The IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge ended on a high note at the New Pantai Expressway (NPE), with the last leg of the challenge attracting more than 9,000 runners from all walks of life.
The run kicked off at 5.30 a.m. for the 21 km followed by the 10 km challenge at 6.30 a.m. attracting over 9,000 enthusiastic runners for the final leg of IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge. Participants got to run on a totally closed highway which started along the roads at Sunway Pyramid and were treated to a breath-taking view of sunrise against the backdrop of the city skyline along the race route.
Runners who also participated in the first leg of the run at Besraya Highway were eager to give their best for the second leg as the final winners of the Duo Highway Challenge were selected according to their fastest combined timing from the 21km and 13km at the NPE and Besraya Highway Challenge respectively.
The duo highway challenge was held in collaboration with IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM”) and Allianz Malaysia Berhad (“Allianz”) as title sponsors and Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd and New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd (wholly-owned subsidiary of IJM Corporation Berhad) as the venue sponsor. The event was organized by EC Pixels Sdn Bhd.
Dato’ Soam Heng Choon, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of IJM Corporation Berhad said: “It is great to see the participants running on a closed highway as this is a rare occasion. We agreed to conduct the run on the highway to create awareness on the accessibility and convenience of the two highways that we own in an exciting way. In addition to this, our Corporate Social Responsibility focus is to bring the community together through sport events and promote fitness and healthy living. Today’s turnout surpassed our expectations, showing us that awareness is created. At IJM, we believe that good fitness will always bring out more consistency and better results.”
Sean Wang, Chief Operations Officer of Allianz Malaysia Berhad said: “Being able to witness thousands of Malaysians challenging themselves to run for both events has assured us that we are achieving our goals in advocating healthy living among Malaysians. Allianz will constantly support such events as there is a growing interest in the running community where people are taking action to make healthy changes to their lifestyle. We are proud to be able to partner with IJM for Malaysia’s first Duo Highway Challenge as it is a great start to many more future endeavours that will benefit the community in a healthy way.”
The supporters and finishers also participated in exciting activities in the Race Village at Bandar Sunway, including the electric buzzer game, various one-minute challenges and digital photo booth organized by IJM as well as the opportunity to grab Allianz’s exclusive promotion rates for home insurance premium plans during the event.
The highlight of the prize-giving ceremony was the winners for the overall Duo Highway Challenge winning trips to go overseas. The champion of the men’s category for the Duo Highway Challenge is Poo Vasanthan Subramaniam Vasanthan won a round trip to Japan along with a cash prize of RM2,000 and a trophy with a total time of 2 hours and 30 seconds, followed by Anas Rosli who came in second place with a total time of 2 hours, 1 minute and 36 seconds and won a round trip to Thailand with a cash prize of RM1,000 and a trophy. Lastly, Azwan Bin Bujing who was in third place with a total time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 40 seconds won a round trip to Thailand with a cash prize of RM500 and a trophy.
Poo Vasanthan Subramaniam the champion for men’s category on the Duo Highway Challenge said, “I feel very happy to be named as the overall champion for IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge. I want to thank my family and friends for their support. I spent at least two hours of training every day and I’m very happy with the results. My next aim is to compete in a race at Terrengganu.”
In addition to that, for the women’s category the overall champion for Duo Highway Challenge goes to Sheela Samivellu with a total time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 38 seconds. She also won a round trip to Japan with a cash prize of RM 2,000 and a trophy. The first runner up goes to Loh Chooi Fern with the time of 2 hours, 32 minutes and 21 seconds, who took home a cash prize of RM1,000, a trophy and a round trip to Thailand. Susan Khoo with a time of 2 hours, 43 minutes and 56 seconds got third place and also won a round trip to Thailand, cash prize of RM500 and a trophy.
“Today’s run was a bit challenging because we started at 5.30am. However, the weather was chilly and it actually motivated me to finish my run and do my best. A tip to beginners out there is that you can improve your kilometres gradually. Try to not overdo it or else you will injure yourself. My plan after this is to do more 21km runs in order to sustain my performance and since 21km is not easy, it will be a challenge for me to do my best.” said Sheela Samivellu the overall champion for the Duo Highway Challenge women’s category.
Coming in at first place for the Men’s Open 21km category was Poo Vasanthan Subramaniam Vsanthan, who crossed the finishing line at 1 hour, 15 minutes and 35 seconds, followed by Vasanthan Balakrishnan coming in close at second place with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes and 52 seconds and Anas Rosli coming in third with a time of 1 hour, 16 minutes and 6 seconds.
The winners for the 21km Women’s Open were, Sheela Samivellu with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes and 33 seconds, followed by Loh Chooi Fern who took second place with a time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 31 seconds and Tahira Najmunissa Muhammad Zaid finished third just minutes away at 1 hour, 37 minutes and 6 seconds.
