Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run 2016

Size Matters

Boy, I told you that Year 2016 is going to be the BEST RUNNING YEAR EVER! Here is one reason why – Men’s Health Women’s Health (MHWH) Night Run is back with a BANG! and together with NEW TITLE SPONSOR AIA Vitality, they have created Malaysia’s largest night run series! The starry night run will take place in 3 Liveliest Cities in Malaysia, namely, Penang Island on 2nd April 2016, Putrajaya on 30th July 2016, and finishing up in Johor on 7th January 2017, and a total of 33,000 runners are expected to participate and challenge themselves over a 5km, 12km or 21km course in these 3 cities.

New Alliance

I had attended the MHWH Night Run 2016 officially launching on 7th January 2016 at the snazzy Level 33 – SkyBar, Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur which was headlined by Graham Paling, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mongoose Publishing Sdn Bhd and Thomas Wong, Chief Marketing Officer of AIA Bhd. Here is what they had to say :

– “The outstanding success of the Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run in 2015, which sold out 7,500 spaces in just a few weeks, inspired us to expand the event and create Malaysia’s biggest run series,” explains Graham Paling, Group CEO of Mongoose Publishing Sdn Bhd, the publishers of Men’s Health and Women’s Health in Malaysia.
“To deliver this enhanced experience, we needed a partner who shared our ambition and  desire to present an event that reaches more Malaysians, so they too could enjoy the experience of running with Men’s Health and Women’s Health. We could ask for no better partner than AIA, and we are proud to announce that this series will be called the Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run by AIA Vitality.”
“It is a great pleasure to work with a wonderful brand like AIA which shares our brand values of helping Malaysians improve their lives and making themselves healthier in every sense of the word.”
– AIA Bhd.’s Chief Marketing Officer, Thomas Wong says, “We are proud to be the official title sponsor of the Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run by AIA Vitality. The race provides a platform to celebrate vitality as a wellness goal, because being healthy is not just about looking good, it is about feeling good as well. By joining the Men’s Health Women’s Health Night Run by AIA Vitality, every individual can be empowered to feel better, healthier and ready to take on 2016 with a more positive mindset.”

Bagging Rights

Indeed, if the intention of both Mongoose Publishing & AIA Vitality is to create a big splash in the running scene, then they have certainly succeeded that by expanding MHWH Night Run to cover 3 cities over a period of one year. If my memory serves me right, I did run in MHWH Night Run in 2012, and I know that this event has always been the talk-of-the-town for their awesome jam-packed goodies bag: In fact, the GOODIE BAG for the Penang series is valued at more than RM500. Personally, the contents of the Goodie Bag will never influence my decision to register for any Race. To me, the race organiser’s passion and experience to put-on an enjoyable event is the KEY to a successful event. Glad to say, the Men’s Health Women’s Health Team have the ‘right stuff’ to pull-off a Running extravaganza in order to bring-out the best in Malaysian Runners.

Trifecta Medal

In MHWH 2012, I recalled that the Medals were limited because right after crossing the finish line, some distressed Runners came up to me and asked, “Where did you get that medal?” Fortunately, this time round, a unique trifecta medal will be given to ALL FINISHERS because no matter how fast or slow we run, the distance is the same, and we can all say afterwards that we have successfully completed the challenge. The Trifecta Medals are specially designed to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle to form one unique, big medal for those Runners who manage to complete all 3 events in Penang, Putrajaya and Johor.

Colourful Tees

Normal people collect stamps or fridge magnets, Runners love to collect event Tees by default. Normally, the cheaper T-shirts received from running events are worn at home. While, the quality dri-fit Tee giveaways are worn proudly all over town as a testimony to our hard efforts. In my personal collection, I have 100’s of dri-fit Tees, symbolising my past running achievements. For MHWH Night Run 2016, there are 3 different coloured and good quality fast-drying T-shirts of Orange, Blue and Red to represent the individual variety of Penang, Putrajaya and Johor Run respectively.

Year-long Commitment

I gladly welcome MHWH & AIA Vitality’s first time effort to initiate a running event big enough to include our running friends in the North and South of Peninsular Malaysia. After all, there are already too many running events around the Klang Valley nowadays, making it troublesome and costly for the outstation runners to join each time.

Secondly, I give two-thumbs up to MHWH for looking beyond one single event, and for investing in the running community over a 12-month period. By doing so, it is easier for Runners to plan ahead their running schedule. This supports my belief that Running should be seen as a way of life to be SAVOURED, and where the journey matters more than the final destination.

Hop On

The closing date for the Penang Run is closing on 6th March. Register HERE – JOIN the Run,and STAY for Penang’s heavenly food! A 10% discount if you REGISTER for all 3 races NOW!

For event info, visit their website , and for event updates, Like the official page.

About The Author

Gus is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Running Toons and he is passionate about endurance sports. As a sports 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.