NB15K official press release

Press release from Pacesetters for NB15K.Thanks ST TAN.

New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run 2006

Kuala Lumpur, 21st May 2006 - The New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run 2006 held on Sunday 21st May attracted 1,460 participants, the largest number recorded by the organizers since the annual race debuted in 2003. The challenging Double Hill/Carcosa route did not deter the running enthusiasts, even though this annual 15km Run does not offer prize money; instead the top five winners of each category were awarded New Balance product vouchers. Such was the popularity of the annual event initiated and organized by the Pacesetters Athletic Club Malaysia (PACM).

The event was gunned off by Alex Lim of New Balance at 7.00am sharp. Leading the pack were elite runners such as Shaharudin Hashim from Royal Malaysian Police, Iwata Takatoshi of Pacesetters, Sithon Kaewmuang from Thailand, and former Malaysian runner Supermaniam G), cheered on by PACM cheerleaders.

While this is considered a local event, it nevertheless attracted about 60 runners from Singapore, 13 from United Kingdom and one from Thailand. The spread of international communities, including those residing in Malaysia and Singapore, is quite impressive which included British, Irish, Australians, Japanese, Americans, Dutch, Polish, South Africans, Germans, Canadians, Swedish, New Zealanders, Brazilian, Thai, Finnish, Filipino,Chilean, Indian, Hong Kong, Burmese, Hungarian, Indonesian, French and Ghanian.

The number of outstation runners had increased from previous years, with the largest contingent coming from Kuantan (45). Among the runners this year is the Ambassador of Chile, HE Patricio Torres.

Runners wore specially designed quality running vests provided by New Balance to complete the challenging 15km hilly route. There were no losers as every runner who finished the race within the qualified time received a pewter finisher medal.

Unique to the 15km Run is the photo-finish arranged by the PACM for all participants. The moment of glory of each runner in finishing the 15km race was captured on camera and the digital photo would be inserted onto the certificate. The certificate would also include each runner’s finishing time, category position, gender position and overall position in the race. This probably accounts for the popularity of the 15km race, as no other road races in Malaysia have offered runners this special memento of a road race, besides the pewter finisher medals.

On completion of the run, runners were served a hearty breakfast comprising fruits, nasi lemak, breakfast cereals, porridge, instant noodles, savoury buns, tau foo fah, and cendol.

The prize presentation to the top runners followed after breakfast and rounding up the race was the much-awaited lucky draws. Lucky runners walked away with prizes sponsored by New Balance and Milo and Polar.

The New Balance Pacesetters 15km Run 2005 was divided into 6 categories: Men Open, Men Veteran, Men Senior Veteran, Women Open, Women Veteran and Women Senior Veteran. The title sponsor was New Balance, an international brand in footwear and sports apparel. The main sponsor was Milo, an established brand in fortified food drinks with Powerbar, Nestle Fitnesse and Fuji Film as co-sponsors. The Federal Territory Amateur Athletic Association provided the technical assistance for this event and the official hotel is the Coronade Hotel.

The top 5 winners from each category were

Men Open

1. Shaharudin Hashim – 51:27
2. S. Ganesan -- 51.46
3. Kristof Van Houdt – 53.42
4. Heidilee Mohammad – 53.54
5. Fong @ Phong Tong Lim – 54.32

Men Veteran

1. Iwata Takatoshi --56.09
2. Supermaniam G – 57:37
3. Sithon Kaewmuang – 59:10
4. Mohamad Omar – 59:14
5. Goh Choon Aun – 1:01.32

Men Senior Veteran

1. M. Ramakrishnan – 55:20
2. Tony Seakins – 56.12
3. Pushparajah Rajamanickam – 1:01:45
4. Appaman Sinnah – 1:03:54
5. Ee Ah Seng – 1:09:02

Women Open

1. Norlida Ismail – 1:03:36
2. Emily Lim Su Lin – 1:04:50
3. Emilia Jamil – 1:06:39
4. Eileen Tan Yee Lee – 1:06:43
5. Kimberley Yap – 1:07:55

Women Veteran

1. Hailey Holle – 1:04:29
2. Roda M. Ramos – 1:09:15
3. Eng Seok Ling – 1:13:18
4. Lian Bee Hoon - 1:13:48
5. Carmen Leong – 1:15:39

Women Senior Veteran

1. Kirsten Conrad – 1:16:44
2. Hilary Smiles – 1:21:50
3. Cyndi Sommerfelot – 1:22:21
4. Lim Siew Ngoh – 1:22:48
5. Tee Boon Eng – 1:24:55