Spritzer Mineral Water and Dispenser

Spritzer in Malaysia is synonym with quality bottled water. They have been around since the 1980’s and started operation in Taiping, Perak.  Today, the company comprises of five subsidiaries which are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of natural mineral water, sparkling natural mineral water, distilled drinking water, carbonated fruit flavoured drink, non-carbonated fruit flavoured drink, functional drink, toothbrushes, preforms and packaging bottles.

Their facility is 300 acres wide and covered in lush greenery of Kamunting. Mineral water produced at the plant has a green cap to denote that they are mineral water. The mineral water is sourced from 400ft underground and then hygienically filtered and bottled to international standards. The products are duly certified by ABWA (Asia Middle East Bottled Water Association) and certified to ISO 9001:2008 and HACCP (MS 1480:2007 and Codex Alimentarius) by SIRIM QAS International & SGS respectively. 

Image taken from Spritzer.com.my

Being the leading mineral water supplier in the country, it comes as no surprise when they recently launched their water dispenser range that will serve offices and home alike.

 Many of us are familiar with these water dispensers after having seen them available and used in our place of work or in some other public places. The Stand and Mini Dispenser has the ability to dispense hot and cold water which is great and purpose built.

One thing I noticed is that the other dispenser I have seen requires you to purchase those big 5 gallon water bottles which potentially weigh close to 20kg. It will take someone strong (and with a good back) to haul it up over the standing dispenser.

What Spritzer does here is that they has customized or rather, comes out with sizing that even the most demure person could replenish the water without much effort.

I was given the Mini Dispenser to review by Spritzer today for review. It is a nifty little dispenser weighing about 630grams that takes up a small footprint on the kitchen table (less than 1feet square)

 The introduction of this mini dispenser (does not dispense hot or cold water) also meant that the cost of ownership to run an electrical dispenser has been greatly reduced. This unit is capable of taking in readily available 6liter bottle that could be purchased from hypermarket and supermarket.

The availability of the 9.5liter is harder to find but I am sure Spritzer will start stocking them up in tandem with the availability of the dispensers. However, a quick visit to Spritzer’s website says that you can purchase the water online and it’s free delivery! Only limitation is that they are limited to Klang Valley for now. Not too sure if the services will extent outside of Klang Valley or in major cities in Malaysia.

9liter RO water

Both the new bottles are designed in such way that it could be used as the conventional (spill free) pour bottle or to be used with the dispensers. As mineral water could not be everyone’s preference, the water comes in two other variant of reverse osmosis and also distilled water.
For the environmentally conscious, the 6 liters and 9.5liters bottle are made from eco-friendly PET material and as the sizes available are smaller, they uses 50% less PET material to make compared to the usual 5 gallon (or 18.9liters) bottle.

The dispenser is sturdy enough to hold up to 20liters of water and that could be a preference for those that consume large volume of water per day. On the average, a family of 4 adults will consume about 10 liters of water a day for both cooking and drinking.

I foresee the needs to replenish a 6liter bottle to be once every two days should the cooking water are directly sourced from the tap. At least than RM3/day, that is still a low price to pay for quality bottled water of known sources.

One of the biggest advantages of this mini dispenser is that they are highly portable and could be used outdoor as well. They could be placed on top a car, a makeshift table, by the river etc. By using a dispenser, chances of spillage and also wastage can be kept to minimum and the water hygiene can assured.
The brochures read that it could take up to 20liter bottle, which the full sized 5 gallon is usually found in office. How does a 5gallon bottle look like? Below is a pictorial comparison.

The smaller 6liter shown above is definitely a friendly size for smaller people to handle. It is not as daunting as the larger 5gallon bottle definitely.
Part of review covers to see if the dispenser could actually stand up for some abuse. Some might be sceptical with the sturdiness of the mini dispenser and believe me when I say they stood up really well supporting my 76kg body

No flexing, no sign of the unit giving away. Well done. This unit will stand up to the abuse! The only reason why I do this is because this unit is highly portable; there will be chances of it being used by kids that find it amusing to use it as stool. So, rather than having parents screaming their lungs out in case the unit collapse under any weight, best to try it out myself. Make sense?

I then started to play around with the unit and found out that the receiving bowl could be removed. This is good as it will allow more thorough cleaning and also servicing of leaky spout. One can just DIY if needed to replace the spout.

It is a simple twist to detach the bowl that is held by 3 slotted lock. No tools required, just common sense

How does it look like in one’s kitchen? I guess it is a matter of preferences. At home, I use a stainless steel water container and it serves it purpose well. With the Spritzer Mini Dispenser, I now have an option to place another water container so I could use filtered/distilled/RO/Mineral water for cooking. It will be put to good use.

Spritzer Mini Dispenser is now only available in Giant, Cold Storage & selected petrol kiosk. It is priced at RM36 the last I checked. Not too bad for something this portable!

Spritzer has won numerous awards with their products and what would be more assuring that to drink water from a known source? Make the informed choice for a healthier living!

More info at www.spritzer.com.my

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Another Epic Fail : Overweight Policeman

This photo has been circulating in Facebook. An image of a man seen in Malaysian Traffic Police uniform, with the unmistaken PDRM Yamaha Superbike in the background.

Now, imagine the amount of material needed to make the uniform, and how that superbike power-to-weight ratio are significantly reduced.
I am giving the benefit of doubts here that the Man might not be a real policeman. As Malaysian Policeman where got so fat? If he stand in a parade (as in a marching parade), he will potentially take up two person's space rendering the uniformity of the parade void.
I hope this is really not a policeman.

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Malaysian Sports Reporter Epic Fail

We all know Kilian Jornet won the 25th Kinabalu Climbathon otherwise known as SkyRunner SuperCup last Sunday in 2:41:04.
We also know that Marco de Gasperi still hold the record for the climb at 2:33:56, which is a World Record.

Record stated 2:33:56 (WR) on Marco's name.

We also know that Majestic Mount Kinabalu is 4095m. It was 4101m when i went up in 1992. The height was corrected in 1997.
Then, we have sports reporter that reported everything wrongly, even not caught by the  editor or the chief editor and allowed to be published to the masses.

So, now, we have a NEW WORLD RECORD and a NEW Mount Kinabalu height. At 7357m, we now have, according to Utusan Malaysia, have the second tallest mountain after Mount Everest (8848m) and beating Mt. Nanga Parbat (4608m).
Malaysia Boleh!
Seriously, our reporter HAVE to learn to do their homework! This goes out to also those that call a run less than 42km as MARATHON!
Lets see how long before the article is corrected. You read about this mistake here on October 27, 2011 at 11:15am.

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CBTL Milk Frother Review

Recently, "latte art" (design done on a cup of espresso with milk as the "paint") has been a rage. With coffee lover admiring a beautifully poured cup of cafe latte that looked too good to be drank.

Latte Art - Taken from Kelvin Tan's Facebook.

Some barrista might had chance upon this by mistake as they were pouring frothed milk over and into the espresso. For those that prefer their coffee with milk, otherwise known as a latte, it only make sense to get the frothing right.
Why is frothing important?
Apart from having milk foam that allows you to impress you guests with some drinkable art, frothing, or steaming milk actually brings the flavour of the milk out better. Think of it as how wine drinker "aerate" their wine with a decanter. Thankfully, decanting milk would look silly and best left with the wine/cognac lover.
Coffee as they say, awaken the senses. A good cup of roasted bean, grounded and brewed (or in this case, used along with the single press machine) is as seductive as watching (insert your favourite imagination here) dance. Your nose will flare as you take in a deeper breathe of air to pull in those aroma. Serotonin or happy hormone flows through your body as your tongue salivates and waiting to sip that freshly brewed cuppa.
A cup of espresso with foamed milk is known as a cappuccino - and i want to see a show of hand how many here that just simply love this drink.
Frothing milk is an art by itself, if not science. While some feel that it is only achievable using gourmet coffee machine with steam wands; and will usually cost you about RM1,500 and above - maintenance/cleaning not included, it make more sense to invest in something simpler.
A famous manufacturer has varieties of milk frother that usually utilises hand pumping motion like their french press cup. It takes about 3 minutes to create sufficient foam to be used for the coffee. They also have battery operated frother that looked like a modified battery operated toothbrush (in fact, it might work too, you think?).
However, both these method requires you to heat the milk to about 65degree C. This temperature is known to "bring the natural sweetness of the milk out". So, you now need a thermometer.
It just get too complicated, isn't it?
Or, should i get into the chemistry of milk and how lactose, fat and protein works hand in hand with heat and steam to brings out the full potential?
If you are a coffee drinker like me and would want "Barrista-like" prepared cappuccino or cafe latte, it make some sense to invest in a milk frother that has temperature control AND will create good foams.
Wait, did i hear you say, GOOD Foams?
Is there BAD foams?
Well, apparently, there are. From my research before committing to get the frother that i will be reviewing, i found out that those micro-foams are what the barrista will call "pourable foams for latte art" are the GOOD foams. Bad foams are akin to someone blowing bubbles into the cup using a straw (like when we were kids) - it's unrefined.
So, when i got wifey the CBTL Single Press Coffee Machine for our anniversary and house warming, it was another two days before we decided to just buy the CBTL milk frother.

For the record, We bought both units and were not given the unit for testing - so this review is honest and we would like to be as frank as possible with it so you will make an informed choice with your purchase.
Let me start off this review by putting in a few cons for this CBTL milk frother:
1. This unit is sensitive. It can stop working after a few times.
2. All electrical parts must NOT touch any form of liquid (sweat not confirmed though). There are two essential part which is on the Mug and on the Cap that must stay dry.
3. The cap (with the frothing attachment) MUST always be position faced down when in operation and when put out to dry. Else, milk/water WILL trickle into the bushing between the cap and the motor and render your unit useless.
However, as the unit is under warranty (assuming nothing happens in a year/during warranty, and not due to negligence, like immersing the whole unit into a tub of water), CBTL with their superb customer service, will replace it FOC. It is also their reputation at stake.

Blue LED that Ahbeng will approve.

If you can read past the three cons above, you are ready to purchase and use this milk frother that makes really really good milk foam that even the barrista will feel that their years of training are put to shame.
The unit is like a mini kettle where the top portion (mug and cap) can be removed while the base unit stays plugged into the electrical socket.
It has three lines on the internal wall to help you proportion your milk accordingly for that perfect cup of latte or cappuccino. It comes with one removable frothing attachment if you just want to have hot milk.

Never leave your unit when in use with the cap cover down like this. Water will trickle into the bushing and render the motor spoil. Show is the removable attachment for frothing (with spring) and just the milk stirrer to warm the milk.

The unit will create warm milk with micro foam in 3minutes or heated milk in 2minutes. This is essential as you do not want to let your espresso sits too long in the cup and get cold. Always prepare the milk first and then the coffee!

With blue lights that Ahbeng will approve too!

 

Shown in the photo above, you can see that for warm milk (without foam), you can put the milk to the MAX level. It will automatically boils the milk while the stirrer ensure even distribution to bring out the flavour and sweetness of the milk. This has effectively made SUGAR and CREAMER obsolete. You now have pure coffee and milk only in your cuppa! Healthy!
If you want foam, fill up to the MIN level or the MID level where you will get super smooth micro foam ready for latte art!
The trick to this is to use cold milk. Cold milk are more receptive to foaming. Putting in cold milk will gives the frother more time to foam the milk before they start heating it up and stop at 3minutes sharp. See the official video of this milk frother to judge the quality of the foam! My decision to buy this unit was based on the foam quality - nothing else!

True to the video, i get consistent same type of milk foam every time i use it. Only caveat is that i can prepare one at a time and has to ensure the mug to cool down before pouring in another batch of milk for foaming. But as they say, good coffee is worth the wait!

Fresh Cold Milk to the mid line

Foaming in progress

TA..DAAAAAA!

 I have used the unit for other purposes too, like spiking my children's chocolate powdered milk with milk foam that got them drinking it down in a jiffy. No more excuse not to drink milk for them.

Papa made "Special Milk"

The unit we first bought had mechanical problem perhaps during the unit demonstration at the CBTL outlet, that they were not careful (or rather, did not know) not to leave the unit upside down and some milk could had gotten into the bushing, dried up and caused the stirrer not to move. We got it changed the next day and all has been working fine since.

As there is too much technicality in just "washing" the unit, wifey has bestowed that frothing responsibility to me (plus cleaning up).

No better way to feel like a barrista, really.

Next up will be to learn to pour latte art! Stay tuned!

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CBTL Single Press Coffee Machine Review

Everyone loves a cup of Joe. He is everyone best friend. You wake up to him. The smell of Joe early in the morning was said to come close to smelling fried bacon in the morning - it awaken all senses.
For this year's wedding anniversary and as a housewarming gift to wifey, i got her a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) single press machine.

Anniversary surprise, but as usual, i don't wrap presents.

The CBTL machine is named Kaldi. They are actually OEM by Caffitaly and the equivalent model would be S04. It is also known as Caffitta System and used extensively to make espresso and other coffee drinks at home. It only works with a capsule system that has pre-measured quantity of coffee.

Starter pack comes with 12 varieties and FOC if you purchase the unit online

By inserting the capsule into the machine, a high pressure hot water will be forced through the capsule (after being punctured at the front and back by the machine) and you will get your extracted coffee.

The unit we got is deep red and it is simple to use. You can use them to make espresso (small cup : 2-3oz of potent caffe) or double espresso, caffe crema (medium cup : 4oz) or just have a cafe latte or tea (large cup : 12oz). There is a water reservoir behind the unit which stores up to 40 oz of liquid, which is good enough to make four full cup of regular coffee.

The system claimed to come with dual-pressure system of which will automatically press 15bar or 7.5bar to obtain perfect espresso or brewed coffee out.

Espresso, Caffe or Tea?

The unit fits various sizes of mug with the stainless steel mug holder being able to be flipped or removed. Versatile enough but don't expect to fit in a thermo mug to take your coffee on the go. For that, i suggest you use another mug as a transition between the machine and your thermo mug.
Why did i get this for wifey if you ask. For one, we love coffee and tea. While the usual instant coffee will do the trick, it sometimes comes out flat and you will need to add sugar, milk etc to make them "drinkable". Buying canned coffee that tasted delicious is actually unhealthy as they are laden with trans-fat via usage of creamer and artificial ingredient such as food conditioner and color improver.
The CBTL capsule is affordable at RM2.10/capsule. That is about the price of an usual Kopi-peng (ice coffee at local coffee shop). In fact, it is already cheaper than paying at the branded Kopitiam franchise. A box of 10 capsules sets you back RM21 - the price of two brewed coffee at the same outlet ;-)
Only catch is that the machine is expensive to buy. However, it is not as expensive as one would had thought. At RM980, it is half the price of other single press machine that you can buy from shops selling coffee machine. Only thing missing is the milk frother or warmer. This will be covered in a separate review as frothing milk is actually an art by itself!
This single press is widely used by smaller cafe as they provide fast ROI (return of investment) as they could serve delicious espresso/brewed coffee/tea at a very low cost. Here is a short calculation.
Per Capsule : RM2.10
Milk 150ml : RM0.675 (1liter fresh milk is about RM4.50)
Electricity/Water : RM0.50 (this is like damn gross estimate. Unit consume 950W/hour which is actually 30sen max/kWh. Water is free in Selangor)
Total cost : RM3.275/cup
Sell it at about 300% mark up will brings it to RM9.825 which will be enough to cover for other incidental. Perfect for a small business set up.

Business Possible

Now compared this to the usual "drip-brew" machine that needs filter (usually paper but some has inbuilt) and extensive cleaning. There are many parts to remove to be cleaned and they are often one reason why we do not brew our coffee as often (we have stocks of local Kluang Coffee, Tenom Coffee at home). This Single Press machine has ONE removable tray where they can store up to 10 used capsules and a drip pan large enough to hold a cup of water. All you need to do is remove the tray and wash! The unit is self cleaning as you just need to press any "cup size" to rinse the residue out. Descaling is recommended depending on usage.
There was no regret "investing" in this machine though for light drinker like us, it will take up to 100 cups of Coffee to get the ROI (on the machine alone). But that is perfectly alright as we can get to enjoy a nicely brewed coffee or espresso anytime of the day.

Espresso On The Way!

The unit when in operation, creates a slight humming sound (as the hot water is being forced through the capsule) and the coffee will comes out instantly. To ensure every drip is obtained, leave the cup there for another 10 seconds and you won't lose anything. If you like your coffee black, you will not need any milk or sugar. This machine will be perfect and easily maintained for you. If you love your latte and wants some milk froth to go with it, come back to this blog soon and i will offer you a few solutions.
Meanwhile, let me make one cuppa and sit at my corner to enjoy it while watching the kids run around the house.

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25th Kinabalu Climbathon Race Report

As i hobbled into office this morning, traversing 179 steps that took pretty long to finish, i was typing an imaginery keyboard as to how to write this report. Why is that so? This year was an awesome year for this race. Not only was it super-star studded, it marks the last of the Summit Race. Next year, it will be called "Adventure Race" and it won't be a "Race Up The Summit". The caption "The Toughest Race Gets Tougher" is a misnomer; how can racing up till Layang-Layang and down to Mersilau, with the final 14km on PAVED road, be tougher than running up the Summit to Low's Peak?
Every year, racers come back as they want to get better by that "200meters from where i was cut off last year" or to "touch the metal board again to get my U-turn band" and "race down the craziest mountain race ever".

Always in Awe of Her Beauty

This year is the second time i did the race with Wifey. What started off as a small "challenge" with wifey to get her to take up outdoor sports turned into a semi-obsession for both of us now. I see that as a good progress as our running now are not limited to chasing after the kids or walking in the malls. To instill good habit with the kids, we have to show it ourselves to them. Like a very close buddy updated this morning in his Facebook.

"Children listen with their eyes, not ears. So start showing instead of telling"


How true.
Last year wifey managed to get to KM5 with me in tow encouraging her. It was according to her, the "best feeling" ever. Her target this year was to get further than last year, even if that meant an extra step over the 5km mark before being cut-off in 3:30hours.
You see, the whole deal with Kinabalu Climbathon that has made loyal followers is the insane cut off time.
6:30 for Women and Men Veteran and 4:30 for Men Open.
Hence, you have 3:30 to get to the summit or 2:30 if you are men below 40 years old.

24th Climbathon 2010. KM5 @ 3001M above sea level. Can she do better in 2012?

This year, we have many friends attempting it for the first time. Adeline and Mac is just two of them. Powerhouse like Yimster that recently completed two marathon back to back within 24hours were present as well. So was accomplished runner/climber such as Tony Quay, KC Leong, Tey Eng Tiong, Raymond TomatoMan,  Zairin On Nom and humble legend such as Gavin Bong and Ng Seow Kong. Many returned after a year or two hiatus such as Luvis Phuah, Kam Kasturie and Bacin. Newcomer such as Cynthia Gan were there too to experience the absolute best the Mountain would offer. Brave women such as Helly (Zairin's wife), of which always follow and provide moral/presence support to Zairin took up the challenge and trained for the event. Remember - each and every one of them that was there respected the distance.
With so many friends around making part of the 600 strong participants from 40 countries, this Climbathon proves that the pain and suffering (of altitude sickness and walking like a crab the day after) was well worth it - even if it really meant going just ONE step further than last year.
One would be inspired. I know i am.
As with every trip, the excuse to load up a little more than usual plays a part to make the trip a more enjoyable trip. This time around, with Mac and Adeline in the travelling party, things got more fun too.

3Layer Coffee. Essentially Coffee with evaporated milk and unrefined palm sugar.

While really careful about what we put in our mouth and system, we often err on the more oily side. I can't resist a good bowl of noodle. What more if there are seafood as side dishes?

fresh enough, but could be better

The standard of living in Kota Kinabalu is slightly higher than KL. Myself an wifey always tell ourselves that if we are travelling, it is best not to skimp on food. There is only so much we can eat and best that we try to find the best possible within the reasonable price range to feed ourselves. Obviously no spicy food as an upset tummy while running up Kinabalu is not a good thing to happen - more so you will risk getting your butt freezing off, literally speaking.
This time around, we stayed at the Best Western Kinabalu Dayak Hotel. A name that is handful and at RM140/night/room (not inclusive of taxes), it is the best option for 5-star-like comfort with ease of getting to everywhere within walking distance. Definitely more expensive than the usual backpackers' hostel such as the favourite Borneo Backpackers, i always try to ensure wifey to have something close to the best if not the best.
The one day we had in KK was spent mostly at this shop called Tech City. It is essentially an outdoor shop that sell imitation (branded) items, licensed items and many other stuff that will ensure "comfort in the rough" at the backyard of Sabah wild outdoor. Even Luvis and Yim found the place.

Where to start looking?

If you are in KK and love outdoor stuff, drop by TechCity at Jesselton Point. They are open daily from 1030hours to 1930hours. Tell them you found out about this in my blog and they will give you good discount (usually 10% to start with and can be up to 20% depending on your PR skills ;-))
First thing the next morning, it was the early booking of transport to go up to Kinabalu Park courtesy of the organizer. Only catch here is that you must register early or risk not getting a spot. Transport up to the park cost anything between RM30 to RM100 depending on the type of transport you choose (Bus cheapest, private driven car, more expensive).

We initially planned to take the bus up like every year, but a re-calculation to see the possibility of ensuring Mac and Adeline to be able to catch their flight on Sunday says we can't hack it. Only one flight out to Singapore from KK everyday and that meant we need to cancel on the tourism Sabah bus and rent a car.
We managed to secure a brand new Proton BLM at RM140/24hours and with four sharing, the cost is worth the freedom to move from the hostel we will be staying near Kinabalu Park and the convenience of getting to the race start on the daily basis.

Gavin Bong - Accomplished runner/climber/skyrunner. Well done on Boston Qualification!

The drive up to Kinabalu Park from KK takes about 1:40 at a very slow 60km/h pace up the hilly mountain road. It is also an opportunity to stop where the bus won't. Like in Pekan Nabalu for toilet break.

or by the road side to admire the mountainous valley and to try reading Aman Avtar's mind for The Most Beautiful Thing (TMBT) 100KM trail run in November, 2011.

According to Aman, you TMBT participants will hike over this peak, down the ridge to get back to Kota Belud. Good luck and happy racing!

We reached the park at about an hour before the Sabah Tourism bus arrived and got the registration done without a hitch. Not many knew that the Sabah Tourism's server crashed and all the previously registered participants database got wiped out. Actually, this happened every year ;-). So, this time around, we registered via hard copy fax and followed up with email. No glitch there! Somehow, i must say that the anxiety of not being able to race should the name wasn't in the registry is pretty daunting.

The Reciept. :) Simple.

Those that did not have their name in the registry can always just re-register again. It is the waiver form tht is the most important to be signed to offload any possible mishap/injury from the organizer. Mac decided to try his luck to register last minute.

Easily the heaviest at the race but braver than those that just talk but did not start. Well done Mac! I know it's for the T-shirt only ;-) 

While we were getting our race kits, we noticed a few professional SkyRunner was in the room too. We did the next most logical thing - get them to autograph our bib!

356 and 069 blessed by King Kilian!

And of course, the compulsory whoring with the superstar.

Keep Smiling Alright!!!

Lucky enough to be in the same Van with Anna Frost and another pro from US.

I must say that these supermen are really humble and has no air about them. Super accommodative and with great PR skills, it's good to see them being cool!. The only biggest differences between them and me is the VO2max as theirs might be easily 30 points more than me. But in the heart, we ALWAYS DO OUR VERY BEST!

Even Mac can't resist to be SuperStar-Strucked. Signed by King Kilian.

The race briefing was done at 1800hours and we returned to the Registration area to look for friends. We were not disappointed as Tony Quay brought along 47 Pacesetter members to brave Climbathon!

Tony will get many Good Karma points for his action. He missed his return flight as he was too busy sorting out every one else's return journey!

With all things sorted, we headed back to D'Villa, which is about 500m away from the Park's entrance towards Kundasang. it is a Hostel styled lodging where each room has 6 double decker to accommodate 12 people. With a shared bathroom and toilet, it could not be everyone cup of tea, but at RM30/night inclusive of a simple breakfast, that is hard to resist.

Thanks Leonard Lim for arranging it for us!

The lodging is sufficient and clean. The food served ala-carte was reasonably priced and the variety and portion is big too. Value for money at 5000 feet. That evening, it rained and the temperature dropped to close to 11 degree where we were and it was not really fun to be in the open eating with the wind and chill blowing.

The humble piping hot Milo never tasted that good. RM2.00/mug

Soon after dinner, we set out to get our race items ready. Adeline's hydration pack had leaks. Not a good sign. But Gavin brought along some medical plaster and that solved the problem. An engineer will be an engineer i would say.

Happy Hamster

Lights off was at 10pm that night and we were awaken by 4am to a simple bread (two slices) and two hard boiled egg breakfast. Sufficient enough with the compulsory hot coffee that help opened the eyelid and warm the tummy on the cold  windy morning. Bliss! We got ready and were at the park by 6am.

With pinkish hue in morning!

We caught up with our buddy Yusran and after a short chat, moved to the starting point of the race. Photos at this point will be limited as i requested to help Mac with the photo taking and i was excited with the D700 and the 24-70 F2.8 lense.

Thank You Tey!

I set out about 30minutes earlier to position myself better to capture the participants racing up.
It turned out that the 30minutes only allowed my fitness to bring me up to KM1.0! With heart rate touching maximum of 180bpm, i was already without my Salomon windcheater and sweating.
So, the rest of this post will be with minimal photos and will be uploaded separately, later.
It took only 5minutes for the top runners to reach where i was. Among the fast one that caught me within 20minutes were the like of Gavin, Yim, Seow Kong, Cynthia, Pui San, Yusran, Adeline, Wifey, Raiha, Helly, Zairin, Tony, Tey and a few others. All in good spirit and in good shape, they are on their way to try reaching the elusive peak!
I tried following them for a few hundred meters and decided to drop back to wait for Mac. While i respected his ability, i told myself that i must look out for him. I know he will too if he is ahead of me. I keep moving slowly and steadily and after at about KM3.5, i called Mac and found out that he is doing great and was at about KM2. Not too Shabby sir!
In about 30minutes later, Mac called to inform me that he is making his way down. Great effort Mac. That 2.5KM is horrendous with that steep climb from KM0.5 to KM1.5!
From there onwards, i race to try catching up with Wifey and the rest. I bumped into Dr. Pui San at KM4 as she decided not to go through the same ordeal as last year where she had to battle her fear of height coming from from Villosa to Layang-Layang. Peppered mainly with rocks and slippery surface, it is easy to see why.

from 2010 Race Report

She told me wifey should already be at about KM5 or beyond. Shifting to higher gear and with about 3kg load on the pouch and the wonderful D700 setup up of about another 3kg, it was sure extra workout i was doing. I managed to reach KM5 in 3:15 and "bluff" my way up and was stopped at KM5.5 by a ranger that was coming down. With Laban a mere 500m away, i had to make my way down to Villosa at KM5. I spent about an hour plus at Villosa chatting with the rangers and taking photographs of friend coming down the misty mountain. It drizzled and the wind was strong. It was cold and my body cool down. I saw Seow Kong, Gavin and Yim amongst the friends i know that made it up to the peak within the 3:30 cut off.
That got to be exhilarating. To be at the peak. Touching the board. Getting your return Band marking 25th Climbathon. This is what this race is all about.

seriously misty, rainy and cold compared to last year!

As wifey made her way down slowly, i found out that Adeline has went beyond Laban Rata and has managed to touch KM7 near Sayat Sayat. She got cut off there. I then saw KC Leong, Tony Quay and a few others as they happily made their way down, knowing that they did better than what they did the previous year.
With water running low, i had to share my water with some of the running friends. The hyperventilation and the cold weather made you dehydrated without you actually knowing it. As they are in a race, i have to share it - it's only fair that way.
Wifey came down about an hour later and we slowly made our way down. Here are some photos taken by her at 11,000 feet, where the weather was better and she was above cloud, literally; both on her achievement and also the bench marked Laban Rata in 3:30. Along with her was Zairin which escorted Helly up and helped to flog wifey to high cloud.

By moving to the right of the board, she effectively went higher than last year!

I am envious and i am happy, proud and amazed by her. Only a year and that 1km distance is a benchmark for more inspiring things to come!
The journey back was long. With the legs tired and the effective 2extra KM that she travelled, she can be forgiven when she start going down the big steps one by one. Adeline caught up with us by KM 1.5 and the three of us made our way down and back to base.

This is the same stairs that the Elite flew down in the previous posting.

By then, i already know Mac is safe and sound back at base camp and the like of Gavin, Yim and Seow Kong has completed their race to be official Finisher. We walked slowly towards Timpohon and the last ordeal was to climb the seemingly endless stairs back to the Gate.

Last Suffer!

As they were already outside of cutoff time by the time they reached Timpohon Gate, a sweeper van took all of us back to the finish line for that last hurrah. They DNF, but there was nothing shy of DNF-ing. This race is a tough race with failure/DNF rate of no less than 75%. Only 100 of the 400 that started reached the peak and of which, less than 80 that managed within cutoff. Those that DNF were awarded a Participant's medal, to reward them for the attempt to complete the race. My hats off to all of them that are official FINISHER and my salute to all of you that had tried.

Reloading after race. Well done!

The next day was my race. Suffice to say, i did not do as well as Wifey. I stopped at KM2.5 with about an hour to cut off to spare. I was awaken up at 3am race morning with gastric. In my tiredness from the hike up to KM5.5 earlier, i managed to pop in two Maalox Plus to control the gastric and caught an extra hour of sleep before waking up to prepare for my own race. Legs were surprisingly fine and strong and i thought i could actually reach Km5 like last year.

My Turn.

At the starting line, i was feeling good as well. Friends of familiar faces helped to contain the nervousness a little bit.

Sharp at 7am, the gun went off and everyone ran towards Timpohon Gate. Wifey, Adeline and Mac was there to see me off. :) I was among the sweeper and has decided to stop at KM2.5 and made my way down slowly to see the Elite run down the stairs.

Did i regret not pushing? Perhaps i did. It is unlike me to quit. But between the tummy and the glory to reach where i was yesterday, i decided that i will save my battle for another day when i am better prepared - lets hope they bring Climbathon back as a Race to the Summit, and not as a pseudo-trail run with the Majestic Kinabalu as the backdrop.

I found this as i was looking at the miniature ferns. Someone from the previous day could had throw it away in frustration as he/she knew he/she won't be able to meet cutoff at the finishing line. For me, this band is a keeper simply because it proved that you have reached the top. While not rightly mine, this band shall be used for future motivation for me to get my own - when there is a race to the summit again.

Until the next Climbathon - all of you movers, shakers, aspirator's, finishers, participants, keep training and keep aiming to better position and faster timing. Lets hope the Race to Summit will happen again!

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