The first-of-its-kind ultramarathon in Malaysia is coming soon. Gathering runners and 150 entrepreneurs from all over the world, the ultramarathon aims to form its own runner community for the sake of supporting Spastic Children's Association of Selangor and Federal Territory. 

Entrepreneurs taking part in the 12-hour ultramarathon will also run their crowdfunding campaigns to help realise the dream of Cheng Zhee Long. Cheng is a cerebral palsy sufferer who loves ultramarathon. 

At the end of the ultramarathon, another exciting programme will start immediately. During the morning programme, entrepreneur runners will attend corporate management course and gather for refreshment and networking, as well as to form their own WeChat groups. 

What is ultramarathon

Also known as ultra distance or ultra running, ultramarathon is a footrace exceeding the conventional 42.195-km mark. There are usually two categories:

1. Fixed distance Variable lengths are set at 50 km, 100 km, 1,000 km; 100 miles, 1,000 miles. 100 km is the length recognised by International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and world running competition is held annually.
2. Fixed time frame It could be spanning 12 or 24 hours, while some stretches to 46 hours, or even several days. To date, the longest marathon in the world is timed at six days.

   2017 ZL 12H International Ultra-Marathon Challenge belongs to the category of 12-hour race.

ZL INTERNATIONAL ULTRAMARATHON

Cheng Zhee Long hails from Simpang Renggam of Johor state. He suffers from cerebral palsy. When he was 11 years old, his doctor's forecast was that he could not celebrate his 21st birthday. Cheng, however, begs to differ. He started doing physical exercise, and he dreamed of sprinting on the running tracks. He believes that things could be turned around – if we still have dreams and aspirations. We cling on to greater missions to extend our lifespan. 

Details

The ultramarathon invites not only professional runners but also entrepreneurs and corporations. Entrepreneurs category allows entrepreneurs to challenge their own patience and endurance. 

• Entrepreneurs (Crowd-funding RM3,000 per head) This is all about challenging your endurance and patience. This category offers 150 slots to entrepreneur runners from different industries. These 150 runners will jointly challenge the limits of their stamina on a 400-metre running track. They will have to encourage and help each other to complete the run. A gathering and run-together with entrepreneurs is something you can't buy with money. In fact, this is an unprecedented entrepreneur meet-up. And you might need to wait for years before you encounter another similar running activity.

Each runner has to pay an enrollment fee of RM3,000, which must be sourced from crowdfunding. In other words, no entrepreneur qualifies as a runner if he or she pays for oneself.

WHAT IS CROWDFUNDING?

Crowdfunding is an activity whereby supporters who support certain project or concept give monetary support to the project owners. Thanks to the convenience of internet, crowdfunding becomes a method which public members can jointly make something come true. And it is gaining popularity throughout the world. Other than its crowdfunding function, it is also a marketing tool which allows your great idea and concept to be seen and supported by others.

WHY CROWD-FUND MY ENROLLMENT FEES?

Crowdfunding is a popular topic in our modern world. Entrepreneurs can now take the ultramarathon as the opportunity to experience crowdfunding for themselves.

Crowdfunding involves different aspects. Among others, topicality, creativity, advertising, marketing, public members’ participation. And you will have a sense of achievement when you are running a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Having experienced the excitement of crowdfunding, you might as well become the next successful fundraiser. So why not taking part in ultramarathon?

TIMEFRAME

Enrollment: From now on until June 30 (or until 200 slots have been taken up)

Crowdfunding website: rewards.mystartr.com

Crowdfunding deadline: July 15

The earlier you register, the more time you have for crowd-funding.

Each runner is entitled to:

• Participation of the run
• T-shirt
• ZL Compression Leg Pair
• Bag
• Interaction talk with Cheng Zhee Long; Ryōichi Sekiya, current Asian record holder of the 24-hour run.
• Before-the-run cocktail
• Food supplements during the run
• Caring support during the run
• CEO dining (after the run)
• Corporate management talk (after the run)

THREE REASONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND STARTUPERS TO TAKE PART

1. Take part in marathon at least once in your lifetime
   Our friends love showing off with their marathon medals. Which prompts us to do the same. Right now, we have a chance to participate in ultramarathon. And it is not any other marathon.
   Ultramarathon is not all about stamina – but it is related to your endurance and patience. It is never easy for ordinary folks to take part in any marathon, let alone ultramarathon.
   This is a very rare chance for entrepreneurs to participate in the ultramarathon for the first time. It is indeed challenging, but that does not mean we can’t accomplish it.
   Do not miss the chance to challenge your limits. Entrepreneurs and startupers out there, let’s roll our sleeves up and participate in ultramarathon.
2. Go through thick and thin with 150 CEOs in 12 hours
   We invite 150 entrepreneurs to take part in the run to challenge ultramarathon. These entrepreneurs come from different industries. These 150 runners will jointly challenge the limits of their stamina on a 400-metre running track. They will have to encourage and help each other to complete the run.
   A gathering and run-together with entrepreneurs is something you can’t buy with money. In fact, this is an unprecedented entrepreneur meet-up. And you might need to wait for years before you encounter another similar running activity.
3. Experience crowdfunding
   The organisers stipulated that each entrepreneur has to source RM3,000 registration fee through crowd-funding. They are prohibited from paying out of their own pockets.
   We understand that entrepreneurs could easily afford the fees, but we want them to have an opportunity to experience crowd-funding. (No worries, MyStartr runs a reliable crowd-funding website.)
   It is never easy to run an event, and funding is often the toughest part of all. We therefore wish to lend some support from entrepreneurs to jointly achieve the goal.
   With your support, we can run our event of the day. You are indeed the great supporters of the ultramarathon programme.

When and where?

Date: 5-6 August 2017 (Saturday and Sunday) Time: 21:00 to 09:00 hours (9 p.m. Aug 5 to 9 a.m. Aug 6) Venue: Bandar Sri Sendayan NSDK (Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia)

12-hour run, is it possible?

The 2017 ZL 12H International Ultra-Marathon Challenge goes on for 12 hours. During the 12-hour, you can:

During the 12-hour challenging event we will enjoy the 12-hour run and 18.5 hours of programmes. Here's the schedule:

Chip timing is applied for all runners of 2017 ZL 12H International Ultra-Marathon Challenge. Each kilometre accomplished by each runner will be translated into the organisers' RM2 donation for Spastic Children's Association of Selangor and Federal Territory. Each and every kilometre that you run is your contribution to help the needy kids.

Spastic Children's Association Of Selangor & Federal Territory (SCAS&FT) Cerebral palsy is a broad term which refers to disorders affecting a person’s ability to move. Brain damage during pregnancy or after birth leads to cerebral palsy, a permanent movement disorder which makes the patients suffer. Data showed that some 17 million individuals in the world suffer from cerebral palsy, with medical costs estimated at some 4.47 billion ringgit. As the largest and independent cerebral palsy association in Malaysia, SCAS&FT provides the best support to cerebral palsy patients.