HEARSAY: TALES OF THE GENERAL – Joel Bartlett
RUN FOR SMILES, RUN FOR KUTA, RUN FOR BALI CHILDREN FUTURE
By Joel Bartlett, Mamaka Southeast Asia Area General Manager
Kuta, 6AM.
The sky’s glowing, the music’s loud, and 700 runners are stretching, smiling, and questioning their life choices.
This is Mamaka Fun Run Vol. II, Bali’s sweatiest, happiest chaos. But behind the playlists and the pace, there’s a purpose that makes every step worth it
MILES THAT MEAN SOMETHING
We don’t just run for medals here, we run for meaning, a purpose
“Every single ticket, 100% of it, goes straight to Bali Children Foundation (BCF), helping more than 25,000 kids across Indonesia with education, confidence, and a chance at a better future.” This year, that impact had a face: Giri. She once received help from BCF, trained with us, graduated from Elizabeth International School of Hospitality, and now works at Mamaka. She told me, “I used to dream of working in a hotel like this. Now, I’m living it.”
That’s the kind of finish line we believe in.
WHY KUTA? BECAUSE IT’S STILL MAGIC.
Everyone talks about Seminyak, Uluwatu, Canggu, but let’s be honest, Kuta was the first love.
The beach that started it all. The spot that made Bali, well… Bali.
We’re here to prove it’s still got it the energy, the heartbeat, the stories. So when hundreds of runners hit the beach route that morning, it wasn’t just cardio. It was a comeback. A love letter.
SWEAT, LAUGHS & A LITTLE MAYHEM
Our friends from Fitness Plus Indonesia kicked things off with the kind of warm-up that felt more like a dance floor than a workout. Six-year-old Kay crushed his first-ever 5K in 35 minutes. And after the run? Push-up challenges, plank battles in the best way possible.
It wasn’t perfect. It was Mamaka perfect : sweaty, fun, real, and full of smiles.
NEXT STOP: BIGGER, BOLDER, BETTER
This year we hit 700+ runners.
Next year? We’re going for 1,000+.
More miles. More smiles. More proof that purpose is the best pre-workout. Because at Mamaka, we don’t just run to the finish line, we run to make a difference, revive a community, and remind everyone that Kuta’s still got it.
FINAL WORD
So yeah, we run. We sweat. We give back. We celebrate.
And we’ll keep doing it, one smile, one step, one sunrise at a time. Because here at Mamaka, the only thing we love more than a good cause…
is a good comeback.