Compressport Combo & Ultra All-Stars 2016

Stepping Up In 2016

It is always great news for the running community when a top running brand such as Compressport is willing to meaningfully sponsor running events in Malaysia. Indeed, Year 2016 will be a groundbreaking year for Compressport because we will see not one, two or three, but FOUR new COMPRESSPORT running events in Malaysia with Compressport Asia Pacific (CAP) of Singapore as the Title Sponsor in partnership with the My Triathlon Shop (MTS) as the Race Organiser.  A leap of zero to four events in one year is a huge one, and it goes to show that Compressport really means business. As Mr. Kishen of CAP declared, “Since running fees are getting expensive, Compressport want to add value to running events in Malaysia by sponsoring high-quality Compressport products as we have successfully done so in Singapore over many years.”

Compressport Combo Challenge 2016 Launch

ON & OFF ROAD: Launched in October 2016 (see my report), this Combo Challenge is the first-ever event which offers a double-serving of a Trail Run in MARDI, Serving & a Road Race in Cyberjaya as follows:-

Event: Compressport Trail

Date: 3 Jan 2016

Venue: Putrajaya, KL

Distance: 6KM or 12KM

Event: Compressport Road

Date: 24 April 2016

Venue: Cyberjaya, KL

Distance: 6KM or 12KM

COMBO CHALLENGE is a great opportunity for road racers to take-on the trail runners terrain, and vice-versa. Participants can also take advantage of the FANTASTIC DEALS on Compressport Running Apparel based on the offered race packages available.

For more race information and registration, CLICK HERE !

Compressport 100 Ultra Trail Marathon Series Official Launch

NEXT, PLEASE: On 12th December 2015, Compressport officially launched their next two new Ultra Trail Marathons (50km & 25km, Solo & Team) to be held in Penang Island on 20th Aug 2016 and in Semenyih, Selangor on 5th Nov 2016 respectively.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS: The official launch event in Petaling Jaya was witnessed by more than 50 Newbie & Seasoned Ultra Marathoners at Xero Gravity Climbing Gym. The guests were all given an attractive Compressport blue “media” dri-fit running Tee and a Compressport visor as part of their goodie bag.

BEAUTIFUL BEAST: Our first speaker was Ironman & Director of My Triathlon Shop, Ms Karen Geh, who highlighted the “no-loop” breath-taking scenery of the Penang Series trail, as well as its monster total elevation GAIN of 2,800m.

GIVEAWAYS & ADDED VALUE: Our second speaker was Mr. Kishen of Compressport Asia Pacific who revealed Compressport commitment to provide Malaysian runners with high-quality and value-for-money running apparel and events. For our gathering, Compressport & MTS sponsored 3 Lucky Draw prizes of free running slots to Compressport 100 UTM 2016 for 3 lucky guests.

ULTRA MENTORING: Ultra Running is a gruelling test of physical endurance and mental strength. The intense pain of completing an ultra marathon is only matched by the euphoria of personal achievement upon reaching the finish line. It takes courage to run an ultra.

With the right mentoring and support from the experienced ultra runners, the big step-up to ultra running becomes less daunting and more achievable for ultra newcomers. Hence, this launching of Compressport UTM Series provided an ideal opportunity for ultra beginners to be inspired and to learn from the seasoned ultra runners in the audience.

ULTRA PIONEER: Although Mr. Ng Seow Kong, the President of Malaysian Ultra Runners Association (MURA) could not attend the launching because of his involvement in staging UM24 on the same day, his message of support for the ultra running community was read-out ably to the audience by veteran endurance runner, Ms Amelia Ang. I recommend that all local ultra runners read his full text given below for a great summary on Ultra Running in Malaysia today.

LIVING LEGEND: An Appreciation Award was presented to the guest-of-honour, Mr. Oliver Ker, for his admirable dedication to running and for inspiring so many of his fellow runners to run with heart, to never give up and to walk to the finish line if you can no longer run. As a senior veteran of long-distance running, Oliver’s incredible passion for running until today at the age of 74-year old provides constant inspiration to the whole running community regardless of age, gender and status. Being a humble guy, Oliver is the first to say that there are other runners who deserve this award more than him. Nevertheless, we can all agree that the enormous contribution to running made by Oliver deserves more than a simple award.

ULTRA ACHIEVERS: On behalf of Compressport & My Triathlon Shop, I sincerely thank all of our guests and photographer, Mr. WK Chan, for their valuable time and support, and for being part of the launching of the inaugural Compressport 100 Ultra Trail Marathon 2016. We hope to see you at the Penang and/or the Semenyih Series for the ultimate ultra running experience.

TO REGISTER FOR COMPRESSPORT ULTRA, CLICK HERE!

For Event Updates, LIKE Compressport 100 Malaysia Series – Ultra Trail Marathon Combo Challenge.

QUOTE

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. The new and the more seasoned ultra runners. I am Ng Seow Kong, the President of Malaysian Ultra Runners Association.

I wish to thank Compressport and My Triathlon Shop for inviting me to attend the launch of Compressport 100 Ultra Trail Marathon 2016. Unfortunately I am now physically in Stadium Jugra, Banting, directing a 24hours running race called UM24. It’s a race format none of you have probably tried before: running around a 400m stadium for 6hrs, 12hrs and 24 hours. Some days you might want to consider doing that.

So I apologize for not being as lucky as all of you who can be here attending the launch of a new ultra running event sponsored by Compressport, and organized by My Triathlon Shop. Such an initiative indicates yet again the rise of interest among Malaysian runners in running ultra marathons. In direct response to such a demand, many ultra races have mushroomed in the last 1-2 years all over different parts of Malaysia. Ultra running calendars are rather full.

Also in response to the growing ultra running community, is the formation of Malaysian Ultra Runners Association. It’s an association whose members are ultra runners themselves. MURA’s objective is to promote ultra running standards through organizing forums, clinics, LSDs, posting of ultra running articles, and supporting local ultra races. So, we will promote and support the Compressport 100 Ultra Marathon in 2016 as well.

We support the wise consideration by the organizer to limit the distance to 50km. This is a good race to make it as your virgin ultra. With its tough elevation gain, it can be challenging as well to the more seasoned runners. Such a combination will appeal to a broad range of the growing ultra running community.

Malaysian running communities are predominantly comprised of road runners, many of whom have some fear of running on trails due to its uneven terrain, thus the possibility of tripping and falling. While this is perfectly understandable, trail running offers the kind of beauty offered by the nature surrounding the race route that you can’t possibly get from road races. The varieties of terrain activate many different parts of the leg muscles and other parts of the body, thus allowing the runners to suffer less from running injuries, or to recover faster from training and races.

It is therefore heartening to see more trail races (ultra or not) being organized in Malaysia. Compressport Ultra Marathon 2016 has obviously taken the correct step in moving the ultra running movement forward.

In promoting and supporting ultra trail races in Malaysia, MURA has planned for more LSD trail runs in 2016. It will continue to organize forums on ultra trail running, inviting established ultra runners to share their tips, and post articles which are educational to the runners. We are planning a boot camp sometime in Feb 2016 where the runners will spend 2 days 1 night over a weekend to learn from invited speakers on trail running and nutrition and etc. We hope this will be useful to those of you who are new to ultra trail running.

MURA would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We wish Compressport all the success in this event, and will support and promote it actively in 2016. Thank you for having MURA with all of you today.

Ng Seow Kong, President of MURA

UNQUOTE

About The Author

Gus is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Running Toons , and he is passionate about endurance sports. As a writer, he has contributed numerous insightful articles to The Star newspaper, Running Malaysia magazine, Cycling Malaysia magazine, Cycling Evolution magazine, Swim Bike Run magazine and more. LIKE Happy Runner and follow gusghani @Instagram.