​UiTM Ultra Marathon 2016 – NEW EVENT 

RD Aizuddin (Top Left) and co-organisers Adip Aji (Top Right) and Dzul-Hani (Bottom Left)

If I am going to sacrifice my precious beauty sleep and run 52km within 12 hours, I wanna make sure that I am doing it for all the right reasons.

Let’s see, I was looking for a long distance event which would test my physical endurance, but at the same time, I did not want to be burdened by having to meet multiple cut-off points which would take the fun out of it. I did not want to race against time, in this case, but rather I wanted to race against myself.

The long 12-hour finish time of UiTM Ultra Marathon will give me plenty of time to complete not only the required 52km distance, but I can use that quiet night time to explore my mind without the usual distractions of my daily life. Hopefully, being in the unfamiliar surroundings of UiTM campus and running at odd hours will lead to some kind of Eureka moment.

Furthermore, the fact that this event was in my neighborhood of Shah Alam was an added incentive to sign-up, and just like that, I found myself getting excited in anticipation of going where no man has been before: Well, atleast it was for me.

Once I had convinced myself that I was doing the right thing, I got in touch with Race Director Aizuddin Ahmad Imran to dig-up more information on his ground-breaking UiTM Ultra Marathon. Read on for my EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Aizuddin and get an insight into this latest addition to the ever-increasing Malaysian Ultra Marathon list….

WHERE AND WHEN

Date: 10th December 2016

Time: 10:00pm

Venue: Start/Finish – Stadium, UiTM Shah Alam

Organizer: UiTM Runners’ Club & Pusat Sukan UiTM 

RUNNER’S ENTITLEMENT

Personalized BIB

UiTM Ultra Marathon Buff

e-Certificate

Entitle for lucky draws

Finisher Medal (within COT)

Finisher Tshirt (within COT)

INTERVIEW WITH RD AIZUDDIN

Question 1 – How many members are there in UiTM Runners’ Club & Pusat Sukan UiTM?

Answer 1 – Members in UiTM Runners’ Club (URC) come and go, a lot of them graduated and then come new students. URC started in end of 2008 (officially registered as club under Pusat Sukan UiTM in 2009). Syahidan was the founder and Aizuddin was co-founder. As for now, it can be about 50 active members in URC and hundreds of alumni.

Q2 – What Are Their Functions & Objectives?

A2 – The main objective of this club, with Syahidan & myself leading the way, is to promote road running, and for the club to be a platform for students to go out and join any running event. Winning is not our focus, we are more focused on encouraging as many students as possible to go out and run! In particular, to enjoy running, and to be part of the community. We conduct weekly training sessions and running clinics for the new runners.

Q3 – Have you organised public running events in UiTM before? If so, what and when was the last event?

A3 – Yes, we have organised a few running events in UiTM Shah Alam before which was open to the public. The last one was the Run for Humanity (5km) – a charity event. However, this is the 1st Ultra event we are organising, and it will be the 1st Ultra event in UiTM too.

Q4 – Why did you decide to organise this event?

A4 – This event is being organised by UiTM Students and alumni of URC members. As UiTM students who have been running in UiTM Shah Alam for years, we want to share with other runners our university’s amazing route. It is normal for students to run 1 or 2 loop, but to run 10 loops, that is just amazing. We want to give the experience to all ultra runners out there.

Q5 – What will distinguish your event from other Ultra events?

A5 – We are different from other looping ultra events in Malaysia because we are using the distance format and not time. Meaning you just have to finish 52km distance before the cut-off time.

Q6 – What do you think will be the most challenging part for the participants?

A6 – The most challenging part is the HILLS. Imagine there will be 3 hills- long, shorter, and shortest. The shortest hill will be the toughest and not because of it is steep. But because most of your energy would have drained out from the previous 2 hills.

Just imagine, you will have to run 10 loops which means that you will have 30 hills to go through to become a Finisher. Thats why our motto is – HILLS ARE MADE FOR TOUGH LEGS!

Q7 – What is your advice/tips for participants?

A7 – My advice for runners out there – Please strategize your time well, do not rush into finish it. If you are able to do sub-6hours, go ahead. But if you are ordinary runners like me with extraordinary desire to run ultra, do strategise your time. 1hour/loop is a good time for new runners.

Do enough training with elevations to avoid any injuries/cramp that can result you to DNF.

Q8 – Is this a one-off event or do you plan to organise this event annually?

A8 – We are planning to this annual event. Depends on the support from the running community. If we see that this can be held annually, and Pusat Sukan UiTM have no problem with it, so why not. I hope that it will be an annual event.

Q9 – Do you have a photo of medal design?

Q9 – Stay tuned for the medal design and lucky draw items. Oh yes, we also have lucky draws. And it’s for all the participants, regardless if you are a Finisher or not.

Q10 – What is your final message to the would-be participants?

A10 – Please create a positive environment when you are running. Yes, you may chase your personal best (PB) and certain goals, but your safety is most important. And please support other runners whenever necessary. After all, we are one community. We hope to see all ultra runners in December.

FOR EVENT UPDATES
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER 

*Disclaimer*

To the best of my knowledge, all of the information provided is accurate at the time of publishing and the views expressed are based on my own opinions and does not necessarily reflect those of the Event Organiser or any Third Party.

About The Author

Gus is the Founder of Running Toons and a HIIT Fitness Coach. As a freelance 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 for RUNNING UPDATES, Gus Rider for CYCLING NEWS, Gus Ghani for SPORTS INFOTAINMENT and FOLLOW gusghani @IGgusghani @IG for LIFESTYLE.