The River Jungle Marathon 2014

Venue: Lot 1625, Jalan Sungai Tekali, Hulu Langat Batu 14, 43100 Selangor

Date: 7th September 2014

Time: 5.00am

Distance: 42.195km


The River Jungle Marathon 2014 was my first full marathon, and my objective was just to complete it with a smile on my face without bothering about the finishing time. Despite the name, this was a road run and no trail running was involved. This was a non-competitive marathon, so there's no cut-off time. Every participant who crossed the finish line received a finisher medal regardless of how long it took. 

To prepare for my full marathon debut, I followed the personalised training plan from the My Asics web app for 4 months since May 2014. My strategy for completing this marathon is instead of letting the 42.195km break me, I'll break the 42.195 km. By that, I mean breaking the marathon into smaller sections. There were 13 drink stations throughout the course with the average distance of 3km between each of them. My plan was to only focus on getting to the next drink station and not to think about the remaining distance to the finish line because it can be very demoralising.

I only had 2 hours of sleep before the marathon possibly due to pre-race jitters. I got up at 3.15am and started to get ready. I left my house at 4am and reached the venue 22 minutes later. My friend, Marc was already waiting for me. I ate my PowerBar and after chatting with Marc for a short while, we did some stretching together. At 5am sharp, we were flagged off!

I ran with Marc and we were pacing at about 7:15/km. Since this was a non-competitive run, we treated this as another LSD (long slow distance). After passing the Batu 18 police station, we turned right onto Jalan Sungai Lui. This is a narrow kampung road with mostly jungles on both sides. I could hear the sound of a river trickling on our right, but it was too dark to see anything.

After approximately 9km, Marc's  right knee started to hurt and he slowed down his pace. He told me he may not be able to complete the marathon and planned to stop after 20km to avoid any serious injuries. I took my first energy gel at the KM 11 drink station. At the KM 17 drink station, I stopped to use the portable toilet and Marc overtook me. After using the toilet, I picked up my pace and after about 1.5km, I caught up with Marc. At this point, he was really struggling and had to stop to walk several times. I stayed with him and gave him encouragement that the next drink station is not far ahead.

Once we reached the KM 20 drink station, I took my second energy gel. Marc said he will flag down the next support vehicle he sees to head back to the starting line. We parted ways and I continued on my own. The next section was a very steep uphill climb. It was really tough but the view was amazing. Eventually I had to walk the last few hundred meters towards the top in order to conserve energy. At the top of hill climb was the KM 23 drink station which also served durians! I did a u-turn and head back downhill. On the way down, I was surprised to see Marc going uphill on the opposite side. We high-fived each other and then went our separate ways. I found out after run that Marc finally managed to find a support vehicle at the KM 29 drink station.

I had a banana at the KM 26 drink station and continued on to Jalan Sungai Lalang. I started to pick up my pace and overtook a few other runners. As I reached the KM 29 drink station, both my knees started to hurt. I took my third energy gel at the KM 32 drink station and enjoyed a refreshing coconut drink.

After leaving the KM 32 drink station, I met Fedoh, a fellow runner and we ran together. We turned right onto Jalan Sungai Tekali and soon we came across another steep uphill climb. I only managed to run halfway up and had to walk the rest of the way, but was so glad to see the KM 35 drink station when we finally reached the top of the hill. The last 2km was tough because my ankles started to hurt as well and the weather was getting scorching hot. We ran together until the final stretch and I crossed the finish line with the time of 5:23:40. I did it! I completed my maiden full marathon!

Overall, I really enjoyed the The River Jungle Marathon 2014. The hills were tough, but the sights were simply amazing. The route took participants through the scenic kampungs (villages) of Hulu Langat, past rivers, jungles and hills. This run was literally a breath of fresh air compared to other marathons which are held in cities or other urban areas. The River Jungle Marathon is also a great platform for beginners to try out the full marathon distance since there is no cut-off time. Kudos to the organiser for such a great run. I will definitely join again next year.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Features "X-Men: Days of Future Past" After-Credits Scene

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was released in the UK last week and according to Empire, the film features an after credits scene from "X-Men: Days of Future Past". The scene will feature Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, Lucas Till’s Havok and Evan Jonigkeit’s Toad taking on William Stryker (Josh Helman) and his military men.

This will surely cause confusion among movie-goers who'll assume Spider-Man and the X-Men are going to team up. While this may have happened on numerous occasions in the comic books, this is strictly a marketing thing. The movie rights for Spider-Man and X-Men are owned by Sony and 20th Century Fox respectively, and any crossover between the two movie franchises is not going to happen any time soon.

Variety reports that Marc Webb had an existing contract with Fox Searchlight to direct another film following “500 (Days) of Summer.” After “The Amazing Spider-Man” in 2012, Webb’s negotiations briefly stalled with Sony as he was caught in a tug-of-war with Fox. Eventually, Fox agreed to allow Webb to direct Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2”, but only if Sony would promote its “X-Men” film for free.

Sony confirmed the after credits scene will be included when "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" opens in the U.S. on May 2.

Sources: Empire & Variety

The Nine Realms of Thor

In the Marvel comic books, Thor is from Asgard, a realm based on Norse cosmology, and it is connected to other realms collectively referred to as "The Nine Worlds”. In the 2011 film adaptation, we only get to see three of them - Asgard, Jotunheim and Midgard (Earth). In the upcoming sequel, "Thor: The Dark World", we are expected to explore more of the said Nine Realms. Here is a crash course on the Nine Realms since they  are a little difficult to understand, even for comic book fans.

Asgard is a small asteroid that serves as home to the Norse gods. It exists in another dimensional plane and is a flat, land mass that has a top surface with a gravitational pull, similar to that of the Earth’s. Asgard has one permanent portal and that is Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge but it has been shattered making it difficult to travel between the dimensions.

Four of the Nine Realms exist on the same asteroid. These are Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, and Nidavellir. Valhalla, the realm of the honoured dead is also located on the asteroid, but it is not considered to be one of the Nine Worlds. The other five realms, Midgard (Earth), Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Hel, and Muspelheim each exist in their own different dimensional plane.

1. Asgard: Home of the Asgardians. Asgard is the name of the asteroid, a distinct region on the asteroid and also its capital city.
2. Vanaheim: Home of the Vanir who are the sister race of the Asgardians. It is a distinct region on the Asgard asteroid.
3. Alfheim: Home of the Light Elves. It is a distinct region on the Asgard asteroid.
4. Nidavellir: Home of the Dwarves. Itr is a distinct region on the Asgard asteroid.
5. Midgard: Home to humans and does not seem to be affected by the motion of the other worlds of Asgard.
6. Jotunheim: Home of the Frost Giants and is ruled by Laufey.
7. Svartalfheim: Home of the Dark Elves and is ruled by Malekith.
8. Hel: Realm of the dead who are neither honoured nor dishonoured. It's sister realm, Niffleheim is the home of the dishonoured dead. Both worlds are ruled by Hela.
9. Muspelheim: Home of the Demons and is ruled by Surtur.

Source: Marvel Universe Wiki

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2012

Front and rear of my PBIM 2012 finisher medal.

Today, I would like to share my experience running in the 10km (6.21371 miles) category of Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) 2012 which took place last Sunday morning.

Held every year since 1985, people from all over the world participate in PBIM to run across the fourth longest bridge in Southeast Asia - The Penang Bridge. This year's PBIM attracted 34,000 runners, which is a big increase compared to 27,500 last year and 24,000 in 2010.

I only started running since May 2012, and PBIM 2012 is the second major running event I joined so far. Prior to this, I participated in the 10km category of Putrajaya Night Marathon 2012 and managed to clock a net time of 1:09:07. I was not too happy with the result and planned to do better in PBIM 2012. This year's PBIM is special to me because it is the first and last time for me to run on the iconic Penang Bridge as the marathon will be moved to the Second Penang Bridge from next year onwards.

The 10km Run was scheduled to start at 6.30am along Tun Dr. Lim Choong Eu Highway near Eastin Hotel.

The route I ran from the car park towards the 10km Run start line.

I traveled to Penang with my brother, Reuben, and his friend, Tim to participate in PBIM 2012. We left our hotel in Georgetown and drove towards Queensbay Mall at approximately 5.45am. Since Tun Dr. Lim Choong Eu Highway was closed for the marathon, we had to use a different route to get there but somehow took the wrong turn (twice) and ended up being late. At 6.35am, we decided to park the car at Jalan Sungai Dua Bus Station and then ran to Eastin Hotel via Jalan Aziz Ibrahim.

By the time we reached the start line in front of Eastin Hotel, all the other 10km runners had already left. As I crossed the start line, I waved at Tim who was just behind me to run faster to catch up with the other runners. After running for a short distance, we were able to catch up with the some of the slower runners and "walkers".

As I approached the ramp to get onto the Penang Bridge, it started to get congested and weaving through the sea of people started to become difficult. Once I got onto the bridge, I noticed many participants stopping to take photographs since this is the last time the marathon is being held there. I paid no attention to the beautiful view of sunrise and took this opportunity to speed up instead. Tim overtook me as I was about to exit the bridge. I was starting to feel tired at the time and decided not to chase after him. Reuben was nowhere to be seen throughout the entire run.

I crossed the finish line and clocked a net time of 1:03:24, my new personal best. I am quite surprised with the result as I ran an extra 1km from the car park towards the start line. After collecting my finisher medal, I bumped into my old college mate, Marc, who participated in the Full Marathon category.

According to the official result, I arrived at the start line 17 minutes late but still managed to overtake 4000+ male participants. Not bad for someone who only started running 6 months ago. The lesson I learned from my PBIM 2012 experience is to always plan ahead and make sure you arrive early to marathons.

I'm Back!!

For a long time I've lost interest in blogging and instead used Twitter and Facebook. Recently, I realised that although using Twitter and Facebook is more convenient and instantaneous, the expression of ideas and thoughts via blog posts can be more expansive and detailed. So, I've finally decided to update this blog after a long hiatus but I will no longer just write about movies. I have renamed this blog and from now onward, I will ramble about random stuff. I guess this blog is staying after all although I will not write as frequent as I used to. Cheers.

Lack of Updates

Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. As you can see, this blog has not been updated for some time as I have been very busy with my daytime job and also my new found hobby of collecting action figures.

I am still deciding whether or not to continue updating this blog or to abandon it altogether. But if you have a Twitter account, please follow me at twitter.com/gabrielthum instead. Thanks.

"Real Steel" Trailer

The first trailer for the upcoming action film "Real Steel" has been released. The film is directed by Shawn Levy and stars Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly and Kevin Durand.

Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

"Real Steel" is scheduled for release on October 7, 2011.

"Ip Man 2" Movie Review

Director: Wilson Yip Wai-Shun
Cast: Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Lynn Hung, Huang Xiaoming, Simon Yam, Kent Cheng, Fan Siu-Wong, Darren Shahlavi

"Ip Man 2" picks up after the events of the first film with Ip Man (Donnie Yen) leaving Foshan and relocating to Hong Kong in 1949. While the previous installment is a sensationalized semi-biography of the martial arts master, the sequel is far more historically inaccurate. I estimated almost 70% of the events in this movie are fictional.

The first half of the movie follows Ip Man setting up his own school in Hong Kong to teach Wing Chun and faces rivalry with the local martial arts master (Sammo Hung). Those of you who saw the trailer will know that the highlight of this film is the showdown between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung. This is the duel everyone is paying to see and as expected, the fight choreography is both intense and fantastic.

The second half of the movie deals with the evil British who looks down upon the Chinese people of Hong Kong. The plot is nothing new and is quite common among Hong Kong-mainland China co-productions nowadays and is meant to appeal to the nationalist pride of the mainland China audience. However, the filmmakers went overboard with their attempt as the British in the film are so obnoxious and racist that it is hilarious. The main offender here is Darren Shahlavi as Twister, the British boxer who spends most of his screen time shouting how much he hates the Chinese. His overacting is so over-the-top that it risks being cartoonish. This is in contrast to Hiroyuki Ikeuchi's portrayal of the honorable General Miura in the first film.

If you overlook the historical inaccuracies and overacting bad guys, "Ip Man 2" is a satisfying martial arts film thanks to Donnie Yen's calm and charismatic performance, and Sammo Hung's excellent fight choreography.

Score: 8/10

Second Trailer for "The Green Hornet"

Here's the brand new, second theatrical trailer for "The Green Hornet", directed by Michel Gondry and starring Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Edward James Olmos and Tom Wilkinson. You can check out the trailer above, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

Although this new trailer gave me a much better impression of the film, I still think that the choice of casting Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet is highly questionable. On top of that, the slow-mo fight scenes look really fake to me and is in great contrast to Bruce Lee's 'real kung-fu'.

IMHO, the short film directed by Aurélien Poitrimoult is way more faithful to the source material and I wish Columbia Pictures hired him instead. You can check out the awesome short film below:

"The Green Hornet" first originated as a radio series on WXYZ (a local Detroit station) from 1936 to 1952. ABC then adapted "The Green Hornet" to television on 1966. The television series starred Van Williams as The Green Hornet and introduced martial arts master Bruce Lee to American audiences as Kato.

"The Green Hornet" is set for release in Malaysia on January 27, 2011.

"Cowboys & Aliens" Teaser Trailer

Universal Pictures has unleashed the teaser trailer for Jon Favreau‘s big screen adaptation of the graphic novel "Cowboys & Aliens". The comic book adaptation crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion genre, and stars Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Paul Dano, Noah Ringer and Adam Beach.

Official synopsis:

1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde. It’s a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella, he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents – townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors – all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

"Cowboys & Aliens" is scheduled for release in the US on July 29, 2011.