KUALA KANGSAR: The royal town of Perak buzzed with excitement as the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, and Raja Permaisuri Tuanku Zara Salim laced up to join runners in celebrating the Sultan of Perak Birthday Run at Dataran Pavilion.
Also participating were their daughter Raja Nazira Safya, Sultan Nazrin's sister, Raja Datuk Seri Yong Sofia and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
The run was held in conjunction with Sultan Nazrin's 68th birthday celebrated on Nov 1.
Over 12,000 people participated in the event.
Sultan Nazrin flagged off participants in the 15km, 10km and seven km categories between 6.45am and 7.15am, while Yong Sofia flagged off those in the category for VIPs which involved a distance of 3km.
Various exhibitions and performances were held along the running track, covering village areas around Sayong sub-district and Kota Lama Kanan, as well as the Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Bridge.
Among them were traditional rebana drum performances, Sewang dances by the Orang Asli community, a buffalo ploughing demonstration; Chinese and Indian drum performances, as well as demonstrations of various crafts such as ceramics and food covers.
After the run was completed, the royal couple was also treated to musical performances by students from Malay College Kuala Kangsar and Clifford Secondary School and a performance by the Fire and Rescue Department.
Tuanku Zara then graciously presented awards to the participants who recorded the top three fastest times in each category.