Malaysia Olympians Association (MOA) president Noraseela Khalid hopes government agencies and ministries will register teams for this year’s #RUNwithOLYMPIANS #RUNforOLYMPISM virtual event.
Noraseela said the virtual event, from Sept 9 to Oct 7, will see teams of five to 15 runners completing a minimum of 5km each, and an accumulative distance of 129km. The registration fee is RM55 per runner.
“We (organisers) wrote to the Youth and Sports Minister, Hannah Yeoh, asking for her support of the event,” said Noraseela, who competed in the 400m hurdles at the 2012 London Olympics.
“She supported our ‘Spirit of Olympism’ ride earlier this year, and we hope her ministry will put up a team for this event.”
The ‘Spirit of Olympism’ ride was a fundraising campaign that saw fitness enthusiast Alex Goh cycle from i-City in Shah Alam, to Johor Bahru, in seven days. Yeoh flagged-off the event.
“It is our wish that Yeoh can convince other ministries and government agencies to participate in the virtual event, as it takes place before Malaysia Day (Sept 16) and ends before Hari Sukan Negara (National Sports Day).”
Although it is a virtual race, there will be an offline flag-off, and closing event.
Teams who complete the 129km distance are eligible for the lucky draws.
This year’s National Sports Day is on Oct 14, but in the run-up to the actual celebration, there are several running events to mark the occasion.
As such, Noraseela hopes the ministries and government agencies can use the event, jointly organised by MOA and Malaysian Olympism in Action Society (MOiAS), as part of their activities.
MOA and MOiAs want to educate the public about the spirit of Olympism, and how we can build a better Malaysian society through sports.
This year’s theme is ‘Be active and leave no one behind’.
“We hope the ministries and government agencies set a good example by competing in the virtual run,” said Noraseela, who won medals in the 400m hurdles at the SEA Games, Asian Games, and Asian Championships, between 1999-2011.
“Let us all be active and lead a healthier lifestyle.”
She revealed that a group of Olympians, Paralympians, and Special Olympics Athletes will join the competition as captains. Participants can choose one of them as their leaders when MOA announces their names closer to the event date.
#RUNwithOLYMPIANS #RUNforOLYMPISM is open to Malaysians from all socioeconomic backgrounds, genders, races, ethnicities, and age groups, to encourage them to live an active and healthy lifestyle.
As part of the virtual run, the organisers will hold four workshops on Sept 9 (building inclusive communities), Sept 16 (injury prevention), Sept 23 (basic life support), and Sept 30 (Muay Thai with DMT and learn social business).
Meanwhile, the Inclusive Leadership Programme (iLEAP), a leadership programme for young athletes regardless of background, gender, or abilities to nurture great leaders of tomorrow, will receive RM5 from each registration fee, to fund its upcoming programmes.
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