Press Release: DASHING THROUGH THE NIGHT ON BESRAYA: DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE’S FIRST-EVER NIGHT RUN

• The Besraya Highway Challenge is IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge’s first ever night run with all-new race category. The Besraya run marks the completion of this year’s Duo Highway Challenge
• Runners experienced running in more comfortable temperatures with view of the city skyline at night
• Besraya Highway Challenge sets more challenging distances of 13km and 26km
• A new Relay Race category made its debut with two-man teams running 13km each to complete a distance of 26km

Kuala Lumpur, 24 August 2019 – More than 7,000 runners participated in the last leg of the IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge. The Besraya Highway Challenge kicked off on 24 August with the series’ first-ever night run set on a fully closed highway. Organized by Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd, New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd and EC Pixels, the Besraya Highway Challenge gave participants a more comfortable running experience in the cool night air as they sprinted through skyline views of KL City on the route.

The Besraya Highway Challenge began at 8pm with flag offs at 9pm for the 26km category and at 9:30pm for the 13km category. The Loke Yew Toll Plaza served as the run’s starting point. Staying true to the run series’ tradition of hospitality, the vibrant Race Village was within vicinity, filled with the Run’s F&B partners to keep participants fed and hydrated. Before the run started, Fitness First led an energetic pre-run warm-up session for participants to prepare themselves.

While its sister run, NPE Highway Challenge, saw participants pushing through 10km and 21km for their finisher medals, the Besraya Highway Challenge had upped the ante by introducing more challenging distances of 13km and 26km. This year, also saw the introduction of a relay run category where teams of two took turns to complete the race in parts.

In the relay race category, each team member ran a distance of 13km each, covering a total distance of 26km between them in this long distance tag-team race. There were three race categories runners teamed up for: Open Team (Men), Open Team (Women) and the Mixed Team category for both genders.

The Besraya Highway Challenge drew about 7,000 participants this year. The Besraya Highway Challenge marked the completion of the series following the NPE Highway Challenge, its sister run, which attracted 9,000 runners on the New Pantai Highway in July last month. In total, this year’s IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge series attracted an attendance of about 16,000 participants.

Dato’ Soam Heng Choon, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, of IJM Corporation Berhad said: “It is great to see runners participating in our first night run on the Besraya Highway in high spirits. We hope participants will enjoy a better race experience without having to wake up so early in the morning and we can all have a good rest before the race. Having an evening flag-off not only reinforces the benefits of racing and running in the night, which we have taken the lead with our LEKAS Highway Ride night cycling event, but also increases the interest of night running. An evening start time will mean participants are less affected by the heat and humidity – the more tired you get, the cooler it gets.”

“We are heartened to see that our highway concessions are being used as sport platforms to the community together, motivating them to embrace a healthier and more active lifestyle while encouraging a culture of social activity through sports,” Dato’ Soam added.

According to Zakri Khir, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, running has been something Allianz Malaysia has always been very involved in since 2013 when the company kicked off its very own Allianz Pacer Running Community in October that year.

“The IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge is just one of five running events that we will be involved in this year. When we agreed to be co-sponsors of this run, it was forged on a mutual goal of strengthening our commitment towards driving the healthy living agenda amongst Malaysians. And I can say proudly how we have been able to achieve this at every edition since 2017,” said Zakri Khir.

“After organizing this run for the past two years, we wanted to go the extra mile for runners to encourage them to continuously push their boundaries and take up the challenge. Seeing that our returning participants have taken on the highway during the morning run we have decided to change the Besraya Highway Challenge to a night run. So that runners will get the opportunity to enjoy breezing through the highway under the stars. As safety is always a priority, it will be a fully closed highway and runners will get to enjoy the cool night breeze and city lights on the run route.” said Eugene Chan, Group Managing Director of EC Pixels.

With the aim of using sports as a force for social good, the IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge aimed to be more than just an ordinary running event. Passionate about giving back to the community, the organizers donated to Malaysia Lysosomal Diseases Association last year as part of its CSR engagement. This year, 30 wheelchairs will be presented to Persatuan Bekas Polis Malaysia by Y.Bhg. Dato’ Sr. Aziz Bin Abdullah, Director General of the Malaysian Highway Authority.

IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge 2019 is supported by Title Partner: IJM Corporation Berhad and Allianz Malaysia Berhad, Platinum Partner: EXSIM & Touch N GO Digital, Gold Partner: Magnetic Control System & Nivea Men, Silver Partner: System Builders, Official Timing: Coros, Official Isotonic and Drink: 100 Plus & ICE Mountain, Official Online Portal: Justonline & Partners: Affin Hwang, IJM Land, RockTape, Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Velocity, Nestle MILO, Nestle Fitnesse and Movement First.