Upon embarking on a healthy lifestyle, expat Matthew Barsing is motivating others with the inception of KLCC Runners, a community based initiative that is the first of its kind in Malaysia. Sharuna Segaren shares his enthralling and inspirational story.

Matthew Barsing hails from Brisbane, Australia, and moved to Malaysia in 2006 when he got a job as the Head of Foreign Investments for MDEC. He then went on to become the CEO of Stravcorp and now owns his own investment company, Unlimited Possibilities.

He is happily married to a Malaysian and has three children. As a charismatic and friendly person, it is easy to see how he has been able to transfer his positive outlook on life to his latest community project, KLCC Runners.

I met Matthew at the poolside café in the Mandarin Oriental KLCC, where it all began in 2012. At the time, Matthew and two of his buddies were talking over drinks and decided they were tired of being overweight. They wanted to get fit and shed some weight, so they made plans to meet up the next morning at the Mandarin Oriental KLCC to go for a run around KLCC Park .

The road to transformation

Matthew said, “All three of us weighed ourselves before the run, and I got a shock when I saw I weighed 101kg. I hadn’t stepped on the scales in so long that I didn’t realize I was that heavy. My friends and I made a bet that whoever is the first to lose 10 kg will get RM10,000.

Both another guy and I ended up losing 10kg in one month.We settled our bet by putting all our money in a pool and went on a vacation! When I came back, I was encouraged to keep running and being fit.

I’ve been a member of the Mandarin Oriental fitness club ever since then. In three months, I went hardcore and lost 20 kilograms. I did it by eating clean and exercising; it’s impossible to lose weight just by running.

After reaching my goal, I continued exercising, but now I eat whatever I want.

To be honest, I don’t eat completely healthy now and will indulge every now and then, but I exercise on an average of 2-3 hours every day, 5-6 days a week, by running around KLCC Park, using the gym, and swimming. It has become my passion.”

Through the Malaysia Australian Business Council where he has been on the executive committee since 2010, he set up a fitness group and tried to motivate other members to meet up for a regular run at the park. However, he lost a bit of confidence in the idea as it couldn’t gain enough traction as there was only a small number who turned up, and they weren’t really runners.

Later on, Matthew realized there were many runners who use KLCC Park, but there wasn’t an actual group that bound them together. He decided to set up a Facebook page in a bid to attract more runners.

The birth of KLCC Runners

Matthew explained how the idea came about: “Because there are so many of us who run at the park, I thought it would be nice to create a community where other people can be part of our group. At that time I just invited some friends and acquaintances, and kept the group to about 100 people. I initially organized a few small programmes to go for a run, about 5-10 people.

After taking part in NikeWe Run KL, I was fascinated by the energy and atmosphere of the event, and came to a realization that there is no real way for the runners to stay connected besides participating in these running events. It is also a costly affair, as if a runner takes part in one event every weekend, it can come up to RM300 – RM400 a month just on the participation fees. This was how the idea to make KLCC Runners a group that organizes running events that are free for the community was born.”

How it works is that through the KLCC Runners Facebook page, Matthew organizes a run on DBKL’s Car-free Day, which falls on the first Sunday of every month. Along with his volunteers, they set up pace-setting groups so it’s suitable for all levels of runners. The roads are already cleared and there are safety protocols in place by DBKL, so it’s an ideal setting.

He engages sponsors to help fund the run, and provides t-shirts, running bibs, and beverages to the members of KLCC runners for free. It has become tremendously popular, with the group going viral in just three weeks. To date, it has 3,300 active members and is growing at a rapid pace.

“We are tremendously lucky to have so much support. MABC sponsored our first run on the 1st of May, and provided free T-shirts and goodie bags. Lumin Spring Water is our official water sponsor for all events, and we’ve collaborated with ULTRON to give us great rates for the apparel.

We have several crowd-sourced volunteers from the group who provide services such as photography, warm-up sessions, marketing, and so on. I engage the members to help with ideas, design of the T-shirts, and on how to improve the group, so everyone has a voice. It’s really a fast-growing and close community.”

Join the revolution

Matthew has begun a running revolution with KLCC Runners, as there are very few running events in Malaysia which provide all the fixings without charging a fee. All one has to do to join is send a request to the KLCC Runners Facebook group, and upon being approved, they will be able to view the upcoming events and how to register. From there, they just have to show up on the day of the event, engage in a healthy run, and join a great community of fellow runners.

In the future, Matthew is also planning on organizing running clinics and more regular events, and has a vision to make KLCC Runners become the largest running community in Malaysia, engaging more corporate sponsorship while keeping it free of charge for all members.

If you’ve been wanting to get fit and shed some kilos but need a support group, without having to break the bank, KLCC Runners may just be the thing you’ve been looking for!