9,000 PARTICIPANTS RUN ON TOTALLY CLOSED NPE HIGHWAY AT THE IJM- ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE

Runners get a chance to explore the all-new Pantai Sentral Park interchange before heading towards Pantai Dalam and finally racing towards the finish line at Sunway Pyramid

Subang Jaya - 29 July 2018: This year’s IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge 2018 ended on a high note, witnessing the determination and strong will of every runner who huddled through the finishing line as they took full advantage of the opportunity to run on a totally closed highway. The New Pantai Highway (NPE) attracted more than 9,000 runners from all walks of life who started their run from Sunway Pyramid, making their way through the all-new Pantai Sentral Park interchange towards Pantai Dalam before returning to the finishing line, while thoroughly enjoying the breath-taking view of the sunrise against the city skyline.

After a successful debut last year and due to popular demand, an international category was introduced to attract international participants which drew interested runners from all over the world including Kenya, Australia, Scotland, France, Japan, Singapore, India, Iraq, Italy, and Hong Kong.  

The final leg of this year’s IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge saw runners crowding the roads of the New Pantai Highway (NPE) from as early as 4.30amwaiting for the flag off. The flag off time for 21km was at 5.30am and 6.30am for 10km.

Runners who also completed the first leg of the challenge at Besraya Highway in April were excited to give their best in the second leg at NPE Highway to claim the title as the Champion of the IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge. The final winners were selected based on the fastest combined timing from the 21km and 13km at the NPE and Besraya Highway Challenge respectively.

The IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge was held in collaboration with IJM Corporation Berhad (IJM) and Allianz Malaysia Berhad as the title sponsors. Organised by Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd (Besraya) and New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd (NPE) under IJM’s toll division and EC Pixels, the organizers took extra measures and precautions to ensure the safety of the runners with a fully closed highway, and most importantly, making sure the participants have a great run.

The supporters and finishers of the NPE Highway Challenge also participated in exciting activities at the Race Village, which include performances from dancers to pump up the runners, cheerleaders and drummers that cheered the runners as they made it to the finish line, as well as various challenges and photo booths by sponsors.

Dato’ Soam Heng Choon, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of IJM Corporation Berhad said: “Once again, we are thrilled to be the venue partner for this event. The IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge has been providing a positive experience of running on a totally closed highway and has established itself as a unique event for sports enthusiasts of all levels. We hope to continue providing a safe and well-organized venue for the runners. At IJM, we have a lot of passion for sports and we are committed to hosting an event that promotes healthy lifestyles and wellness, as well as community engagement, all the while having a great time doing it.”

Zakri bin Mohd Khir, CEO of Allianz Malaysia Bhd said: “It was great to witness thousands of local and international runners living a healthy lifestyle by taking on the Duo Highway Challenge. This has assured us that our efforts in supporting initiatives that advocate healthy living amongst fellow Malaysians is paying off well. Working together with IJM has always been rewarding through our mutual support for such running events where there is a growing interest for people to lead healthier lifestyles by participating in running events. Allianz will continue to support and promote events such as these to benefit the community and encourage people to live healthy.”

The winner of the NPE Highway Challenge for 21km Men Open’s category goes to Poo Vasanthan Subramaniam, with timing of 1 hour 14 minutes and 31 seconds. Meanwhile, Muhaizar Mohamad took second place with the timing of 1 hour 14 minutes and 41 seconds. The third placing goes to Anas Rosli with timing of 1 hour 15 minutes and 25 seconds. Sheela Samivellu took first placing for the NPE Highway Challenge for 21km Women Open’s category with a timing of 1 hour 26 minutes and 45 seconds. Second placing goes to Chua Khit Yeng with timing of 1 hour 33 minutes and 44 seconds. Third place goes to Noor Amelia Musa with timing of 1 hour 34 minutes and 34 seconds.

With his combined timing from the Besraya Highway Challenge, Poo Vasanthan Subramaniam, was named the Champion for the IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge Men’s Open Category. Poo said that “I am happy to retain the title as the Champion. The new Pantai Sentral Park route was a bit tough because it was hilly. However, the beautiful view from the hill makes it all worth it.”

“I am very happy to win the Champion of Duo Highway Challenge Women again this year. Although this year’s run was very challenging, I am happy that I managed to win 3 prizes, the Overall Champion for Duo Highway Challenge in Women’s category, 1^st place for 21KM Women’s Category and 2^nd placing for the International Category. The new route was a bit demanding but at the end of the day, it is all about mental strength and I managed to pull through,” said Sheela Samivellu, the Champion for the IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge Women’s Open Category.

IJM Corporation Berhad and Allianz Malaysia Berhad, along with EC Pixels are also pleased to announce that IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge will be back next year on 31 March 2019 for Besraya and 28 April 2019 for NPE. 

For more information about IJM Allianz Duo Highway Challenge, and to get the latest results, visit http://www.ijmhighwayrun.com/

RESULTS FOR THE IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE – NPE EDITION

IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM MEN'S OPEN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	POO VASANTHAN A/L SUBRAMANIAM POO VASANTHAN	MALAYSIA	01:14:31	MALE CHAMPION OF IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE (AFTER COMBINED TIME RESULTS WITH BESRAYA HIGHWAY CHALLENGE 13KM MEN OPEN)
2	MUHAIZAR MOHAMAD	MALAYSIA	01:14:41
3	ANAS ROSLI	MALAYSIA	01:15:25
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM MEN'S VETERAN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	VADIVEELU ARUMUGAM	MALAYSIA	01:20:19
2	MUNIANDY RAMADASS	MALAYSIA	01:21:47
3	MURALI NATHAN KANARAJAH	MALAYSIA	01:26:22
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM WOMEN'S OPEN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	SHEELA SAMIVELLU	MALAYSIA	01:26:45	FEMALE CHAMPION OF IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE (AFTER COMBINED TIME RESULTS WITH BESRAYA HIGHWAY CHALLENGE 13KM WOMEN OPEN)
2	CHUA KHIT YENG	MALAYSIA	01:33:44
3	NOOR AMELIA MUSA	MALAYSIA	01:34:34
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE – NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM WOMEN'S VETERAN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	SUSAN KHOO	MALAYSIA	01:40:00
2	EWE HONG	MALAYSIA	01:42:22
3	CHOOI YOKE TANG	MALAYSIA	01:47:29
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM INTERNATIONAL MEN (OVERALL)
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	JOHN KIPKORIR RUTTO	KENYA	01:12:42
2	KIPCHIRCHIR	KENYA	01:13:05
3	POO VASANTHAN A/L SUBRAMANIAM POO VASANTHAN	MALAYSIA	01:14:31
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 21 KM INTERNATIONAL WOMEN (OVERALL)
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	REGINA JOSHUA	KENYA	01:19:09
2	SHEELA SAMIVELLU	MALAYSIA	01:26:45
3	CHUA KHIT YENG	MALAYSIA	01:33:44

IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 10KM MEN'S OPEN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	JIVARASAN SUTHANGAR	MALAYSIA	00:35:58
2	SOH WAI CHING	MALAYSIA	00:35:59
3	PRETHIB KUMAR JANAKY RAMAN	MALAYSIA	00:37:29
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 10KM MEN'S VETERAN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	SHAHARUDIN HASHIM	MALAYSIA	00:38:17
2	GENESAN SUBRAMANIAM	MALAYSIA	00:38:32
3	ARUL THEVER @ GANESAN MUNIANDY	MALAYSIA	00:38:59
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 10KM WOMEN'S OPEN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	PAVITHRA DAS	MALAYSIA	00:44:12
2	MANISSHA AROKIASAMY	MALAYSIA	00:45:18
3	ONG EE LING	MALAYSIA	00:45:42
IJM ALLIANZ DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE - NPE HIGHWAY : 10KM WOMEN'S VETERAN
POSITION	NAME	COUNTRY	TIME
1	RITA GANI	MALAYSIA	00:51:19
2	CHEONG MEY LING	MALAYSIA	00:53:28
3	PEI LENG TAN	MALAYSIA	00:53:52