Grit and determination
Fresh from his bronze medal win for marathon at the recent 29th Sea Games Kuala Lumpur 2017, Muhaizar Mohamad tells Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan about his training and the determination that led him to victory
WHEN Muhaizar Mohamad won the bronze medal at the recent Sea Games, the happiness reverberated among runners in the country.
He ended a 44-year medal drought in this discipline with a run of two hours, 31 minutes and 52 seconds.
Here, he talks about the day he made history, his training and his advice to budding runners.
WHAT DID YOU FEEL AT THE STARTING LINE OF THE MARATHON? I was only focused on my run and I tried to remember the strategies taught to me by my coach. I was proud with the Malaysian supporters who came to cheer for me. Their support made me feel motivated and touched.
WHAT WAS YOUR STRATEGY FOR A PODIUM FINISH? I wanted to win a medal for my country because I want to re-instil the interest in marathon, a discipline that has largely been forgotten in competitive athletics in Malaysia.
I tried my best to follow runners who were expected to be podium finishers.
At KM30, I was slightly behind but I was still concentrating on my time and distance by maintaining my run. The runners from Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia were faster than me.
At KM32, the Thai runner suffered an injury and fellow Malaysian marathoner Leo Tan Huong Leong and I were even more motivated to win because we knew we were at the third and fourth place.
We took turns to run fast to narrow the gap with the Indonesian runner who was second in the race but it was too close to the finish line to overtake him. I tried to sprint at the last 4km and I was only 30 seconds later than the silver medalist (Indonesian runner Agus Pragoyo).
WHICH MARATHON RUNNER INSPIRES YOU? I admire Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele because he isn’t that tall but possesses a forceful and beautiful run. His fighting spirit is admirable too. (Bekele is the current world record and Olympic record holder in the 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre events.)
WHAT ARE YOUR TRAINING AND COMPETITION SHOES? I have tried many shoes for both training and competition but I choose Asics because I find that the shoes are the best in terms of quality. The shoes are also very sturdy. Its impactabsorbtion technology is impressive — this helps me stave off running injuries.
WHAT’S YOUR NEXT MARATHON AIM?
I want to break the national record and be eligible for the Asia Games, Commonwealth Games and also the Olympic Games in this event.
HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE YOUR WIN?
I am eternally grateful to Allah SWT who gave me the energy and health to run. I thanked my parents, wife, children, friends and all Malaysians who have prayed and motivated me.
HOW LONG DID YOU TRAIN FOR THE SEA GAMES? I trained fully for about a month after I was chosen to compete and was called by the National Sports Council to train under Kenyan coach Samuel Kipsang Rono and coach Intheren from Malaysia.
HOW DOES YOUR ARMY TRAINING HELP IN YOUR MARATHON TRAINING? In my commando training, I have been heavily trained mentally and physically and the training requires a very high level of discipline. I use that advantage to instil resilience and fighting spirit in me and I was happy that I could win a medal even though I only trained for a short period of time.
WILL YOU VENTURE INTO ULTRAMARATHON DISTANCES?
I am confident that I can run an ultramarathon, having been trained to run for 180km for my commando training, in full army uniform. However, as long as I am competing in marathon, I won’t venture into ultra distances because that will affect my speed and training. So for now, it’s only marathon for me.
WHAT’S YOUR ADVICE TO THOSE
WHO WANT TO TRY THE MARATHON DISTANCE?
They have to look after their health and they need to be adequately prepared before competing. They need to train and also to include warm-up in their training.
WHO DO YOU CREDIT FOR THIS WIN? My mother and wife.