WERE promised a personalized bib. Also, with the guaranteed disintegration of the bib, what's the point?
5. No medical personnel as far as I can tell. Not sure if they're at the water station or not since I BYOW anyway so I can't confirm on that.
6. Insufficient personnel at water station? I have a lot of feedback whereby runners have to stop to fill up their own cups.
7. No notification on REPC was sent to the runners. Coupled with the fact that REPC information was not given upon registration, quite a few runners actually forgot about it. It's not fully the organizer's fault but it would be nice to be reminded since no info was stated beforehand.

The Ugly:
1. Promises were not kept. e.g. Personalized Bib Number, Goodie Bag, Light Breakfast. There's also no XS T-Shirt available.
2. "Route will cover notable landmarks in Kuala Lumpur and opportunity to view a piece of Malaysian
history." The route goes through from Padang Merbok, to Mahameru, to Bukit Tunku and then back. Can someone please enlighten me on the historical aspect of this route please? I failed my History.
3. Bad runner mentality. At both water station, I see runners throwing cups on the floor when there's a rubbish bin 2 feet ahead of them. Throw it in the bin or carry it all the way back please.
4. Organizer seem to have reduced down the prize money as well as those entitled to the prize money. I'm not too sure on this matter since I don't run for the money, but if it's been promised and the organizer is to do that, it's extremely wrong.

As of now there's still a debate as to whether we should still give the organizer a chance for next year. What do you guys think?


REPORT

What have I to say about this race? Well for one, Ouch comes to mind at the moment. It took me a few days to get my "spring" back in my leg. Considering that it's the 4th race that I've ever joined, I would say I'm still kinda ignorant to some things like whether it's a good idea to have a race once a month and how long is the recovery period and etc. This race was actually set as a low priority race as I wanted to concentrate on my training the Half Marathon at SCKLM, that is until Eugene from Team 2ndSkin got wind of it.

I know Eugene from the KL Runners Group in Facebook. We've never actually met but we got along well and had fun chatting and sharing online. Anyway, Eugene kinda found out my timing for the 10K I ran in Brooks Half Marathon 2013 and volunteered to pace me to a new PB. I was a bit hesitant, seeing that it's only my 2nd 10K race and only 1 month after Brooks. Half of that 1 month I wasn't able to train much at all. We had a short chat and Eugene advised me to start incorporating faster kicks at the end of all my runs for at least 500m, so that was that and we kind of agreed to it. When the race course came out two weeks before the race, I plotted it into Garmin and found that it was quite hilly, oh well, it's just a few hills right? Which race in Malaysia doesn't have hills? I kind of thought nothing of it after that.

Race kit collection day roll around and since I don't know where the place is, I hitched a ride with a friend who knows the way. Locating the building was not too bad. Problem is locating where we're suppose to collect the Race kit. There was a lack of signage to point us in the right direction. When we asked the staff of the hotel, we only manage to get a general direction which did not help at all. Luckily a kind guy saw that we were still struggling to look for the place and walked us there. :)

Things looked to be pretty standard, with 1 team of people checking your Confirmation slip to get the Bib Number, while another team go about gathering  your Race Kit. First surprise came when the T-shirt size requested by my friend (XS) was not available. 2nd surprise came when there's no Race Program included. Instead, it was printed on a banner for you to see. That's it. When I got back to prepare the items, I found that the Bib was made out of paper. I accidentally tore it before the race day even came about. Not a good start of things.

Before heading back, my friend decided to go for a drive to Padang Merbok to see where we can park as well as to survey the route. Imagine to our surprised when we saw the amount of hills that we had to traverse. I wasn't too intimidated, but it certainly is daunting. What with the amount of hills as well as the incline, the first thought that came to mind was whether I would be able to finish strongly at all, let alone a PB. Oh well, one can only do one's best. As you can see, I've already started thinking negatively about the race.

Race day come about, I went over to fetch a running buddy that wanted to carpool and drove on to the race venue. We decided to go earlier to ensure that we can get a parking lot due to the lack of parking facilities there. There wasn't any guide on alternative parking area so we wanted to make sure we can get a space. Well, we were one of the first participant to arrive. The rest of the people, as far as I can tell are volunteers. Pretty soon, the parking was filled up and the Rela volunteers stopped anymore cars from coming in. Where to park leh then? Side of the road as far as I can tell. This proved to be correct as after we start the race, we could see cars parked along the side of the road. In fact, there are people who even parked on Jalan Parlimen itself!

Closer to race time, we decided to get out of the car and go in search of toilet. Imagine our surprise when we were informed that there's none. Apparently the Organizer have applied for permit for Porta-loo but was rejected by DBKL. We were informed that there's a public toilet at Padang Merbok itself but it'll only be opened after 7am. Guess what, the start time of the race was 7am. Some enterprising soul managed to talked the guards at the one of the academy nearby into letting them have access to the toilet there. It was briefly opened to the public but quickly closed after a while due to the huge number of runners. It's understandable since they are responsible for the security of the academy and they may be questioned if the toilet get messed up.

Be that as it may I saw the legendary Yim Heng Fatt holding a camera walking about and went up to him and introduced myself. We chatted for awhile when out of the blue, someone came up to us and ask whether he's the photographer ET Tey. Both of us had a good quiet laugh as he kindly and humbly corrected the guy. After that, he got busy taking photos so off I went to look for others that I've met and gotten to know. I managed to catch up with Joanne, and Lorna and her friends. While waiting for Lorna to warm up, I managed to catch sight of Eugene. We've never met before but the shirt he wore was just too bright to be ignored. :) I went up to him and introduced myself. We chatted a bit and then I introduced him to the rest of the KL Runners gang who were already there.

As we chatted, we went back to the topic of getting a PB here. I voiced my doubt that I could do it due to the huge number of hills, but Eugene was undeterred. He was pretty certain we can do it and convinced me to follow his pace until I pass out. I looked at him incredulously as I've never been paced before so I wasn't too sure on what to expect. Sure, I've paced others before mainly as an encouragement, but this time round, we're going on a mission to break a time record so I hope you guys understand why I'm a little nervous about things. At about 6.50am, we were all asked to report to the starting corral. So off we went, lining up like sardines in a can. As I looked around, I realized that we were slightly further in front than where I'm used to and prefer to line up. We're up at the 2nd quarter of the corral whereas I'm usually at the 3rd quarter. It's a clear indication on the expected pace Eugene will be setting.

As the gun went off and we started shuffling toward the timing mat like a bunch of zombie. Before we even reached the mat, you can see the fast runners setting off up the hill already. The moment we got out, we hit the first hill. As we're still shuffling for position, we didn't mind going at a relatively "slower" pace of 7:14min/km Pace. I'm starting to not get surprised to see walkers appearing within the 1st KM. Anyway, as we near the end of the hill, we stumbled onto a kid who's running with his dad. According to Eugene, this is the first time the kid is running in a race. His dad signed up for him as so that he can run with the bib.

Kid finishing the race in style. Dad in yellow shirt carrying his shoes. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

Check out the guys behind the kid. Whoever you are kiddo, you're my hero! Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

We started to speed up as we get to the downhill section. We were going way faster than what I'm used to, mostly sub 7min/km pace to 6min/km pace. I'm a slow starter and usually need a few km to warm up before going faster. I mentioned it to Eugene and he assures me that we're on the right pacing for a PB. When we hit the Bukit Tunku hills, I know I'm in trouble as my heart rate has been elevated more than usual for quite some time already. I voiced out my thought that the hills are gonna be hell and Eugene patiently told me to get rid of such negative thoughts and concentrate on shortening my stride length to go up the hill instead.

As we're going up the hills at Bukit Tunku, we heard a motorbike coming from the back with whistle blowing. After a while, the motorbike came around and behind it, the Kenyans are passing us by. There goes the locals dream of getting the prize money lol. Things were starting to get tough for me at this point of time. I'm feeling out of breathe, my heart rate is more elevated than I would like it to be, and we're going faster than I'm accustomed to. As we near the top of the killer hill at Bukit Tunku, Eugene noticed I kept glancing at my Garmin, so he told me not to look at it and to trust him instead. I told him I was checking my heart rate, of which, it was at 178 bpm.

Well, with my heart rate like that, Eugene decided not to speed up during the downhill, instead, we used it as a recovery phase for me but even then that was not enough. I have started off too fast too soon and my body is starting to deplete it's store of glycogen, not surprising since I've gone anaerobic quite early on. I took half a packet of Hammer Nutrition Gel at about KM5 and the other half about KM 6. By this time I'm at the stage where, I am reserving my breathe to talk already. I know I slowed down alot from KM6 to KM7 as it was an uphill section and I really needed to slow down to catch my breathe and recover.

I can't really recall much information except that Lorna came up from behind us and got a drink from my bottle before speeding off as usual. :) Eugene egg me on and continue to give encouragement throughout the race. Even when I felt like stopping to take a walk, which I know is a bad idea, he throw out little challenges to make me dig deeper in myself to just go that extra distance further. Thinking back, I'm really glad I didn't stop to walk because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to start back up again. By the time we reached KM 8, Eugene let me know we have the PB in the bag as long as we don't stop running now. Come to think of it... Duhhhhh. Kena conned. -_-

After passing the KTM station, we saw Yim taking photo in front of us. Eugene went hyper on me. I'm still surprised he's still got so much energy. For me, all I could do was to try and catch my breath and continue running, and of course, look smart on photo.

Eugene going Hyper when he saw Yim. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

Truth be told this antic made me laugh. Cheered me up but I almost couldn't run due to the lack of breath. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

With less than 2KM to go, I did what I could to speed up which I doubt I did. I'm just glad it's sub 7min pace all the way back to the finishing line. Crossing the line was a huge relieve. I totally forgot about the timing. Eugene congrats me on a new PB and all I could do was smile stupidly. I'm sure he must be wondering what's going through my brain at the moment. Truth is, brain is on "collect" mode. Processing mode kind of switched off a few KM back. :)

Once again, I just want to thank Eugene for pacing me on this race. Your encouragement and belief in me made a huge difference to me. I've learned a lot on this race with you.

After a job well done. I'm completely drenched and couldn't even stand straight. lol. Picture courtesy of Xydra Lau

Things I've learned in this race: 

1. Shorten your stride length while maintaining effort when going uphill. Overall, you don't tax your muscle as much as when you take your normal stride length.
2. When you think you're running on empty, dig deeper. You'll be surprised to find that there's more there.
3. When you think you can't, you can't. Mental strength plays a very crucial role in your run. If there's a huge challenge or obstacle, turn it into a motivation or cut it into manageable bits. When you take it head on positively, you will be able to overcome it. (Thanks Eugene for showing me. :))

Are we doing our part?

Few days ago, I stumbled upon a video on  Facebook. What that video does is to  reminds me of a struggle I face everyday which I've come to realize for a few months now. As a runner and as as a driver on the road, we are paradoxically, 2 side of the same coin.

On the Driver side of the coin, we are often seen to be in a rush, driving with excessive speed, being discourteous to other road users, double parking, queue jumping, and etc, etc, etc. The list does go on, but we all know what those lists contain. We break the rules and law when others are not watching, and even more so now a days, when it's convenient for us.

On the Runner side of the coin, We tend to feel that runners/pedestrians have the right of way.This is even more so when there's a Zebra Crossing. There are times we can be so anal about this that we put ourselves at risk of being mowed down by the drivers on the road. We become discourteous to the drivers, staring at them like they're the most hateful thing in this world. as well as by being a "PITA" pedestrians too.

There WILL be a few readers out there that may have the though "I'm free to do whatever I want" going through their mind now. That's completely Ok, and normal. Freedom is our God given right as everyone would say, argue, fight, and die for. But with the word "Freedom" comes another word that a lot of us conveniently forget. I do apologize for being philosophical and some of you guys may get upset by what I have to say, but do remember that this are my thoughts and opinion only and you may agree or disagree freely.

Responsibility

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

As the quote above says, With Freedom comes Responsibility. A lot of us have enjoyed our freedom of speech, freedom of choice and Freedom in general to the extend that we forget that with THAT freedom comes responsibilities that's associated with it. You are FREE to drive your car, but  you are also responsible for not just maintaining your own safety, but the safety of other road users. You are also FREE to run on the road, BUT, you are also responsible for making sure that you run on the right side of the road so that you can see incoming vehicles, as well as to take all necessary precaution to ensure that you are as safe as possible.

A lot of time, we push the responsibility to others. Classic Example: I'm a pedestrian crossing the road, the driver should be aware and wary of pedestrians. Or; Reversing out of a parking and expecting the pedestrians to keep clear just because you can't see everywhere or going slowly. What happen to the responsibility part? It is as if, like what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” Can you imagine a bunch of kids or children running in the street and driving on the road?

Part of growing up has always been to take on more and more responsibilities. It's a part of the journey of life itself. A lot of us "grown ups" think that we're matured and responsible enough as it is, Is that really true? Being "grown up" does not always equate to being matured. How many of us have really matured to the extent that we see beyond the immediate event and the surface? How many of us have matured to the extent that we dare to conduct a self-evaluation and to say yes, I'm doing this wrongly, I need to change?

The Challenge

This post is not about putting any sort of faults on the drivers or the pedestrians. This post is all about giving you a wake up. We are ALL Road Users, be you a runner or a driver. Most of us that follow this blog are both. The challenge I'm putting up to readers here is this. Be aware of what's going on on the road, be it when you're driving, or when you're running. Make positive changes that can impact other road users on the road.

For the past 2 months or so, I've been consciously trying to change the way I drive. It's a hard habit to break. This is especially true when faced with the likes of queue jumpers and rude drivers. I have to constantly remind myself that it's not worth it to drive angrily or drive excessively fast. I try to slow down and give way to other drivers that are struggling to cross the road or merge into the traffic. I especially try to change lane when there's a pedestrian on the road. If I can't change lane, I'll slow down and move further away so as to give them that extra buffer zone of safety.

It's not always successful, I'll admit, but I believe that with perseverance and determination, I'll definitely be able to break this habit off and be a more responsible driver on the road. One chant that helps me along whenever I'm struggling  is "Just breathe" One day at a time, one moment at a time, one breath at a time :)" This is especially helpful if you're running late. There's no point for you to drive like an F1 driver when you're running late. No matter how fast you drive, you'll still be late. Might as well drive carefully and reach your destination in a better mental state than what the rush will do to you.

Remember, just because you use the road, doesn't mean you own it. Respect everyone who uses it, be it pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, or car drivers. All of us can do something to make the road a safer place. We may think it's ok to break the law, but you are still morally responsible for your action.

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

Running Dos and Don'ts in Malaysia

You know what? Every time we go to a race, we are always faced with the same inevitable problems of runners doing whatever they want. I don't know whether this is due to ignorance, lack of information, lack of education or lack of the grey matter, but I hope this post can help to address this issue. I plan to append to this post and compile some sort of a booklet that hopefully I can pass on to organizers to print out to pass to runners. Who knows, maybe I can get DBKL to print out some simple guideline in the park as well.

Running Etiquette:

1. Do run a maximum of 2 abreast. Share the running path with other runners. They're not made exclusively just for you.

2. If  you are running with others, please remember that you are only as fast as your slowest running partner.

3. In most park you will notice that runners tend to go in 1 direction. There are however times where people may run in the opposite direction. If that's the case, just do the logical thing and keep to the left just like how you would drive. I'm not too sure whether left-hand drive country will keep to the right or not. This will be interesting to find out, especially for runners traveling to other countries.

4. If you run on the road, do run AGAINST the flow of traffic. It is safer as you will be able to see cars approaching you and take evasive measures in case the driver is not paying attention to his/her driving. If in doubt of whether the driver sees you, always assume that he/she didn't.

5. Don't run or walk in the middle of the track. Keep to the left to facilitate overtaking runners.

6. At the same time, runners overtaking should alert walkers or slower runners that they're being passed. Don't assume they are aware of their surrounding. A simple "Coming through", "Excuse Me", or "On you right" is good enough.

7. Acknowledge other runners as well as drivers who take extra care to ensure your safety. It's always nice to be acknowledged, especially drivers. We don't just want to promote the sport of running, but also to promote running in a positive manner.

Racing Etiquette:

1. Do line up appropriately. If you plan to walk/run or go slow, line up further back in the start corral. This help to control traffic on the route and there's less jostling about for everyone. Just because you line up further in front does not mean that you will finish the race faster. It is fine to ask fellow participants their targeted finishing time to know if you're in the right spot.

2. Ever get pissed off with snobbish runners shouting at you to "Keep left"? Well guess what, that runner is trying to help you by teaching you that the right etiquette for going slow is to keep left. Just like driving, don't hog the fast lane if you're one of the below:
a. Slow runner.
b. Walker.
c. Couple/Dating on the run.
d. Cam-whoring or SelCa-ing
e. High on something.

3. Don't ever, ever pull an abrupt stop during a race. You run the risk of causing an accident to runners behind you. If you need to stop, move left and check to make sure you're out of the traffic flow before stopping. This include stopping all of a sudden to tie your shoe lace in the middle of the route. Please, please, please move to the left and out of traffic flow or refer to online resources on How to tie your shoe lace correctly.

4. Don't cut in front of runners all of a sudden. Same issue will result as above. If you need to pass or cut across, do indicate and check for other runners behind you. If someone is wearing earphone in front of you, and they are blocking, gently touch their elbow or shoulder to alert them of  your presence as you pass them.

5. Please please please, don't hog the water station. I've never ever used the Water Station in any of the run I've participated. You know why? Coz I got traumatized during my first race. It's like a herd of parched Wildebeest stampeding to a watering hole.

Luckily there's no crocodile for us runners.

Do try to go in slow, take the cup and continue moving along instead of stopping to take a drink. If you DO need to stop to take a drink, move further up and out of the traffic flow so as not to cause a congestion. Or do like me, BYOW (Bring Your Own Water). You won't be caught in situation where you need water and there's none.

6. Do throw your cups into the designated bin or mash it up and carry it along with you. Some people say that it's OK to throw the cups on the road as long as it's close to the volunteer station. I don't see why we can't carry/pocket something that doesn't weight much back to the finish line or till we find a rubbish bin to dispose of instead of endangering the lives of the volunteer who has to clean up after you.

7. Watch where you throw your waste. We're not Michael Jordan and even then, there's such a thing called Interception. Smacking a fellow runner in the face with your waste is bad form.

8. If you need to perform the Snot Rocket/Farmer's Blow, do make sure there's no one behind you. It would help if you could move aside and ensure that no one is in the "shotgun" zone when you perform this task.

9. Do not blast your earphone until you can't hear what's going on. We all love music, but you ARE in a race and safety of other runners as well as yourself IS paramount. If you want to listen to music, do keep one earbud off so you can hear runners and marshals calling out warnings as well as any approaching vehicles.

10. Listen to Traffic Controller's instruction. When asked to give way for cars, stop and let the cars through. We don't own the road, we share them, so respect other road user's right as well.

11. Always thank the volunteers. Without them, the race may not happen. Even if you're running the race of your life, or you're all spent and out of breathe, a simple nod, thumbs up, or gesture will go a long way to make the volunteer's day.

12. We rarely see supporters here in Malaysia, but I make it a point to say "Thank You" to any supporter is see. These people come out to cheer you on in their own time with their own expenses. The least they deserve is a Thank you from you.

13. Do continue moving after you've crossed the Finish line. There are other runners coming through. As always, get out of the traffic flow before slowing.

14. Don't cut course or run out of course. You're only cheating yourself.

Star Wars Running Quotes

Just for the heck of it, I thought I might as well make a post on quotes from Star Wars and mix them up with some running Lingos. Have a laugh, contribute to it, use it. It's all for the fun of running. :)

Quotes from Yoda

“Speed, PB, pace... the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

I can imagine Yoda using the above quote when training Luke for a marathon.

"When 42.195 kilometer you reach, look as good, you will not."

"Try Not. Do or do not; there is no try."

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

The above 2 quote is something I myself will have to learn haha. I’m sure that will lead us to enjoy our runs and races even more.

Quotes from Princess Leia

"If personal bests are all you love, then that's what you'll receive."

"He must run his own race; no one can run it for him."

"You came here without training? You're braver than I thought."

I can imagine using that last one on someone who joins a HM or even FM without proper training. Although, he/she may be more foolish than brave.

Quotes from Obiwan-Kenobi

“Use the Force, *Insert Name here*.”

Wonder what will happen if we use the above to cheer people on. Hahaha.

Quotes from Chancellor Palpatine

"All who gain PB are afraid to lose it, even the Jedi."

"The attempt on my PB has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you… my resolve has never been stronger!"

"There is no civility, only the podium."

Quotes from Darth Vader

“The Force is strong with this one.”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

I think Darth Vader is secretly a runner. His quote doesn’t need to be changed much.

Quote by Chewbacca

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!"

You can use this when you cross the Finish Line

So remember always, “May the Force be with you.”