Fit Malaysia Johor 2024: Resetting Oneself

 

What does fitness mean? Which was once a narrow view of mine that was just related to physical health, I have adopted a broader view about fitness. With more experience in life, I found that mental fitness is more profound than physical fitness.

The Malaysia Johor Fitness Run 2024 came to town last week. 9/11/24 is a welcoming event for Haziq and me. Most runners will attest that even a short run will make your mood better. Haziq has been quite moody lately due to his final exams, while I was frustrated last month because I missed the JB City Half Marathon due to influenza.

The run was almost free, as the fee was just RM20 per pax. Unsurprisingly, there was no running tee, but the organizer was kind enough to include a running belt in the event bag. They even added a voucher for Decathlon to the mix.

The run started at 7.40am at the Toppen front parking lot. School students and even families with their babies in strollers were already ready at the starting line. The VIP was on schedule was a major plus as the morning became hotter.

The route of the run was a straightforward road cutting through the houses in Mount Austin located near Toppen. This run is a short 5km event, but most of the participants already huffing and puffing before we even reached the 1km mark. This shouldn’t be a surprise because most of them probably joined. After all, this is a state government event.

The drink station halfway at the 2.5km mark is a welcoming one because the day is becoming hotter and drier. Even though it was just a mini bottle of mineral water, it did quench the thirst.

The school kids running along were amazing. Naïve, innocent, unfiltered they were a sight to behold.

When we were almost ¾ of the route, 2 of them thought the end was just in front.

Kid 1: Kat depan tu saja lagi tinggal….

Kid 2: Ye ke, sikit saja lag ikan?

Me: (Squashing their hope) Bukan, jauh lagi. Lagi 1.5km lagi nak habis…

Haziq as always found the finishing line earlier & faster than me. It was then that I heard the messaging tone on my phone suddenly blip 2 times. That must be Haziq already finished. Damn, he is fast.

Running 5km in the early Saturday morning also has a positive effect on him. Before he started, he was very glum (especially disebabkan daripada bebelan abahnya di dalam kereta). But when he finished, he was quite talkative. It’s like he is a different guy.

The finisher medal is quite intricate compared to the fee that we paid. Right now, I’m contemplating whether I should join the Tebrau Half Marathon next month….