Moral learned from KL Tower International Towerthon Challenge 2010

Event : KL Tower International Towerthon Challenge 2010
Venue : KL Tower
Date : 21/3/10.
Number of steps : 2058
Tower height : 421m
Theme : World Forestry Day
Fees : RM30

On this beautiful Sunday morning, more than 1000 participants gathered at KL Tower. Many are doing stretching, warming up, light jog etc to get themselves into best position to start the run. Many amateurs with professional suits (branded singlet and runner shoes) and foreigners are among the participants.

The run starts at 8am sharp, I was in the 2nd group of Man's open category. The run started with me packed behind the crowd which make me lose the first few metres. ^^. I was waiting for people in front to move before i can proceed
Many were running at high speed up the hill, which the faced the bad consequences at the stairs.
The first 5 storeys, many were seen to be virtually sprinting up the stair, taking 2 steps at a time.
The stairs was quite narrow and it is very humid and suffocating due to perspiration.
After the first 5 storeys, many was found panting and squating beside the stairs, catching their breath.
I felt nauseating, my heart pumping furiously and i was gasping for air.
"Keep breathing deep" i told myself, realizing the i am showing the symptom of  insufficient oxygen.
I shift my attention by counting the steps,
Than, i started to leave the crowd of participants behind,
Immediately the situation become better,
There was just 1-2 of us at a stretch of steps instead of 10 just now,
With higher oxygen concentration, i felt fresher with clearer mind.
The limbs are coordinating better although i am still panting like a dog.
The strategic position is walking on the left side.
It is hard to overtake others now as all are exhausted at this level,
Others can block you although very unethical, 
Last 3 storeys, when the floor number changed to TH00,
I begun to sprint, and end the challenge.
I was rewarded with a panaromic and magnificent view of KL city,
Felt the sense of satisfaction, not only to complete the challenge,
but to complete it relatively fast

We felt disappointed that we are not told of our time taken for the climb.
We already got the RFID chip on our shoes.
Just a simple system and screen will the job.

The moral.
When we graduated from our educational institution as fresh graduate,
We faced the ferocious competition , some even said that was bloodshed...
We attempt to sprint from the starting point,
And this spirit gradually subsides in 5 years.

Then we started to feel suffocated,
We are now in the low/middle position,
with many competitors fighting over few positions,
The top flyers and lucky ones will be promoted
They began to leave the crowd,
With lesser people around,
there were more "oxygen" for them to develop their career,
They can advance at their own pace,
They are accountable to lesser people.
To overtake them required extra effort as they were already in the strategic position.
Although unethical, but they can easily block you from forwarding.
Same work load, but they gained the advantage to show off their accomplishments.
In terms of quality and capability, some of them in the crowds are better off,
But due to insufficient oxygen, their potential is not unleashed to the fullest.
To them, more effort is required to move one step forward.

As conclusion,
You are fighting among the crowds when you are young,
Once you get promoted to another level and left the crowd,
the world out there is totally different.