BY ANNABELL NAJA TOMMY
KOTA SAMARAHAN: A run organised by Hock Seng Lee (HSL) and Grit Events Management in conjunction with Mother’s Day at the La Promenade shopping mall drew 1,350 participants.
Kota Samarahan MP Datuk Rubiah Wang flagged off the 3km, 5km, 10km and 21km categories of the event and later presented prizes to all the winners.
The two-day event was the first run held after the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2019.
Cherynna Corey Chin, 27, a top finisher in the women’s 10km category, hoped more such events would be held in the future.
“It benefits everyone involved, it can promote the La Promenade shopping center, give people the opportunity to gather for recreational purposes, and also emphasise the importance of health,” she said.
Mohd Sharif Mohd Ekbar, 53, was also happy to be able to join the running event after so long.
According to Sharif, he had participated in the run previously and was thankful that it finally resumed.
Princess Sofea Yusuf, 46, shared similar sentiments over the resumption of the event.
“Events like this were postponed for a long time, so I and my friends participated to enliven the atmosphere of the programme.
“This morning, I deliberately used the kebaya to finish this run because we are still in the month of Syawal. In addition to running to keep healthy, we also wanted to enliven the festive atmosphere this month,” she said.
Harjun Singh Brar Mahinder Singh, 35, who is a health officer at Sarawak General Hospital said the community had become lazier after being forced to stay at home following the movement control order (PKP) due to the pandemic.
Participation in such activities at least helps to break a sweat, and most importantly one can lose weight as well as burn calories, he said.
“It is gratifying to see people being able to go back to doing their normal routines after the pandemic,” he said.
Meanwhile, the programme was also enlivened by participants wearing clothes that were different from others.
Five participants were announced as the winners of the Best Costume special category of the event.
Also present was La Promenade Fitness Weekend Programme Chairman Yu Ji.
