PETALING JAYA: It will be a special year for Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM).
After years of hosting excellent runs, they have been awarded the prestigious Road Race label by World Athletics, making it the first running event in Malaysia and only the fifth in Southeast Asia to receive such recognition by the world governing body.
It’s also a milestone for this year’s event as the organisers will be celebrating their 15th anniversary with Standard Chartered as the title sponsor.
Naturally, project director Rainer Biemans was pleased as punch.
He however, admitted that despite the new status, elite marathon runners will still choose to skip the event due to Malaysia’s weather.
One would have expected Kenyan runners like Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian star Kenenisa Bekele to participate but it would be a tough ask, said Biemans.
“The world-class runners want to run in world-class environments, with a temperature of 14-18° C, which is impossible in Southeast Asia or anywhere here,” he said.
“You will not see them coming here. So, no we will not see Kipchoge here.”
“Our prize money has always been RM500,000 overall, and the prize for the open category is US$15,000 (RM66,900).
“We had athletes from the African continent coming over and running here. That would not change much.
“With this recognition, we will follow the rules and procedures set by the World Athletics.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh officially launched the event and kicked off the public registration website, which would officially start today.
She was elated with the fact that the marathon has produced top athletes for the nation.
“I understand that KLSCM has previously discovered talents and runners such as Muhaizar Mohamad and Sheela Samivellu,” said Hannah.
Muhaizar won bronze medals in the 2017 and 2019 editions of the SEA Games as Malaysia’s sole representative in the full marathon category while Sheela has been holding the national record for women’s half marathon since the 2016 KLSCM edition.
Hannah further expressed her admiration for KLSCM’s inclusivity.
“What is especially heart-warming about KLSCM is that although the event has a serious and competitive element, it also caters to participants of all levels with its shorter distance categories for beginners and special categories for kids.”
This year, KLSCM will begin implementing some changes to the event with the intention of reducing its carbon footprint and waste through innovations like encouraging runners to use refillable bottles for water instead of opting for paper cups served by volunteers; composting the enormous amounts of fruits like bananas, pears and apples given to runners; and creating awareness about the importance of recycling and waste reduction.
