1,403 Defy Genting Trailblazer 2010!
 

Genting Highlands, 31 October 2010 – This year’s two-day Genting Trailblazer event brought together 1,403 participants from all over Malaysia and overseas to the scenic Awana Genting Highlands Golf & Country Resort. The fun started on 30th October 2010 when 331 participants took part in the ‘Cross Country Category’ and continued on 31st October 2010, when 1,072 participants formed 536 teams for the Genting Trailblazer 2010 ‘Adventure Category’.

Present to flag off the ‘Adventure’ run was our guest of honor, YB Dato Dr James Dawos Mamit – Deputy Minister of Tourism Malaysia together with Chow Wei Heng – Vice President of National Marketing, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Ruddin Salim – Vice President of Awana Genting, Katherine Chew – Vice President of PR & Communications, Y. Bhg Dato’ Hanafiah – General Manager of Fraser Hill Development, Dato Rahda Krishnan – Managing Director of UFL, Dr. Noor – Director of FRIM, Andrew Sabastian – Malaysian Nature Society’s Head of Communications, and Mr. Kamal Azam – Assistant Director of Industry Development of Tourism Malaysia.

Earlier in the morning, before the flag off of the Genting Trailblazer – Adventure Category, the guest of honor, YB Dato Dr James Dawos Mamit – Deputy Minister of Tourism Malaysia launched the ‘Important Bird Area’ at Awana Genting Highlands.

Known for its lush natural surroundings and award-winning golf course, Awana Genting Highlands is also part of an Important Bird Area (IBA) under the international destination category for bird watching, MY10. This makes Awana Genting Highlands one of the prime bird watching destinations for birdwatchers and nature lovers alike. The approximately 130 million-year-old lush rainforest offers a variety of habitats such as lowlands, agricultural and highlands that helps to attract a large range of bird species within a relatively small area - thus offering great bird watching opportunities.

As for the Genting Trailblazer 2010 ‘Adventure’ run, participants had to run along a 14km trail through the greens of Awana Genting. The competition saw each team (consisting of two persons) maneuvering through steep slopes and streams in the million-year-old rainforest before returning to the main trail. Participants were put through vigorous obstacles that included going through a five-foot-deep trench, followed by two giant slopes, before crossing the finishing line.

“We have received very good response from the public in both the Cross Country and Adventure category. We are proud to have a total of 1,403 participants running at this year’s Genting Trailblazer and we hope this run will continue to be a popular annual event in the country. This event offers participants an experience to run in a 130 million-year-old rainforest and we hope this will enable them to develop a green mindset to preserve our natural environment, specifically our precious rainforests, so that we can continue to enjoy such beauty,” said Chow Wei Heng.

Genting Trailblazer 2010 is working hand-in-hand with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) once again this year to further promote the love of nature and to guide participants to be minimally disruptive to the environment. The event will continue to promote ‘Zero Waste’, and to discourage the public from littering and to reuse available resources.

Apart from the run, a talk and forum were also organized by the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) on the eve of the event day for the participants. They were briefed on the importance of preserving the natural environment. It was a successful annual event where all the participants committed to the Genting Trailblazer’s motto - leave nothing but only memories and foot prints!

The Genting Trailblazer 2010 is a yearly event organized by Genting Malaysia Berhad, endorsed and supported by Tourism Malaysia and assisted by FTAAA (Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Association). Genting Trailblazer 2010 is also sponsored by Brooks, Nestle MILO, Perskindol, Celebrity Fitness, SONY Walkman, Deuter, PowerBar, Suunto, Coleman, 100 PLUS, Red Bull, ING, Biore, Bootcamp, ADL (Advertising & Design) and Snap-attack.

For the ‘Adventure’ run, under the Men’s Category, the Champion team received prizes worth more than RM8,000, inclusive of winner’s medals, a certificate of completion, a Suunto watch worth RM3,000 each, 3 Days 2 Nights stay at Awana Kijal, a Genting Holiday Card worth RM400, Celebrity Fitness memberships worth RM800 each, a SONY Walkman W series, Bootcamp vouchers, Brooks cash vouchers worth RM500 each, a hamper from Nestle MILO, PowerBar, Perskindol and Biore, and orchids from Waltex Biotec. The Champion team for the Women’s Category also received the same prizes, plus a Suunto watch worth RM3,000 in total for two persons.

For the ‘Cross Country’ run, the Champion for the Men's Category received more than RM5,800 worth of prizes, including a RM2,000 cash prize; while the Champion for the Women's Category received more than RM5,000 worth of prizes, including a RM1,500 cash prize.

The media was also invited to take part in this year’s ‘Cross Country’ run that saw 32 persons participating in the event. The Champion received a Genting Holiday Card worth RM400, while the 1st Runner and 2nd Runner Up received a Genting Holiday Card worth RM300 and RM200 respectively.