Local Runners Pin Hopes on Training Track

Machradin Wahyudi Ritonga

· 4 minutes read

Pangalengan district in Bandung regency, West Java, has long been the birthplace of the nation’s runners. After years of being passive spectators, local talents are starting to emerge.

A bonfire lit up the night sky on Friday (9/8/2019) over the field behind Bosscha House in Pangalengan district. It cast national runner Agus Prayogo in silhouette as he spoke about his life’s journey to around a dozen children dreaming of following in his footsteps. The children were all members of the Pangalengan-based Agung Mulyawan Track Club (AMTC).

Several runners from Jakarta were also there, on invitation from Athletica Talent by Runhood Group, a scouting company that recruits and trains new athletics talent.
“You can all become a runner like me if you stay focused and train hard. Athletes come specifically to Pangalengan to train. You can do it, because you’re used to living here,” Agus told the children amid the chilly highland evening that dipped below 15 degrees Celsius.
Bimantara, 16, listened intently to Agus. He dreams of becoming a runner like Agus. “I am happy. This is the first time I’ve met him, and I’ve even been able to talk to him. Hopefully, we will run together at the national training camp,” he said.
KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA
Members of the Agung Mulyawan Track Club (AMTC) complete a training course on Saturday (10/8/2019) at Tanara Field athletic park in Pangalengan district, Bandung regency, West Java. National athletics coach and AMTC founder Agung Mulyawan have taken the aspiring running athletes under his wing in an effort to generate local talents.
Mere spectators
Pangalengan has been national middle- and long-distance runners since 1985. The nation’s top runners, like Agus Prayogo, Triyaningsih and Rini Budiarti, were trained there. Casual runners are often seen running in the district nowadays, but it has yet to give birth to professional talents. No runner from Pangalengan has emerged as a national athlete. The local children usually watch the athletes train from afar, and follow them wherever they go.
National running coach Agung Mulyawan was moved by the situation to help develop the children’s enthusiasm for running. He said it was not impossible for Pangalengan to produce future Indonesian runners.
Agung was inspired by the talents of 15-year-old Pangalengan youth, Tazi Ahmad Dhani. In late 2017, Agung observed Tazi running behind professional athletes and knew at that very moment that Tazi was talented.
I got Pak Agung’s number and I just called him. I wanted him to train me and turn me into an athlete.
As it turned out, Tazi was not just running for fun. He wanted to become a national runner.
“I got Pak Agung’s number and I just called him. I wanted him to train me and turn me into an athlete,” said Tazi.
Agung agreed, and established the AMTC in early 2018 to discover local talents. The local people were enthusiastic about the new club.
By this August, the AMTC had provided free professional coaching to more than 60 children.
“The children need training. The club can open the doors to a career in athletics for them,” said Agung.
His vision proved to be true. Tazi shone in running competitions and received a scholarship to the Ragunan Student Sports Training Center in Jakarta. Most recently, he won third place in the 3,000 meters at the 2019 Khon Khaen Games, an ASEAN sports schools competition, in Thailand.
Like Tazi, 19-year-old Ai Kusmiati also possesses hidden talent as a runner. The young woman from Pangalengan joined the AMTC in June 2018 and finished third in the half marathon at the Pocari Sweat Run Bandung 2019. “I’ve enjoyed running more than playing with dolls since I was little,” said Ai.
Athletica Talent business of Putra Yuhardianto said the company was dedicated to training Pangalengan’s children to help abolish the perception that the local people were nothing more than merely silent observers.
Huge potential
The prospective athletes were in high spirits as they readied at the starting line at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning (10/8). Agung was present to observe the AMTC students’ progress.
Their parents cheered them on at one corner of the track, and rose to a roar as the children reached the finish line. Noneng, 39, was happy that her 14-year-old son Muhammad Fazri had joined Agung’s training program. Fazri’s sweat brought her joy.
“I want to become a runner and make my parents proud. We can have a better life if I become an athlete,” said Fazri.
KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA
Members of the Agung Mulyawan Track Club (AMTC) encourage their peers during training on Saturday (10/8/2019) at the track of Tanara Field athletic park in Pangalengan district, Bandung regency. National athletics coach Agung Mulyawan established the AMTC in 2018 to produce local athletics talents.
Fazri does not hail from a family of athletes. His father is a construction worker in Bandung who comes home only once a week, and earns less than Rp 100,000 (US$7.02) per day. However, this has not discouraged Noneng from supporting her son’s dream of becoming a professional athlete. Noneng hoped that Fazri would have a better life as a professional athlete. “We are happy that he has goals and dreams,” said Noneng.
Today, Pangalengan is more than a training ground: It is generating hope among the local people that they can achieve a better future and make the nation proud.

Editor:
naranasrullah

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