Running for Rare Disease

After my first experience raising small amount of funds for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2019 – Run for a Reason, I knew I would run again to raise funds for charity, be it for the same or other cause. I learned that raising funds for charity is not easy, at least for me. It’s like having thick skin to get people to understand the cause and charity. You get people judging, ignoring and block you, and of course, you get friends and strangers who support the cause, unexpected ones who donate and one or two who would go extra mile to be your voice. The last two of course, very little.

Despite those challenges, I do not feel I should stop running for a cause and fortunately, when I was looking at registering for the Malaysia Women Marathon 2020, I saw a new category – Fund Raising for Malaysia Rare Disease Society. I quickly contacted the organiser to register as the link to register for that category was not ready yet. I was sold for two reasons: Firstly, running for a cause adds more meaning to my runs and secondly, it was for Lily, an 18 year old angel who suffered a rare disease – AADC since birth till the day she died on the 4th July 2019. She was the eldest child of my schoolmate Melati Khalid and Shariman Kamarulzaman.

Although Lily has left us, I hope to spread awareness about rare diseases and hope to bring good impact to a child or two.

 

SCKLM: Suraus for Muslim Runners

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! 🙂