TMBT 2016 Part Two: Last Year's Race

I’m off to participate in The Most Beautiful Thing (or TMBT for short). It’s an ultra-trail marathon set in the highlands of Kundasang, Sabah, which takes participants through villages and plantations; hills and jungles; rivers and hanging bridges among others. Stunning views of Mount Kinabalu are assured along with rain, mud and death. Quite possibly in that order. Not that anyone has actually died attempting it although the thought may cross one’s mind. It’s certainly no stroll in the park; Beautiful is no misnomer, but Brutal is perhaps more apt.

This is my 2nd TMBT, having attempted the 50K the year before. In 2015, I was as fit and strong as I’d ever been with months of solid training behind me. Two weeks of hiking and camping through Europe however, did not make for an ideal taper (it was our honeymoon) and I returned to Kuala Lumpur feeling rather drained. We flew into Sabah not 2 days later and although I started off well, I was struggling after 20 KM. Several poor decisions only compounded matters; I would trudge on and eventually bow out at the penultimate checkpoint, KM 42. I vowed then that I would return the following year, hopefully stronger and wiser to finish what I had begun.

Coming into this year’s race, I am wiser but not stronger. The last 3 months had marked a period of indolence and inactivity. As convenient excuses go, fatherhood had introduced new and welcome responsibilities into my life. It’s a poor excuse to make though and a spurious one at that. If anything, running had simply been replaced by more sedentary pursuits.

Yeah, so I played videogames 24/7 for 3 months. I’ve always been an avid gamer and it’s a phase I still go through occasionally. I don’t smoke, gamble, booze or womanise; just mash buttons and kill y’all mother@#$%^&* online.

As in years past, Angela would get mad at me for having fallen into such a rut and I’d run off to the park to get away from the screaming. By the time the screaming (and running) started this time round, it was a little too late.

In the 3 weeks before the race, I managed approximately 60KM on trail. Just enough to get the legs moving again but not much else. Still, I am hopeful that by adopting a very conservative approach and making better decisions, I will at least make it to the third checkpoint (KM 30).

We touch down, take a taxi to our hotel, have lunch and settle in. So far, so good. I’ll be off to the organiser’s new office in Metro Town to register and collect my race pack in the afternoon. But first, I’ll need to check my kit again for the umpteenth time …

Part Three: Metro Town