Kuala Lumpur, 23 October 2016 – The Heart Foundation of Malaysia (Yayasan Jantung Malaysia) and Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad (Great Eastern Life) once again joined hands today for the Kuala Lumpur leg of the Great Eastern Bubble Dash 2016. This unique collaboration which was conceptualised to promote an enjoyable health and fitness event amongst Malaysians, attracted 15,000 runners for the run this year.
The event was held at Dataran Merdeka and was officially flagged off at 7.30am by KDYMM Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Norashikin Abdul Rahman. Also present at the session were Tun Ahmad Sarji Bin Abdul Hamid, President, Heart Foundation of Malaysia; Tan Sri Dato’ Kamaruzzaman Shariff, Vice President, Heart Foundation of Malaysia; Datuk Dr JS Sambhi, Chairman, Heart Foundation of Malaysia and Dato Koh Yaw Hui, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Great Eastern Life.
The run in Kuala Lumpur featured 3 categories to cater for both leisure and seasoned runners – 5km Bubble Dash, 12km and 21km LIVE GREAT Run. The competitive segments for 21km and 12km LIVE GREAT Run were flagged off earlier at 5.30am and 7.00am respectively.
YABhg. Tun Ahmad Mohd Sarji Bin Abdul Hamid, President, Heart Foundation of Malaysia said, “The Great Eastern Bubble Dash is a unique event that has been held in two cities. Combining fitness and fun is a great way to stay healthy, and we hoped to have encouraged more Malaysians to prioritise fitness and be healthy. Judging by the huge turn-out today, the Malaysian public recognised the importance of these and we look forward to continuing to build on this year’s success going forward.”
Young runners were also spotted in the 5km fun run route. Under the umbrella of Great Eastern Life ChildrenCare, 50 underprivileged children under the purview of Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) were given the opportunity to enjoy a foamy run. In conjunction with the run, Great Eastern Life ChildrenCare sponsored 500 pairs of sports shoes to the underprivileged children. This is to cultivate and promote a healthy lifestyle among the kids.
Director and Chief Executive Officer of Great Eastern Life, Dato Koh Yaw Hui said, “We want to inspire more Malaysians to make the necessary changes in their lifestyle and take ownership of maintaining their well-being. Through this run, we want to demonstrate that an active lifestyle can be exciting, fun and a great way to spend quality time with their loved ones.”
“It is our brand promise as a LIFE company to help Malaysians turn their health intentions into actions on their journey to live healthier and better. The run was designed as a platform to help people in achieving their health goals and we believe that a healthy lifestyle routine should start from young, hence our sponsorship of the underprivileged children in this run.” Dato Koh added.
The comprehensive Live Great Programme is the first integrated health and wellness programme by an insurance company in the region. It comprises five components - Wellness Tools, Health Tips, Mobile Apps, Workshops and Events, and Exclusive Privileges. Through the Workshops and Events pillar of the Live Great Programme, Great Eastern Life has organised many successful and popular events including Viper Challenge, FitForLife Health Fair, Largest Zumba Fitness Party amongst many other events. There are various avenues one can leverage on from these holistic programmes to make life great in every way.
The Great Eastern Bubble Dash 2016 was held in two cities, Penang and Kuala Lumpur. It is the first of its kind ever to be held in Malaysia that combines multi-coloured bubble foam and heart-pumping music.
The 5km course was based on multi-coloured bubble (made out of foam) stations placed throughout the running route around Dataran Merdeka. Participants passed through several stations where they were showered with coloured bubbles and foam, enjoyed heart-pumping music and a host of other surprise activities. This category was a leisure run and catered to runners of all ages and fitness levels. Runners could complete the route at their own pace or opt to sprint to the finish line. Finisher medals were given to all who completed the route.
Event organizer, Heart Foundation of Malaysia in conjunction with Great Eastern Life Assurance also introduced a new 21km category half marathon distance to offer a more challenging experience to participants who had previously entered the 12km LIVE GREAT Run, which has been held annually since 2012. The competitive route saw runners sprinting through several iconic landmarks in the city and scenic neighbourhoods along the way. It challenges their stamina and perseverance as they race through various checkpoints. Runners who completed the run will also receive finisher medals.
“It was a great experience to have a half marathon length run introduced; for us experienced runners. I was able to tackle the longer distance whilst my wife and children participated in the 5km run, enjoying the colourful bubbles and then we met at the finish. I am definitely hoping it would be back again next year,” said 41-year old S Kshte Dayanand from Kayu Ara.
“This is our first run. It was so much fun being able to be outside and get showered by colourful bubbles at the same time. The experience was phenomenal and I will be back next year with family as there were many activities for them as well,“ said Minjun Chow, 37 from Old Klang Road.
After completing their run, participants enjoyed a post-event carnival (also known as the Healthy Heart Carnival). The carnival featured exciting on-site offerings such as free health screenings, live Zumba workout sessions, on-stage entertainment and exciting giveaways. Other attractions include various food and beverage stalls, interactive games and inflatable toys for children to play.
At the Great Eastern booth, runners had the opportunity to print out their pictures captured during the run by uploading them on Instagram with a specific hashtag. Those who participated in the LIVE GREAT Fitness Challenge were rewarded with Starbucks gift cards when they successfully broke the record for the fitness challenge. Those who produced their LIVE GREAT Card were able to double up the amount of the prize.
“The event was great fun and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors, the participants and especially Great Eastern Life for their support,” said Datuk Sambhi.
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