Age indeed is just a number for Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, who has been paving the forest trails for the TrailRaptorz. Recently, he achieved his proudest moment since he started trail running by placing 8th in the Men’s Senior category at the recent Gunung Nuang Ultra 60km race.
50 year-old Rahman enjoys endurance races and was last spotted running 50km at the Malaysian Mountain Trail Festival (MMTF) and 84km at the Ultimate Direction Cross Country in 2019. Rahman finds running in trails therapeutic as it calms his mind and rejuvenates his body since he first started in July 2017.
Along the way, Rahman has inspired friends and workmates to follow his footsteps. Some of them have joined his training sessions while others take baby steps by hiking up Gunung Nuang.
The TrailRaptorz was inadvertently founded in that year when Rahman, together with friends Sheena Saini and Yanti Jamil were training for a trail run together and kept in contact via WhatsApp messaging app. To date, they are 31-members strong as others started to join their training sessions. The name was added soon after, for identity’s sake.
“Choosing the name ‘TrailRaptorz’ was easy as it says everything about us; trail lovers, rough, dirty around the edges, exciting!”, said Rahman.
In the group, running speed is not an issue, as everyone runs at their own pace and helps each other along the way. Not purely focusing on trail runs, they also encourage each other to join road races to build endurance for ultra trail runs. TrailRaptorz runs weekly in different locations in smaller groups separately at their respective areas in Kuala Lumpur – Kemensah, Bukit Tunku, Bukit Dinding; Selangor – Kota Damansara Community Forest, Hulu Langat, Shah Alam Community Forest, Gunung Nuang; Negeri Sembilan – Melati Hill and Gunung Angsi.
They usually meet at races and their most memorable race together was the Putrajaya 100 and Ultimate Direction Cross Country (UDCC) at Batu Arang, Selangor. Their group training sessions have paid off as both the men and women members have been winning podium or top 10 placings at various races.
To date, the group have yet to organise any races but it has always been a dream to have as a milestone. However, they have collaborated with other running clubs such as ROR (Republic of Runner) and RANDUK on training sessions to foster relationships and share experiences between clubs.
If you are looking for a little inspiration and camaraderie in the trails, TrailRaptorz extends their training session to runners of all abilities – from speedsters to tortoises – so that no one is left behind. To constantly improve each other, they also set a yearly target of ‘hills and mountains’ to achieve. You can get in touch with them via Instagram @trailraptorz.
TrailRaptorz’s list of podium and top 10 winners are remarkable, so we list them below to give our readers some inspiration.
Janda Baik Ultra 2019
- Lina – 3rd placing – 100KM Women Open
- Balqis – 10th Placing – 50KM Women Open
- Afla – 10th Placing – 30KM Men Open
Pink Ultra 2019
- Mira – 4th Placing 55KM Women Open
- Yanti – 5th Placing 55KM Women Open
The Great Malaya Trail 2019
- Rai – 9th 50KM Placing Women Open
Ultimate Direction Cross Country UDCC 2019
- Lina – 3rd Placing 83KM Women Veteran
- Emma – 7th Placing 55KM Women Open
- Yanti – 7th Placing 83KM Women Veteran
Putrajaya 100 2019
- Balqis – 2nd Placing 100KM Women Open
- Yanti – 6th Placing 100KM Women Veteran
- Enie – 8th Placing 100KM Women Veteran
- Aishah – 7th Placing 100KM Women Open
- Lela – 4th Placing 30KM Women Open
Photo credits: Abdul Rahman Ibrahim.
