Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE inaugural Brunei Unexpected Kingdom Ultra Marathon (BUKUM) proved to be a huge hit.
Organised by Begawan Athlete Enterprise, over 300 runners participated in the competition which ended at the SOAS field in the capital on Sunday.
“Alhamdulillah. I never predicted it (the number) and it was a successful event to me,” said Faizal Hj Abdul Rahman, the operations manager of Begawan Athlete, in an interview with BruSports News at the finishing line on event day.
“But it was with all the committee and volunteers that really helped make this happen.
“I’m very happy with the number of participants because this is the first event,” he added.
Some of the BUKUM participants in a group photo. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
The 40-year-old is now looking ahead at having more events in the near future.
“We are thinking of a regional event for the next one targeting ASEAN competitors,” said Faizal.
“We will also try to get all uniformed personnel in Brunei to join the event as well,” he added.
Malaysian Wilsen Singgin won the men’s 115km event crossing the line first with a time of 12:34:34.
Alexander Chung Kwei Ming placed second clocking 15:06:57 while Aliakbar Hj Gapor completed the podium on 16:12:42.
Brunei’s seasoned marathoner Sefli Ahar, who led early on, had to pull out 88km into the race after picking up an injury.
Some of those involved in the BUKUM. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Over in the women’s 115km event, Marnie Ahmad was the winner with her time of 16:32:02.
Shazana Nabilah Hj Ayob was not far behind on 16:40:42 while Indonesian San Tih Tjen came in third on 17:40:44.
Meanwhile, Amirul Hamdi Jamil won the men’s 60km event with a time of 5:20:04 just ahead of Mastani Mohd Yussap by 5min 18s.
Airince Liam bagged the women’s 60km event with her time of 6:30:40.
Indera Motors provide safety cars for BUKUM
Faiza Hj Abdul Rahman pose with the Discovery Sport used as a safety care for the 60km event. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
INDERA Motors, the sole distributor for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in the Sultanate, were involved in the competition after providing two vehicles as safety cars.
The all-new Discovery was used for the 115km event, which started from Labi at 9pm on Saturday night, while another Discovery Sport for the 60km event, which flagged off from Tasek Merimbun, Tutong at the midnight.
“I want to thank Indera Motors for supporting us in the form of safety cars,” said Faizal.
“They supported us by going in, out and about no matter what. That is the good thing,” he concluded.
