Liv & Luv: World Heart Day 2015 Walk-A-Mile

On 27^th September 2015, we were amongst the 3,000 or more participants who walked a mile (1.5km) in support of the 2015 World Heart Day Walk-A-Mile event at the Perdana Botanical Gardens in Kuala Lumpur. Held annually in conjunction with World Heart Day, the Walk-A-Mile event is in its 14^th year, making it Malaysia’s longest-running walk for heart health advocacy.

The walk is open to participants aged 12 and above and registration is RM15 per person. Each registered participant received a T-shirt and a goodie bag which could be collected prior to the event or on the event day itself. We had registered on-line to join the walk and there were also walk-in slots available for those who had missed the registration dateline.

The evening before the walk, we were not sure if the event would still take place due to the worsening haze. We turned to Facebook for updates and found that a few people had also expressed their concern on whether the walk should proceed as planned despite the haze situation.

After careful consideration, the organizers felt they should go ahead with the event so as not to disappoint those who were looking forward to take part, especially the outstation participants. However, the organizers left it to those who had registered to decide whether they wanted to take part in the walk or not and if they chose to do so, masks were provided and medical teams were also on standby.

On the morning of the walk, we reached Perdana Botanical Gardens at slightly after 7.00 a.m. and several cars were already queuing to get into the Botanical Gardens.

There were good signage leading to the parking areas and after parking our car, we hopped onto the free shuttle service which was waiting to take us to the registration point.

The registration counters were organized according to the participants' age groups

Collected our T-shirts here

Separate changing rooms for males and females

Nestle products were available for purchase at discounted prices

How to make a healthy breakfast:
Take 1 cup of cereal

Add a serving of Nestle Omega Plus with Acticol and voila!

Early birds gathering at the starting point

Love the cool T-shirt

The event was jointly organized by Yayasan Jantung Malaysia (YJM) and Nestle Omega Plus

Warming up before the walk

There were several games stations that were not only educational but also fun for the entire family

Best seats in the house :-)

Free health screenings by the National Heart Association Malaysia (NHAM)

Arrival of Youth & Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin

Singing "Negaraku" with pride

"I'm not saying that you can't have your nasi lemak or roti canai, but you need to burn them off through exercise. Otherwise, they are going to be deposited in your arteries and contribute to heart disease in the future". Well said, Khairy!