Bandar Seri Begawan - Inspirational athlete Mohd Shariff Abdullah, Singapore's first blade runner, will show that nobody needs two legs to run a marathon when he competes in the upcoming Standard Chartered Bank Half-Marathon in Brunei on April 7.
In a phone interview, the 44-year-old Md Shariff told the Bulletin that it was a dream come true to compete in the prestigious event in Brunei.
"It has been my mission in life to inspire people, and I thank Allah the Almighty for giving me the opportunity to come to Brunei. I hope I bring positive energy to inspire Bruneians, especially those with disabilities, to face the world if I can do, so can you!"
Md Shariff has been wearing a specialised prosthetic limb since 2008 known as a "flex blade", specially designed for running long distances.
The father of three nearly "gave up" but, while recovering at home, he saw a YouTube video of famous sprinter Oscar Pistorius in action.
He was inspired to achieve his dream of running marathons like his idol and has since run many races.
Indeed, Md Shari ff's ultimate dream is to be the first disabled athlete fron Singapore to reach the summit o Mount Everest, which he plans to accomplish in 2015.
He will be running the 84kn Ultra-Marathon and other marathons in Singapore as part o his training.
His inspirational story ha grabbed the attention of Solues a watch brand which is this year's official time keeper for the Standard Chartered Bank Half Marathon Brunei 2013.
Magdalene Tan, the Marketing and Communication Manage] from Crystal Time (S) Pte Ltd distributor of Soleus watches fron Singapore, was happy to invite Mc Shariff to join the 21km race it Brunei in the hope to inspire loca runners, especially those with disabilities.
"He is an inspirationa personality as a runner and if you read about him, he only stage( running marathons in 2009, a yea after his foot was amputated. A In of people think that he's a seasoner runner but actually he has been doing it for only three years," saic Magdalene.
The running watch brand has sponsored him with a Solues GPS (3.0) watch in order to monitor accurately his track speed and distance as Md Shariff is a person who wants to continuously improve his personal record despite his disabilities. said Magdelene.
In 2011, Md Shariff competed in a full-marathon followed by a 100km race the following year.
In April 2013, he will be competing in the 21km run in Brunei, just one-week before competing in what he describes as the highlight of his achievement, competing the Boston Marathon.
--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
