THE first Sunday morning practice session following Allianz-Pacesetters 2018 was truly wonderful as we greeted many new faces as well as reconnected with friends we hadn’t seen in a while. And to add to the delightful atmosphere, there was breakfast thanks to a few participants who brought enough for everyone.

True, everyone was gathered that morning to practise for the upcoming KL Bar Run. However, camaraderie is something we really treasure at Care2Run, and there was, first and foremost, plenty of it on Dec 16!

It was heart-warming seeing participants, parents and coaches chatting over cakesand fruits before we began … and also slightly amusing to see some of our participants stop midway through the planned physical sessions to ask if there was any bubur kacang left!

However, most moving of all was witnessing how the Care2Run junior coaches took charge of the the warm-up and cool-down activities and executed them brilliantly. Well done, coaches!

Unfortunately, amidst all the joy, there was also a little gloom as we bid goodbye to Coach Siok Keng, who was then in the process of moving with her family across the Causeway to Singapore.

Siok Keng, who was instrumental in lobbying for the para run component to be added to this year’s Bursa Bull Charge, even teared up as she bid us farewell.

“I was sad because I won’t be able to run with them for the KL Bar Relay. But it was good to meet many familiar faces on the last day of my Care2Run training, like Arun, Albert, Omar, Ne Fong and Jonathan,” she told us later.

Watching all her mentees ask to take pictures with her, it was clear to see the impact Siok Keng has had on Care2Run. However, she told us that she feels she is the one who has benefited most from running with us.

“It takes a lot of empathy and compassion to understand special needs young people. I was a competitive runner, always targeting to win the podium. Now I run for a different cause, to inspire and reach out to more people,” she said.

As we prepare for the second practice session on Sunday, Dec 30, we’d just like to say once more to Coach Siok Keng: “All the best, Coach! We’re sure we’ll run with you again.”

* Have you signed up for KL Bar Run 2019? If you have, the second practice session is on Sunday, 30 Dec at 7.45am at Taman Aman Park in Petaling Jaya. Make sure you’re bright and early!