It was a beautiful morning on Saturday, 9 April 2016 when I made my way to KL Sentral with Elisha. We were going to meet some of the staff of Citrine One Sdn Bhd who were going to bring us up to Genting Highlands for the preview of Dragon Run.
I had been contacted by Pooi Ling a couple of weeks earlier who extended me an invitation for the Dragon Run preview. The introduction was made through my beautiful blogger friend Geozo Wong who knows how much I enjoy running.
Truth be told, I had no idea what this Dragon Run was about (not to be confused with Dragon Back Run – blogpost about that coming soon!). I asked if this was this actual run or just a launch; and was told it was the latter. This was supposed to be an invitation-only preview.
We met Pooi Ling at KL Sentral, and we were each given a Subway sandwich for lunch. That was a nice surprise for me! I am sure that the other bloggers were used to such treatments at these events, but this is my first time attending a launch as a blogger.
We boarded the bus about 12:20pm. As we made our way to The Ranch in Gohtong Jaya, Anita of Citrine One welcomed us and thanked us for sacrificing our Saturday to be with them.
We arrived at the venue about 1:45pm, where a sight greeted us – several huge inflated bouncy-house like structures were set up at two adjacent fields!
OOPS
I was a little flabbergasted, as I didn’t realise that this preview actually required us to participate in the run. In fact, I still didn’t know what this run was about!
We had been sent an email briefing us about the terms and conditions for today, but it did not explain what the preview was really about. However, there was a little line that advised us to bring “a change of clothes and a towel” – a line that I had totally missed when reading the email. It was my own fault, really, for not reading the email properly.
I thought that this was going to be a launch, where we were all going to sit in a nice function room in a hotel somewhere, served with delicious titbits and hot drinks, while being briefed about the preview about a run that will take place in the cool atmosphere of Genting Highlands.
But never one to turn away from a fun challenge, I decided to take part in the preview run, in spite of my not-quite-fully-recovered ankle (Viper Challenge aftermath, blogpost about that coming soon!) and lack of a change of clothes. Thankfully I had worn sports attire, as advised in an earlier text message.
Poor Elisha who is not as committed to physical challenges as I am was even less prepared to do this than I was… but she was game to give it a try too!
(Note: I did apologise several times to her, as I had asked her to accompany me on this trip, not knowing this required physical exertion. I had thought she might enjoy sitting with me eating titbits and drinking hot drinks while listening to a launch for bloggers.)
In fact, some of the other bloggers were also unaware of the need of physical participation today; many came without a change of clothes, and some were also dressed in unsuitably pretty shoes. The organisers had said that we can choose to skip one or a few or all the obstacles if we wanted to. But everyone was here to have fun, and no one wanted to skip anything!
DRAGON RUN
So what is Dragon Run? It is a 6km martial arts-inspired obstacle fun run. The obstacles were giant inflatable bouncy-houses built in shapes inspired by martial arts. The preview only had six obstacles to give us an idea of the experience, but not so much so that it will tire us out needlessly.
Brought in by experts from Hong Kong, the Dragon Run which is scheduled for May 14 & 15 is organised by Citrine One Sdn Bhd in conjunction with their 15th anniversary.
LET’S GO!
We changed into the white shirts provided by the organisers, and we left our bags at the baggage deposit. I kept my phone with me so that I could take photos and videos of the obstacles as we ran through them.
The preview started with a “grand opening” of the beating of the drums. Some of the participants joined in on the drums too, and even though they didn’t know the rhythm, they just followed the lead; not too bad an effort!
The runners were then released into the first obstacle – a giant dragon-shaped hurdle consisting of slopes to climb, slopes to slide down, and balancing beams – all on inflatables.
We then ran to the palm trees section, where we were to attach it with kicks, punches, elbows, and knees.
Next up was the maze. We were supposed to look for five “hidden” targets and kick them before leaving the maze.
Err… I cheated. I only kicked three, and then I snuck out because I wanted to go on to the next obstacle! Shh, don’t tell anybody.
We had to walk our way across the road to the next field where the other obstacles were. It was while Elisha and I were walking over that the rain started.
It was still merely drizzling when Elisha and I wove our way through the sumo balls.
We then ran our way to the Yin Yang Gate bouncy house where I did a few perfunctory jumps before exiting.
And then… we reached the creme de la creme… the water slide!
Because I didn’t have a change of clothes, I had initially planned to skip this. The organisers had even said that we didn’t have to go through it if we didn’t want to get wet, because they explained clearly, “You WILL get wet!!!”
But by this time, rain was already starting to pour, and the organisers were handing out disposable ponchos to us. I stood there in the rain, looking longingly at the water slide that looked so deliciously fun. And I decided… oh what the hey, I am already getting wet. Let’s just get even wetter!
I took off my shoes, clambered up the very high water slide, and slid down screaming with a splash. And needless to say, I did not regret it!
Elisha had already done as much as she could, but she admitted that she had a fear of heights, and she didn’t do the water slide as that was beyond her limit. The fact that she had even done as much as she did was already simply amazing!
RAIN RAIN GO AWAY
Just as I finished, the rain got even worse… we took shelter under the tents near the inflatables. Some of the participants were raring to go even in the rain, but the organisers had started deflating the obstacles because the rain would make them too slippery, and it would be too dangerous to go through them.
We wanted to take a big group photo in front of the water slide, but the rain didn’t make that possible. When the rain let up a little, we collected our bags and ran quickly to the buses that were waiting to take us to the Awana Ranch Resort for our tea.
TEATIME
Citrine One Sdn Bhd had arranged a private room with a large buffet spread for all of us. We had a wide selection of rice and noodles, chicken and beef, vegetables, fruits, desserts, and drinks to replenish the energy that was used up during the obstacle run.
We finally managed to take a big group photo in front of the Awana Ranch Resort!
Although I had gotten soaking wet at the water slide, I was thankfully wearing dry-fit pants that dried out pretty quickly; and I changed into the original shirt I had been wearing, so I was not too cold and wet after the fun.
Special thanks to Elisha for accompanying me and gamely going with me through the obstacles! And of course for taking the photos and videos of me attempting to complete the obstacles! Read Elisha’s experience of the same event here.
Thank you Citrine One and Dragon Run for the super fun preview! Looking forward to the actual event in May!
I WANNA GO FOR THE DRAGON RUN! WHERE CAN I GET MORE DETAILS?
Dragon Run is an adrenaline-pumping 6K run around a course that incorporates eye-catching, and challenging Martial Arts-inspired obstacles.
On your mark, get set and onwards to the world’s first martial arts inflatable obstacle race Dragon Run that will make its debut on 14 May and 15 May 2016 at the Horse Ranch in Resorts World Genting.
Designed for those with the love of martial arts and the thrill of a run, Dragon Run is an adrenaline-pumping 6K run around a course that incorporates eye-catching, often towering and certainly challenging Martial Arts-inspired obstacles. An all-ages event set in an Asian contemporary atmosphere, Dragon Run will feature activities for the whole family.
Venue: The Ranch, Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands
Date: 14 & 15 May 201
For more information and to register, please visit https://liv3ly.com/event/details/Dragon+Run+2016 or visit their FB page at https://www.facebook.com/DRunOfficial/.
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