The night throbbed with the “Pulse of the Tribe”, a fitting theme as Nusajaya, Johor played host to over 6,000 runners from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom. Bringing together more runners, supporters and volunteers, the EduCity Sundown Malaysia 2015 on Saturday, 5 September was a memorable night of festivities celebrating health and community.
Participants were in high spirits and psyched to start once the 21 km and 12 km races flagged off at the 8:00 p.m. and 8:35 p.m. Flagging off Johor’s biggest night run were President and Chief Executive Officer of Iskandar Investment Berhad Datuk Syed Mohamed bin Syed Ibrahim, Chief Executive of Iskandar Regional Development Authority Datuk Ismail Bin Ibrahim, and Director of Johor Tourism Department Asman Shah Bin Abd Rahman.
Volunteers from nearby Kampung Melayu and local associations stepped forward to guide runners along the course through scenic local landscapes and iconic landmarks including the EduCity Sports Complex, Dataran Mahkota and Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios. With glowing colourful balloons tied to their waists, the cheerful pacers from the Athlete’s Circle Athletic Club motivated runners to keep to the set pace.
We are proud to have hosted this event for the second year, to promote and educate our community on the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. Not only that, it brought all members of the community together in such an exciting environment. It was a great experience for students to volunteer here at the event, as they gave out generous high fives and encouraging words of support to boost the mood of the participants, creating an exciting atmosphere for the race.
—Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, President and Chief Executive Officer of Iskandar Investment Berhad
24 proud and beaming victors, the top three finishers across eight categories, received prizes presented by General Manager of World Endurance Malaysia Sdn Bhd CG. Lim. Amongst them were Mohd Syahidan Bin Alias, who clocked the fastest time in the 21 km men’s open at 01:20:38, and Kellyn Tan Lay Wah, the first in the women’s open with a time of 01:40:06. The 12 km men’s open champion was Azwan Bunjing who finished in 41 min and 59 s, while Ong Ee Ling won the 12 km women’s open in 53 min and 39 s, almost four full minutes before the 1st and 2nd runner-ups.
Besides the other junior and senior veteran categories in the 21 km event, there was also a hot contested corporate challenge in the 12 km event. The top team was GE: Running Man with a combined time of 03:01:21.
There were participants from last year who returned for this year’s race, and I’m very happy to see that the race is something people look forward to. I’m glad the race inspires people to live healthy in a fun and active way. The race this year has been successful as it attracted more people to stay active, even during the night, to develop an active life, and I hope that this will be an annual race to bring runners and supporters together for a night of fun.
—C.G. Lim, General Manager of World Endurance Malaysia Sdn Bhd
EduCity Sundown Malaysia also supported “Together for Every Child”, a campaign by World Vision Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s to bring about sustainable change to affected children and communities. Runners who took part in the “Water for Life Challenge” attached pictures of the children they pledged to raise funds for on their running bib. To create more awareness about the cause, they also carried a bottle of untreated water around to symbolise the lack of access to clean water experienced by children in impoverished communities.
At the Race Village, family and friends gathered to eagerly await the runners’ arrival at the finish line. The festivities carried on into the night as the crowd tucked into the variety of dishes prepared by food truck vendors while enjoying live performances by a fire-eater and bands, Voice of Percussion and Paper Plane Pursuit.
Are you looking forward to the even bigger 3rd edition next year? Were you among the 6,000 who ran in the EduCity Sundown Malaysia? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
