Kuala Lumpur, 22 June 2013 – Back for the fifth year, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon (SCKLM), Malaysia’s most anticipated running event will welcome more than 33,000 runners on 30 June at Dataran Merdeka. This represents a 144 per cent growth since its first year in 2009 (at 13,500 runners). Following the overwhelming response, the Marathon made history this year by racing into the Malaysia Book of Records as the largest participation in a marathon in the country. The last record was achieved in 2011 with 27,500 runners by a marathon in Penang.
More than 27,000 participants took part in the race last year. This year, the Marathon will see more than 33,000 participants from all around the world.
With the theme, “Run for a Reason”, the Marathon will start and end at one of Malaysia’s most historical sites, Dataran Merdeka. This year’s Marathon comprises of 19 categories; provides participation opportunities for all walks of life to run with different and unique reasons. On the whole, the Marathon attracts some 3,600 foreign runners from 73 nationalities to the event.
Rainer Biemans, Director of Dirigo Events who own and manage the Standard Chartered KL Marathon said, “This year marks a historic milestone for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon as it enters the Malaysia Book of Records while celebrating its fifth-year running. The Marathon has grown from strength to strength over the years. The organisers will be teaming up with various authorities to provide the best possible service to participants and the public during the nation’s largest marathon.”
“We are proud and glad to see that Standard Chartered KL Marathon created a new record for the largest participation in a marathon in the Human Achievement category. This only goes to show that the Marathon has evolved to be more than just a running event – it’s a nation-building engagement, which cultivates the sporting culture and continues to attract runners from across Malaysia and worldwide, in line with our brand’s promise to be Here for Good,” said Liz Kamaruddin, Country Head of Corporate Affairs, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad.
In conjunction with the Marathon, the organisers launched various activities prior to the event for the benefit of the runners who have registered to take part in the race as well as for the running community. Pre-event activities such as the training circuit where Mark Williams, the official coach of Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013 will train and share running tips through a series of running workshops and a series of fun runs were organised as the precursor to the Standard Chartered KL Marathon such as the Standard Chartered Last Dash To Run and Standard Chartered Fun Run.
The Standard Chartered KL Marathon is once again made possible by title sponsor Standard Chartered Bank, in partnership with the event owner and organiser, Dirigo Events Sdn Bhd, and co-organiser, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) with strong support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports; and gold sponsors MSIG and Honda.