Skyhawk Nature Run - Back For Its 5th Time!

Skyhawk Nature Run was first held in 2014 and I was there with a few hundreds of participants who all ran 20K in its inaugural edition.

A runner posing in front of a backdrop at KM10

It was upgraded to a 22K run from the 2nd edition onwards. The run was later changed from being held annually to biennially and this year mark its 5th edition. The number of participants had grown from the few hundreds to a few thousands now.

Skyhawk Nature Run is one of those races that I never hesitate in recommending to friends - for its scenic route, friendly crews and volunteers, great marshalling, awesome water stations and even more awesome post-race refreshments.

This year was no different.

The organiser had done something different this year, by giving Finisher tee to all who FINISHED within cut-off time (COT). Yup, there were no Finisher Tee given out before, not that I'm that bothered about it at all.

I collected my race bib on Saturday evening, said hi to Dr Liau and went around doing some shopping.

I was quite surprised that some runners recognised me and said hello during REPC. Hahaha

The flag-off was on Sunday morning at 6.00am (though it was a few minutes early, if I follow my own watch) and it was before the Subuh prayer time. I heard the Subuh azan 8 minutes after flag-off. Some muslim runners opted to start  late and some stopped along the route. There were suraus in the kampung area for faster runners to stop. Petronas and the Medan Selera surau weren't open but of course it didn't deter Muslim runners to stop to pray.

There were two Pens this year - Pen A for fast runners who will be starting first and Pen B for slower runners (like me).  And I started waaaaaay at the back.

A runner said hi at around KM3 and we continued our run side by side, chatting away. It helped to have a friend to take one's mind off the mileage.

Before we entered the kampung road, we were running along the main road. Despite the road not closed off totally and with many junctions to cross; the traffic police, RELA and route marshall handled the route marvelously.

I have to thank Melaka's drivers too. Despite being held up by us runners, they were very patient and drove past us slowly. At the kampung route, it was the cars that gave us way and waited for us to clear instead of us making for it to drive past.

There were water stations located about 3 plus minus kilometres apart so  truthfully, we didn't really have time to feel thirsty! LOL

Just like in previous editions, it was the water station located at KM10 (Kampung Tiang Dua) that I look forward the most.

This year, we had Baba and Nyonya Melaka coming out to greet us, offering drinks and sweet watermelons.

Me, a fellow GC runner and a friend who were always there for us at all Skyhawk Nature Run editions!

After spending time eating few slices of watermelons, posing of photos, taking selfies and whatnot, I was ready to make a move again. But then another friend arrived to the water station and I stuck around, wasting more time there. LOL

There were plenty of official photographers stationed along the route and links to their photos can be viewed at Skyhawk Nature Run Facebook page. 

It was drizzling when we were flagged-off and the weather remained cooling almost throughout the run. Rather damp but cooling so it was nice and enjoyable.

The majority of the route were through kampung roads, and the organiser had put a number of signages to entertain runners.

Plenty of runners stopped to take photos of farm animals too. I didn't see any cows this year though. Some runners even stopped in front of a kampung house that will be hosting a wedding reception later that day and take photos there. Much to the delight of the kids who were there.

Tak jumpa coffee here but plenty of Red Bull

Another first (I think) for this run was the implementation of cut-off time. There were cut-off time at certains CPs and the final cut-off for 22K was at 3:40 hours. Quite generous, if one do train for the run. Heh.

My running mileage leading up to this run was pretty dismal, so when I saw this I chuckled.

Yup, we paid to do this.

Yup, we're tough.

And yup, we will finish the run with a smile!

And it's not difficult to smile all throughout the run when the crew were all so enthusiastic!

There was another awesome water station at KM18, serving watermelons, oranges and kurma (dates). There were also isotonic, Moma water and coke. COKE! Yeay!

I finally crossed the finish line, 24 minutes slower than my 2018's timing. So teruk!!!

But I was still feeling pretty happy because the run was so FUN!

I crossed the finish line, with crews waiting to drape my finisher medal across my neck. Then I went to the Checkpoint tent to collect my results slip and redeemed my Finisher Tee.

After collecting my finisher tee, I continued walking and was given a goodie bag. Then handed a 900g tin of Appeton Wellness 60+. Wow!

Bananas and ice cream potong next and off I went to the where the real "makan " action was.

But not before being greeted by the man who was in charge of the "makan" area himself. Great job with the post-race refreshement arrangements!

I had some Milo, putu piring, putu bambu, red bean soup and was too full to enjoy the Nestle breakfast cereal that was also served.

My post-race goodies.

For a RM80 registration fee for early birds, it's totally worth your money!

Energetic crew and marshall along the route. They greeted us with a cheery good morning as we were running along past them.

Awesomely friendly water station crew.

Good traffic management with plenty of RELA and polis patrolling along the route.

There were mobile medic (wearing Bacang vest) and also medic stationed at water stations.

Generous post-race refreshment.

This is a run organised by runners for runners and one can feel their sincerity in ensuring everyone had a good run (fast or otherwise).

Thank you so much to the organising team for another great edition and you will definitely see me again at Skyhawk Nature Run 2022!

Some photos taken at Skyhawk Nature Run 2020 can be viewed at our Facebook page Cik Arnab & En Kura-Kura.

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