Choosing a Route, Arranging a Strategy

Name: Choosing a Route, Arranging a Strategy
Uploaded: 2020-11-06T03:37:49Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: Runners at the 2020 Borobudur Marathon will have different challenges. They are free to choose their own route in their place of origin.

Runners at the 2020 Borobudur Marathon will have different challenges. They are free to choose their own route in their place of origin.

SEKAR GANDHAWANGI

· 6 minutes read

Runners at the 2020 Borobudur Marathon will have different challenges. There will be no more "Love Ramps" at the Kilometer 17 and 35 points that can make you gasp for breath. They are free to choose their own route in their place of origin.

Almost all participants of the Borobudur Marathon in the previous years had fond memories when they passed the Kilometer 17 (for the half marathon category) and Kilometer 35 (for the marathon category) points. They had to go through the trekking road that felt like it would never end. Not a few participants had to walk or run slowly. There were also those with cramped leg muscles. The route was later nicknamed the Ramp of Love. In addition to elevation, participants also had to deal with hot air. The temperature in Magelang, Central Java reached 32 degrees Celsius during the 2019 Borobudur Marathon, with humidity above 70 percent.

This year I want to try the full marathon, which will be completed in two to three runs.

Jajang Sopandi (29), a participant of the 2019 Borobudur Marathon from Karawang, West Java, also had a similar experience. The challenge was getting tougher for him because his leg was sprained and swollen the day before the event.

The farther he ran, the more real the challenge he faced. He began to feel the hot weather even though it was still six in the morning. The elevation at the Kilometer 17 point forced him to run more slowly. He finally finished in an hour and 50 minutes in the half marathon category.

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"This year I want to try the full marathon, which will be completed in two to three runs. To avoid the hot weather, I plan to run after work, around five in the afternoon,”said Jajang when contacted on Wednesday (4/11/2020).

The 2020 Borobudur Marathon will be held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants will not run in Magelang, but in their respective regions. The distance and running time will be recorded through an application, and then uploaded to the committee’s website. Participants are free to determine the desired running route.

Choosing flat route

Jajang said he planned to run in a residential area in Karawang. The routes at the location are flat and close to the mains roads. Occasionally, a motorbike rider cheered him on while running there. Jajang made them cheerleaders to replace the friendly residents of Magelang.

A member of the Indonesian Navy who is also a participant of the 2020 Borobudur Marathon, Muhamad Zainudin Nagara (29), registered for the half-marathon category. He will choose a route in a residential area in North Jakarta, which will be then continued to Ancol. He planned to run in the morning to avoid the crowd.

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The second option is to run in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) area, South Jakarta. The area tends to be flat. He plans to run with a number of friends. Some other friends will help by becoming a "walking" water station.

According to him, the Borobudur Marathon route in Magelang was very challenging. It not only tested the physics but also the mentality. At the 2019 Borobudur Marathon, he learned a lot about the art of listening to the body. A tired body should not be forced to run for the sake of fulfilling the ego.

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"At that time I was participating in a marathon. At Kilometer 30, I ran at a pace (speed) 10-15. Previously, I was consistent at pace 5-7. In the end I finished in five hours 30 minutes. That\'s my worst record time, but that\'s okay. The important thing was to finish without injury, "he said.

Rahmad Hidayat (31), a 2019 Borobudur Marathon participant from Samarinda, also felt that his time was not good when he ran in the half-marathon. He finished in two hours 15 minutes. In fact, his best record time in the half- marathon category was two hours 9 minutes.

This year, Rahmad will again participate in the half-marathon category. He and his friends from a community conducted a half-marathon simulation by running from Samarinda to Tenggarong, East Kalimantan. Along the way, he encountered eight to 10 ascending and descending roads.

The freedom to choose a route in the virtual event allows Rahmad and other runners to explore. In the end, the route chosen must be supported to the physical capacity and the target of the runners.

So excited

Almost all of the participants were excited when they were asked about their experience of participating in the Borobudur Marathon. One of them said. "Sorry, I\'m a little bit vulgar because it\'s been such a fun experience." There was also someone who said, "I was so excited that I was speechless."

The participants admitted that they were disappointed because this year they had to run virtually. However, they understood the condition and hoped to come back next year if the pandemic had ended.

Ari Sulistiyono (39), a police officer in Magelang , also a participant of the 2019 and 2020 Borobudur Marathon, said that although he had to run virtually this year, he planned to complete the marathon on the Borobudur Marathon route last year. "As far as I know, there are still blue lines (guides for participants) on last year\'s route. I will follow that line. I will replace the water station with a stall on the road. If you\'re thirsty, just stop, then buy something to drink at the warung (stall) , ”said Ari.

Ari will join the virtual run with 9,000 other runners from Indonesia and several other countries on 25-30 Nov. 2020. Only about 30 elite runners will run in the Lumbini Park, Borobudur Temple area, on 15 Niv.2020.