Upcoming Marathon emphasises reasons behind runners’ participation in Kuala Lumpur’s iconic running event.
Kuala Lumpur, 27 February 2012 – Kuala Lumpur’s most anticipated running event, the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon 2012 was officially launched today at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. This year’s Marathon, which will be held at Dataran Merdeka on 24 June 2012, expects 27,000 participants from more than 45 countries around the world.
To date, the iconic event has recorded almost 10,000 registrations in less than four weeks, since it opened for registration on 1 Feb. This is a 35% progress growth against the same period back in 2011.
Never one to rest on its laurels, this year’s Marathon now offers 10 running categories available to the general public to encourage participation. The two new categories to join the full-board spectrum is the Universities Challenge that will be open to all university and college students in Malaysia. Following the success of the pilot stage of the MSIG Ekiden Race in 2010, MSIG Ekiden is now an official category open for public participation. The other categories are the Full Marathon, Honda Half Marathon, 10 km, 5 km, Corporate Challenge, and Kids’ Dash 2.5 km and 700m.
The prize package offered for Standard Chartered KL Marathon remains the highest amongst all marathons in Malaysia, with the prize package now increased to a total of USD 112,330. A new attraction this year will introduce special bonuses for top-finishing Malaysian participants as well as route records broken. For the Full Marathon category, a bonus of USD 2,500 will be up for grabs. Additionally, Malaysians will be able to enjoy this bonus as well, as USD 1,500 is offered in the Malaysian Full Marathon category and USD 1,000 for the Malaysian Honda Half Marathoners respectively.
This year, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon’s theme is “Run for a Reason”, a theme that is synonymous with Standard Chartered Marathons around the world. Everyone has a different reason for running – be it for their individual passions, commitments and dreams. This year, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is more than proud to support these reasons to the fullest.
Officiated by the Minister of Youth and Sports Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the event brought together the Marathon’s title sponsor, Osman Morad, Managing Director & CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad and Marathon co-organiser Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd.
In his officiating speech, the Minister of Youth And Sports Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said, “The Standard Chartered KL Marathon supports and plays a vital role in aiding the Ministry of Youth and Sports in developing a society that is healthy, energetic and one that adopts sports as a culture, towards the nation’s unity and development. With the marathon returning for a fourth successive year and staying until 2015, we encourage all runners to participate in this truly iconic sporting event”.
Osman Morad, Managing Director and CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, the title sponsor added, “Run for a Reason epitomises the essence of the Marathon, and the strength, diversity and values that makes this Marathon special. Each person has a special reason – be it for health; bonding time with family or friends; running to raise funds for a special charity cause close to their hearts; or simply, running for the love of the sport. Each runner is running for a reason close to their hearts, and we are happy to be part of their passion and enthusiasm by hosting this event.”
Highlighting the growth of the run, Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd, co-organiser of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 said, “Though the Standard Chartered KL Marathon has been here for only three years now, it has certainly grown exponentially and does not show any signs of slowing down. Feedback from the running community has indicated the significance of the KL marathon, and we wish for it to stay that way. We are proud and excited with the success of the marathon thus far, as this showcases its true potential to become one of Asia’s largest running events in years to come.”
From a modest beginning of only 13,500 runners from inception in 2009, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon has significantly grown by over 60% with approximately 22,000 runners taking part last year.
Additionally, Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd, co-organiser of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 will be organising pre-race activities over the months leading up to race day, that participants can take part in. These continuous extensive pre-race activities are organised four months ahead prior to race day, providing participants with a platform to effectively train for their categories. These activities include the complimentary Zero to Hero training circuits and running clinics that will benefit the participants, as they will be able to gain valuable Marathon tips and training techniques from trained professionals.
Besides running events, an exciting element called the “Run for a Reason Fun Movement” has been added to the Standard Chartered KL Marathon agenda. The Fun Movement, which will be held ahead of the race day, is a fun social get-together with Standard Chartered staff and the general public coming to participate in a shared experience involving cheerful music and comical movements. Look out for more details via the SCKLM Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 will continue to focus on charitable initiatives through “Run for a Cause”, by partnering The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM), Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF), Ecoknights and The Standard Chartered Trust Fund. It is through this partnership, that the Marathon will be able to aid the less fortunate across all ages and races living in Malaysia.
Also attending the launch event was co-organiser Yang Mulia Tuan Idzawi bin Raja Ismail, Director of Culture, Arts and Sports of DBKL and Jennifer Hsu, Executive Vice President of MSIG Insurance (Malaysia) Bhd, Gold Sponsor of the Standard Chartered KL Marathon.
Honda also joins the Standard Chartered KL Marathon as a Gold Sponsor. Official partners of the event include 100Plus, Titan, New Balance, DoubleTree by Hilton and NTV7.
More information about the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 can be obtained by logging on to www.kl-marathon.com. Alternatively, you can follow us on our Facebook page – Standard Chartered KL Marathon.
About the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012
Back for the fourth time, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon is scheduled to take place this year on 24 June 2012. The marathon aims to grow to 27,000 total participants, ranging from elite professionals to first-time amateurs. A truly international event, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon boasts participants from all over Malaysia and 45 countries.
The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 continues as Malaysia’s flagship running event with top runners competing for a total of over USD 100,000 prize money.
About the Event Organisers
Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd
Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd is a Kuala Lumpur based company that provides strategic event management expertise for high scale sporting events. Dirigo is headed by Rainer Biemans and Gloria Ng that collectively have over 30 years in planning international sports events and managed previous Standard Chartered KL Marathons. The company was also recently signed with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad to organise future Standard Chartered KL Marathons from 2012 to 2015. For more information on Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd, please call +603 7725 0881
Standard Chartered – leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group. It has operated for over 150 years in some of the world’s most dynamic markets and earns more than 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This geographic focus and commitment to developing deep relationships with clients and customers has driven the Bank’s growth in recent years. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.
With 1,700 offices in 70 markets, the Group offers exciting and challenging international career opportunities for around 85,000 staff. It is committed to building a sustainable business over the long term and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. Standard Chartered’s heritage and values are expressed in its brand promise, ‘Here for good’.
For more information please visit www.standardchartered.com
Standard Chartered in Malaysia
Standard Chartered Bank, a member of the Standard Chartered Group was established in Malaysia in 1875 and incorporated as Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad on 29 February 1984. As Malaysia’s first bank, Standard Chartered leads the way through product innovation, consistent and strong growth performance and sustainability initiatives. The Bank’s two businesses – Wholesale and Consumer Banking – provides a comprehensive range of financial products and services to corporates, institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals through its network of more than 30 branches across Malaysia.
In 2001, Standard Chartered PLC established a global shared service centre named Scope International in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to provide software development, banking operations, IT support services and customer service capabilities to the Bank in up to 70 countries – the first international bank to do so in Malaysia. It now houses the biggest software development division in the country, International Software Centre Malaysia (ISCM) and has a total workforce of more than 4,000 people.
Price Solutions Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank UK is also located in Malaysia. The company promotes and markets Standard Chartered’s financial products in Malaysia through a network of direct sales agents.
Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad’s Islamic Banking subsidiary was established in November 2008. It offers a full suite of Shariah-compliant products and services to individuals and corporates through its financial centres.
Standard Chartered employs more than 6,000 employees in all its Malaysian operations.