SMC Tower Run makes a comeback on March 18

(Seated from left) Jamil, Terence, Michelle, Zaiton, Yii and Izkandar at the press conference.

SIBU (Dec 27): After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the much-anticipated Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) Tower Run is making a comeback.

Event organising chairman Yii Suok Ming said the run, which is into its 5th edition, is tentatively fixed for March 18, 2023 at 6am at the 28-storey Wisma Sanyan, Sibu’s tallest building.

“We are targeting to get about 500 runners from throughout the world but everything is still in its initial stages.

“We will release more details about the run when we are ready with it,” he told a press conference here today.

In the last edition, some 500 runners including those from the United Kingdom, Singapore, Philippines and Japan took part in the run.

Malaysian World No. 1 tower runner Soh Wai Ching won the Men Open by conquering the 627 steps at Wisma Sanyan with a time of two minutes and 56 seconds.

“Soh has agreed to be the ambassador for the coming event and will be helping to promote the event widely around the world – hopefully to get as many foreigners to come to participate as possible,” Yii said.

He added the run is not only aimed at attracting people of various demographics to converge in Sibu but also to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Additionally, he said it is also in line with enhancing SMC’s sustainable development goals and vision towards building a livable and sustainable city by 2031.

As this is a one-of-a-kind event, Yii encouraged Sibu folk to take the opportunity to participate in the event as a stepping stone towards building a healthy lifestyle, and a platform to enhance their running experience.

The tournament is jointly organised by SMC’s Social and Community Development (SCO) Committee and Sibu Underground Runners (SUR).

Sanctioned by the International Tower Running Association, the run is certainly not for the faint hearted as it needs all the courage and strength for the runners to conquer all 627 steps.

SUR secretary Terence Tan said the run will come with a difference this time round.

“We will introduce local food for the runners from other countries so that when they go back, they will promote our unique food to their countries,” he said, adding he is grateful to SMC for putting its trust in SUR to jointly organise the event which requires lots of planning.

Meanwhile, SCO chairperson Zaiton Abdul Kader said the tower run is one of SMC’s biggest events for 2023.

“With SUR’s wide experience, we believe they can attract more participants from all over the world to come here to take part. The last edition in 2020 was a huge success and hopefully, we will continue to get as many runners as possible,” she said.

Zaiton informed that another meeting would be called to look into the final preparatory works.

Among those at the press conference were SUR president Mohd Jamil Abdul Rahim, event vice organising chairperson Michelle Law, and SCO deputy chairman Mohammad Abdullah Izkandar Roseley.