SOLE SISTERS COME TOGETHER DESPITE THE HAZE
MWM 2014 was converted to non-competitive marathon, prize-money to be donated to charity
16th March 2014, Shah Alam – About 3,500 runners, 80 percent of the 4,400 who registered for the race turned up at Dataran Kemerdekaan for the marathon early this morning, braving the haze situation in Shah Alam.
They were undeterred by the haze and were hoping it will clear up in time for the flag off. But as Mother Nature would have it, the haze cloaked the flag off and assembly area. The organisers took the consensus from the runners and decided to convert the 42km (full marathon) and 21km (half-marathon) runs into a non-competitive half-marathon. 10km and 5km fun run were maintained.
Runners took the news in high spirits and were flagged off from the Dataran Kemerdekaan Shah Alam at 4.45am. The runners ran along the scenic route of Shah Alam including the Blue Mosque, the park, Stadium Malawati and Istana Bukit Kayangan, along the residential areas of Shah Alam.
Cheryl Chou, 34, Accountant said that MWM2014 was organised very well with water stations found at every 2km of the route. “It was just too bad that the haze did not clear. I still was happy to be here as I wanted to support the event and still be able to keep fit,”she added. Cheryl was accompanied by her husband, Donny Chong, 33, as a pacer throughout the 21km run.
Although there were no winners, the prizes were given away as lucky draw prizes to those who completed the race within the qualifying time. Prize money of about RM18,000 will be given to charities at a later date which will be announced.
Prizes that were given away as lucky draw prizes included jewellery from Habib Jewels worth more than RM10,000 and 2xu Compression Wear and a Doof Duffle bag, as well as AirAsia air tickets to Lombok, Phuket and Siem Reap for the best‐dressed runners.
Many runners completed their runs within time and were very proud to collect their finisher skirts,bracelets and pendants.
YB Elizabeth Wong, Chairman Standing Committee of Tourism, Consumer Affairs & Environment of Selangor and YB Dr Daroyah binti Alwi, Chairman Standing Committee of Health, Development Entrepreneur, Science, Technology & Innovation joined the women in the morning race and were very satisfied with the event despite the last minute changes.
MWM 2014 this time was a three-day event where the 1st day started with Dialogue Sessions with some very accomplished women in their chosen fields, such as YB Rodziah Ismail, Selangor Exco for Women Affairs, Miss Airin Zainul, Group General Manager of NTV7 & 8TV, Eliza Nordin and Alecia Heng of Gorgeous Geeks.
The highlight of the dialogue was a special guest speaker, Catherine Ndereba, 2 time World Marathon Champion and 4 time Boston Marathon Champion who shared her experience as a woman runner.
Nicknamed “Catherine the Great and a cili padi at only 5’3”, Ms Ndereba also conducted a workshop the following day, 15th March 2014 for women runners at the Royal Theatre in Shah Alam.
She not only flagged off the event, she also ran with the runners during the morning
race. There was an expo on the mezzanine floor and 1st floor of the Royal Theatre Shah Alam, where representatives from other marathons from around the region had been invited to support MWM as well as promote their runs such as Melbourne Marathon, The Great Ocean Road Marathon, Gold Coast Airport Marathon and Laguna Phuket Marathon. Likewise, MWM will also be presented at their marathons.
There were other partners and sponsors who had exhibition booths displaying their products such as Nashata Lifestyle, Avon and Prudential, just to name a few. “The race is gaining much recognition in Malaysia as it has received an increased participation of 250 percent. We hope to become an International event very soon,”quipped Karen Loh, Race Director and Founder of Malaysia Women Marathon.
She also added that they be doing the necessary promotions in countries like Taiwan and Japan to gain more international participation in future and for next year’s MWM2015 on the 8th March 2015.
“We will continue to support Malaysia Women Marathon and even more next year as it coincides with Visit Selangor Year 2015. We hope to hold it in Shah Alam as it is the best venue as we have received very good feedback from the runners during these events,” said Puan Noorul Ashikin Mohd Din, General Manager of Tourism Selangor.
Sponsors of MWM2014 included Prudential, General Electric (GE), KT Tape, AVON, Nashata, Perodua and many more.
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