A TOTAL of 4,463 runners participated in yesterday’s National Youth Run 2013 organised by the Department of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The run was held simultaneously in the Brunei-Muara, Tutong, Belait and Temburong Districts.

In the Brunei-Muara District, a total of 3,277 runners joined the annual National Youth Run which took place at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

Participating in the 10-kilometre category was His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel, who finished in one hour and 19 minutes while Her Royal Highness Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah participated in the 5-kilometre run.

The guest of honour at the event was the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Laila Diraja Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hazair bin Haji Abdullah with the Deputy Minister, Datin Paduka Hajah Adina binti Othman.

The morning activity started off with a warm-up session, followed by the official flag-off by the minister.

The National Youth Run 2013 was divided into a number of categories namely the 10km male and female categories aged 18 to 40 years old, 5km teenagers for boys and girls categories aged 15 to 18 years old, 3km boys and girls categories aged 14 years old and under, 3km for Special Needs and Disabled category and 3km Fun Run category.

The annual run was one of the main components in the National Youth Day event which is celebrated every August 1.

Among the main objectives of the activity is to promote a healthy lifestyle and encourage youth to actively involve in sports.

At the same time, the run was also aimed at assembling all youths nationwide in commemorating the celebration of National Youth Day as well as fostering friendly ties among them and their surroundings. In addition, the run was also aimed at generating integration among youths.

In the 10km men category (18 to 40 years old), the winner was Awang Shahminan bin Haji Mohd Salleh with a time of 36:41:50 while in the 10km women category (18 to 40 years old), the winner was Yenni Muslim with her recorded time of 44:42:98.

As for the 5km category for teenagers aged 16 to 18 years old, the boys category was won by Md Nadzri Haji Abd Mutalib in a time 21:31, while in the girls category, the winner was Dayang Siti Farhana Zamri who clocked 26:48.

Mohd Noor Izzat Embran emerged as the winner in the 3km boys category aged 14 years old and under with his recorded time of 13:02:65, while Dk Nurul Aina Syafiqah Pengiran Haji Zainal secured victory in the girls category with her time of 14:56.

A number of categories were divided under the Special Needs and Disabled category. In the Hearing and Intellectual Disabilities category, the winner in male category was Amiruddin bin Haji Md Zin, while Nor Akilah Zulkifli won in the female category.

For the Blind Open category, Awang Kamarul Ariffin Haji Ghaffar won the first place while in Wheelchair Open, the winner was Haji Noor Ishanudin Haji Noor Kaseh.

Later, during the prize presentation, HRH Prince ‘Abdul Wakeel and HRH Princess Ameerah Wardatul Bolkiah received medals from the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Before leaving the venue, the minister took a closer look at the exhibition that was set up by the Brunei Darussalam Aids Council in commemorating the World AIDS Day.

Lucky draw prizes were also given away yesterday where runners of all ages stood a chance to leave the stadium with more than consolation prizes even if they did not win in the run.

Meanwhile, in the Belait District the run was participated by 265 runners. In the Tutong District, there were 740 runners while 181 runners joined the run in the Temburong District. - Borneo Bulletin (2 December 2013)