Tokyo Marathon 2017: Day 3 - Yoyogi Park, Meiji Jingu and Harajuku by foot

It was a beautiful day to simply get out and stretch out my leg muscles before the big race the following day. There were a few places I wanted to visit on the eve of the Tokyo Marathon but seeing as how I had made plans to meet up with a group of the Malaysian runners at La Pausa restaurant Harajuku, I decided to just go along with how the weather fared and how I felt.

My aimless wandering led me to a quint coffee place called Fuglen near my AirBnb for some takeaway coffee. The setting was quite cosy, the type of place I would end up spending the whole day at with my laptop if I ever reside in Japan.

In the footsteps of a SCKLM pacer: Karsten Korbel

Often the unsung heros of the running world, pacers play a vital role in helping runners achieve their intended targets. Be it breaking that personal best or just finishing within the cut off time, pacers like Karsten are often the faces you look to in times of exhaustion and for inspiration and motivation during a physical and mentally taxing run such as a marathon.

I speak to Karsten Korbel, owner of a Personal Trainer studio in Sri Hartamas and one of the three 3:45 pacers for the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon (SCKLM).

The Right Way of Running at SCKLM Running Clinics

Running used to be a simple affair. Put on whatever BATA sport shoes your parents deemed as sport shoes and just run, one foot in front of the other at a rapid pace and repeat. Nowadays, the simple BATA shoes don't cut it no more. It is all Nikes, Adidas, Pumas's and Brooks. Shoes specialised with the running tech to make you go faster, longer. However try as you might, at the end of the day, the one who makes the difference is you.

Well aware of this, SCKLM 2017 organisers have pulled together a series of running workshop for its runners. The Standard Chartered KL Marathon Running Clinics are gaining in popularity as more than 300 runners took part in the second round of Running Clinics organised by Dirigo Events, owner and organiser of the premier running event in the country, over the last weekend. There was a Junior Running Clinic on Saturday, 11 March for children between the ages of 6-12, a general clinic for adults on Sunday and even a specialised Running Clinic for those attempting their first Half Marathon.

Tokyo Marathon 2017: Day 2 Part 2 - Race Kit Collection and Expo

Day 2 in Tokyo will be broken up into two posts because I believe the race expo deserves a post of its own as do my adventures in Shinjuku and Odaiba. This post covers the Tokyo Marathon 2017 Race Kit collection and Expo which was held at its annual venue at Tokyo Big Sight on Odaiba.

After my morning adventures in Shinjuku, I took the JR Yamanote line which connects to the JR Saikyo line to Odaiba. Upon reaching the Kokusai Tenjijo station, it wasn't hard to figure out which the way to Tokyo Big Sight with so many runners heading in the same direction. On top of that, there were tons of volunteers and signs stationed around to show the way.

Pawse for a Cause is back!

Ready to further the fight against animal cruelty and increase awareness around the welfare of the same, Pawse for a Cause is making a comeback, and will grace our shores with a second annual charity carnival this year. Set for 29 July 2017 at Desa ParkCity, the effort seeks to spotlight the plight of strays nationwide, raise funds for pet non-profits, and educate the public on the Animal Welfare Act soon taking effect.  

In collaboration with United International Pictures, this celebratory sequel launched in grand fashion today during the premiere of A Dog’s Purpose at MBO Cinema, CITTA Mall. The event was attended by members of the media, event partners, and local celebrities who share a passion for destitute animals.

Tokyo Marathon 2017: Day 2 Part 1 - Things to do in Shinjuku and Odaiba

I had two primary parts of Tokyo to hit on my second day in the capital of Japan for the Tokyo Marathon: 1) Shinjuku to recce the startline and 2) Odaiba to collect my race kit and to see the Gundam statue.

While the temptation to squeeze as much as I could into sightseeing was real, experience have told me that it would be suicide for my legs (and purse) so I planned and prioritised. Luckily my first stop was the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku, an observatory tower that stood at 243 meters and was free of charge to enter.

Time to Share Some Ayam Goreng McD with its new Share Box

1987 was quite a significant year. For starters, I was born and secondly it was the year that McDonald's introduced its eventual classic fan favourite - the Ayam Goreng McD. That would explain my neverending love for their succulent fried chicken.

And now great news for McD fried chicken lovers! You can share your fried chicken with your friends with its new Share boxes!

Spartan Race Announces Inaugural Asia Pacific Championship Series

Talk about taking it to a whole new level of competition.

Since breaking in the Asian market, Spartan Race has seen a lot of love and support from the local fitness and OCR community and this perhaps prompted them to launch their first ever Asia Pacific Championship Series.

The first event of the series will kick off on the 22nd of April in Hong Kong and end with the fifth event in Australia where the first ever APAC Champions will be crowned. Racers will be competing for over USD $50,000 (RM221,900) in cash and prizes across the entire series. The Asia Pacific Championship series will have 4 qualifying events starting with:

• Hong Kong Sprint (5km + & 20+ obstacles) on April 22nd,
• Taiwan Super (13km+ & 22+ obstacles) on May 20th,
• Korea Super on June 10th,
• Malaysia Super on July 9th,
• and culminating with the Australia Beast at the end of November. 

Tokyo Marathon 2017: Day 1 Part 2 - Checked into Shiba Inu AirBnb

I had forgotten about the hustle and bustle of Shibuya station or the hordes of people parked around the famous Hachiko statue or just waiting to cross the world's biggest intersection. There I was with my red hardcase luggage staring in awe at the lights and sounds of Shibuya before something at the Hachiko statue caught my eye.

Cat! OMG, you fluffy furball that instantly made me miss my cats at home. It just sat on the pedestal of the statue, nested between the dog's legs as flocks of people stopped to take pictures of it and with it.

Farewell to RX-78-2 Gundam, Hello to a Bigger Mecha

5th March was a sad day for many Gundam fans in Odaiba, Tokyo as it was the last day for them to see the iconic RX-78-2 Gundam before it was dismantled after 5 years of dutifully watching over Diver City.

I myself had made it a point to visit the Gundam Statue on my recent trip to Tokyo and knowing the limited time it had left, spent the evening and night photographing the statue. Even though I never watched the original anime that featured RX-78-2 Gundam, I did watch the Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny and Gundam 00 in college and did waste a lot of study time, playing Gundam Seed Destiny on my Playstation 2.

Confession: Gundam Strike Freedom and Strike Noir were my favourite to use in combat.