KUALA LUMPUR: Former national runner Melinder Kaur became the first Malaysian woman to run non-stop backwards for 12 hours on a treadmill yesterday.
The 35-year-old mother achieved the incredible feat at Sunway Velocity Mall in Cheras, running a total distance of 46.814 kilometres to etch her name in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR).
Despite only a handful of people cheering her on, Melinder pushed on through the pain barrier and screamed in joy after achieving the record just over an hour before midnight.
Her goal was to surpass 42.2km, which is the distance run for a marathon.
Melinder, who shed tears of joy after finishing, said that she had suffered immensely both physically and mentally during the run.
"Running backwards non-stop for 12 hours on a treadmill is both a physical and mental challenge. It hurts and it takes tremendous focus and resilience to keep going when your body is screaming at you to stop," said Melinder.
"During my record attempt, I encountered chest pain and tightness. I had to slow down my pace a little and was treated by the medical team on standby.
"To tell you the truth, running 12 hours is a celebration of living and a rehearsal of dying all rolled up in a single intense experience.
"When I got onto the treadmill, I reminded myself I'm doing this for a good purpose, mainly to help underprivileged children. Age and physique was never a barrier to achieve my mission."
Melinder is no stranger to setting records and had in July become the first Malaysian woman to run non-stop for 25 hours (123.85km) on a treadmill.
She will be donating all the proceeds from her latest record achievement to underprivileged children though she was slightly disappointed to have only raised RM5,000.
"My target was to raise RM20,000 but all I managed to raise was RM5,000. I promised to perform well and delivered on my promise but even that was not enough to convince people to contribute," said Melinder.
"I will look for underprivileged children's homes who are not well funded and donate the cash to them. Even a small amount makes a difference in every child's life."
Melinder, who holds the national woman's 3,000m steeplechase record, had previously raised RM17,000 for charity during her 25-hour run record last year.
She expressed her gratitude to her sponsors and support team including Batu MP P. Prabakaran, whom she considers her mentor.