DER PACEMAKER #55

Name: Wong Kei Ming
Date of Birth: 21 September 1986
Hometown: Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Year of Running: 2005
Contact No.: 016-2166277
Email: Wongkeiming@hotmail.com
Website: Wongkeiming.blogspot.com

On 13th July 2008, 2:16:33pm.
I was surprised by Mr. Ronnie’s message through phone that I was invited to join the pacemaker’s family. It was an honor and pleasure to be invited to be part of the best running group in Kuala Lumpur. I am writing my profile as an introduction of myself to you all.

I am not born to be a great runner but I am a kind of person who is very curious and active during school time. I was exposed to Tae Kwon Do very much at secondary school. I represented my school for the competitions since 2002 and got few medals in sparing and pattern events.

I started my running career since 2005 when I saw a Power Run form from Prabu’s hand, at that time, I asked him could I join him for a run, sure he replied yes, and he would like me to join him very much and he said that was his pleasure too since he had been running alone since 2000, so I decided to join him for the first run. I asked him to register ‘Larian Pengguna’ for me, this was the first run which I ran for and I remember it clashed with ‘Larian MPAJ’. Quite less people join ‘Larian Pengguna’. That’s why we said one of the lessons ‘the road not taken’ from form 4’s literature text book, travel the path which less people travel, it might be something good along the path although it seems like a difficult path, hehe… funny! Kind of excited and nervous when I dealt with the fear of the first ‘serious’ 10km run. Without much training before the race I was struggled a lot during the entire race, but still managed to finish the race and got the first running medal, still remember my position that time was 98, it was very difficult to get into top 100, the feeling was like just released from the jail, absolutely happy that time, unbelievable! That kind of feeling was indescribable and it became my wonderful memory inside my dairy. With that kind of adventurous excitement, running has become one of my favorite sports.

I continued my running journey by participating in the first 20km event in 2006, Great Eastern Pacesetters. Before the race I had been training so hard with Prabu during holiday in December, we ran everyday and put a lot of efforts on running to build up more physical and mental strength. During the race I was in a good form, I did not stop for the first 13km. Finally, I finished the race too! It was very tough and tiring but had a fantastic feeling. Moreover, I had participated all the major events such as Towerthon, KLIM, and so on. When came to 10th September 2006, I took up the challenge for Putrajaya 42km, the first full marathon in my life. My friends said I must be crazy. Actually I was not very confident for the full marathon but once I had registered for it so no point for me to be a coward, so I decided to run. However, at the 5th kilometers mark, my nose was bleeding, I was shocked and it seemed like a bad day for me. With the ‘never give up’ spirit’, I continued running. I was suffering with dehydration and tiredness.

My brain wanted to continue running but my whole physical body was not on my side because my body was too tired and suffered with inflammation and muscles cramps. That time I thought I could not finish the race, no more inspiration, no more motivation, nothing! because I was almost the last runner. Suddenly one veteran runner came from behind and he said to me, “Young man! Set your pace! Do not give up! Keep believing in yourself! You can do it! I am 83 years old but I am still running so why don’t you?”. My inspiration suddenly came back to me, I decided to follow the 83-year-old man. I made it finally to the finishing point, the first full marathon medal was given by the official, I could not believe I had really done it, I felt like crying and very touch, many many thanks to the 83-year-old man, I will never forget this fantastic memory. After that 3 days can not move already.

Being a student, other than studying, we need to take part in other activities too! With a lot of assignments and homework in the university I still can manage my time table well for my running routine, having a jog at least twice a week to make sure everything is going fine. I joined the pacemaker’s training recently at Bukit Aman car park, running in a group instead of running alone is a good start for me because it gives me that kind of motivation. Apart from that, I have to set a pace for myself too. As Ronnie always says ‘pia kau kau lat’ in every race, Haha… Last but not least, I would like to say many thanks to the captain of the pacemaker’s family, Ronnie for giving me and also Prabu an opportunity to be part of the Pacemaker’s family and also share his experiences during training. Some of the Pacemaker’s faces I have recognized too as I have read through the profile of Ronnie. Kevin Ng, Kenny Tan, Geraldine, Ng Ping Loong, Lai Fong Sang and so on. Hope to see you all in the next race! Have a nice PIA!