By Nadhira Balqist Masran
GOMBAK, 9 October 2018: The IIUM Trail run held last Saturday (6 October) at Sayyidina Hamzah stadium, which witnessed an annual event of students of the Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences (KENMS), drew a bigger participation.
With 700 participants taking part in the run over last year’s 600, this year’s event saw an increase of some 100 more participants than last year, which indicated greater interest in the Trail Run following their third attempt this year.
As the name IIUM Trail Run implies, all contestants must go off road and enter the jungle behind the campus, running through mud, river, bushes, trail and countless hills to finish the race. œRunning through hills is a tough one, many of us surrendered and just walked when going through the hills, but I enjoyed it since it tested my stamina and endurance. That is what I came for, said Muhammad Firdaus Othman, one of the top ten 10-kilometre winners.
There are three categories. First is 10-kilometre individual, second is 6-kilometre individual and the third is the new category for this year’s trail run, which is a 4-kilometre group run. This new category requires participants to be in a group of four runners. The way it works is that all the four runners need to run together in a pack and must reach the finishing line together. The first group that reaches the finishing line together with all members is declared the winner. This new category was the second most registered by the participants after the 10-kilometre individual category.
“The main purpose of organising this third IIUM Trail Run is to raise funds. We found out that by managing this event, more funds are coming in. We managed to land with sponsors from Gardenia, Geng Mosha, MacDonald, Nestle Milo, Turbocell, and our official apparel partner, Ultron. When they sponsored us, the money collected from registration can be used as funds. Of course, this would not work without the committees hard work and determination to look for sponsors, said Muhamad Najmi Hood Hadzir, the event’s programme manager.
œWe also encourage students to run instead of socialising in social media since running is good for health, he further elaborated.***