Presint 18 Parkrun, Putrajaya – Malaysia’s Parkrun

After spending an amazing three months in Kuala Lumpur, I got to experience another Parkrun destination – Presint 18 Putrajaya! Although it wasn’t easy to get to, it was probably one of the friendliest I’ve had to pleasure of visiting. After a few closures, this is sadly the only Parkrun still remaining in Malaysia.

Presint 18 Parkrun Putrajaya Details

Starting by the Kompleks Futsal Presint 18 car park, the run takes you through Taman Wawasan Putrajaya Park and by Putrajaya Lake. The course is a predominately flat, out and back run. There are two u-turns and a very small incline near the start. You’ll run on hard tracks alongside the Putrajaya Lake, lined with pretty trees and some incredible architecture. This part of the park is known as ‘Pebbles Beach’ and has some stunning palm trees lining the path.

The half way point is at Putra Bridge, where you’ll do your second u-turn before heading back on the same track towards the start area. There are some incredible buildings to see along the way, including Putra Mosque, Putra Bridge and Perdana Putra. I had to stop and take photos at several points! I always love a Parkrun that doesn’t involve multiple laps, so I was a big fan of this course.

Due to the humidity and heat of Malaysia, the run starts at 7:30am. Be sure to get there earlier to hear the first-timers briefing and the main course briefing. I did this Parkrun twice, and on both occasions, met some of the friendliest people! Not only the wonderful volunteers, but lots of the regulars came up to welcome me. I’ve done Parkruns across 4 continents now and have never felt so welcomed before. It’s a very small Parkrun, so it felt like a tight-knit group. People were also incredibly helpful with advising me on how to get back to KLCC. As with most runs in this part of the world, I took it super slow and walked when needed. Despite spending 6 months in this climate, I still found it quite hard to run in.

Facilities

There are good facilities near the start line at Kompleks Futsal Presint 18 (the Futsal Complex). This includes toilets (seated and squat) and showers. There are also two vending machines with cold drinks. To note, these only accept cash, so be sure to bring some with you if you want to buy cold drinks. This was so appreciated after the Parkrun as the humidity is no joke here! I had two ice cold pocari sweat drinks after the run just to help cool down.

On the course itself, there is a small water fountain near the start area. Ask the volunteers and they’ll be able to point it out for the run. I’d highly advise bringing water with you for the end at least.

How to Get to Presint 18 Parkrun Putrajaya

During my 3 months in Kuala Lumpur, I was based near KLCC. Quite a fair distance from the run, particularly that early on a Saturday morning. After two failed attempts at getting public transport, I opted for Grab taxi. To warn, there is a common scam whereby Grab drivers will accept the ride request, say they’re on their way but not move. This forces you to cancel on the Grab after a while, giving them the ride fare. To avoid paying them, when you cancel the Grab, choose the ‘rider asked the cancel’ option. Unfortunately this meant it sometimes took me an hour of requesting Grabs before someone actually came to get me.

You can supposedly get from KLCC (or other KL area) to Presint 18 Parkrun via public transport, but each time I tried (there and back) I had issues. There is meant to be a KRTravelT523 Bus towards Putrajaya Sentral, where you can then get the train back into Kuala Lumpur centre. When I tried on two occasions, the bus either never came or didn’t stop. Both times I was waiting over an hour. The positive of this, was I ended up spending a full morning walking around Putrajaya and admire some of the stunning architecture. Putrajaya also had some lovely parks.

Check out the official Presint 18 Parkrun Putrajya site for more info.