HE loves running long distances, cycling and other sports activities. And he loves setting records too.
Ahmed Faisal Mohd Lazim, 47, is no stranger to the limelight, even before he established a fitness team, called Stay Fit Is Sunnah, to achieve the Longest Non-Stop Spin Bike Relay last month.
This remarkable feat earned them a place in the Malaysia Book of Records.
Ahmed Faisal led a 25-member cycling team comprising 15 men and 10 women to set a national record by cycling continuously for 100 hours, with each riding at least one hour in the relay.
They started at 2pm on March 23 and ended at 6pm on March 27 at the Hidayatul Islam Association in Jalan Kedah, Penang.
“As a founder of this team, I am extremely proud of them for their high spirit, commitment, hard work and dedication. Kudos to all of them!” Ahmed Faisal, a bank executive, told Buletin Mutiara in an interview recently.
“They had trained hard for the ride and they deserved this outstanding recognition.
“The oldest is 50 while the youngest is 13.
“The women in the team also contributed to the team’s success.
“It was a joyous moment for me as we all had a tremendous sense of camaraderie. I aim to make the country and Penang proud.
“I hope to see more youngsters spend their leisure time by exercising and involve themselves in a series of activities rather than spending most of their time on the social media platforms.”
In 2018, Ahmed Faisal embarked on a 93km ultramarathon from Alor Setar to Penang to honour former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He started his run from the house where Mahathir was born in Jalan Pegawai in Alor Setar and finished it at the Young Muslims Sports Club in King Street, Penang.
He said he chose to run a distance of 93km as Mahathir was then 93 years old.
On Sept 20 last year, Ahmed Faisal was in the news again when he ran 64km around the Penang island to commemorate the Malaysia Day celebration.
He took nine hours to complete the run, averaging 7kph and dedicating the solo run to country and Covid-19 pandemic frontliners.
On his future plan, Ahmed Faisal, who stays in Karpal Singh Drive and works in Bayan Lepas, said he hoped to create more milestones with this team.
“Now, I hope to work with the team even harder and achieve more records,” said Ahmed Faisal, who is also a fitness coach.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi