Ari Iskandar was the first relay runner who was spelled by his running mate at Kilometer 160 in the Cross Sumbawa 2017 ultramarathon in Plampang, Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, on Thursday (6/4). Ari\'s running mate was Muhammad Dzaky Wardana.
SUMBAWA BESAR, KOMPAS – The second day of the 320-kilometer Lintas Sumbawa 2017 cross-country run on Thursday (6/4/2017) was filled with drama. One participant kept on running while withstanding a toothache, another one threw up because of a lack of nutritional intake, while others ran on sandals or barefoot.
Even after running for more than 100 kilometers in an hours-long downpour, a majority of the runners were still keen to reach the finish line on the foothills of Mount Tambora in Doro Ncanga, West Nusa Tenggara.
High enthusiasm was shown by relay runner Mila Marlina, 45, among others. At about 2 p.m. local time on Thursday, Mila was lying down at the Kilometer 110 rest area in Sumbawa regency. “Mila threw up twice on her way from Kilometer 100 to here,” therapist Rizkhi Aryawati, 24, said.
At the time, Mila had run for 23 hours but had yet to consume any nutrition. As a result, the woman from Sukoharjo, Central Java, suffered from an increasing amount of gastric acid and ended up feeling nauseous. Deddy Zulkarnaen, a doctor in the running event’s medical team, injected her with anti-nausea medicine. Some 30 minutes later, Mila decided to run again in the downpour.
Gatot Sudariyono, 55, Eddy Angkawibawa, 53, and Adlan Djohan aka Mak Del, 55, also showed extraordinary spirit. In order to keep running in the rain, Gatot bought an umbrella at a minimarket. Mak Del used a modified plastic bag as makeshift raincoat. Eddy wrapped his feet with plastic bags to prevent the blisters on his soles from becoming more severe.
To avoid blisters, a number of runners applied several strategies. Restu Adam, 29, for instance, chose to run a few kilometers barefoot, while Lintas Sumbawa 2016 champion Matheos Berhitu, 44, and Bandung-based relay runner Siti Maemunah, 33, switched to using flip flops.
“My shoes are in the plastic bags for now,” Matheos said.
Extraordinary spirit was also shown by individual runner Yohanis Hiariej, 33, who withstood a seemingly painful toothache since the start of the race on Wednesday (5/4) at 3 p.m. local time in Pototatno, West Sumbawa. Despite eventually giving up because of problems with his legs, he had shown extraordinary zeal.
Twenty-seven participants, comprising 15 individual runners and 12 relay runners, participated in the Lintas Sumbawa 2017, the running event with the longest distance in Southeast Asia. In the individual category, Eni Rosita, 38, was leading as of Thursday at 9 p.m. local time. Eni was 10 kilometers ahead of Matheos and Restu.
In the relay category, Dzaki Wardana, 28, was leading at Kilometer 200 at 8:39 p.m. local time. Five individual runners and one team of relay runners had dropped out of the race.
