By Faiqa Dzakira and Siti Shariff
GOMBAK, 31 December 2023: “Based on the atmosphere and a positive response that was received for the first time from all participants, there is no reason for not to continue organizing this event again next year,” said Deputy Dean of AbdulHamid AbuSulayman Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (AHAS KIRKHS), Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd. Noh Abdul Jalil in his opening speech.
For the very first time, AHAS KIRKHS conducted a run called IIUM Mega Run: Mind over Miles, that is a marathon-based and competition-based run, where participants engaged in a challenging yet rewarding experience to support and raise awareness for mental health and a healthy lifestyle. This run competition had two categories which were the 2 km relay run and the 5 km run. The start of the run was held at the IIUM Cultural Centre (IIC) on Sunday, 31 December 2023. The event witnessed 250 participants; students and members of the public.
The Mega Run was inaugurated by Assoc. Prof. Dr Mohd. Noh accompanied by the Head of Department of Arabic Language and Literature (DALL), AHAS KIRKHS, Prof. Dr. Asem Shehadah Salleh Ali, and Coordinator of AHAS KIRKHS cum Advisor of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Students’ Society (IRKHSSS), Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noh thanked all committee members on behalf of the Kulliyyah for organising the first AHAS KIRKHS Mega Run. Dr. Mohammad Mohiuddin’s welcoming speech mentioned, “This is one of the initiatives of AHAS KIRKHS to enhance the aspects of believer and ‘mukmin’ intellectually, spiritually, and physically as the Prophet (PBUH) mentioned the importance of physical structure, ability, and strength besides intellectual and spiritual strengths.”
This IIUM Mega Run is not just about bringing togetherness and joy among the students in general but to all humankind in particular before the end of 2023.
The Programme Manager of IIUM Mega Run, Haziq Muhsin bin Mohd Nizam, mentioned that he and the mainboard of IRKHSSS cried the night before the event as they felt surreal after approximately seven months of preparation, hurdles and joy, the awaited day had come. He had so much fun organizing the event with the assistance of 124 committee members from various Kulliyyahs.
“We went through it the hard way because of all the commitments by the committees that stayed awake until very late at night to finalize the master plan or the POA, this event alhamdulillah went smoothly,” said one of the Programme Coordinators, Rafif Ridwan.
“There is no specific reason why I joined this run, it is just because it is an opportunity for me to create a moment with my friend before the end of 2023 and to end the year as a productive person,” said first-year Business Management student, Nur Afiqah binti Yusri.
“We wanted to challenge ourselves, make our end of the year memorable by joining IIUM Mega Run,” said students from Indonesia, Atikah Zahidah, Evelyn Putri, and Izka Azalia.
Another participant from the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design (KAED) who wanted to be known as Ariff, mentioned that he felt very happy participating in the 2 km relay run as his team managed to win the first runner-up position for the category. He was also so surprised to see a lot of people joining the event although it was a public holiday.
Overall, the event ran smoothly and got good feedback from participants. Although this was the first time for IRKHSSS to organise the event, they managed to make the IIUM Mega Run event a success, alhamdulillah.***
