He is not a strange face to the Malaysian running scene. You get to see him a lot on the podiums of major races. We caught Jean Pierre Lautrédoux for a short interview about ParkCity Run, a race he is organising for the second time at ParkCity.
In your own words, describe briefly about Park City Run.
Parkcity Run gathered 2000 runners last year for its 1st edition. Desa Parkcity is the best place to organize a race. We succeeded to block 100% one part of Desa Parkcity and the other part is half for the runners.
On Sunday early morning, there is little traffic. My priority is the safety of the runners & no pollution! We propose races for the whole family.
There is a competitive 10km with the big hill "Ridgewood Hill", a tough hill of 600m. Runners last year said it was the most difficult hill of the year but...asked to do it again this year, they love it :)
We have a 5km totally flat around the park & lake for the kids races. Their route is 100% safe, no cars can access the area. They run a distance appropriate to their age and parents are not allowed to run with them. The runners under age 16 and 10 will run a distance of 2.2km and 600m respectively.
Last year, it was the best moment of the event. I got some messages like "my kid was so happy with his medal, he slept with it". When i read this kind of message, it gives me some tears and push me to do it again. What best than to see kids happy?
The ones who didn't register regretted it. Each week, I have parents asking me when is the (next) race. Our event is really a family affair. We have many locals and many expats.
This year, we hope to get more than 20 different nationalities. The International School @ Parkcity www.isp.edu.my is the perfect place to host the event, good for the runners and good for us organizers.
Mr. Andrew Dalton, the principal, was the one who wanted the race last year. When the race ended last yr, he told me "we must do it annually". The manager of the school, Mr. Sukhdev, is the one who help me a lot to make this event successful, not forgetting Tony and Baskaran from Perdana Parkcity.
What is your target number of runners this year?
This year we target 3500 runners between our 4 races.
What makes this run different from other road races?
I feel Parkcity Run is different for few things:
1) Safety is certainly much better than most of the other races in Malaysia
2) You can run at Desa Parkcity only once a year not like so many races at Dataran Merdeka
3) The distance are accurate: the 10km is 10.04km and the 5km is 5.035. Distance measured with a wheel.
4) The distances are appropriated for the kids and by not allowing parents to run with them, it only makes it better. Just check the pics on our website www.parkcityrun.com, don't need to talk more. In Malaysia, I often see kids of 10-12 year old running 5km! It's too long! So they walk and run very slow, no fun.
5) Opposite to some organizers, I want my team to be very courteous. There are some rules but there is a way to tell people. We are here to have fun! My target is to see people happy and I try my best to satisfy them.
What? ParkCity Run 2012
When? 25 November 2012 Sunday, 7:00am
Where? The International School @ Parkcity, Desa Parkcity, Kuala Lumpur.
Who? Organized by MY Races and hosted by The International School @ Parkcity
How far? 10K, 5K, 2.2K and 600m (kids)
How much? RM53.
How to register? http://www.parkcityrun.com/
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