Change of plan

Sometimes things are just not meant to be. I received news that KL marathon has been postponed to 29 September due to public health concern over haze. Was quite disappointed initially, after i have trained so hard for it. But a while, i thought: well, if God closes one door, He surely will open another. So I have change of plan now. Instead of wasting my hard-earned fitness to natural or man-made events which i have no control, I am going to attempt a Fastest Known Time (FKT) project in some well-known mountains in Malaysia. And I will start with Gunung Nuang.

Fastest known time - as the name suggests, is the the fastest time known to cover a certain distance in a certain place. It is specific to a particular place, as other place with the same distance would have different course profile and elevation gain. You can also call it course record (CR), and it's not transferrable to other terrain or mountain.

Now i am not sure if there is an official FKT in all the mountains in Malaysia. I think in certain well-known ones there are, such as Mount Kinabalu or Mount Nuang. I don't know the FKT is for Nuang, though in the past i have been told by the old folks who live or work there that the FKT is around 2hours30mins, set by a Malaysian commando. Honestly, having climbed Nuang before, i doubt that is humanly possible. It's either it's not true, or the person who did it did not go all the way to the peak.

Anyway whatever it is, i will go try do my fastest time next Monday. I will start the clock right from the entrance to the mountains, go all the way to the peak, and then come down to the same entrance. The entire journey will be recorded in my Suunto Ambit so there is no way i can take shortcuts. While the time that i do may not be a true FKT (that is if i take longer than 2hrs30mins and the commando's timing is actually true), i will still be glad to set a time in this mountain which other people, including myself, can return to beat the time in the future.

There is something mysteriously attractive about mountains. I have that feeling since i was a kid. I remembered in my first ever mountain expedition (Gunung Angsi) led by my school teachers as a 14 year old, I broke away from the group pretty much half way in the expedition and hiked to the peak on my own. (that night, I received a proper scolding from my teachers) Somehow, i feel at home there. It's there i can connect with God the most, in the natural environment, surrounded by the vast wilderness. I suspect that the joy i would have there would far outweigh that of KL marathon. So I am glad. And i am at peace with myself. :)