Leave the Kinabalu Climbathon alone

To those who have climbed Kinabalu, it would seem incredible that anybody could run up and down the mountain. Yet that is precisely what participants in the Kinabalu Climbathon do every year. This years race, held yesterday, was won by Killian Jornet in 2hrs and 37 minutes.

Killian Jornet is one of the best ultramarathon runners in the world and the winner of the Western States 100 mile Ultramarathon, a 100 mile race across the Sierra Nevada.

It is a sign of the Kinabalu Climbathon’s continued and growing popularity that he would still choose to participate here. In fact, there was a record participation of 568 runners this year.

So it is perplexing that the organisers would just choose to scrap the race and replace it with a wimpy version that only involves running up to the Layang-Layang Hut at 2,700 metres.

In one stroke, the altitude factor, one of the major challenges of the Kinabalu race, is stripped away from it. The human body is not really affected by altitude until the 3,000 meter mark. The Kinabalu climbathon, in its current format, entails running up to Low’s peak at 4,095 metres, testing the participants to their limit.

Foolish decision

The new proposed format would involve running down to Kundasang from Layang-Layang, removing Low’s peak from the equation and effectively making it a pointless, uninteresting race. Who would make such foolish decisions?

Without doubt a bunch of overweight, paunchy bureaucrats and politicians sitting on plush chairs in air-conditioned conference rooms. If they want to start a new race, they can go ahead. But to meddle with an existing race which just saw record participation is simply criminal.

Marco de Gasperi, last years winner and this years runner-up has already spoken out against the format change, as has Saffrey Sumping, a local mountain guide who finished sixth.

The organizers should reconsider their decision and leave this popular race alone. Otherwise the real change that is needed may be a change in the members of the organizing committee, starting with Masidi Manjun the Sabah Tourism Minister; rather than the route.

Malaysia Chronicle