KUALA LUMPUR: While most people his age may choose to enjoy retirement, long-distance runner Lim Shyang Guey runs for gold, but not the kind made from the precious metal.
He takes to the streets on foot for the gold ribbon, a symbol of childhood cancer awareness and carries a message of hope for young patients battling the deadly disease.
The 66-year-old Penangite said six years ago, he and his late wife Goh Joo Lee had planned to travel across the country after retirement, on foot, but unfortunately she was diagnosed with cancer and succumbed to the disease in 2024.
He decided to proceed with the journey in her memory and walk 2,200km across Peninsular Malaysia and use it as a mission to raise RM600,000 for the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) to fund treatment for children afflicted with cancer.
Carrying the photograph of Goh on a neck cord, Lim started his journey from Johor and arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“While grieving her death, I read many books on coping with the loss of a spouse.
“One was about a man who walked the whole of England over a distance of 9,000km to bring cancer awareness, and it inspired me.
“I reached out to Laurence Carter, who wrote the book, Grief to Love, to learn more before planning my own journey.
“The initial plan was to walk, but it would be too time-consuming, so I decided to run.
“I know my wife is with me in spirit during my runs as this is what we had wanted to do.
“I hope she is proud of me for undertaking this mission,” Lim said at NCSM 60th Anniversary Wellness Weekend here yesterday.
He said he ran between 25km and 40km daily and hopes to achieve his targeted distance in 90 days.
“I met many good people during my journey, and some have even joined me. Interestingly, Carter himself showed up in Malaysia six weeks ago.
“He ran with me in Johor for four days. He flew all the way from Washington in the United States,” he said.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said the Health Ministry is looking at ways to bring cancer treatment closer to patients’ homes to ease the burden on affected families.
Also present were Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Datuk Dr Harikrishna K. Ragavan Nair, NCSM president Dr Saunthari Somasundram and its managing director Prof Dr M. Muralitharan.
