Genting Trailblazer 2008

Lord Of The Ring: Battle of Arwarna

This is a story of an epic journey by a company of brave men, elve, hobbits and dwarfs. My name is Frodo. Yet again, this journey took us through the oldest terrain of middle-earth, putting our adrenaline for adventure to the ultimate test. We were forced to travel through 14,000 metres of muddy and rugged terrain, daunting obstacles and gruelling forest trail. At the end of the adventure, each one of us are to be rewarded with the impervious Medal of power, forged with mystical elements by the elves.

The adventure began at the shire of Arwarna. Legolas picked me up and Gandalf from the land of Ta'gh Tun Ta'smail in the early morning and flew together to Arwarna. For us, the adventure had already began when our dragon Avanzaghul flew through dark, cold and foggy sky. At times, we only depended on Legolas elves instinct, steering the blinded Avanzaghul through the clouds. We reached our destination safely greeted by rain and chilling winds.

the geng before the epic journey...

At Arwarna, the three of us joined Aragorn, Mary and Pippin whom arrived together after travelling from Shahwerlam. The lands of Arwarna that morning was filled with men and other humanoid races. They were not the only fellowship in this quest for the Medal of power. The rumour about this medal spreaded quickly across the land and so there we were, finding ourselves standing in the middle of the muddy plain, among orcs, dwarfs, elves and humans, all hunting for the same glory.

The morning was cold, slightly windy and it was raining. The rain made the terrain even more difficult to traverse. But this is the adventure that we have been anticipating for since before the holy month of Ramadhan. Our spirits were high and we couldn't wait to start the journey. It was 8.30am, and my stomach was already hungry! We were about to start the race and my hobbit stomach started to think about honey-cake and Lembas ! How am I going to survive the journey when my stomach was already growling....Yes we can!

L to R : Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Frodo..p/s Marry took this photo..

We were flagged off from Arwarna by the Council of Elron. The trek to Mordor is narrow and dangerous. There were too many human and humanoid at the beginning that we got separated. Myself and the white wizard Gandalf led the company, Aragorn the king ran behind us together with Legolas, looking after our back, while Marry and Pippin not too far behind the pack.

The journey initially took us through the beautiful countryside of Arwarna. We ran through the land of 9 Holes famous for creatures firing white balls into the hole from far. The route was relatively easy but some of the uphill stretch was a killer. It's strange though as we did not see any Balgol'fer that morning.

Hobbits, elves, orcs and men...all running!

After passing Arwarna, we began the journey through the forest. From the forest entrance, we tasted some samples of what the whole forest trail had to offer. It was really slippery and muddy. Mostly downhill, we needed to balance our way and be mindful of where we were stepping. We also had to be aware of other competitive orcs, elves and humans as we made way for them to run by.

The jungle trail was tough. At certain stretches, we literally slided down the hill as the slope offered no grip at all. We grabbed on to anything that we could, roots, ropes and people, just to keep us properly balanced as we climbed up and down the muddy and steep slopes. Our shoes were caked with mud and it made it difficult to even walk! Luckily we wore this glove of Jakhsema to protect our hands from getting cuts and bruises.

The river crossings allowed us to wash down our soiled and muddied shoes. The waters of Arwarna certainly had a cooling effect to our feet although it made our shoes and socks waterlogged. We carried our own water back pack so we didn't have to drink water from the stream. I pity those who didn't carry their own water supply. Trail running under humid condition can be very dehydrating.

at one of the river crossings...

Before reaching the long house, we had to excruciatingly trek uphill for about 30 minutes. They call this "the long stairway and you might get leg cramps before the water station"..heheehe. It felt like forever until we finally reached the long house where the only water station was located. By then, we have travelled about 11k-12k metres. So myself and Gandalf took our time, washing down our thirst and prepared ourselves for the final assault to Mordor. We knew that the final section of the journey would be daunting. So we walked all the way, reserving energy to face our final obstacles.

Aragorn and Legolas, climbing the gates of Mordor...haahahaa

As we reached the gates of Mordor, the sight of the finishing line gave me a mixed feeling of relief and agony. I had to battle through the obstacle course to prove my worthiness for the medal of power. So we waded through muddy waters, climbed an almost vertical wall and conquered some speed bumps (at this point, I was really tired, so climbing the small hill was like conquering a mountain). Only the Dark Lord Sauron could put up this kind of tortures obstacles.

The sequence when Smeagol got ahead of us....hahahaha

hehehh eeeh....sukenye smeagol (L)

Yes, we finally did it! Yes we did! We crossed the finishing line in about 2 hours and 45 minutes. We finished at 58th placing out of 139 pairs. Yes we did! Not bad at all! I was so glad that we finished the race.

Medal of power...tulen bang!

Gandalf started taking pictures straight away while I was looking forward to go the caterer's tent. The bananas never looked so delicious in my life before! I never felt so dirty and hungry at the same time. So Gandalf headed to the shower room first and I helped myself with the food.

L to R: Gandalf, Frodo, Legolas and Aragorn..at the finishing line...

While eating, we waited for the others to arrive. Legolas and Aragorn had a tough journey and they did well covering our back, battling Saruman's orcs. We re-grouped and rested and hoping to see Merry and Pippin soon.

Apparently, Marry and Pippin were still negotiating with the Ents, the humanoid tree...hehehe

Unfortunately, by the time we left Arwarna, we still didn't get to see them. We were quite worried actually, so Aragorn decided to stay behind and waited for them at Mordor, while Legolas took us back home to Ta'gh Tun Ta'smail. I telepathically talked to Aragorn later in the afternoon and I was glad to know that Marry and Pippin are safe.

It was an unforgettable journey. Definitely will sign up again next year. To me it was even tougher than the Gasing Hill challenge. Maybe it's because the race started quite late at 8.45am. Usually by this time, I'm usually about to finish a race or enjoying my hefty breakfast. Instead, I was standing at the starting line of a 14km rainforest race!! hahaahha

Cast

Frodo Baggins.....Mafiz Seth

Gandalf.......Dr. Mafeitzeral Mamat

Aragorn....Wan Azrizul Azad

Legolas......Wan Edrin Wan Abd Rahman

Merry....Halim

Pippin.....Ruslan

Photography

Various Sources..I didn't have a camera with me

Studio / Location

Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort