Runners in Malaysia have been through some rough times in this COVID-19 pandemic. Taking things into their stride, the Speediators running club put their best foot forward to claim extra mileage in the recent Restart Malaysia Challenge (RMC) virtual run.

Running one step at a time, the club amassed an impressive total of 65,193.02km within the challenge’s duration of 31 days to finish in second position. ToughASIA caught up with club captain Chris Liew to uncover something that smells like “team spirit”.

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ToughASIA: What inspired your club to participate in this RMC?

Speediators: This goes all the way back to 2018, when we first participated in the Team Challenge 1963 (Malaysia) which was organised by the same organiser. We were intrigued to pick up the challenge as a team and instil the spirit of patriotism among ourselves.

By participating as a team, we play the role of a cheering squad to our teammates which is in line with our motto “Your Running Motivator”.

As a result, we wanted to provide our continuous support to the organiser by participating in the RMC.

ToughASIA: How many members were in your team for this challenge?

Speediators: For this year, we registered the maximum target of 300 team members from a total of 8 nationalities, within 6 days!

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ToughASIA: Did your members run on their own?

Speediators: During RMC, members ran on their own. There were also several running sessions successfully conducted in a safe manner.

ToughASIA: Where did you run?

Speediators: Our members ran all over Malaysia and some beyond the country. In addition, a few Long Slow Distance runs (LSD) were organised for our members during RMC such as Route 68 at Gombak, Genting Peras, Putrajaya and other routes.

ToughASIA: What is the longest single run by your team members?

Speediators: Our members challenged themselves to go beyond their comfort zones. Top contributors managed to run from 50km to 100km in a single activity. Pretty amazing!

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ToughASIA: Are there any proud achievements or moments which your team experienced during this challenge?

Speediators: Definitely! We experienced and shared some proud achievements together.

Overall, our team ranked number 2 out of 115 teams, achieving a total team mileage 65,193.02km.

Furthermore, 63% of our team members completed more than 100km throughout the event. We had 6 members with mileage over 1000km, with 3 members as overall Top 10 of the virtual run.

Additionally, we also feel really proud raising funds for the National Kidney Foundation. This time, Dato Er Kang Hwai once again generously donated 10 cents for each kilometer that we ran.

ToughASIA: What did you learn as a team in this challenge?

Speediators: Many ‘running seeds’ were sowed, which cultivated sportsmanship and at the same time, we foresee many potential runners to ‘bloom’ from within the team.

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ToughASIA: What was the toughest part of this challenge?

Speediators: As team coordinator of this event, communicating with the large group from various locations was challenging, as it was crucial to ensure accurate information was conveyed to all our teammates throughout RMC.

Great effort went into planning and managing the team. Nevertheless, the experience we gained is priceless.

ToughASIA: Who are your top 5 runners in terms of distance?

Men:

• Lau Tee Wooi 1430.31km
• Leong Foo Seng 1380.20km
• William Lee 1273.17km
• Tan Chong Lun 1255.90km
• Valentino Ang 1100.20km

Women:

• Yuki Wah 825.00km
• Debby Wong 726.78km
• Ivy Chua 665.59km
• Ku Wei Yean 645.77km
• Iris Yeoh 635.42km

Photos provided by Speediators.