Lim Shyang Guey’s 86-day run around Peninsular Malaysia to raise money for cancer treatment in honour of his late wife finished on June 21
On June 21, just one day before his 67th birthday, Lim Shyang Guey crossed the finish line of a 2,200km (1,370-mile) run around Peninsular Malaysia. His first thought to himself and to his late wife, Goh Joo Lee, was, “Darling, we made it.”
He launched his “Run for Gold” campaign at the end of March in honour of Goh, who died of gallbladder cancer in 2024, and carried a photo of her as he completed his run over 86 days around the region that makes up the western part of Malaysia.
Working with the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM), he ran through all 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia and a federal territory. He has raised more than 775,000 ringgit (US$191,000) for cancer research and treatment so far – surpassing his original goal of 600,000 ringgit.
“I got the sense that somebody was watching over me,” Lim says, just days after completing the run. He recalls running in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, where he looked up to see a motorcycle shop that bore the same English and Chinese names as his late wife.
Lim recounts some harrowing experiences, including a hit-and-run accident that injured a team member who was operating the drone that was filming his run for a documentary. Lim was just a few steps ahead of the drone pilot but was miraculously unscathed.
Lim originally planned to end his journey at Penang’s Home of Hope, which offers free accommodation and a range of support services for cancer patients and their families. His route, however, was redirected to end at his alma mater, Penang Free School, to accommodate the number of supporters who ran the last stretch of the campaign with him.
Lim’s son and daughter also joined him for the very last stretch of the run around Penang Island, and his brother and sister ran parts of the route with him.
As his son left Malaysia to return to his home in Australia after the run, he told Lim: “Mom will be proud of you.”
He launched his “Run for Gold” campaign at the end of March in honour of Goh, who died of gallbladder cancer in 2024, and carried a photo of her as he completed his run over 86 days around the region that makes up the western part of Malaysia.
Working with the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM), he ran through all 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia and a federal territory. He has raised more than 775,000 ringgit (US$191,000) for cancer research and treatment so far – surpassing his original goal of 600,000 ringgit.
“I got the sense that somebody was watching over me,” Lim says, just days after completing the run. He recalls running in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, where he looked up to see a motorcycle shop that bore the same English and Chinese names as his late wife.
Lim recounts some harrowing experiences, including a hit-and-run accident that injured a team member who was operating the drone that was filming his run for a documentary. Lim was just a few steps ahead of the drone pilot but was miraculously unscathed.
Lim originally planned to end his journey at Penang’s Home of Hope, which offers free accommodation and a range of support services for cancer patients and their families. His route, however, was redirected to end at his alma mater, Penang Free School, to accommodate the number of supporters who ran the last stretch of the campaign with him.
Lim’s son and daughter also joined him for the very last stretch of the run around Penang Island, and his brother and sister ran parts of the route with him.
As his son left Malaysia to return to his home in Australia after the run, he told Lim: “Mom will be proud of you.”
Lim felt his late wife’s presence while he ran and says he “talked to her quite regularly”, adding: “This trip has [brought] me so close to her.”
As he made his way through the southwestern state of Malacca, he visited an area in which Goh’s grandfather’s bungalow once stood, where Goh often played as a child.
To finish the campaign on time, Lim followed a gruelling schedule. He woke at 3am each day and was ready to run by 4am, when he would be driven to the place where he had stopped running the day before. “We start[ed] running at 4.30am until maybe 11am, sometimes 12.30pm.”
Each week, he spent three or four days running. Within each state and territory, NCSM helped him organise community events for cancer awareness.
The first time Lim visited an oncology unit for children during the campaign, he spent most of the time there in tears. But “it made me feel that what I’m doing is worthwhile … helping these children and helping the parents”, he says.
British author Laurence Carter, who honoured his own wife in 2018, three years after her death from cervical cancer, wrote about his one-year 6,930km (4,300-mile) walk in From Grief to Love: Walking Around England and Wales. That book, published in 2024, inspired Lim’s campaign, and Carter even joined him for part of his run in May.
“It was amazing,” Lim says. “We ran and chatted together … and we got to know a bit more about each other’s wives.” The pair promoted HPV vaccination and screening in the smaller rural towns they passed through.
Lim is grateful for all the support he has had, including from his family and friends. He is also proud of what he has accomplished.
“My sister has started running. She said she was inspired by me, and she’s in her fifties. So, hopefully I’m not only raising funds, but also inspiring people to try new things.”
Despite completing the journey on foot, 67-year-old Lim does not feel the need to “recover”. In fact, he has already returned to his regular runs. He also aims to release a one-hour documentary about his campaign in the next six months.
As he made his way through the southwestern state of Malacca, he visited an area in which Goh’s grandfather’s bungalow once stood, where Goh often played as a child.
To finish the campaign on time, Lim followed a gruelling schedule. He woke at 3am each day and was ready to run by 4am, when he would be driven to the place where he had stopped running the day before. “We start[ed] running at 4.30am until maybe 11am, sometimes 12.30pm.”
Each week, he spent three or four days running. Within each state and territory, NCSM helped him organise community events for cancer awareness.
The first time Lim visited an oncology unit for children during the campaign, he spent most of the time there in tears. But “it made me feel that what I’m doing is worthwhile … helping these children and helping the parents”, he says.
British author Laurence Carter, who honoured his own wife in 2018, three years after her death from cervical cancer, wrote about his one-year 6,930km (4,300-mile) walk in From Grief to Love: Walking Around England and Wales. That book, published in 2024, inspired Lim’s campaign, and Carter even joined him for part of his run in May.
“It was amazing,” Lim says. “We ran and chatted together … and we got to know a bit more about each other’s wives.” The pair promoted HPV vaccination and screening in the smaller rural towns they passed through.
Lim is grateful for all the support he has had, including from his family and friends. He is also proud of what he has accomplished.
“My sister has started running. She said she was inspired by me, and she’s in her fifties. So, hopefully I’m not only raising funds, but also inspiring people to try new things.”
Despite completing the journey on foot, 67-year-old Lim does not feel the need to “recover”. In fact, he has already returned to his regular runs. He also aims to release a one-hour documentary about his campaign in the next six months.
Over the summer, he aims to join more local running clubs and promote the campaign to reach his target of raising 1 million ringgit. Apart from that, his plans are up in the air.
He expects to be a little more nomadic. “I’ll spend some time with my kids in Sydney, spend my own time in Hong Kong, and I’ll spend family time in Malaysia,” he says.
He admits he would “never say never” to hosting another running campaign of such scale in the future.
He expects to be a little more nomadic. “I’ll spend some time with my kids in Sydney, spend my own time in Hong Kong, and I’ll spend family time in Malaysia,” he says.
He admits he would “never say never” to hosting another running campaign of such scale in the future.
