Larian 40 Taman: Where It All Began

 Whoa, it's been 12 years since I started this community running project, huh? Check out the video!

Larian 40 Taman: It's Been A Decade!

 

#throwback TEN YEARS ago, the gang and I completed my community running project, Larian 40 Taman 100km, 'live' on MHI! 9 states, 4 different countries in one year. What a blast!

Senarai Taman Larian 40 Taman 100km:

1. Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya

2. Taman Merdeka Johor Bahru

3. Taman  Rekreasi & Terapi Pantai Purnama, Port Dickson

4. Taman Bukit Jalil

5. Taman KLCC

6. Taman Subang Ria

7. Taman Botanikal Melaka

8. Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

9. Taman Jaya

10. Taman Tasik Shah Alam

11. Taman Tasik Permaisuri

12. Taman Rekreasi Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru

13. Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM)

14. Central Park, Bandar Utama

15. Padang Polo, Ipoh

16. Perdana Park, Kota Kinabalu

17. Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya

18. Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang

19. Taman Rekreasi Seksyen 7, Shah Alam

20. Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir

21. Taman Tasik Seremban

22. Hyde Park, London

23. Taman Tasik Datuk Keramat

24. Albert Park, Melbourne

25. Taman Tasik Cempaka Bangi

26. Southwark Park, London

27. Hutan Bandar Mutiara Rini

28. Central Park, Desa Park City

29. Taman Aman

30. Taman Budaya, Kuching

31. Taman Botani Perdana

32. Taman Tasik Cyberjaya

33. Taman Rimba Riang, Kota Damansara

34. Taman  Rekreasi & Terapi Pantai Tanjung Gemok

35. Taman Metropolitan, Kepong

36. Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

37. Taman Metropolitan Batu

38. Taman Bukit Komanwel

39. City Park, Seremban 2

40. Taman Tasik Lembah Kiara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail

Larian 40 Taman 100km: We Did It!

The journey came to a glorious end last Friday (11 Jan 2013), and I wanna say right off the bat, thanks to everyone who made it happen! From the first run at Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya, to the final one at Taman Persekutuan Bukit Kiara. Fuh, 40 parks in one year. I had my doubts, to be honest, but to finally complete it is absolutely satisfying.

I always knew that the final run would be something very special, and when the MHI producers agreed to do a series of live crossovers on the day, my job was to also deliver good content, in addition to the final run.

At the park were Ally, Nadia and myself, and we started off by introducing the park itself and on the wonders of exercising. We also interviewed national marathoner Shahruddin Hashim who shared with viewers some very valuable running tips.

A couple more crossovers featured warm-up sessions and also an interview with a Jabatan Lanskap official, the department responsible for maintaining most of the parks in the country.

 

Then it was time for the run. After a simple countdown, more than 30 of us made one shortened round around the park, all captured "live" by the cameras.

And with that, Larian 40 Taman 100km came to and end. Overall, we did approximately 118kms and covered nine different states in the country and also visited London, Melbourne and Singapore.

Thank you again to everyone and keep on running!

Larian 40 Taman 100km: Just THREE More To Go!

All the cliches fit here: "Pejam celik, pejam celik, dah nak sampai pun", "Time flies when you're having fun", etc. Yes indeed, it does feel like it was only yesterday that I launched my own community running project called "Larian 40 Taman, 100km". The objective's simple; to run at 40 different parks within one year with the local community and encourage a healthy lifestyle amongst Malaysians.

The first run was held at Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya on the 14th of January and as at today, we have completed 37 parks all across the country, and yes, a couple international runs as well.

 

It's been a blast, really. For starters, I've made quite a number of new friends with a passion in running and it's been wonderful discovering all these parks in the country. Yes, Larian 40 Taman is not only a Klang Valley-centric project, but we've also been to Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Sabah, Sarawak, Perak, Penang and Putrajaya.

Youth Park, Penang

Lake Gardens, Seremban

Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir, Selangor

And as mentioned, I've also included in the list a few iconic international parks like Hyde Park in London and Albert Park in Melbourne.

Albert Park, Melbourne

To be perfectly honest, it's been a fun, yet challenging ride. I mean, it is quite a commitment to gather people every Saturday morning to run, and it's quite common to receive SMSes at the last minute saying, "Sorry bang, terlajak tidur!". Hehe.

And since I have early mornings on Thursdays and Fridays hosting MHI, I often do felt like it was tough waking up early on Saturdays myself!

We've also had two long breaks. Once for Ramadhan, and then in September, when I left to do my film-making course in London, something I hadn't planned for in 2012.

The run count also felt rather slow in the beginning, especially when people kept saying, "Ooo, banyak lagi!". Damn, that was a morale-sapper right there. But since hitting the 3-0 mark, things have felt rather  quick, and here I am, just three more parks to hit the much-awaited FOUR ZERO.

Taman Botani Perdana, KL

Taman Budaya, Kuching

Special shoutouts must go to all who've been such great supporters of the run. We now even have a "Larian 40 Taman" team, that will also be competing in our second relay race in January after the Ekiden Run back in May.

The handsome dudes of Team Larian 40 Taman. Hehe

And oh yes, if you're planning to join the final run, it will be at Taman Lembah Kiara, TTDI. I haven't decided on the date yet, but I am expecting a big turn out for this one. Till then, keep on running folks!

LARIAN 40 TAMAN, 100 KILOMETER REACHES ITS HALFWAY POINT

Community running project “Larian 40 Taman, 100 Kilometer” reached its halfway point on 23^rd June, 2012 when the 20^th run was held at Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir in Kuala Lumpur. Launched on the 14^th of January 2012, the project has held runs in eight different states including the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Selangor, Johor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Perak, Penang and Sabah.

Initiated by avid-runner and co-host of TV3’s morning talkshow “Malaysia Hari Ini”, M.Zulkifli Abd. Jalil, “Larian 40 Taman, 100 Kilometer” is a community running project that promotes healthy lifestyle and aims to get Malaysians all across the country to run at their neighbourhood parks with friends and family.

“We are definitely on track to hit 40 different parks by year-end which is our objective,” says Zulkifli. “We have also covered a distance of 58kms in the 20 runs so far, which is slightly ahead of the pace for the targeted 100kms.”

However, Zulkifli admits that response to the runs have been rather mixed. “At some parks, I get up to 50 people running with me, as was the case at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, while at other venues, only four or five would turn up. But this in no way has hampered my determination. I know it’s quite a commitment for casual runners to wake up early in the morning on weekends,” he says.

The runs are usually held on Saturday mornings and no prior registration is required. Everyone with a good pair of shoes and the desire to run or brisk walk is invited to join Zulkifli and other participants for a minimum distance of 2.5km.  The invitations are sent out mainly via social media platforms including twitter and facebook.

Zulkifli himself has been enlightened by the experience so far. “The project has taken me to parks I had only heard about, and getting to run at all these places have been absolutely wonderful. Some of our parks are really world-class and it’s a shame if they are under-utilised,” he says. “And that really is part of the objective of this project, to promote a healthy lifestyle and to highlight the fact that more family-centric activities should and could be held at public parks rather than shopping malls.

“It also feels good when people tell me that this project has inspired them to finally start running”.

The project is self-funded by Zulkifli and at most venues, participants are also given free T-shirts as mementos. “Sometimes, I also do lucky draws just to make it more exciting. I’m also happy to see that the project has managed to put runners in touch with each other as well as making new friends.”

While the list of the next 20 parks has yet to be determined, Zulkifli invites everyone to visit the project’s blog at larian40taman.blogspot.com for the latest info, or to suggest venues to run. “To date, more than 300 people have joined the runs collectively, and I would like to see more Malaysians join us for the next 20 runs!”

For more information, you can also follow www.twitter.com/larian40taman  and “like” www.facebook.com/larian40taman .

LIST OF PARKS COVERED:

1.      Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya, Selangor

2.      Taman Merdeka, Johor Bahru, Johor

3.      Taman Rekreasi & Terapi Pantai Purnama, Port Dickson, N.Sembilan

4.      Taman Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

5.      Taman KLCC, Kuala Lumpur

6.      Taman Subang Ria, Subang Jaya, Selangor

7.      Taman Botanikal, Melaka

8.      Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur

9.      Taman Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

10.  Taman Tasik Shah Alam, Selangor

11.  Taman Tasik Permaisuri, Kuala Lumpur

12.  Taman Rekreasi Hutan Bandar, Johor Bahru, Johor

13.  FRIM, Kuala Lumpur

14.  Central Park, Bandar Utama, Selangor

15.  Taman Rekreasi Sultan Abdul Aziz, Ipoh, Perak

16.  Perdana Park, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

17.  Taman Putra Perdana, Putrajaya

18.  Taman Perbandaran, Pulau Pinang

19.  Taman Rekreasi Seksyen 7, Shah Alam, Selangor

20.  Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur

Video: Larian 40 Taman 100 Kilometer #1-17

Larian 40 Taman: FRIM & Central Park Bandar Utama

Whoa, I'm far behind in updating the Larian 40 Taman exploits, so I might as well skip a few and talk about the last two runs we did. Hehe.

On the 14th of April, Larian 40 Taman went to FRIM in Kepong to run together with participants of the World Forestry Day Run 2012. Finding the place itself proved to be a challenge for myself, seeing how my last visit there was probably about 15 years ago. Basically, I missed the turning from the highway and ended up further ahead in the middle of Kepong town.

But google maps saved the day for me, and once I found the right turning, it was a breeze finding FRIM. Once I got in, I then had to look out for Rumah Terengganu, the run's starting point. I was pretty fascinated by the fact that there was already a steady stream of people entering FRIM; some in running gear, while others came with the whole family, looking like they're going for a picnic.

I found Rumah Terengganu and immediately hooked up with a few other Larian 40 Taman runners. We then had to wait for a while for the organisers to sort out stuff like T-shirts, but eventually we got the tees with no hitches. The number of participants that morning was were around 160, a bit short of the 200 that they were expecting.

The run was then flagged off at around 8.20am, and this was when things got REALLY interesting. You see, when I was referred to this run, somehow I did not pay attention to the route. Only that very morning did I discover that it was going to be a half/half thing; trail and road running. Which was interesting for me, really. I've always wanted to try trail running and the opportunity came rolling into my path.

We started out OK, but then it was time to go into trail run mode, and immediately we had no negotiate a bukit. A bukit that went on, and on, and on... Seriously, it was literally up the hill for a good few hundred metres.

With no experience whatsoever with the route, it was tough for me to figure out the pacing and what to expect next. So when the climbing didn't stop I just decided to walk it until we got to a flatter part of the route. Plus there was the added challenge of avoiding mountain bikers. So runners, blasting music on your headphones is not recommended at all here. No syok sendiri runners, please!

Of course when you go up, you must come down, and the downhill part was pretty interesting as you had to apply the "brakes" on yourself so as not to skid down the hill. And oh yeah, good and appropriate shoes are definitely needed. I wore my Brooks Glycerin 9, not exactly trail running shoes, but they worked pretty well and gave me good grip throughout.

I finished the 5km route in 40 minutes and was placed 39th out of 160 runners; the first time I'm in the Top 40 of any event. Haha! They also had a lucky draw but I went back empty handed lah. But overall, a very good experience for all of us newbies. Click HERE for the full report.

Next up is the run at Central Park, Bandar Utama, the 14th run in the Larian 40 Taman series. It's a nice little park (with a big name) right next to One Utama and just a few hundred metres away from my office.

A pretty decent crowd turned up this past Saturday morning for an easy 2.6km run (600m per loop). But one thing about this park though, dog owners are allowed to bring their pets here, so Central Park is also known as a "dog park".

For this run too, I got Grand Brilliance and TV9 to sponsor some T-shirts to be given away. So after the run, I had the pleasure of giving away some cool tees to the runners!

For the full report, click HERE .

Larian 40 Taman: Taman Jaya & Taman Tasik Shah Alam

A 2-in-1 post as I just couldn't find the time to update this last week. Well, the 9th Larian 40 Taman was held on the 10th of March at Taman Jaya in PJ. Here's the ironic bit about the location; I once worked right across the park a few years ago, but not once did I ever run or do anything sporty there. Maybe I thought about it, but that was all.

So it was still technically my first time there, a nice little park which is located right beside the very busy Federal Highway.

We had a pretty decent turnout that day comprising regulars and first-timers. Also present were reps from Tourism Selangor! These kind folks had been helping us to promote the run as well, especially on twitter (follow @TourismSelangor), so it was great to have them run with us!

For the full story on the run at Taman Jaya, do click HERE

And last Saturday, we hit a mini milestone of sorts. The 10th run was held at Taman Tasik Shah Alam! Yes, the 10th run! And I'm proud to share the stats so far: 10 runs, 200 participants, 30kms covered. So a special thanks go out to every one of you who has ran/walked with us!

We also started a new partnership with Alla Fonte, who sponsored the mineral water for all the runners that morning.

Not only that, for the first time too, we had a lucky draw where we gave away a shopping voucher worth RM50! Not much, but hey, we gotta start somewhere right? : )

For the full report on the Taman Tasik Shah Alam run, do click HERE

Larian 40 Taman: Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

What a session we had last Saturday, the eighth run in the Larian 40 Taman series at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa! With the participation from the TT Kuda Runners group, we had the best turnout so far, and we also did the longest run as well. So, well done to everyone involved!

For the full report, click HERE