Monthly run to cultivate active lifestyle

THE Penang government and the Penang Forward Sports Club will jointly organise a monthly big-size non-competitive free-for-all fun run, called the Garmin Run, with the first round to kickstart on March 19.

 

The starting point is at BSG Property at Lebuh Farquhar in George Town and it will cover the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower.

 

The run will begin at 6.30am and is expected to end by 8am.

 

State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee said the state government will continue to emphasise the importance of cultivating an active lifestyle in society because there are numerous benefits associated with regular physical activity.

 

“Active living helps to prevent and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

 

“Additionally, it can improve one’s mental health, reduce stress and improve the overall quality of life.

 

“The state would like to thank the Penang Forward Sports Club for joining hands with us to organise this extremely important event for the people.

 

“We are also delighted to inform all of you that Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) will be providing free health screenings for interested runners on the event day, and it will be from 8am to 1pm.

 

“By engaging IJN in Garmin Run, we wish to create awareness of the importance of regular health screening and taking care of one’s cardiovascular health,” Soon said in his speech during the Garmin Run press conference in Komtar today.

 

It was learnt that some 2,000 runners were expected to participate in the run.

 

For more information and to register for the run, please visit Garmin Run’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/forwardgarminsquad.

 

Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Siew Chia En