Category Archives: Running

SCKLM: Suraus for Muslim Runners

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Standard Chartered KL Marathon is only a few days left and we want you to go through the smoothest experience you’ve ever had. This time round we would like to help all the muslims to feel at ease performing prayers during the running period.

Here are the routes provided by the organizer:

Half Marathon Route Map

For half marathon, the suggested prayer area is located at the side road of the Lebuhraya Duta – Ulu Kelang (DUKE) when you’ve reached 11km, slightly after you pass the water station. Though there is only one surau suggested here, there are also few mosque along the road.

The first mosque you’ll pass through is the Masjid Jamek before you hit 1km running. After 14km running, you’ll meet another mosque Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan. If you can make it on time, at the end of the route, you’ll see the last mosque which is Masjid Negara.

 

Full Marathon Route Map

As for Full Marathon, more suraus are suggested here. The first surau you’re going to pass is at 14km running (close to Tabung Haji & water station). Then, you’ll see a surau by the road side of Jalan Ampang after 15km run. After Kompleks Sukan Datuk Keramat and LRT Jelatek you’ll find another surau located at the road side of Jalan Jelatek. At 19km run, the surau is located close to the checkpoint by the road of Jalan Setiawangsa. The last surau that is suggested for marathoner is close to the checkpoint is at the DUKE road, that is after 26km running.

Just to inform, the mosque available near the route is the same as what the half marathoner will pass: Masjid Jamek, Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan and Masjid Negara.

Few tips on prayer guidance:

  1. Don’t forget your prayers even when you’re running
  2. Jangan lupa solat walaupun bersukan berjam-jam! (in bahasa Malaysia)

Hope this helps! Share it with others so they can also schedule their prayers early before the run! 🙂

Running at the 6th Malaysia Women Marathon

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Ladies ran in tutus, colorful attires and all sorts of gears. But it’s not just the ladies, the male pacers ran in tutus too at the Malaysia Women Marathon (MWM). That was how supportive the men are!  Indeed there were more men at the recent MWM. After all, 18% and 26% of the finishers at the Half Marathon and Full Marathon respectively were men.

Ran the Full Marathon in this new design – a swimwear

Runners in Tutu

The categories at the MWM were the 5 km, 10 km, 21 km and 42 km. Ladies came to the run for fun and sisterhood. Many took advantage of the event to catch up with girl friends the healthy way. That was why, the 5 km category is the most popular, with more than 2,300 registered runners, followed by 1,700 runners for 10 km. I participated in the least famous category – the full marathon with 250 registered runners (including male pacers). 166 ran that morning and only 61 runners finished, and 74% of the finishers were ladies. Many were not able to finish their run, not because they were not able to finish within the cut off time, but was stopped at many points due to safety reasons. I was one of the unfortunate ones.

Info from MWM Organiser

The route

The route for 10 km, 21 km and 42 km were the same, only that the later two required more rounds. It was a loop of 10 km. Sounds pretty simple, but many didn’t know the 10 km route consisted of many inclines, one after another. That’s quite a challenge to offer to lady runners, but they braved through the ‘obstacles’ anyways.

Since all runners except the 5 km category shared the same route, we bumped into each other a lot. I was tired after 7 am after 3 hours of running and just watched the 10 km runners speeding away. As I went through the hills for the 3rd round, my legs were already in pain and looking at hills ahead was not encouraging. What came through my mind was crazy. I never hated running till that day. I felt my wimpy legs were back and that running was not for me. It was my worst run. I always enjoyed the races I participated in. The pain and hardship were expected, but this time, it was different. Going through hills one after another in 4 loops just killed my motivation. I was determined to finish the run anyways and reserved my energy to go through the hill for the last loop. When I reached the 3rd checkpoint, they stopped me although it was just 4 hr 30 mins only. The volunteers claimed it was not safe to run and that I could run at my own risk as they were not able to control the traffic. True – I saw no traffic policemen at all! I ran back to the finish line feeling devastated.

Moreover, the motorists need to be considerate and thoughtful in having some tolerance in supporting public sports event. We witnessed roudy behaviour of motorists wanting traffic to move at roundabout junction and honked incessantly. When the runners tried to explained, the drivers lashed out with bad words. Some motorists stopped and moved the cones so they could move. This shouldn’t have happened in a civil society.

3/4 of the Elevation for Full Marathon

I arrived at the Race Village looking at happy faces taking loads of pictures at Dataran Kemerdekaan Shah Alam. Everybody loved the medal! Congrats to all running sisters, looking pretty and sweaty always!

I had friends who finished the full marathon at previous MWM and said would run back again, but only for 5 km. Now, I understood why. The marathon was suited for elite runners. Three days after the run, only the 61 finisher names were listed on the race result page. I did not expect an e-cert from this race, but it was as if I didn’t even run.

Faces of Happy Finishers

The half marathon Finishers!

The half marathon finishers

We will finish our next Full Marathon, insyaAllah. More training required!

Supposed to be Nahsuhah's 13th Full Marathon, but unable to complete.

Supposed to be Nahsuhah’s 13th Full Marathon, but unable to complete.

Finishers get a bouquet of white orchids

Ever Supportive Running Ladies

What I like about this year’s run?

  • Plenty safety cones
  • Amazingly supportive and cheerful volunteers. They cheered for runners along the way, non-stop.
  • Many and supportive pacers. Amazing!
  • RELA volunteers worked hard managing the traffic at roundabouts and junctions
  • Many water stations
  • Route was shady
  • Lovely finisher items
  • Glamorous and colorful

Some key learning :

  • Physically go through the route prior to the race
  • Run long distance races at major running events
  • More hill training, more training
  • It is about the experience. Choose the one that pushes you forward

I ran in Nashata new swimwear design. Yes, a swimwear – i just felt like running in it that day! Till we run again! Woman Up! #pressforprogress

Note : Pictures are from MWM organiser, running sisters and Super Sergio

World WOW Race Series – New challenges for you every month

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Keep yourself motivated and rewarded every month when you join the Women of Wellness (WOW) Virtual Race Series. The ultimate race is in October 2018. Be a part of a new race, new challenges every month! Live while racing. Be a part of the active lady community.

WORLD WOW RACE

WORLD WOW RACE

The March Race
The race kicks off in March with Cycle and Run challenges. You would need to cycle 15 km and run 15 km, in total, during the month of March 2018. You can cycle or run anywhere, in any sequence and anytime during the race period (1st-31 March)  Submit your results to instagram account WOWRace or wowrace@nashata.com by 8th April 2018.

How can you join the March Series?
Just register (1-15 March 2018) and pay for the run.

Who can join the race?
As long as you are a girl or a woman, you can join the race. Open to all nationalities. 

What do you get?

  • Nudges and updates from WOW Race team & community at WOWRace instagram account
  • Finisher gets Nashata Raazniq WOW Race Series worth RM49/SGD16.50/USD15.50. It is free size.
  • Finisher gets 20% discount for the next WOW Race
  • Finisher kit will be sent to you within two weeks after the running period is over. Free shipping worldwide!
  • Top 3 racers with most combined mileages will get special reward worth RM300 from Nashata.

Finisher gets the – World Wow Race Raazniq

WOW Run is an annual running event started by Mudzalifah Anuar in 2014.  It was initially known as the World 1st Muslimah Run and has evolved into women run and now race series as an effort to promote active lifestyle. Mudzalifah is a fitness coach, a triathlete and an inspiring friend to many ladies. She designs the current and upcoming races for the World WOW Race Series until the month of September. The series will end with the WOW Run on the 8th October.  BE FIT BE YOU and join the community of active ladies and let’s inspire and keep reminding one another!

The founder of WOW Run – Mudzalifah

Meet the Pacers for the 10th Standard Charted KL Marathon

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Someone at the media session asked me – What is a pacer? Why pacer is important for a marathon? A pacer at a marathon helps runners to finish within desired times. Typically, there are pacers for the full and half marathon. They not only run together with runners with the timing balloons or identifiers, but also motivate runners throughout these long runs. They bring runners back to finishing line.

The 5 lady pacers

Standard Charted KL Marathon (SCKLM) celebrates its 10th Anniversary with 38,000 runners who filled up the spots within 10 hours after registration opened. Yes the slots sell like hot cakes as SCKLM is the most popular and biggest running event in Malaysia, with 10,000 registered runners for full marathon and 11,000 half marathon.

What is your reason?

SCKLM started having pacers in 2010 with 14 pacers, and some of them continue to pace till today. Two of them are Malcalm Chew and Kelvin Ng, with the later keep coming back to pace as a way to contribute to the development of running in Malaysia.

This year, there are 5 lady pacers among the 29 Official Pacers.  One of them is Tini and she is well-known for her speed and wittiness. Everybody runs for a reason and as for the first time half marathon pacer, Munitaran Sundramtakes, being a pacer is his way to give back to the community.

The seasoned and new Pacers with their coordinator

SCKLM 2018 will be held at the Dataran Merdeka on the 8th April. So runners, have a target, train diligently, know and follow your pacer at the run! The pacers are ready, are you?

Follow the Pacer

The SCKLM is organised by Dirigo Events and SCKLM has not only gather runners from all over Malaysia but also over 70 countries.

Gloria Ng from Dirigo Events has been running SCKLM for many years. Kudos to her and team!

 

 

How Janda Baik Ultra has helped to overcome my fear of trail running again

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I used to be able to do long distance run and I used to be an avid trail runner. However, for the past few months I only managed to run a few 10km-15km on the road. After running TMBT and not being able to complete it, I was scared about going off-road again. I could not face running in the dark, the muddy routes, the self-doubts…in short, I was traumatized.

Soon enough I realized that I could not allow my fears to overcome me. It could not suppress my need to be off-grid once in a while, spending hours totally to myself, and seeking new routes and adventures. I had to face my fears about trail running again. It’s time to show who is the boss here. I decided to go ahead with Janda Baik Ultra and use it as a ‘therapy’ to gain my confidence about long distance running and trail running. I went for the shortest distance available: 30km, with elevation of over 1,200m

Here are 5 points on how I used Janda Baik Ultra to overcome my fear of trail running again:

  1. Acknowledge that I have to face my fears

30km? I prefer to look at it as 5km runs, done over 6 rounds. Now, that distance sounds a lot more manageable compared to 30km

  • Denying your fears will not help to resolve it
  • It is ok to admit that you are nervous. Vent, tell to someone who is willing to listen, then let go.
  • Realize that if you can overcome this, you can overcome bigger challenges in life
  • If your fear is too big, break it up into smaller milestones. I set smaller goals by ensuring that I reach the aid stations first, so there were 5 milestones for me to reach my end goal of 30km. Now, 30km seems a whole lot bearable.
  1. Set a realistic expectation

  • The easiest goal would be aiming to finish within the cut off time. But where’s the fun, if there is nothing challenging about it? So strike a balance between being challenging and being realistic.
  • For example: Don’t try to aim for a sub 6 hour for a 30km trail run when your best timing for 30km road race is 4 hours 30 mins
  1. Be over-prepared, physically

Most of the things that I packed in that hydration bag were not mandatory items, but it bought great comfort and helped me to complete the run, such as my hat

  • Train for it! There is no short cut to building your endurance, except to condition your body to get used to it. Strengthen your glutes and quads for the elevation with weight training.
  • Double check your mandatory items. You don’t want to be denied getting into the race pen just because you forgot a whistle or water bottle. In addition to the mandatory items, think about anything you might need based on the weather condition and route. I bought poles, waterproof jacket, and a hat even though it was not mandatory.
  • Study the route. Be aware of the distances between water stations and the elevation profile to make sure you pack enough water. Check the weather forecast too.
  1. Be over-prepared, mentally

Keep calm and run tomorrow

  • Get enough sleep for a peace of mind
  • Talk yourself through it – Plant and visualize in your mind that you MUST FINISH IT. You’ve trained hard for this!
  • Find ways to keep yourself positive and uplifted. I have a few phrases that I say to myself when it gets tough, and a playlist of songs on my phone.
  1. Focus on the bright side of the challenge

The most rewarding part of a trail run is the view. No medals can replace that feeling

 

  • Enjoy the view. You can never get to see the vast open greenery if you are running on the road
  • Take in the fresh air. No traffic, no cars, and almost no pollution.
  • Have fun during the “runcation”. After all, you are on a holiday!

    More runcations, please!

    I hope my tips will help you to overcome your fears to be able to live life to the fullest. Fear should not get in the way to enjoy the things you love, and it will slowly become easy if you try.

    Share with us a scary experience, and how did you overcome it?

Virtual Race – A Choice without Borders

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Have you ever wondered if the world is truly borderless? With the spirit of sportsmanship and technology, races are definitely without borders. Virtual running and races connect like-minded people regardless of location, level of fitness or time. What’s important is having the same goals and motivation.

What is a Virtual Race?

When you join a virtual race, you get to run, swim, cycle or walk anywhere, at your own pace, in a team or solo, within a specific time or period, depending on the type of virtual race you sign up for. There are many types of virtual races – charity, for specific causes, challenges, group challenge and many more. More and more virtual races have charity element to them, making participation more rewarding!

Benefits of Virtual Races

  1. You won’t miss the races, because they give you more time flexibility.
    You get to finish your race within a longer period of time or at times that suits your schedule. Usually virtual races are offered for at least a few days or even months to achieve certain mileages or goals. This gives you more time to plan, achieve fitness goals and finish your run! After all, you can race ANYWHERE as long as it is safe.

    Yanetherunner from Brunei updates on BiiB App

  2. More choices, more affordable – by medal, cause, anywhere
    You can be apart of any virtual races. You need not travel, pick up race kits and spend time to be a part of something you like.  Join virtual race of your choice and get finishers reward delivered to you virtually or physically.
  3. You get to be a part of a team and make new friends
    Your friends and teammates can be anywhere and be a part of your journey or be supporters. You get to make new friends without borders.
    According to BiiB, their Run To Give Virtual Race had 100% finishing rate for all the runners who formed a team to run. In fact, in Feb – April 2017, through Nashata Virtual Run for Charity, four #NashataRunners and twelve other running sisters from different parts of the world ran virtually a combined mileage of 1,941 km and raised more than RM4,000 for three charity groups in Brunei, South Africa and Singapore. We got to make new friends and support a cause of a runner.
  4. Suitable for beginners and tech-savvy ones
    Virtual races are backed by technologies that give you several types of privacy choices without impeding goals. You can compete with yourself or support a charity of your choice better at virtual runs. If you are shy, virtual race is a good option for you.
  5. Inculcate continuous fitness habits
    Virtual races give you better privacy control – you can choose to celebrate with those concerned or publicly and Be The Achiever! It instills the motivation to continuously run, bike or swim as a habit.

    Virtual Races help inculcate continuous fitness habits. Testimonial of BiiB’s runners

How to get started?

  1. Search for a race that suits your fitness appetite
    1. Download an app like BiiB – Make Running a Habit that has choices of virtual runs and running tips built in, OR
    2. Follow updates on virtual race organisers like The Virtual Running Club and Virtual Runner UK
  2. Sign up with the organiser
  3. Race and keep updates digitally
    Store or keep proof of your runs, biking, swimming or walking on GPS watch, running devices, running apps or screenshots on the treadmill
  4. Update the organiser
    Send proofs of your achievements to the organiser
  5. Get rewarded

What are you waiting for? Race Without Borders, Start Plan and Sign Up your Virtual Race! Want to get motivated for the whole year? Check out what Run 365 has to offer for you.

 

Nashata at the The Dubai Women’s Run 2017

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The Dubai Women’s Run held on 17.11.17 was a very special run for me in more ways than one.   

Firstly, It marked the launch of Nashata in the UAE, a project which I had envisioned   with the founder, Eliza, exactly one year ago.

Alhamdulillah, it came to fruition with a lot of support and encouragement from family and friends, despite the many bumps and hurdles along the way.

Secondly, the event proved to be a huge learning experience for me.  Running is truly a metaphor for life – so many life lessons reinforced through my period of training and of course race day.

 

The importance of setting goals –big or small. 

I am not a runner.  Far from it in fact. I had been telling myself that I will run a 5K “some day” for quite some time – until I decided that I needed to set myself a target date.  So I signed up for the run,and followed an 8 week training program on a running app.

As a mother venturing into a new business, keeping up with the app’s schedule was not always easy – but I tried to maintain some form of discipline and prioritized my time for training as my time for calm and focus.  Race day was challenging but I managed to shave a good minute from my previous time.

The best part –  the adrenaline rush lasts for a good 48 hours ?

Compete with yourself, not others, and that will always bring out a better version of you 

At the end of the day, running is all about effort.  You will get uncomfortable.  You will want to stop.  You will ask yourself many times, “How am I going to make it to the finish line?”  You just have to keep moving!

Finishing the race becomes so much more about your mindset than your physical ability.  I slowed down at several points during the race, but as the time raced towards the 40 minute mark (my previous time), I sprinted to the finish line to finish at 39.06 mins.  Yes,  every second counts.  

 

There will always be records to beat – aim for your personal best!

Celebrating our own identities

The run was a beautiful confluence of so many women from different backgrounds, fitness levels with different goals.  There were mothers running with their daughters, women dressed in Indian saris, hijabs and abayas, all participating at the same event.  It challenged me to see beyond my own presumptions.  We can carry and celebrate our identities anywhere and everywhere.

So here’s to being proactive, setting goals, making no more gccexcuses and constantly striving to bring out the better version of ourselves each day, in sha Allah!

So…who’s up for a 10K?

Shop at gcc,nashata.com.  

Follow us on instagram @nashata.me

Andin: A Real-Life Wonder Woman from Bandung

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In 2014, Dr. Fauzia Adrini, better known as Andin, decided to join a marathon after seeing her friends posting their running results on Facebook. She started with brisk-walking, and now she runs marathon in various places. She was inspired to try out long distance running to challenge herself and also to improve healthcare. At the beginning it was tough and difficult for her because her body and mind needed time to get used to the precipitous training routine. Slowly she prepared herself to take on a full marathon. Nevertheless, she persevered. Now, at 44, she had undertaken a 44km marathon and has inspired many young doctors to participate in marathon. Apart from that Andin also grasped other sport skills from brisk walking to trail running, yoga, swimming, and triathlon.

Andin is a doctor/lecturer and a mother raising a family with three beautiful children, one daughter and two sons. Living in Bandung, Indonesia, Andin, may sound like an ordinary person busy living her life. However, self-driven by her own voice and passion, the risk and challenges she had went through is what separate her from her ordinary self.

This is a story that we all need to read to motivate ourselves to come out from our comfort zone. She taught us that one can simply become anything if we have the courage to pursue them. A few days ago, Nashata team had the privilege to interview the real-life hero. We received nothing but warmth and positive vibes from her sharing her story.
N: Nashata
A: Andin

“It felt so hard in the beginning.”

N. When and how did you start running?
A: In 2014, I saw many of my facebook’s friends posted their running result on their Facebook wall, and I thought it seems interesting to do that. Besides, when I was in high school, I love to do jungle-trekking and hiking with my friends. I want to continue to do sports as my routine activity like I used to and of course, I want to be healthy.
So, I started with brisk-walking with my husband. It felt so hard in the beginning. Gradually combined walk-jog and finally, within 2 months I can run 30 minutes without stop. I felt so great! From that moment, I do running as my morning activity, with my husband and sometimes with my friends. And also, I started to join many running events after that.

N: How often do you train?
A: 4-5 days a week to do running workout, 2 times a week doing yoga, 1 day a week doing cycling and core training everyday.

“I join yoga class for women, swimming at public swimming pool and doing core workout at home.”

N: Wow. That sounds intense. Where do you usually train?
A: On the road, at the jogging track. Sometimes go out of town to do trail running with friends. For cycling, I usually go cycling around the town with my husband and my friends. I join yoga class for women, swimming at public swimming pool and doing core workout at home.

Side note: Core strengthening is the ability to use core muscles such as torso, hips, lower back, abs, shoulders in all three planes of motion with force. The core is primarily responsible for maintaining dynamic balance of the body centre gravity.

N. What inspires you to run despite a tight schedule as a doctor?
A: To be healthy. Also I want to inspire my students at medical school, my patients, and Moslem women to do healthy life style.

N. Are you a part of a running group? If you are, what is the name of the group?
A: Yes. We have a running group called KedoDoRun (Kedokteran Doyan Run means medical personels who love to do running). That’s the running group consist of doctors, dentists and medical / dentistry students in Indonesia. Besides running, we often share information or do sports meetings.
KedoDoRun Running Group Indonesia

N. Do you cross train or perform other sports?
A : Swimming sometimes,but I do cycling more often. I do yoga two times a week. Yoga is very good for runners for strengthening and flexibility training because it’s useful to reduce injury and recovery after doing long run. I also perform core strengthening at home.

N. When is your upcoming event?
A: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on Dec, 3rd 2017. I will join Full Marathon (FM) Category. This is my second event on FM category. Hopefully I can reach my personal best on this event.
On 2018, I will try triathlon event also because it will be interesting and my husband, also a triathlete, encourage me to do so.

N. How is your diet like?
A: I eat oatmeals with milk and fruits for my breakfast. I have lunch with usual meal but try not to have dinner after 6 pm. But, when I was in holiday, I often “cheat”. Hahaha I love to try local culinary so sometimes I give myself a chance to forget about my diet rule on holidays.

N. Describe the training process for a marathon. How did you prepare–both mentally and physically?
A: If you choose to join Full Marathon Category on an event, it means that you have to train 3-4 months before, 4-5 days a week. Not only running workout (interval, tempo, easy, and long run), also you have to do strengthening exercise (core workout) and flexibility (like yoga). So, you must make time to do all of them despite your daily activity as a mother, doctor and lecturer.
Sometimes, I have to skip some of my training due to my tight schedule in my office. So, I have to communicate with my coach in order to modified the schedule on that week.

N. What do you wear for your marathon run?
A: Marathon run is an extreme sports. So I have to choose comfortable and also syar’i outfit to cover my aurah. I’ve tried some of hijab brands, and the most comfy one is Hooda hijab. Other outfit which I wear is sports shirt (actually our running group shirt) and modified skirt (pants which look like long skirt.) Hopefully Nashata will produce modified skirt too for Moslem women who choose to wear a long ‘skirt’ for their sport activity. And finally, of course I will wear visor and comfy running shoes.

“I will choose Sibaha and Azza Toplectic for my upcoming triathlon event on 2018.”

N. Insya Allah, soon, we will produce long running skirts. What is your favourite Nashata wear so far?
A: My favourite product is Hooda Sports Hijab, I have some different colours of that hijab. And I will choose Sibaha and Azza Toplectic for my upcoming triathlon event on 2018.

N: Where would you suggest runners to go for a run in Indonesia? Tell us the nicest spots you’ve ever been to.
A: So many beautiful places in Indonesia. You have to try running at Belitung beach, doing trail run at Pulau Padar Labuan Bajo Flores.
For runners who like to join the running event, I highly recommend May Bank Bali Marathon.

“I have joined Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014, 2XU Singapore Marathon, Vienna City Marathon Austria 2016, Borneo International Marathon, Kota Kinabalu 2017.”

N: Have you ever participated a marathon in a different country? What was it like?
A: I have joined Penang Bridge International Marathon 2014, 2XU Singapore Marathon, Vienna City Marathon Austria 2016, Borneo International Marathon, Kota Kinabalu 2017. At Vienna, it was memorable because we were running along the beautiful Vienna city although it was soooo freezing. At Kinabalu, amazing city but felt so hard especially in between 30km – 38 km because I had to run at high inclination route.
Vienna City Marathon Austria Runners

N. What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about running?
A: I feel fresh and healthier everyday. In an event, the time that you reach the finishing line is such an amazing feeling. Suddenly you just forget every pain and exhaustion that you felt during the race.
“Never do something too much, too soon or too long.”

N. What is your advice to other novice runners?
A: Do running gradually. Never do something “too much, too soon or too long”. It’s imposible that you can run 10km within 1 week if you have never run before. Running is a kind of extreme sport so you have to do it with preparation like (4-5 days a week, 30 minutes minimum), never skip the warm ups before workout and stretching down afterward. It is important so we can minimize injury risk.

N. What do you wish for in the future?
A: I hope more people would realize that being healthy by doing healthy life style is such a way to be grateful to Allah blessings.

N: Thank you so much for agreeing to do the interview with us. We gained a lot of information from your wonderful experiences.
A: Alhamdulillah. Thank you.

We have to start somewhere and keep training. Never stop training and let’s keep improving for fitness reasons like Dr.  Fauzia Andrini!

How to Plan a Run-Work-Cation

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Love running, have to travel for work and love to explore new places? Can you do all these when you travel for work? Sounds like too much to plan, to pack? – here’s the good news, it is a lot easier now with technology; apps, location based technology and the internet.

Whether or not you are travelling alone, with a colleague or a friend, this is a list of 8 things you need to know for a Run-Work-Cation:

  1. Know your work-times
    First of all, know your work times and work schedules.
  2. Travel time
    Travel time can be long and at times, you don’t get much options. Try to arrive at your destination with some time for you to rest and adjust to time differences. If you are allocating a day to travel to your destination and another day to travel back, try to find flight options that takes you into the city of your destination in the daytime. Then you get to travel a bit later in the evening or at night. Do budget for travelling time from airport or stations to your intended hotel.

    Many museums like the National museum in Hanoi operate early at 8am.

    Many museums like the National Museum in Hanoi operate as early as 8am. I visited the museum before my 12 noon flight back home

  3. Find a strategic location to stay
    Road travels can be time consuming and you would want to stay somewhere strategic – close to your work location and tourist attraction spots. If you like running outdoors, find a place to stay that is closer to a park or a running area. If you have the freedom to choose where to stay, use trivago.com, booking.com traveloka.com, expedia.com or others. Pay attention to the the attraction locations when you book. It is also nice to know where the closest mosque is.

    Many tourist spots and monuments areas have wide open spaces with attractions close to each other - within 500 meter - 1km range

    Tourist spots and monuments have wide open spaces with attractions close to each other – within 500 meter – 1km range. There were many runners at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area. It is next to the Ho Chi Minh Museum

  4. Plan Time to Run
    • Participating in popular international marathons or other races need more planning. You may need to go through ballots mechanism and there is registration deadlines. But who knows you may be lucky to be at popular races. Here’s a list of tops marathons across the globe.
    • If you plan to train and run –   morning before 8am or evening after 5pm is good. You can run outdoor as soon as the sun is out. If you have tight schedule and no time to go outdoor, run on the treadmill in the gym (book a hotel with a treadmill).
      1. Check out top running spots in the cities where you are at. Use Routes on MapMyRun mobile app to find nearby places to run or you can search for the city at MapMyRun. You could also create your route in advance and plan the distance. Unfortunately, not all city or countries routes are listed, but on those listed it would be of great benefit for planning your run times.
      2. Strava Routes do have similar route planning options that can assist you through your mobile devices, be it your phones or Garmin forerunner watches.
        Hoan Kiem Lake Loop Using Strava

        Hoan Kiem Lake is a tourist spot in Hanoi and here’s a route loop using Strava. You can get these routes in advance!

        These apps and technology have made running exciting as you can explore places while running on your own. Share your route!

  5. Plan Time to Play Tourist
    What are your area of interests? Be it adventure, shopping, sight-seeing, religion, history or culture, you can get many good suggestions at travel site such as tripadvisor.com, agoda.com or country-specific tourist guide websites.
    Select those to your interests, study their location and make sure they are close to your place of stay. Plan your visit to tourist sites based on their :

    • Locations. This is where location-based and google maps are useful. You can know how far they are from your hotel by using google  maps, and that would give you an estimation of how long it takes to reach your destination.
    • Operating hours. Typically this info is listed on websites or Google Business Site
    • Weather condition. Plan for indoor activities if the weather is not friendly, and plan for outdoor activities if weather forecast is good.

      Run & Explore tourist sites on foot

      At Hoan Kiem Lake. Running & exploring tourist sites on foot after work, then to the night market close-by

  6. Weather Forecast
    • Do know the temperature and climate of the cities you are travelling to at least a week before you travel and a day before you travel. It is important so that you can pack the right attires and shoes. Items like raincoats, sweaters and sun gaiters would be most useful in those circumstances.
  7. Pack Smartly
    • Athleisurewear & Travelwear
      Make your running attire your travel attire too! Hoodies, moisture-wicking tops, leggings, running pants, sportsbra, raazglove and scarfs that are lightweight are great for travelling.ar
    • You know what you need to bring. No compromise.
    • Shoes
      Wear running should when you travel and bring workshoes if you travel light. If space is not an issue, ladies, bring more !

      Travelling in my running attire

      Travelling in my running attire

  8. Transport
    • It is convenient to get around if you put up close to transportation hub. If you are not, use public transportation that is most convenient and safe for you. Nowadays, I find services like Grab and Uber super convenient. They can be faster and cheaper too.

      Other than on foot, I was on Grab  90% of the time in Hanoi. Super convenient!

Make sure you have your mobile phones, smart devices, good data services and purposeful apps of travel and sport installed to have a great Run-Work-Cation!

Most of all – Stay Safe!

Running a Family Affair at the Fire Fighter Cyberjaya Night Half Marathon

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It was my first family run and glad it happened at our ‘kampung’ in Cyberjaya.  My  husband, brother and I went for the 21km, while the kids joined the 5km fun run.

It was the first race for my 12 year old Naqib, and he was all excited about it. The kids were all geared with headlamps and blinkers provided by my brother. Seriously, blinking shades and blinker props are cool safety and mood setters for night fun runs.

A family running affair

A family running affair

We reached the race area a few minutes before 21km flagged off. There were more than 800 runners in orange – all pumped up to run. The run started at 8:02pm, and I kept up with a good pace – running on roads I have never been on and passed by new apartments I was not aware of before.

Fortunately, the road lights along the empty roads were lighted up and there were trucks by the roads torching dark streets. Road marshals and traffic policemen were on their toes and strict throughout the run – keeping runners safe. They pulled aside a couple of non-abiding cars to the side, so drivers – do adhere to them or you may be delayed or fined if unlucky. All in all – it was a quiet run with ample water stations, mobile toilets, paramedic and race signage for a smooth race. It would be nice if the community comes out to cheer the runners by the roads.

I finished within 2hr 35 mins, my new personal best. My heart raced too fast the last 3 km and had to slow down. Out of 877 registered 21km runners only a quarter (25%)  222 were female, and 10% women veteran. There were more female runners at the 10km run, half of the 10km runners were female!

Read my other post on high heart rates while running.

Half Marathon Runners waiting for 8pm Flag Off

The organiser provided ice popsicles, Mighty White mini loaf, nice hot soup, can’t remember if it was pumpkin or carrot as I was just hungry – slurping away. Indocafe coffee truck and MC D booth were next to each other providing drinks. My husband had a cramp upon arrival and was cared well by the paramedics. The doctor gave good advise about eating tips at night to avoid cardiac arrest.

We were honored to give away 20 prizes to winners at the end of the run.

Nuha thought ther 5km run was easy and Naqib wanted to try 10km after this. I am happy the kids left the grounds with new positive goals. Till the family run together again, soon I hope!

Winners at Fire Fighter Cyberjaya Night Marathon 2017

The running sisters

Finally, the medal &  finisher tee