PASIR GUDANG: A student from Universiti Institut Teknologi Mara (UiTM) is attempting to skate his way into the Malaysia Book of Records by going on a solo journey around the country on inline skates.

Azam Mohd Shidid, 21, kicked off the 31-day, 2,153km expedition on Aug 17 from UiTM’s Shah Alam campus. He will visit the other 11 UiTM campuses in the peninsula before returning to the starting point.

“I expect to complete my journey on Sept 16 in conjunction with Malaysia Day,” said Azam, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Sports Science degree.

“The travelling period to each pit stop will depend on factors such as the traffic situation, road surface, weather and my own stamina,” he said at the UiTM campus here on Sunday, his fourth pit stop before he heads for Pahang.

The UiTM Perlis student said the idea came about after his experience as a supporting participant in the ski expedition project of KE7B Felda Greenland in North America in April last year. Azam said he took about eight months to prepare for the physical and technical aspects of his inline skating expedition.

He said he had loved inline skating since he was five.

“So far, I have managed to achieve a speed of 57kph compared to the average speed of only 37kph,” he said, adding that he could skate for about eight hours a day.

Throughout his journey, 13 personnel from UiTM such as auxiliary policemen, medical crew, marshals, safety crew and officers from the Sports Science and Recreation Faculty are providing support.