Azwar in TheStar today

Khairul Azwar Hashim explaining why different pairs of shoes are used for different purposes, as he shows off this Nike Free.

RUNNER Khairul Azwar Hashim admits to being fat. The 29-year-old says that he used to weigh around 80kg right up till his university days and he was so conscious of that fact.

“You should have seen me, I was really fat. All those gyms were coming up and I was angry to see all those fit people. It was the need to be healthy that made me take up running,” he confesses.

“When I started running, my weight went down. But then I realised that I was hooked into the run itself and just couldn’t stop running after that. I used to run about 10km daily at first and then started doing competitions, 10K runs, half-marathons and marathons. I would not miss any run organised,” says Azwar, who now weighs 65kg.

This obvious satisfaction is enough to make any couch potato throw his remote control or bag of chips in disgust at Azwar but the father of two has his fans, namely his “oh-so supportive” wife, Sandra and his kids, four-year-old Anne and two-year-old Hariz (and there is another on the way). But as much as he wants his wife to run with him – he even purchased shoes and other gear for her – Sandra has not budged. She does, however, accompany Azwar to the various meets he takes part in all over the country.

She ain’t heavy, she’s my daughter ... Azwar does a different form of weight
training with daughter Anne.

Picky, picky

When Azwar started running four years ago, he did what most non-athletes do. He went into a sports shop and just picked out something that looked attractive, not something that was functional.

“Of course I didn’t know anything, so you go with what strikes you. Later, when I started getting serious about the running, I subscribed to running magazines. That’s where I learnt that it’s important to select the right shoes. It depends on your type of feet, your body weight and composition, your running style and the type of event and, of course, the surface you are running on,” explains Azwar.

We’ve all heard about cross-trainers, a pair of shoes for multiple-uses – running, stretching, hops, skipping and the like. According to Azwar, there is no real shoe sports specialist in Malaysia who can advise you, so he gets a lot of information from the Internet and magazines.

Azwar realised that when he started there was a lot of muscles that needed to be worked out, which is why he opted for the Nike Free (Version 5.0V2 retails at RM329). It’s for light running and does not provide much cushioning because you’re not pounding the roads or the track all that hard. What it does is work those unused muscles that you never thought existed.

“For the first couple of months, there was some pain. But I realised that was because it was just those muscles that were screaming out, as they have never been exercised. Now it is so comfortable and I would recommend it for anyone who does light workouts at the gym or who walks a lot. Even if you’re not into exercise, this is one way to get some just by walking around. Plus they look cool,” says Azwar.

He adds that that because of the material, the shoes are very flexible and can be used on the road. He’s also using them more these days as he has a hip injury and has to do light training.

The routine

Azwar is now into triathlons, a combination of swimming, cycling and running. It’s very gruelling and because of the different disciplines, different shoes are needed. This is one committed man. This “running junkie” has to work his passion into his job as an IT programmer.

He gets up at 5.30am, drives from Bangi (where he lives) to Kuala Lumpur and then heads for the gym. And then it’s in to the office at 8am. He does a quick half-an-hour session at the gym during lunch and after knocking off from work, he heads off for his run and reaches home at about 8pm. And he still gets his work done!

“I’m used to it and I still see my wife and kids as they’re still up. I spend more time training during the weekends but I also spend time with the family. And if there’s an event, then I head off to wherever it is with my supportive wife,” he says.

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my