MMDS 2 Lumut - THE NEWS

Source of news : http://www.powerman.com.my

THE MMDS2 STORY

Saturday (14th May) morning had set the weather for the MMDS 2 weekend, as the rain the night before made morning breakfast a little dreary. Registration opened at 2pm and by 3.30pm Orient Star Hotel was a buzz of activity as participants started to crowd the lobby of the hotel. More rain ensued, but luckily most participants were already in Lumut town.

It was no surprise then that 4am Sunday (15th May), lightning streaked the sky and by 5.30am sheets of rain took over the Lumut scenery. Amazingly the shower slowed down to a light drizzle by 6.30am as the participants started to arrive at the race site, the lovely Lumut Waterfront.

The question of the day was weather Heidilee (Men's 18 - 30) would yet again beat Shahrom (Men's Open) to the finish line as he did in Dataran Merdeka, and if the Mohamad brother and sister (Mariana Mohamad) would again make headlines.Solchai Chusakol (Men's 18 - 30) of Thailand set a blistering pace on the first 10km run, coming in first into transition, followed closely by Heidilee, Shahrom and Razani (Men's Open) just after.

By the bike u-turn into Lap 2 of the 60km ride, Heidilee had already overtaken Solchai and Shahrom was close on his tail. Into Lap 3 of the 60km ride, Shahrom was in the lead followed by both Razani and Heidilee. Shahrom came back into transition with a 4 minute lead and maintained that distance in the final 8km run to finish 1st in the Men's Open category, bagging the Overall Best Duathlete (Men's) title. Mohd. Razani came in 2nd, with Wong Ah Thiam in close 3rd in the Men's Open category making the top 3 Men a 'Kelantan Boys Club'. In the Men's 18 - 30 category, Solchai Chusakol came in 2nd followed by Jusery Gani in 3rd place.

In the Women's race, Mariana Mohamad (Women's 18 - 30) unsurprisingly baged the Overall Best Duathlete (Women's) title coming in just 3 minutes before Rita Ghani (Women's Open). Shawn Ann Leong from Singapore came in 2nd with Christina Lim in close 3rd in the Women's Open category. In the Women's 18 - 30 category Rebecca Peters from Singapore came in about 5 minutes after Mariana, while Natcha Pianprasobsuk the little 'cilipadi' from Thailand came in about 9 minutes after Rebecca.

The cloudy weather throughout the race made the Malakoff Malaysian Duathlon Series part 2 in Lumut a fast race which most participants enjoyed (not having to get burnt out on the race course!) Overall, the race saw an increase of 30% in participants from MMDS 2, Lumut last year, proving that the new Sprint category is a keeper for sure!