Bandar Seri Begawan - Six categories were contested and 317 contestants took part in the Shahbandar Hill Challenge held at the Bukit Shahbandar Recreational Park yesterday.

The guest of honour was the Minister of Industry & Primary Resources, Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar, who also presented the prizes to the winners.

Among the contestants was Her Royal Highness Paduka Seri Pengiran Anak Isteri Pengiran Anak Sarah Pengiran Salleh Ab Rahaman, who competed in the Women Open Category D. Her Royal Highness won third place in 42.49 minutes.

Other categories were Category A National for national athletes, Category A Amateur Open for men between 15 and 35 years old, Category B Open for men between the ages 36 and 49, Category C Veteran for men aged 50 and above, Category D Open for women between 15 and 34 years old and Category E Veteran for women aged 35 and above.

For categories A National and Amateur, contestants ran approximately 71cm, for categories B and D 4.5km and for categories C and E 3.7km.

Deputy Minister of Industry & Primary Resources, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Hamdilah Hj Abd Wahab, flagged off the contestants.

The event was jointly organised by the Persatuan Kilang-Kilang Papan Brunei and the Forestry Department.

The objective of the challenge was to celebrate World Forestry Day 2008 and to promote the park as a place for jogging and recreation. The event was also organised to raise awareness among the public the importance of the forest and greens in sustaining healthy living.